Emmy's Space

Going meat-free for January had a certain ring to it when myself and Marian discussed it back in November! The idea: to take a break from meat for a while and build up a bank of vegetarian recipes to which meat could be re-introduced in February more as a treat than as a staple. “But why?” many have shrieked since I’ve told them. In the rest of this post I’ll try to articulate my reasons. Warning: don’t read on if you’re already squeamish about meat.

When I was younger, I asked my mother whether the chickens on a farm were the same as the chickens we eat. She told me they weren’t!!!!! And, in the way kids trust what their parents say is right, I believed that too for quite a few years. She would rather not connect what’s on the plate to what we see in the field. We never ate lamb growing up and we couldn’t contemplate ordering duck or rabbit in her company in a restaurant. Venison would be classed as “Bambi”. Think Lisa Simpson when she turns vegetarian.  While I share my mother’s love for animals, I’m a bit more realistic about where my food comes from.

Like many others, I watched the “What’s Ireland Eating” documentary by Philip Boucher-Hayes last year when he investigated the eating habits of the Irish. It was all pretty scary but two things have stayed with me since. One was the processing of pork meat – adding nitrates to pork to ensure it’s pink. The same nitrates which add to the likelihood of developing bowel cancer in the future – that’s not how I wish to go. No siree. Adding water to meat to increase bulk so that it can be sold on cheaply. Now, if that’s not an example of false economy I don’t know what is. The second was how we can’t be sure where our meat is coming from. Unless you buy it from your trusted butcher or in a restaurant which cares about the provenance of its food, there is a strong possibility that the chicken has made its not so merry way on a plane from Thailand, Brazil or Mexico. Eeek! Since that day, I haven’t put any meat into my mouth unless I am sure it was sourced ethically.

I only cook meat which was bought from one of the three Dublin butchers I trust (I am sure there are many more than three trustworthy Dublin butchers, but I have familiarised myself with three – one near work, one near home and another in the city centre). I never buy meat in any shape or form from Tesco, Lidl, Aldi or Dunnes. Until recently, I felt I could trust Marks and Spencer’s meat but after an unfortunate incident with a chicken from there, I have now struck all supermarket meat off the shopping list.

The unfortunate incident involved a one of their Oakham chickens which granted, I got in the €12.50 meal deal, but had I bought it for the marked price it would have cost over €9. Not €2.99 as one of the other large supermarket chains sell whole chickens for. Anyway, I roasted the chicken and while it looked and smelled as divine as any other roast chicken, when I carved it, it appeared that the poor chicken’s back bone had been broken. It was a bloody (literally), marrowy, pulpy mess inside. I tried to salvage some of the meat towards the legs and the legs themselves as it was my dinner after all but the meat was so tough, it was almost inedible. It made me feel sad that something had clearly happened to this chicken prior to its death. I contacted M&S and they were great about it – refunded me twice and have sent the packaging to be traced back to the farm to see if they can find out what happened. And I realise that these things surely happen- chicken farms must be huge operations and things can go wrong from time to time but it has added fuel to my vegetarian fire.

Since educating myself more, I am 100% sure that meat as a treat has to be my motto from here on in. I can only enjoy meat that I trust has come from a reputable source.

Earlier this evening, I was reading one of the Penguin Great Food series on the train.  This one was Alice Waters’ “Recipes and Lessons from a Delicious Cooking Revolution”.  I love her philosophy towards food – she advocates eating seasonally & sustainably, recommending that we eat local & remember food is precious.