The Lady's Revenge

This is a funny thing I seem to be asked a lot when people find out I’m a vegetarian. Almost every time they ask, Do you eat fish?

The answer is No, I don’t.

This all came up again last night which is why I’m thinking about it.

Now I don’t mind people asking. I don’t find it offensive and I certainly don’t judge anyone for asking me. I’m not snobby about it. I know everyone has their own eating habits and a lot of people who adopt the label Vegetarian do in fact eat fish. Which I’m sure is where the question comes from. It’s one of those questions I’ve just gotten used to over the years and I honestly welcome any discussion about food so if that’s how it starts, cool.

But also. I’m a vegetarian which means I don’t eat animals and fish are animals. It seems sort of an obvious thing to me from a definition of what an animal is. They have eyeballs and mouths and nervous systems and consume other living things for survival. Unless you’re a sponge, then you’re kind of weird. Some of those little sea critters are even super smart! Not a fish, but octopuses? Those guys rule!

So I don’t eat seafood. Although people who know me, know I have actually made the occasional exception to that rule. Usually when I’m visiting New Orleans (pre-BP).

The thing is, unlike beef or chicken or even pork, I LOVE seafood. It’s delicious. I mean, even as a kid my two favorite foods ever were shrimp and New England Clam Chowder (had to be the white kind, not that red Manhattan stuff). I was known to steal my dad’s when he wasn’t looking. And at NYE family parties, I would make a beeline for the shrimp. So while I don’t miss burgers at all and I’m actually kind of grossed out by chicken, I really, really, really miss fish & chips.

It’s a thing and it’s the hardest part, for me at least, about the whole veggie thing. So trust me, I get it when people don’t want to give up the seafood.

There’s also a different set of reasoning for giving up the fish. For some people, they find the concept of killing any other living creature for food morally repulsive and so of course they wouldn’t eat seafood. For other people, it’s the conditions in which the animals are killed that is the problem. Factory farming, animal cruelty, etc. I’m sure you’ve read the articles or seen the PETA videos.

I fall into that second group, the one opposed to the way we kill animals, not necessarily the fact of killing itself. I mean, from a practical stand point, I don’t want to go out and shoot a deer for some nice venison stew. But I get why there would be situations where people would do this and it would be okay.

I don’t like our industrialization of food production in general and I abhor the way we raise and kill animals that are destined for our dinner plates.

For the most part though, fish aren’t raised in farms. That’s become more of a thing in the last decade of course with certain kinds of fish. But a lot of seafood is still caught out in the ocean where it has, up until the being caught part, lived a natural and free life. And going by this, I think this is where a lot of people find fish eating okay. A lot of people also subscribe to the idea that fish are dumb and don’t really feel things so it’s okay to eat them. I don’t know about that part personally, like I said there’s some smart seafood out there, but I get it.

I stopped eating fish because of the environmental impact. I won’t get into all of it here, but the effects of commercial fishing are huge and destructive and indiscriminate. Areas are over fished, entire species brought to the brink of extinction, communities depending on fishing for their survival devastated. And now that we’ve really begun to feel the effects of global warming (hell yes I believe in climate change), it’s only getting worse in ways I don’t think we’re fully understanding yet.

Ecosystems are fragile things and they can endure only so much before they collapse.

So that’s why I don’t eat fish. And mixed up in all of that, is also why I will sometimes make an exception. Those exceptions have gotten much rarer over the years, I don’t actually remember the last time I ate any seafood, but they have happened. When I’ve been somewhere where I know the fish is locally caught in a sustainable way. Which is actually really easy information to find out. You just ask!

And then when you ask you start talking to people all about food things again and it’s awesome. Food is something people are really, really passionate about. It’s cool to engage others in a conversation about something you both care about. You find out all sorts of interesting things and hear all kinds of cool stories. In New Orleans alone, food is such a part of the culture, people get so excited about it. They take pride in what they’re serving. And it’s fun to talk to people about that.

But yeah, to answer the question, I don’t eat fish. It’s the hardest part for me about being veggie but I think it’s the right decision. At some point in my life I hope that things get better and I’ll feel okay about adding it back to my diet, at least sometimes, cause I do miss it. But for now there are so many other delicious thingies to cook and eat and discover, I’ll survive without that shrimp cocktail.

On that note, here’s today’s breakfast! Super simple almond butter on whole grain bread. Dudes, this bread is so good. It’s from this bakery that has a stand at the farmer’s market I go to on Sundays. It’s always fresh and soft and full of delightful flavors. I went with the whole grain this time but they make a rosemary that is unbelievable. Yum

OMG, also, I am so excited about Thanksgiving tomorrow! It’s another thing I know people think I’m crazy for, but I do not miss the turkey at all. I just love the cooking and the eating and the pie. And then napping off the food coma. And then eating more pie. And then the leftovers. And shoving everything between two slices of bread for the most ridiculous sandwiches ever. I still do all of that and it’s awesome.

I’ll try and post some pictures of our veggie feast but until then, Happy Thanksgiving! Enjoy the eating, whatever it is that’s made it to your table. Especially if it’s pie. Definitely enjoy the pie.