Being vegetarian; sort of.

I've been some sort of vegetarian for about a decade now. I did an eight month stint as a vegan several years ago, had a quick adventure as a fruitarian which lasted no more than a week, and now generally categorize myself as a pesco-vegetarian.

Over the years there have been a variety of reasons for taking on a non-standard American diet, but none have been as motivating as the generally pathetic state of beef and poultry farming. The quality of meat in the U.S. is so disgustingly poor that I can't even think about eating a steak, or having chicken. In truly Capitalistic form, we've made the production of beef and poultry so efficient, and cheap, that the quality of the product has been decimated. I would gladly sit down to a cheese-burger if I had confidence in it having been a grass-fed, hormone free, free range cow to begin with. Sadly, I can't count on any of those three things being true.

After an fortuitous visit to Diestel Turkey Ranch in Sonora, CA, I started eating Diestel Turkey several years ago. I witnessed quality Turkey farming there, and can only hope that other livestock farmers follow suit.