Dear Mister Interwebs,

I realised today that I began this blog just under 4 years ago at the youthful age of 20 years (at 23 now, I know I'm still young but 20 just sounds ridiculous!). A lot happens in 4 years and, without wanting to get philosophical, a lot changes. One significant change that I have noticed since 1st posting things on this blog is that, all of a sudden, I'm feeling very self-conscious. Gone are the days where I could send this link to all my Gmail contacts, without caring who reads it or what they think. Now, all I can think about is my grammar, spelling and whether or not those reading this think my thoughts are interesting or boring. I don't even have the courage to read my old posts. It is exactly why I've never been able to keep a diary - the idea of writing down all my thoughts and having them there to re-read later on is simply cringeworthy (apologies to those who do have diaries and have the formidable self-discipline to keep them up to date). Despite this, I have found this blog to be a marvelous thing for 2 main reasons. Firstly, it's a wonderful record of the many places I've been lucky enough to visit, people I've met there and things that I've done. In addition, it does avoid group e-mails! As such, I would like to attempt to continue these posts, at least over the next 6 weeks. Why? Because in the wee small hours of Saturday morning I'm hopping on a plane for another adventure (Life is full of them. Hurrah!), starting and finishing in London with a series of stops in between. There'll be new places, old faces (and old places with new faces...) and plenty for me to babble about. I do hope to write regularly but am not keeping any promises :P So, here we go!

(the original) ARod ;)

Carnivorous tendencies

After many months (possibly years) of "considering" vegetarianism, and at times ... (for all you meat eaters out there, take a seat) ... even veganism, I believe I should explain my views on the issues of eating animals.

I am not vegetarian, though I find the word a vague one as there are quite a few variations on the theme . I am, in Sian Harrick's favourite words, "actively reducing my meat consumption". I don't think it is wrong to eat meat. I love duck fish and many other species of the animal kingdom. What shocks me is the over consumption of meat and the lack of consideration as to where this meat actually comes from.

There are many good reasons to convert to an animal friendly diet. I will briefly explain the ones that I believe in most.

Agriculture and climate change

In 2007, agriculture was the second highest contributor towards Australia's greenhouse gas emissions (16.3%). This included land clearing and crop growing amongst other things, however, the majority of carbon-dioxide emissions in the agriculture sector (65%) was due to "enteric fermentation" (and, speaking from an engineering perspective, I'm not convinced we are capable of improving the efficiency of our cattle's bowel movements).
In addition, cattle and sheep are not adapted to our (more recently) lush, green pastures. Framing kangaroo seems much more reasonable, not to mention the health benefits as a lean, red meat (there is an element of hypocrisy in that statement as I am not yet 100% comfortable with the idea of eating part of our national emblem, but am working on it).

Animal rights

I am perplexed by the ability of people to detach the food they eat with how it got on their plate. Why squirm at the idea of hunting and killing an animal, yet eat them every day? Or enjoy a roast chicken but refuse to eat a fuzzy wuzzy wabbit? I have never been to an abattoir myself, nor do I wish to. There are of course many regulations in place, but still, culling "en masse" makes me feel a little queezy. The waste that is generated also seems unnecessary. There is so much of the animal that we choose not to eat as it is deemed unsavoury. An interesting example is liver - a delicacy in France yet generally rejected in Australia.

And finally,

Diet

I think it's high time we get over the idea that a meal is not a meal without meat and that "you can't make friends with salad"! Of course meat is a wonderful source of iron, protein, omega 3s (in fish), but these nutrients can be found in non-animal based food too. Look outside the square, live a little - being vegeterian is NOT all about tofu!

In a nutshell, I don't believe eating meat is bad. I just think that it is possible to live without it and we can definitely eat less of it!

Cheers, Ola xoxo