Meat Bias: Is it genetic? A case study.

For the record, I’m not a fan of meat and haven’t really been for as long as I can remember. I’m not a card-carrying member of PETA. I simply don’t like meat. I can tell you what I don’t like about meat, but then you’d stop eating it too. Since Oprah’s meat remarks had a drastic effect on meat consumption a few yrs back, I’ll restrain, lest I cause more of an economic crisis. Raw cookie dough-bring it on!

So, Jackie has never really liked meat. Even as an infant, she wouldn’t eat pureed chicken in applesauce. Or turkey with rice... Once I even tried to give her a jelly and ham sandwich. Yeah, I really did. Seven years later, she still doesn’t eat meat. According to J, processed meat, as in turkey hot dogs, is not considered meat. It’s just hot dogs. Once she learned that ham comes from pigs, she stopped eating ham. “I don’t eat PIG, Mom. Ugh.” Or turkey. Or beef.

Recently, I managed to sneak some chicken fingers on her plate while she was watching a movie.

J: “Mom, are these really fingers from a chicken?”

Me: (Trying very hard not to laugh, but realizing the implications of my response) “Umm, no. They’re actually chicken breasts.”

J: “What?! Why would I eat chicken breasts?”

Me: “I don’t know, JBird. Why would you eat chicken fingers?”

J: (closely inspecting her chicken fingers) “Is this meat?”

Me: “What?! Nooooo! It’s chicken fingers! Like hot dogs!”

J: “Oh. Ok.”


So the other day, I was making a soup with...(gasp)...beef tips in it. I was cubing it when J walked in the kitchen.

J: “What’s THAT mom?”

Me: “What do you think it is?” (Best parenting line EVER!)

J: “Pig?”

Me: “No.”

J: “Turkey?”

Me: “No.”

J: “Deer?”

Me: “What?! No.”

J: “Chicken?”

Me: “It’s beef, Jackie. It comes from a cow.”

J: “Oh my God. I’m not eating COW! That's disgusting.”


And there you have it. Another generation of meat-haters born!

BTW, DON’T even think about telling JBird bacon comes from pig!