PRETENDING TO BE ASLEEP

"While it is always possible to wake a person who's sleeping, no amount of noise will wake a person who is pretending to be asleep."

-Jonathan Safran Foer (Eating Animals)

Eating Animals is a non-fiction novel written by (of course) Foer, a vegetarian. He discusses several topics from the horrific realities of factory farming to the cruel deceptions and ugly truths beneath the quack assurances of meat industries and phony promises of fast-food chains.

I have nothing but respect and admiration for Foer's dedication to vegetarianism. I understand that he isn't strictly vegan (a vegetarian doesn't eat meat, poultry, or fish but may eat dairy products, while vegans incorporate the avoidance of animal products entirely in their diet and lifestyle). Vegetarianism was a choice he made for himself, and while most people would find it impossible/deplorable/incomprehensible (the list of excuses could go on), I give him so much credit for keeping it real and for doing what he believed in.

My favorite was when he accounted in the book the time when along with an activist, he adventurously trespassed into an unnamed poultry farm at the wee hours of midnight, just to see with his own eyes what really happens inside. I love how mad he is! Going undercover is just so thrilling.

I am no stranger to vegetarianism myself. I have tried several it times in the past, sometimes as a diet fad or sometimes as a belief, but circumstances always suggest that I pursue it a later time when I could afford to buy my own food and have the freedom to eat whatever and whenever I want. Friends and family would always ask why (much to their amusement or plain curiosity), and I always find it hard to explain to them, that I would need a whole session for predicted arguments (whatiswrongwithyouwhatisallthisnomeatdrama). Better yet, it is easier not to explain at all (and leave some thinking that I am obnoxious for not eating meat). My reason may not be as deep or as fulfilling as any vegan activist's, but I always find it a breather to try unconventional things and defy the reason why people eat meat (for pleasure, not for need).

I am uncertain if I will try it out again anytime soon, though. I am still focusing on more important things, and Cebu is not really an ideal place to go vegetarian and not go crazy. Hello, for the love of lechon, barbecue, siomai and sutukil! You cannot not miss these things when they are almost always in front of you. Hay, excuses!

Anyway, I don't know why I'm ranting about vegetarianism. I should be talking about other things (aka the meaning of the above-mentioned quote), but at least you get to know one of the notches that ties up the belt to my otherwise crazy side. Teehee :)