What’s in a meat?

What’s in a name?

What’s in a meat?

Potato Pohdahduh

It’s been a year since I decided not to consume certain meat. It started with pork, then chicken, mutton, and gradually seafood and eggs.

I did wonder what made me transition to this decision.

Was it for the environment?

Was it against animal cruelty ( obviously not the strongest reason for me since I still consume meat) or something else that I couldn’t put my finger on? 

Or was it my way of using abstinence as a mechanism of control over the chaotic motions of life?

The answer became quite clear to me in this course of time—taking agency over the choices that were made for me by others before I knew what I wanted.

Eating meat wasn’t a choice I made on my own. It was in a way decided for me by my parents with their choice to feed me meat. All these years, meat was another item of food on my plate.
Growing up, there had been portions of poultry  that I winced from eating since I hadn’t ate them as a child. It got me thinking if I would have ever consumed meat had it never been fed to me.

Some years back, I remember having this conversation with a friend where I mentioned that I consciously didn’t want to get thinking about the ethicality of consuming meat. I feared that if I gave a good thought to it, I would stop eating it all at once.

When one speaks of ethicality in meat consumption, they need to acknowledge the presence of privilege through which they speak of this ethicality and when culture comes into play.

Ethicality in meat consumption has not played a determining factor in Naga food culture except when the ban was announced on the sale of dog meat. Our people said it’s in our culture to consume dog meat and to ban its sale in the markets is patronizing. I do not consume dog meat but I don’t support the ban too. The running argument has been that if one is not okay with consuming dog meat on the grounds of ethicality, what about other meat then?

Fair enough and hits the final nail, I think. You can’t cherry pick your stances and support/oppose what is at the end of the day, one and the same.

So, does this mean that only if I am a vegan or a vegetarian, my stance of supporting banning of meat will be legitimate? Nope. It means I am an entitled asshole that wants to control people’s food habits to fit into “civilised” notions of society (who first of all determines what is civilised especially for food?) or simply because I eat something that’s less controversial or that I could afford going vegan or vegetarian.

@thebigfatbao has done an excellent 10 series illustrated perspective and coverage on Caste and food. It gives you an idea of where privilege comes in with enforcing veganism and vegetarianism as the ideals.

My journey to minimise consuming meat has been a gradual process of elimination. I still consume beef and buff because I enjoy eating it. I am taking this one step at a time. Maybe there will come a day when I don’t want to eat beef or buff anymore. Or maybe there will be a day I decide that I want to go back to eating dry fish. For now, this decision sits well with me. I do want to eat fried grasshoppers before giving them up(I am not sure what exactly those insects are but I have memories of people catching them near streetlights during particular seasons).

The bottom-line for me is : to each their own when it comes to food, sexuality and bodily rights.

The past year has made me realise that people (including me) have their own reason(s) and way(s) of arriving at a stage in their lives. There is no right or wrong, no black or white.. you get to decide how your journey should be…you are no longer where you used to be. What’s better is that you can go back to where you used to be too, if you want.  This is your journey. You live it on your own terms.

Liberating myself with the choices I make for myself is honestly one of the best things in life and I am grateful that I can afford this.