I’m surprised it took me so long to find your page. I’ve spent a lot of time trying to read around about other Americans’ experiences living in Germany. I actually found it when I searched for “making chocolate chip cookies in Germany”.

I imagine that you’ve read the Omnivore’s Dilemma, written by Michael Pollan, based on your book list. That was the book that turned me vegan for a year, before I moved to New Orleans, and encountered many work situations in which refusing non-vegan food would’ve been both impolite and wasteful.

I live with a family now as an au pair and we’ve had a few conversations as to why I would choose not to eat meat. I had completely forgotten the point of the environmental impacts of meat consumpution. (!) This would be quite a significant reason to them. When I was in the conversation, my main thought was my choice to more consciously and also healthfully. My au pair father, however, has some trouble understanding that it is possible to get all necessary nutrients without meat or dairy. ANYWAY! Just glad to read your stories! I write in my blog sometimes as well about my experiences being back in Freiburg and how it is to live and work with a German family. http://www.freiburgredux.blogspot.com. It’s a little bit different feeling since it’s just me, but maybe it’ll give you a laugh! :)

Thanks for sharing.

I was raised on storebought meat, and my DH on homegrown beef. I was shocked at the difference in flavor! It took me a while to get used to it. Now storebought meat smells kind of .. off.

DH refers to those ‘deer’ burgers as ‘liver and kidney’ burgers and finds them disgusting.

Now real deer burgers.. well.. I haven’t fully acquired that taste. I have to mix deer meat with beef most of the time.

While I am not a vegetarian, I have, over the last 5 years, decided to remove various animals from my diet for many of the reasons you have. The environment was the first reason I began to reexamine my plate (with water use at the top of the list). Off the list first went beef. 6 months later pork (largely a result of having vegetarian host sisters in Denmark and more examination of environmental impacts). Health concerns, less from issues of fat or cholesterol, and more from exposure to things like mercury & other bioaccumulated toxins in shellfish (bivavles in particular) and other nastiness that gets mixed in meat in processing, has been another reason. I also had a horrifying experience in Norway where I tried some “caribou” sausage at the market in Bergen and AFTER eating it, I read the label. I knew enough Danish (close to Norwegian) to know that that “caribou” sausage also contained “hest” or horse. Having grown up on a horse ranch, then and there I nixed all “mixed meats.”

Social justice has also risen as a primary concern… why should I eat animals that are consuming enough grain to feed much of the world? People claim there is a shortage and they also claim there is a distribution issue. I disagree completely with the first claim, but agree 2 fold with the second. The distribution issue falls not only with getting food to various parts of the world, but also with getting food to PEOPLE and not sending so much of it to feed livestock and THEN to people.

It is definitely difficult at times to explain my reasons when I go home to Montana (as I am sure you know too!), but my parents are definitely coming to understand and even my husband’s parents are. Last Christmas, my mother-in-law wanted to have a Christmas goose, but when I told her the local ones were $7/lb, she decided to do a ham (but only after I convinced her I really DON’T need meat at every meal). She did ask us if we could find something ethically raised and local, which we did.

Unfortunately, our food system as it stands is unsustainable, meat or veggies. But it is moving in the right direction. People are growing their own again. People are becoming aware. Thank you for being another food hero out there and for helping others learn.

(Also, one side note to Jeannine, Chipotle is no longer owned by McDonald’s, they sold their share in the company, so Chipotle is able to make its own decisions on issues of sourcing.)

Now, in all seriousness, I admire you for the fact that you don’t eat meat anymore. I don’t eat it every day, but eating certain types of meat (not all!) is one occasional guilty pleasure in my life. I just don’t have the willpower to say, “No.” Maybe one day.