I'm about to admit something I rarely do because everyone has different reactions and it often leads to awkward, unnecessary conversations - I'm a vegetarian.
I don't often provide my justification for choosing this lifestyle, but after hearing a CBC radio Q segment debate on veggie vs. meat, I've decided to state my case.
It was five years ago on Monday (Oct. 4) I stopped eating meat after moving to France. I had already decided I was going to become vegetarian the previous month after learning about a variety of ethical and health issues, but couldn't figure how to go about it.
So like the non-confrontational person I am, I developed a game plan: I simply told everyone I met in France I was already a vegetarian and by the time I came back I'd have been vegetarian for a year Perfect!
(Well, that is until Christmas when I saw my brother and he pretty much disowned me for no longer eating meat. He even gift wrapped sardines, spam and other canned meats and put them in my stocking.)
I did spend a week trying every meat imaginable and my last meal was an incredible coq au vin. After all, I didn't want to miss out on the France meat experience - and that was exactly the crux of the argument behind Anthony Bourdain's vegetarianism critic during the CBC debate.
The writer, chef and culinary traveller argued that limiting food not only keeps a travellers from partaking in cultural dining experiences but also destroys commonality with strangers.
"To me the human experience trumps any ethical concerns one might have with killing and eating animals," said Bourdain.
This is the part that bothers me since I've travelled extensively to many countries where the cuisine is an integral part of the culture and I haven't found myself relegated to the fringes of the dinner table.
For example, when I lived in Mexico I was invited to a Mayan village to help prepare pibi pollo, a traditional meat pie offered for Dias de los Muertos (Days of the Dead).
I cut the meat, filled the pie shells and baked it underground and didn't eat it. Nonetheless, I wasn't ostracized.
Sitting around a table enjoying alcoholic drinks changes the dynamic and brings a certain camaraderie to a group similar to preparing and eating food today, or hunting and skinning food hundreds of years ago.
But sitting around the same table while not imbibing doesn't ruin the vibe.
I'm willing to have a drink but I don't eat meat - neither has led me to sit alone at home friendless.
