I popped into a local farm shop this morning on our way back home and as I got back to the car my son asked 'why were cows being put in the truck over there?'.
Me and my husband don't hold back when it comes to telling our children what we are eating, pork is pig, beef is cow etc.
So I told him, that it was cows being put into the truck to be taken for people to eat. But is that too honest?
Am I scarring him by being so blunt or is honesty the best policy? I want my children to know where food comes from, that it isn't just something you buy from a supermarket but that it was once a living creature.
I think there are many adults who don't really think about where meat comes from and the process it has to go to from field to plate.
I am under no illusion, if someone told me tomorrow I couldn't eat meat it wouldn't bother me, but I do enjoy it and I want to give my children enough information that if they decide it isn't something they want to eat then they can say so!
I think we have to be honest with our children, well done you! I am vegetarian and we are raising our children that way, so we explain exactly what it is that Daddy or Nanny is eating, or what they see in the supermarket once was. When they are older they will ahve the choice to eat meat, but being fully cogniscent of what it is and where it comes from. I don't think there are many meat-eating parents who are prepared to do that, so well done you!
ReplyDeleteI think it is a British thing, in France everything is on show, from feet to tongues and brains as well as live lobsters, crabs and snails on the markets. Completely different to over here and I believe they have generally less fussy eaters. I think it is great as a vegetarian you tell your children about meat and where it comes from, well done to you too. :)
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