Old MacDonald had a steak.

Do your kids think that fish comes from I&J? Milk comes from Clover, meat comes from Pick n Pay? Think about it for a minute. Also think about the level of advertising that they are subjected to. Have you explained food origin to your kids – that carrots come from underground, mash comes from potatoes, fruit from trees? Do they understand that the food is purchased by your local supermarket and resold to you? Have you told them that the yummy bacon strips on their breakfast plate comes from a pig? The one that goes “oink oink” and that went to the market via his big toe? 

The more aware that Noah becomes of this information, the more the relationship with his lunch is changing. Now, we’re not big meat-eaters at home. It’s not really an ethical decision, but a preference in taste and digestive health. Personally I prefer raw salmon to a steak, hake over lamb chops and chicken over boerewors. I’m not a fan of plain, red meat although I am a huge fan of my homemade pepper steak pie with a bit of porterhouse. 

I would say that we eat meat about twice a week. The boys don’t eat meat during the day at all unless there are leftovers from dinner. Again, not really an active choice – it’s just our food preferences at home. Sundays are special and that’s when I love making roasts and pies and dishes that take longer than 15 minutes to prepare. 

The thing is, Noah has never liked meat. Even as a baby. I remember at Easter, he wouldn’t eat his marshmallow bunnies as they “have eyes mommy”. This week we stepped out to get take away sushi and the boys crowded around the fish tank they have in there. Later, Noah sat at the conveyor belt and watched all the pretty dishes go past. “What’s that?” he asked pointing at Salmon Roses. “Sushi, it’s fish” He looked back at the fish tank “Like those fish?” “Well, yes not that exact one, but yes – they’re all fishies and we eat them” “Oh. No thank you” So I got them Avo Maki and Veg Spring Rolls with dippy sauces. The thing is, he had happily eaten Salmon before. 

So what do I do? He won’t eat anything with eyes. He won’t eat animals, basically. He has told me this in so many ways since he was a baby. 

Do I keep letting him eat spaghetti bolognaise or do I tell him that the mince comes from an animal? Do I tell him that his bolognaise sauce basically had eyes? I need to. I have to have ‘the talk’ with him. And let it be his decision. If he doesn’t want to eat ham and viennas anymore, then that’s fine with me. If I need to make separate dishes for him then that’s fine too. He needs to know what he is eating and where it comes from and how it got there. 

My brother is a vegetarian, and my friend Jacky at work. And other friends Kate and Bibi. Everyone has been really supportive of this decision that we’re making for Noah. I admit, I am still horribly naive about the whole thing, but I am eager to learn and to be part of this little food adventure with him. I’m not going to make a big deal about it. If he says “I don’t want to eat any animals ever” then I will show him exactly which dishes contain animals – burgers, some pizzas, hot dogs etc. 

So this is it, I’m going to have ‘The Talk’ with Noah on Friday night. I’m going to go buy ham and viennas and show him the mince in the fridge and I am going to use his plastic farm animal set to demonstrate it all. I’ll  take pictures and show you how I went about it, and I’ll let you know what he said. 

Jacky sent me a lot of great links to articles (thank you for being SO HELPFUL friend), and this one in particular had a huge impact on me: Benefits of a Vegetarian Diet in Kids. I cannot believe how positively this decision would affect him, but again – it really is his to make and it is something that will affect him and his health for the rest of his life. Our bodies don’t need meat – at all. It’s become a convenient source of protein as there is so much money to be made from it, but Noah does not NEED meat to be healthy and happy. 

Here goes. Also, the build-up: