"That's Why We Don't Eat Animals"

I would say that 80% of the time, I feel pretty mainstream about being a vegetarian, but some times are harder than others. Poor Fiona. She was the only vegetarian in her kindergarten, and now she's the only vegetarian in camp. They had broccoli and chicken strips for a snack the other day and it just about broke her heart.

Not that it's always easy for me, either. For example, a few weeks ago the Zombie Squad forum got sidetracked talking about meat. It was a thread about scheduling a meeting, and I kept checking it, excited, and then getting another rave about Kobe beef burgers or fois gras sandwiches or shit like that. And after a while, I just blew up. I was like "this thread isn't for food, it's for scheduling meetings, and plus, I'm a vegetarian, and this is bothering me." So then somebody (okay, he is the slightly crazy old guy, but still) posts:

So lets set this straight;It's summer time; I lived through 7 months of winter; It was 36 degrees last night but if I mention BBQ I'm a Hater? Or is she just a VICTIM?Since the area I live in is surrounded by appox 3000 head of beef cattle, whom after eating grass nourished by sun and soil, are DOOMED to die by being slaughtered and consumed by omnivores offends thee Winnie3K, I only have one suggestion. Stay Away!

This from a guy who was always pretty friendly. Now, a foe.

Needless to say, I was pretty happy to find the very cute kids book That's Why We Don't Eat Animals at the library. It has charming pictures and discusses clearly (and a little depressingly) what life is like for animals who live on factory farms. It's the kind of thing that makes you feel pretty damn good about being a vegetarian, which you need sometimes--especially after the twentieth time you've heard some along the lines of "I'll stop eating X when they stop tasting so good."

Yeah, the worst thing about being a vegetarian? Being tormented by something the vast majority of people think of only as a matter of taste. To me, a restaurant menu reads like a horror novel. A disagreement over BBQ styles is like a news report from the subSahara--fucking depressing with overtones of the macabre. And the "normal" people around me just shake their heads and wonder how I can live without the flavor.