Thanks to Hazon’s friend, Lindsey Paige Savoie, for this guest post.

I eat meat. When I first said those three little words to Sabrina, her response was, ‘whoa.’ She didn’t gasp because I eat meat. She could hear the fear in my voice when I said it. Why should I be ashamed to eat meat?

I grew up in Omaha, Nebraska – land of cows. We ate meat daily. Friday night was especially noteworthy as we gathered at my grandparents for the rarest of all meats. I don’t mean hard to find. I mean purple, raw, rare. Now I know why my dad preferred the end cuts.

Summer camp and youth group conventions opened my eyes to new ideas including the notion of becoming a vegetarian. I went through a teenage phase (as my parents called it) of not eating meat or fish. After a few years, I slowly and at times secretly went back to eating meat.

Years later, I still struggle with how, when and where to eat meat. Due to my work in Jewish environmental education and my petsitting business, eating meat is a challenge both socially and mentally. How do I preach environmental values and eat a hamburger? How do I care for animals on a daily basis and then prepare a different type of animal for dinner?

So, where has my journey led me? As I learn more and more about the meat industry and food processing in general, I feel cheated of so much information as a child and still as an adult. Where does my food come from?

One of my best discoveries in recent years has been CSA (Community-Supported Agriculture) programs. Along with weekly deliveries of fresh vegetables and fruit, our family now gets eggs, chicken and even our traditional Thanksgiving Day turkey from our CSA farm, Good Fortune Farms. Everyone who tastes these eggs knows that they are so fresh and so healthy – the yolks are practically orange due to the healthy lives the chickens lead.

Along with our CSA program, we are lucky to live in an area where restaurants and grocery stores are carrying more local organic meats and other whole foods.

As I search for peace with my choice to eat meat, I have learned a few things. One: I still love a good steak. Two: I love meat even more if I know it came from a local farm where the animal had a healthy life. Three: I am confident that I can convince you to try meat again one day too.

Lindsey lives in Eastern Village Cohousing in Silver Spring, MD with her husband Brian, her 3 year old son, Caleb, and their pet chinchilla (rescue), Onion Head. She is a passionate omnivore, believes in balance, and would rather be biking, skiing, or hiking.