I am an on again of again vegetarian and vegan. (see last post. BORING!! Yet somehow I've been pretty committed to the skipping off the plan rather than sticking).

....and to continue... It's hard to justify the ‘off again’ status. A family that doesn’t understand. Not enough attention to getting the right nutrients meaning my health suffers a bit at times. Both poor excuses. Yet I recite them to myself too often.  

Every time I slip back into eating animal products, reality slaps me in the face. Recent example: I have just finished reading the latest Quarterly Essay – an amazing 25000 word (or so) journal published every 3 months (duh!) and written by an Australian on a topic of personal importance.

The current topic: “Us and Them: on the importance of animals” is beautifully explored by Anna Krien. She eats animal products I understand. Her essay is heart breakingly compassionate and delves into the befuddlement of our relationship with other animals and, as an aside, ‘other’ people. Mass market meat from a resource rich (and generally just rich) country consumed by our neighbours; hunting predators to protect sources of meat and income; meddling with the balance between species to make ‘nature’ safer for us; the human benefits and general travesty of animal testing; our wilful ignorance when it comes to understanding the pain ‘animals’ experience (note: this includes pain experienced by American slaves and indigenous Australians….’cause ‘once upon a time’ we thought them not human)  All I know are wrong and uncomfortable and all I know I support by just being here. I can lighten the load by my choices…… but not much.  Our society is based on an understanding that the life of a non-human animal is worth so little in any terms but economic. %$#@# (aka this makes me irreconcilably angry).

I find comfort in chipping away.