I recently wrapped up listening to Skinny Bitch.  Technically, it was the “deluxe” edition that included Skinny Bitch in the Kitch, complete with recipes.  Well, annoyingly enough, the Digital eLibrary Consortium version of the audiobook did not actually have any way to get to the recipes.  There should have been a DRM PDF that went with the audiobook, but, oh well.

But I digress. 

Skinny Bitch is a sassy, no-holds-barred exposé on every reason imaginable as to why you shouldn’t consume animal products.   Even if you don’t agree with their argument, you’ll probably keep listening (reading) just to hear what they say next: these ladies have foul mouths the likes of which you rarely encounter in books!

I found the book particularly compelling because I’ve been down this road before.   I was vegetarian for a while in high school and college, primarily for health reasons but also because of how animals were treated in factory farms.  As I grew older, vegetarianism became more a force of habit than anything I truly believed in.  Then I realized that just because my diet was “vegetarian” didn’t make it healthy. So at that point, I went back to the omnivorous ways of my youth.

Yet some things you never really forget.

I have been mostly vegetarian for about a week now.   It was like flipping a switch.  One minute I ate meat, the next I didn’t.  I nibbled a piece of chicken at a Memorial Day cookout, but even that grossed me out.  That’s the biggest difference so far between vegetarian-as-a-teen and vegetarian-as-a-grown-up – as a kid it was very abstract, so while I “knew” why I didn’t want to eat meat, I didn’t feel it.  Now I feel it. 

I am also eating vegan more meals than not.   Another difference between now and then, when I didn’t object so strongly to dairy. 

I’m taking a more moderate approach with husband and kids.  While he listened to the companion book, Skinny Bastard, he doesn’t want to give up meat & dairy – although he acknowledges the health benefits of cutting back.  We are currently researching local sources of pesticide-, growth-hormone- and antibiotic-free critters. As for the kids, I don’t plan on forcing them to follow this lifestyle.  Although who knows, maybe Rory and Kim will come out with Skinny Brat next.