AND THE BEET GOES ON

October 1978 I was riding in the back seat of the car. I was 27 years old and we were passing thru Georgia on our way north to see the leaves change color. Just weeks before I had returned from an amazing 3 week grand tour of Europe and was in high spirits.

In the middle of busy traffic I happened to gaze to my left, beside me was a truck filled with cattle going to market. All were crammed tighter together than a bag of grapes. Many of them were making eye contact with me.

Not long before, I learned of the typical slaughter house practices: a nail gun to the head or the sledge hammer between the eyes. I felt sick. It was that moment I decided I wasn't going to be any part of this. I gave up eating all mammals for good!

Yes, I still eat seafood & chicken because I am not a fish or a fowl! But I am a mammal! And my diet these days is mostly vegetarian.

In some countries, dogs and cats are commonly eaten. I see little if any difference between eating one of those than any other mammal. These are all thinking, feeling creatures with emotions similar to ours.

When veggie burgers came out a few decades back, I was thrilled although I'll admit they needed lots of condiments and doctoring to taste good. Thankfully, nowadays they are much improved!

My last dog used to go crazy whenever I ate a Boca Burger. To shut her up, I always ended up nuking one for her, too. Ditto for veggie frankfurters! She would have never believed that she wasn't eating meat!

A previous dog we'd raised from a puppy loved a product made of soy that looked like chunks of red meat. This was his favorite food! Dad used to laugh that he'd cut a piece of steak or a pork chop for him and the dog would stand there and sniff it for 10 minutes as if he was trying to poison him. And then do a dance of joy when I brought out the bag of soy cuts. He'd quickly gobble those down.

In my family, dogs & cats were never denied anything from our table. I've known people who do and it's cruel! Animals enjoy variety just as we do.

I was eager to try Burger King's Impossible Burger. It tasted just OK to me. I'd order it again if I happened to be at a Burger King, but I wouldn't drive out of my way for one, again.

Recently, I purchased Maika Beet Burgers. Now I hate beets, but we taste with our eyes and I loved the burgundy color. Besides, I thought it would contain other ingredients to mask that awful beet taste. I was wrong! However I hate to waste food so I just add lots of condiments & cheese to make it palatable.

A friend raved about Beyond Burgers! But they're a little too much like the real thing for my taste. For one thing, they're greasy! And another, one burger is 250 calories with 160 from fat! Eeeewww! I felt as if I was eating glorified junk food.

My favorite is Field Roast Burgers! They are delicious and made from barley, carrots, & celery. They're moist and tasty without being greasy. Also you get 4 rather than 2, plus they don't come packaged in that space-hogging, planet-killing plastic container that Beyond Burgers do.

I would still buy the Beyond Burger if I happened to come upon a great coupon. However I'd be sure to eat a healthy salad with it! And that unnecessary and needlessly wide plastic container will go straight into my recycling bin!