To Eat Meat or Not to Eat Meat…

Happy Tuesday! But first let me recap my Monday night. I had my dinner last night at the office before heading to the book reading. Dinner was leftover rice and beans.

Event: Eating Animals Book Reading at Barnes & Noble
Last night, I went with my co-worker and one of her friends to this book reading in Union Square. I have to say, the author Jonathan Safran Foer was extremely articulate, engaging and passionate. It was one of the best readings I’ve gone to so far.

I was a little nervous that the reading/discussion would be all about the slaughterhouses and cruelty. I was relieved when Foer specifically veered away from the area. Instead, he talked a lot about how the meat industry is a very closed-off and untouchable business. He said the most disturbing thing he encountered during his research was that we buy these meat products, ingest them, give them to our children, and yet we have no idea how they are made and can’t find out if we tried.

Foer wrote to Dyson and other meat producers and asked for admittance to their factories and he never so much as received a response. It’s really scary to think that we are eating this food and we have no idea what’s in it! He talked about the fact that the meat industry actually makes more money by producing “sick” animals – animals injected with antibiotics and hormones. And then we eat these animals and everything in their bodies.

He actually really didn’t focus on the “humanitarian” ideals that lead many people to become vegetarians – not wanting to hurt/kill animals. According Foer, that’s not the question we should be asking at this point. The meat industry and its issues were more prominent focuses by far. And he brought up the thing the gets me most – how these antibiotics and chemicals are being ingested and affecting humans in so many ways: girls going through puberty at an earlier age, increase in issues with pregnancies (miscarriages), and much more.

Here are a few pics from the event (I didn’t have my Rebel with me):

I left right after the discussion and apparently missed out on seeing Natalie Portman! She was in the front row. Oh well – maybe at the next book reading I’ll run into her.

Sorry for the long recap, but this event really got me thinking. What do you think? Do you eat meat, and if so, does the lack of transparency in the meat industry scare you? Would you or have you considered going vegetarian? Do you buy local non-factory-farmed, grass-fed meat – where?

After the reading I headed home and was still a little hungry despite my earlier dinner. I snacked on some popcorn (with a little Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top) and a few raisins (no pic).

Then I headed off to read some more Copperfield before bed (I broke 500 pgs!).

Breakfast this morning was just what I was craving: a multi-grain English muffin with peanut butter and banana. Yum!

I set my alarm for 5:15 a.m. because I was going to get up and do some pilates and that never happened. I am definitely not a morning person. Bill always laughs at me when I do this, but it’s frustrating.

What are your tricks or tips for actually getting up in the morning to work out?

Lunch today was a mix: a workout cookie (I know – I didn’t workout today!) and Greek yogurt with oats.

My afternoon snack will be walnuts and raisins and carrots:

Tonight a few local bloggers are getting together for a nice little dinner at a place in my neighborhood that I’ve wanted to try. Can’t wait!