There’s Really No Such Thing As Eating Guilt-Free…

…except if you choose to Eat With Joy.

Your diet will always disappoint someone.

The Paleo people say “don’t eat grains or legumes; meat made you who you are.”

The vegans say “grains and legumes are way better than meat.”

The low-carb people say “eat more meat.”

The low-fat people say “eat more carbs.

The biodynamic farm enthusiasts say “eat better meat.”

The locavores say “eat what grows nearby.”

The general health enthusiasts say “eat what’s good for you.”

The eco-eaters say “eat what’s good for the earth.”

The justice people say, “eat that which hasn’t come to you from hands that have labored under unfair conditions.”

Yesterday I heard a prominent vegan who owns a farm animal sanctuary in Woodstock, NY, on the radio. She invited people to stay visit her farm and enjoy vegan food “and it’s all guilt-free, because nothing comes from animals!”

And I thought: “there is no such thing as guilt-free eating.”

Something must always die for us to live and someone must labor for us to eat.

The soymilk must be produced and shipped using fossil fuels.

The hands who picked your organic tomatoes may wear shackles, figurative or otherwise.

The local farmer may have to spray her trees with pesticides to make a go of it.

The animal who was raised and slaughtered with compassion and gratitude must, to be eaten, die.

The grains and legumes and other edibles take water and fertilizer and fuel and sweat to grow.

And so on.

And yet…I still think we can Eat With Joy.

do you?