Mmmmmeat?

This month I'm teaching about the economics of food and the issues of industrial agriculture. I have to put that out there so you know that I'm not just a glutton for punishment. I wouldn't have chosen "Frankensteer" as my Thursday viewing if I didn't need to preview it for work.
I eat meat. I like eating meat.

I tried vegetarianism for 4 years during university. I didn't eat meat but I didn't eat chickpeas or kidney beans or leafy greens either. I mostly ate cheese pizza. Even then, I had a real problem with Swiss Chalet chicken, the problem being I couldn't resist it. But the real breaking point of my flirtation with vegetarianism came when I met my carnivorous husband. It wasn't much of a challenge for him to break my habit. He easily wore me down by cooking bbq ribs and steak. I haven't really looked back. Until recently.

My Thursday night documentary is one you'll want to avoid. You probably already know that from its title. That is, unless you've got alot of money burning a hole in your pocket or a strong but latent urge to eat more lentils. Frankensteer is about growth hormones, antibiotics, carnivorous cows, feedlots, and feces. Having viewed it already, it's too late for me. As soon as it was done, I got onto the internet and found the shop not too far from here that sells meat from nearby Mennonite and Amish farms and immediately placed an order. No antibiotics, no hormones. No massive feedlots as far as the eye can see. You can check it out at http://freshfromthefarm.ca.

As with most of my small steps, this one is not cheap. But I've got a plan. Continue to eat meat, but only the clean stuff. And use way less of it. Tonight we had our drug free chicken souvlaki. It was delicious. We treated it like gold and couldn't afford to overeat. This week, in the interest of preventing bankruptcy, I'm going to cook meatless at least twice.
Fingers crossed that I'll get more creative than cheese pizza. Take pity on me and post your faves.

Oh, and if after all that you still want to watch the doc, you can find it at: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4129902081038592146#