To Meat or Not to Meat

No way could I be vegetarian or vegan.  Well, okay, if I found myself on a deserted island with nothing but coconuts and berries I would have no choice. 

WILSON!  WILSON!

I could live off my own fat for a month, but sooner or later I’d be channeling Tom Hanks’ character in Castaway to spear a fish for protein.

I have what I call a meat dilemma.  And television doesn’t make it easier on me.

Take Jim Perdue.  He’s got Gladys, the candy and corndog-loving chicken, who sends him e-mails.  Damn, I have human friends who can’t grasp the technology behind an e-mail message.  Jim -- how COULD you kill Gladys, you mean bastard!

But along comes a chicken parmigiana hero …… mmmmm, Gladys?  Gladys who?

I couldn't get the commercial to download here, but you can click to see Gladys, before her passing.

http://www.viddler.com/explore/commercials/videos/44/ 

The Last Time I Saw Gladys

I haven’t had a hamburger since Lisa Ling visited a slaughterhouse for the Oprah show earlier this year.  I feel good about the decision to cut down on my beef consumption.  But I know that sooner or later I’ll be eating a juicy Filet Mignon – medium rare -- with a side of garlic mashed potatoes.

I like pork products.  Once again, television has made it difficult for me to eat bacon.  If the GEICO commercial where the pig goes “weeeeeeeee” all the way home wasn’t enough, the Sweet Millions lottery commercial with little piggies sleeping on tiny bunk beds kills me!

But it's crazy logic, because I realized that although I shy away from eating beef and pork, I eat a lot of chicken – sorry Gladys.  The math?  Well I probably consume two chickens a week, whereas how long would it take for a person to consume a whole cow or pig?  A month?  Two?  I have no idea.

But I do know that I have peculiar standards when it comes to animal use.

I’ll buy a coat with a rabbit collar, but I won’t buy a fur coat.

Years ago I worked with a woman who weighed close to 400 pounds who owned a mink coat.  I wondered how many poor little mink had to die to cover her big body. 

As she got fatter she had mink pelts sewed into the sides.  From behind she looked like a bear. 

I buy leather shoes because my feet sweat in anything else, but I won’t buy a leather pocketbook.

The one thing about Lisa Ling’s slaughterhouse visit that impressed me was that they use every part of the cow.  Nothing is wasted.  So if you’re going to kill a cow for a pocketbook, at least you get a nice steak out of it. 

So imagine my horror and indignation last night when HSN was selling Sharif Couture leather totes and satchels for $284.90.  Oh, it wasn’t your usual “use the whole cow, nothing is wasted” leather.  These bags are made from

ITALIAN STINGRAY LEATHER!

 

 http://shoes-handbags.hsn.com/sharif-couture-italian-stingray-embossed-leather-tote-and-keychain_p-6199715_xp.aspx


Yes, I said Stingray as in "I swam with the stingrays in the Cayman Islands."

Annie's Stingray Adventure 2009

Everyone loves stingrays.  Well, okay everyone except for Steve Irwin.  The stingray is a majestic creature -- and is not indiginous to Italy -- SHARIF -- who apparently thinks nothing of using not only cows and snakes, but ostrich and stingrays.

GOOGLE SEARCH!!

“Stingray leather has become a new fashion statement trend in the world leather market. It brings a touch of class … Stingray skin will endure a much longer life … you need not worry about moisture damage to this handsome marine leather … clean occasionally with a damp cotton cloth.”

So, yeah, I enjoy a steak now and then.  And yes, I like my tootsies dry in a pair of cow leather shoes.  And yes, my meat dilemma is a bit screwy.

But I think that if you can’t go into your local TGIF and order a Stingray sandwich with fries, you sure as hell shouldn't be able to buy a pocketbook made out of its skin for
TWO HUNDRED AND EIGHTY FOUR FRIGGIN DOLLARS! 

Just my humble opinion  :)