I cut the steak into thin slices and dipped it into the steak sauce before eating it and the first few bites were as good as advertised. But then, something strange happened. I was definitely not full yet, but he enthusiasm I had felt earlier began to diminish. The readings about the commodity chain analysis for beef began to enter my mind. Did the eat I was eating come from a grass-fed cow? Was he given growth hormones or antibiotics? Did he live a life of torture, with no personal space and arthritis stemming from the enormous body he had to support after he was forced to eat great quantities of food? Eating the meat was no longer purely an act of eating; my mind had begun to influence my appetite. My thoughts turned a delicacy into a meal that was undesirable. I wanted to eat more; I tired to eat more and I admit I did get a few more bites down, but the joy was gone. Never before had I truly cared about what I was eating. I never took the time to think about the process; the journey from the farm to my plate. But as these thoughts entered my mind, I couldn't help but think about the meat as more than just food. My favorite meal had become a nightmare.
Leaving the restaurant, several questions floated around my head:
Would I ever view steak the same and would it ever be as enjoyable as it once was?
Does knowledge of the process the cattle go through make it wrong to eat steak?
I am sorry you lost the joy in your meal. I would argue that maybe this is a good thing. You realized that the life of the animal is just as important to you as how good it tastes when its dead. Maybe now when you do eat a steak that you know had a good life you will appreciate it even more. You will treasure the food you have instead of taking food for granted like we usually do in America. Please know, I am not directing this thought at you personally, it is more of a general idea that maybe if we knew where our food came from we would appreciate it more and maybe not eat so much of it.
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