Eating principles

Dylan stayed true to his word. He refuses to eat birds, with the exception of chicken (for practical reasons, he figures it is such a common component of his nightly meals it would disrupt those who cook for him too much.) But, I bet he'll phase that out in the future as well. It must have ben hard for him tonight, with a beautiful cooked turkey in front of him on the table, but he refused to touch any. "I love turkey," he noted, "but I think it is wrong to kill them and eat them."

It's aways interesting when young people start asserting their own beliefs about diets, because every time this happens, it makes adults reassess the choices we make. Of course, Dylan is rather young (10) to be getting to this stage, although we know an even younger boy (8) who refuses to eat any animals whatsoever, out of principle.

Many of the people I've known well and respected deeply over the years, from Frances Moore Lappe to Julia Butterfly Hill, have been leaders in the crusade to persuade all of us to stop eating meat and start consuming healthier, more sustainable diets. Both of my wives experimented with vegetarianism, until they got pregnant. Lots of friends are vegetarians; some are vegans.

But Dylan is the first anti-bird eater I've encountered. He has researched several types of birds -- most notably, pigeons -- and says they are much more intelligent than most people realize. He believes people discriminate against pigeons and other birds out of ignorance.

A couple years ago, he named every pigeon in our neighborhood, recognizing many of them not only by their appearance but by their distinct daily habits. I'm not surprised he won't eat pigeon pie, but I'm not sure how he came to exclude turkey from his diet.

His Thanksgiving meal consisted mainly of mashed potatoes and some raw spinach. He also claims to not like pie, so he didn't try the yummy apple, pecan or pumpkin pies available, either. That isn't a matter of principle, but of taste. He rarely likes sweets of any kind, except for cookies.

I hope everyone reading these words had a nice holiday. Mine was delightful, spent up in cold, rainy, gorgeous Oregon with five of my kids, my son-in-law, and my unborn grandson actively kicking around, hearing our voices, no doubt forming his own opinions about what he thinks is best to eat -- opinions we should be hearing from him directly in another decade or so...

Happy Holiday to you and your family, however you define that concept, and whatever you chose to eat or not eat this year. To me, the turkey was delicious...

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