Tales from Rural Maine: Corned Beef

Today, my grandmother invited me to an Easter/Irish celebration happening next Saturday in Orrington, which features as a highlight, corned beef. She mentioned the corned beef roughly seven times in our conversation. Every time, she said it like it was exciting, like they were offering hot air balloon rides or fresh apple cider. And each time, I cringed. But we were on the phone, so she couldn't see that.

I've been a vegetarian, pescetarian, or vegan for 21 years. I haven't eaten beef, corned or otherwise, since before I could vote. Suggesting to a compassionate vegetarian that she really ought to attend an event highlighting corned beef is not a particularly thoughtful invitation. To be honest, I felt confused, unhappy and uncomfortable. But, I didn't want to be rude. I also didn't understand why she would be advertising corned beef to me. So, finding nothing more clever or graceful to do, I just didn't acknowledge the corned beef. Which is why she kept mentioning it. Finally, my lack of response encouraged her to take a different tack.

"Oh!" She said. "I know! The corned beef is from Wee Bit Farm. I bet you know them!"

I took a deep breath, as yogis are likely to do in these types of situations.

"Yes," I said, slowly. "I know those cows. They are lovely and have beautiful long hair. To be honest, I prefer them when they are alive."

"Oh," said my grandmother. Now it was her turn to be silent while she figured out what to say. I gave her a moment and we paused. And then she said, "It hadn't occurred to me that corned beef was made from cows."

And this, my friends, is the problem with meat-centric culture. I love my grandmother. My grandmother loves me. She was attempting to be kind by including me on an Easter/Irish adventure. I share this dialog not to point out something about my nearly 82-year old grandmother, but because it's just such a clear illustration of how most American meat eaters completely disconnect from what they are actually eating. It's corned dead cows. I don't know what "corned" is, but I know--I really, really know--what "beef" is. And so should you.

Cows are really sweet, gentle beings with simple needs and big, beautiful eyes. They feel fear and hunger and pain. They enjoy comfort and companionship. They experience suffering when their physical bodies are harmed or when their emotional bodies are tormented. If you want to eat them, go ahead. I’m pro-choice. Eat what you want. But do yourself the kindness of making a mindful choice. (And if you’d like to try some vegan food, there’s a vegan meet-up at McLeod’s in Bucksport on Saturday night (3/23)—same day as the corned beef event in Orrington.)

I will also say that the cows in the corned beef in question were not factory farmed. The folks at Wee Bit Farm and I feel differently about how cows stack up in our world view, but they are not out in Orland cramming thousands of cows into hideous spaces. I'm not here to criticize the folks at Wee Bit. If you're going to eat corned beef, better that you get it from cows that have lived a good life nearby before they were ground up to make your dinner.

My point is really this: My choice is not to kill cows (or any other mammal) for food; your choice is your own. Whatever choice you make, I just really think we would treat our "food"--and ultimately ourselves--better if we first treated the animals we kill for food like the living, loving, sentient beings that they are. And one of the ways we can do that is by acknowledging what our food really is and where it really comes from.

This is Christopher, who will never be eaten because he is lucky enough to live at the Maine Farm Animal Advocates  sanctuary in Orland, Maine. Christopher is very peaceful and when young guests come to the sanctuary, he is the easiest friend to pet. His curls feel really wonderful and his size is hard to comprehend, even for grown-ups.