the vegetarian news that annoyed the crap out of me

I'm going back to the roots of re•solve today and crying foul on something I saw in the media.

I was scrolling through my facebook feed when a particular article caught my eye: it looks like the newest executive in my county is a vegetarian! Cool. Right? You can check it out here.

I thought it was a little odd that such a thing would be "news," but this was a local story, and obviously I was taking the time to read it, so no biggie. I also thought it was odd that people were able to confirm she is the first vegetarian to be elected to the position. I mean, who keeps track of the dietary preferences of elected officials? Oh, well. That's neither here nor there.

See, she's eating corn! She's legit. Image via the article.

What is cool, or at least I thought was cool, was that someone in our local public eye shared a lifestyle with me. I thought it was cool until halfway through the article when I read this:

"She said she advocates a healthy lifestyle in general, but not eating meat isn’t “intentional.”

“I’m not trying to be a vegetarian,” Neuman said.

Neuman said that when she was pregnant with her first child, Alex, now 8, she developed an “aversion to (eating) anything that has a mother.”"

"Now, Neuman said, she’ll eat meat occasionally if she craves the taste, but has developed a general preference for fruits and vegetables. She won’t eat imitation meat products because she’d rather have some of the real thing.

“My body doesn’t choose (to have meat),” she said. “If I develop the taste for meat again, I will eat it (regularly).”"

I mean, to each their own. I don't eat any meat. My husband tends to eat meat only once a day. Some people eat it all day. Eat what you will.

my creation. via

What gets me is the whole "I'm not trying" thing. It almost feels like a judgement on those of us who are vegetarian by choice. Why is this even a story if you don't eat meat simply because it doesn't agree with you?  If the whole story is your diet that you are willing to change on a whim (and the story goes on to mention she takes bites of meat here and there), then sorry, but I don't consider you a vegetarian and there really is no story here.

Then there was this little gem:

"Her children, on the other hand, are not allowed to be vegetarians - she cooks crockpot chicken and grills steaks at home, she said. When Avery was 5, she decided to be like mom, “but I told her that’s not acceptable. She can be a vegetarian at 18 if she so desires.”"

Not allowed? Lady, if your kids wanted to eat cupcakes and Cheetos for every meal, then I'd be right with you on the whole "not allowed" bit. But setting rules that they can't eat healthy? Really? 

my creation. via

While it doesn't specifically say why they aren't allowed, I'm guessing it's an argument I've heard before: "I can go vegetarian, but my kid is still growing and they need the protein/calcium." Sorry, but that's just ignorant. Just as ignorant as the argument that fish isn't meat (eat fish if you want, but I seriously don't get that argument). 

We non meat-eaters have generally done our homework and know that we can get the majority of nutrients we need via plants. My brain is flashing back to this boy I knew in elementary school who was a vegetarian. I now want to find him and pick his brain apart. I don't remember much besides that he was a happy, healthy kid named Jared.

I'm not a mom yet and I know it is easy pre-kids to say what I will or won't do, but honestly, this is an "experiment" that I see no harm in. If I were to pop a little one out today, I think I would try to introduce mostly plants into his or her diet, and when the time came for the tyke to explore, I would give my argument but let them investigate and decide for themselves.

Anyway....boo, county executive. Boo on you. This article was a fail and I'm calling you out on it.

*steps off soapbox*