Soccah and Lobstah (and crabs)

E-MAIL | LINK | ADD A COMMENT (1) Posted by Erica Noonan, Globe West October 3, 2009 11:40 AM

Thanks to everyone for all the excellent comments on Hockey Mom 1, Soccer Mom 0. I'm still working out how to handle Dennis's soccer-phobia.

But I am pretty sure we'll create a family policy like so many of you have at home -- if you start something, you need to finish it.

We were saved from another tearful Kinder Kicks melodrama this morning by the fact that it was raining cats and dogs.

So instead we went to the local farmers' market and did a little kitchen table tidepooling.

Seafood has just this summer become available at many of the suburban weekend markets, and nothing makes me happier than fresh lobster and steamed clams. (And not just because I think it's hilarious to yell across a huge crowd of people: "Hey Dave, Did you get crabs? Do you have CRABS!!??" and watch my husband cringe.)

So Dennis and Lila visited with our ocean-dwelling guests for a few minutes while we were putting away the groceries.

"You know we are going to cook them and eat them?" I asked Dennis. "Is that a nice thing to do?"

He looked puzzled.

I refined my compassionate carnivore line of inquiry a bit.

"Dennis, do you think it's OK to eat animals?"

"Yes," he said. "They taste really good."

I can't argue with this.

But I have to wonder, can you encourage a respect for animals in your kids even if you eat them for dinner most nights? If so, how?

Leave a comment or email me enoonan@globe.com

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1 comments so far...

OMG, what a great picture!

As we debate the wintertime fate of our 19 cent rain barrel fish Coral, yes we teach respect for animals. You shouldn't hurt them just to do it and try to keep their pain and suffering to a minimum if you need to hurt them (for example, put a shock collar on them to keep the dog in the yard instead of letting her get hit by a car).

But we also enjoy animals for meals and talk about how sausage is pig and our burgers are cow. I think you can teach respect while eating animals by using as much as you can (we boil down our chickens and turkeys when we're done for broth and to get all the meat). I even know people who boil the bones until they're soft and suck out the marrow. We're not quite there yet.

Posted by FourDaughters October 4, 09 04:05 PM

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about the author

Erica Noonan is chief of the Globe West bureau. Before joining the Globe in 2000, she worked for the Associated Press in Boston. Raised in Wellesley, she has a master's degree in political communication from Emerson College and a BA in political science from Trinity University in San Antonio. She lives in Natick with two energetic preschoolers: Dennis, 4, and Lila, 2.