albumen
\ al-BYOO-muhn \ , noun;
1. the white of an egg.
2. Botany . the nutritive matter around the embryo in a seed.
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“You are
a horrible person, you know that, right.”
Jessica said coldly.
“How so?” Jeff asked, taking another bite of his
sandwich.
“That. What you’re doing now.”
“Uh,
eating? Last I checked that wasn’t a
problem.”
“It’s
what you’re eating. You are now
consuming the unborn child of an innocent chicken topped with the heavily processed
milk meant to give a young calf the chance to survive.”
“Oh,
that.” Jeff rolled his eyes as he
swallowed. He should’ve known. After all, he had the same conversation with
her any time he ate anything that came from an animal.
“Oh
that, oh that. Is that really all you
can say? How do you justify eating such
a cruel thing?”
“First
of all, it could’ve been worse. I was
going to put a sausage patty on it. The
only reason I didn’t was because you threw them out last week and won’t let me
get more.”
“And I
stand by that decision.” Jessica said. “But that doesn’t change the fact that you
are eating and egg and cheese sandwich now.”
“True. But to be fair, I’m only using the white part
of the egg.”
“Oh
yeah, like that’s any better.”
“Well,
since that’s the part that doesn’t turn into a chicken, I’d think so.”
“Is that
how you justify eating it? Really?”
“Nope. I justify eating it because I want to eat it. But anyway, this egg probably wouldn’t have
become a chicken no matter what I did with it.”
“And how
do you know?” Jessica asked
indignantly.
“Simple. Most commercial eggs are unfertilized. That means they won’t hatch no matter what
you do to them.”
“Uh
huh. And where’d you hear that?”
“Internet.”
“And
that makes it true, does it? The
internet is suddenly the most reliable source in the world, eh?”
“Oh
yeah, like you’re one to talk. You use
the internet all the time for your info.”
“Yeah,
but I use reliable sources.”
“What
makes them any more reliable than the ones I use?”
“I don’t
use Wikipedia for one thing.”
“Neither
do I. Or if I do, I try and verify it
with other places. So, I’ll ask again,
why are your sources more reliable than mine?”
“Because…because
they just are, that’s why.”
“Uh
huh. You keep thinking that. In the mean time, I’m gonna finish my sandwich.” Jeff said.
He opened his mouth wide to take an overly exaggerated bite of his meal. Jessica looked on in horror as his mouth
moved towards the sandwich.
“Wait!” She blurted out before his teeth met the English
muffin Jeff was using.
“What
now?” He asked, lowering the sandwich
again.
“J-just
because you’re using an egg that won’t hatch doesn’t mean anything. You can’t deny where the cheese came from, or
what it was supposed to be used for.”
“I guess
not.” Jeff said. He placed an elbow on the table and held his
head. She seemed desperate to keep him
from finishing his lunch.
“See? It’s still a cruel thing, depriving a baby
calf of its mother’s milk.”
“First
of all, this is American cheese. I’m not
really sure how much actual milk was used in the production of this stuff. Also, I’m pretty sure the mother cows have
enough milk to go around.”
“Well,
how do you know that? With the way major
manufactures treat livestock, it wouldn’t surprise me if a bunch of calves are
starved just so you can have that sandwich.”
“Don’t
know. But somehow I don’t think that’s
what happens. After all, it’s really in
the best interest of the companies to keep their animals alive so they don’t
run out or have to buy more or anything.
You know, purely from a business standpoint and all.”
“Ah
ha! You’re just guessing at that, aren’t
you?”
“Well,
yeah. But so are you.” Jeff said.
Jessica recoiled at the— quite accurate—accusation.
“T-that’s
not true!” She shouted quickly.
“Uh
huh. Sure. You keep telling yourself that.”
“L-look,
the point is, it doesn’t matter where they come from, what part you’re using,
or anything like that. Eating anything
that comes from an animal is just plain wrong, and I dare you to say otherwise.”
“Ok. I say otherwise.”
“Why? Why would you say something like that?”
“Because
it exists. Look, Jess, it’s really quite
simple. Everything that lives gets eaten
by something. Even we get eaten by worms
and bugs and stuff after we die. Animals
eat other animals all the time, even those that can survive without it. Bears and raccoons and stuff eat mean, even
though they’re omnivores as well. So,
why should we be barred from doing the natural thing and eating other animals
just because a few vegetarians say it’s wrong?”
“First
of all, I’m vegan, not vegetarian.
Second, animals eat other animals for survival—
“And we
don’t?”
“What?”
“What?”
“We need
to eat to survive just like anything else.
We just have different methods of getting our food. And you’re talking like we’re not animals,
which we are. Trust me Jess, just
because you don’t like it, doesn’t mean people will stop eating meat, eggs, and
cheese. And I’m going to prove it to you
by eating my lunch.” Jeff said. He raised the sandwich and took a large bite,
chewing it slowly and savoring the taste.
Jessica could do nothing but watch in horror as he swallowed.
“You’re
horrible!” She screamed.
She ran out of the dining room
without waiting for a response. Jeff
heard a door slamming behind her. He
just shrugged his shoulders and continued eating. He knew she wouldn’t stay mad at him for very
long, and she would come out soon enough.
After all, she had to eat sometime.
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First of all, I have no problems with either vegetarians and vegans. Most of them are perfectly reasonable people who have simply made the choice not to eat meat for various reasons. It's the ones who try and push their ideals onto others and act like their way is the only right way that I have problems with. Actually, that goes with just about anything, not just food preference. That kind of person is just a pain to deal with.
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