Respecting the Dead

Posted by Jill Harris Aug 12, 2007

It’s an ongoing joke with my partner and his family that their Polish and Hungarian roots allow them to survive on a steady diet of butter, fried bacon, and salt. In fact, many traditional ethnic dishes are often not vegetarian. Meals like Hungarian pierogies are proof there are 100 uses for bacon fat, and sausage? You don’t even want to know what leftovers end up in there.

Throughout history, people have been poor and survival has been difficult. When an animal was killed, the entire carcass was used and nothing went to waste. Eating animals to survive was not a right, but a privilege to be fought for.

After travelling to Peru last year, a friend of mine came home with stories of unique foods – many vegetarian, many not. People there apparently consume quite a bit of goat (as a side note, when the Peruvian guide was informed that people in Canada don’t generally eat goat, he was shocked and said “Well what do you eat?”, as he knew no other option).

Anyway, when the goat was slaughtered the parts were divvied up – meat parts in the stew pot, intestines emptied and used as casings. The whole animal was used as long as hygiene allowed.

Now think about how we think about meat. How much of the cow do we use? How much is thrown away? How much of it goes to animal feed?

Various cultures evolved relying on animals for food, clothing, and work. Today, we drive cars, plough fields with tractors, and spin cotton and synthetic fibres. We can clearly live without the aid of animals, and we can definitely eat well without eating animals. We have the choice to abstain from eating meat and to thereby create an atmosphere of peace and conscience. It is our responsibility to exercise that choice.