A bumpy and painful transition

As is probably clear to anyone now perusing this blog, I returned to seafood in February of 2007 and resume true omnivore status in November of that same year. This was a painful decision, but one I do not regret.

But for those wondering about the transition, it went something like this:

Shrimp first. I scrutinized them and came to the conclusion that they are the underwater equivalent of sagebugs and no more advanced in thought or feeling than those ubiquitous insects. They were my gateway animal.

Next I concluded that while fish have physical feelings, their emotional development is almost nil and their social bonding nonexistent. Since my primary objection to murder/death is that the animal is valued by companions and by himself/herself (if self aware), this made it fairly easy to conclude that the loss of a fish's life is worth the boost to human health that fish consumption provides.

I would likely have confined my meat-eating to seafood had my surgeon in November not prohibited seafood consumption and forbidden me to take my supplements. I knew, having researched enough on the topic, that I simply wouldn't be able to get enough carnitine as a vegetarian to support reasonable brain function on a carb-conscious diet. Carnitine beckoned and demanded. So I ate red meat, with great regret.

But then I found that I felt clearer and more alert with the inclusion of red meat in my diet. It wasn't as profound an effect as the addition of seafood, but it wasn't insignificant.

So I've been left at present with a difficult choice: animals lives or my optimal health. I've been choosing the latter. If we can find mercury and pcb-free sources of seafood, I might be willing to go back to a pescetarian diet, but at present that prospect is unworkable. Too many toxins pollute our seas to base a diet on the animals therein.

Is this right? I can't begin to answer that question anymore. It's become too complex. It is right for me. Is it right in the universal system of moral behavior? I hope to find out that, yes, it was, when I die and (hopefully) attain greater knowledge. But in the meantime I can only do my best.

Do I encourage other vegetarians to change their dietary habits? No, it's none of my business. I can offer my experiences and the data I've acquired, but what they choose to do from their is all their own.

~L