I can’t remember if we’ve touched on the vegetarian issue on this blog yet. If you don’t know, Mommy was practically vegan when I met her, having grown up next door to a slaughter house, she is sensitive to the suffering of animals. I would call myself an aware omnivore. It has proven to be a delicate subject, but I feel that we have reached a solid win-win solution that I dub the “fish compromise.”
I explain it all in detail as a comment to the SFgate.com “parenting” blog (aka The Poop, linked at right), in response to their post titled Pass the Tofurkey. Actually, I should just copy it here:
Fish was the answer in our family. I’m an omnivore and my wife was practically vegan before getting pregnant, but she recognized the need for “convenient” protein (I know, it was “convenient” to the fish as well) and cod liver oil (I’m sure the cod liked it better). Since it was the last animal meat she had given up, it was the easiest for her to “accept.”
In order to maintain harmony in our household, we don’t keep or cook non-fish meat. And out of respect, I don’t order it when eating out. My wife is from a fishitarian family, and my parents, after some initial suspicion, have become accepting–though eating fish really helps them cook for us. So that’s how we reached the fish compromise. We all eat fish and I won’t introduce other meats to the baby until she’s old enough for Mommy to explain where it comes from (and for me to afford free-range meats).
Most fats in two-or-four legged meat are not the healthiest (please note I did not say unhealthy) even for babies, though the proteins are definitely needed. Fish has both the protein and the healthier fats, so with respect to Mommy’s feelings, that’s the only meat we give our baby. For the fat, we also feed her tons of avocado, it was practically her first solid, and she continues to love it. Now we’re adding all the milk-fat products and ground flax, which I think are also healthier than animal fats.
But even with fish, the baby is smart enough (thanks to the avocados :-) to realize that we’ve been calling the colorful swimming animals by the same name as one of the dishes we eat. Her word for fish (the alive ones) is the silent opening and closing of the mouth, and I saw her mime that with a puzzled look when we said “fish” at the table (since we name all the foods we feed to her). I think the best we can do is teach healthy eating habits now and let her act according to her conscience as it develops.
We had a Thanksgiving Tofurkey just the three of us, since we didn’t visit family this year. It’s fine as long as you’re not craving real turkey (and I improved their basting recipe with a cup of red wine), though I did prefer the other brand of vegetarian turkey we had last year (can’t remember the name of it now). But my parents in Texas will make us a Christmas salmon this year–planning the food ahead of time reassures my wife.