11 Jun Mostly-vegetarian

I am a ‘mostly-vegetarian’. I could say that with a reasonably clear conscience. It has been a very long time since I bought red meat. I also no longer buy sliced ​​meat for sandwiches; after all, there are plenty of alternatives. But I am not entirely vegetarian.

I do make an exception for our Marley Spoon meal kit, though—they really do use good-quality meat. I also make an exception for meat from Marqt or Ekoplaza; I sometimes buy one of those convenient ready-made meals there. The ones with meat are simply more appealing than the rather bland vegetarian options.
I wonder where their meat actually comes from. I picture pigs rolling around in the mud outdoors and rooting in the soil on a large plot of land with trees. But is that image accurate? Who exactly are Marqt’s suppliers?

What does it look like?
I put the question to AI. It tells me that the animals live longer than in conventional livestock farming, receive organic feed, and have free access to the outdoors.

How much space, then, I wonder, and what does this outdoor area look like?

Within a few seconds, AI proudly shows me photos of several farms. I see neat barns with straw bedding and—indeed—an outdoor area. Animal welfare is a top priority for these farmers, and the pigs live for 9 to 12 months instead of the usual 6, I learn. Their curly tails aren’t docked, and the piglets stay with their mothers longer. Yet these are, of course, businesses that need to turn a profit, and such a farm still houses hundreds of pigs.

Behind the door
I wonder if I can justify this to myself: a pig growing up in a modern meat factory, only to be slaughtered before it is even a year old to provide me with meat. Because, in my eyes, it remains a meat business—one that pays great attention to animal welfare, certainly, but an industry nonetheless.

That evening, I act on the implications of my research and stop buying meat.

I realize I had allowed myself the luxury of blinders—blinders I would put on the moment I closed the shopdoor behind me.

*This post has been automatically translated from Dutch