Article by Fr. Peter Mihalic [to be published in his Diocesan Newspaper, "The Universe Bulletin"]

Fran Lebowitz once quipped, "Food is an important part of a balanced diet." What we eat is also is part of a balanced life. We eat to live and live to eat. And what we consume says a lot about who we are. We are far more health conscious today than ever before. Ecological concerns have questioned the mass production of some foods and products through factory farming. Not only animal activists, but even church leaders including Pope Benedict XVI and popes before him have had their say about our need to consume with a conscience. Therefore many today for different reasons have embraced a change in their eating habits.

Change is very difficult when it touches aspects of our lives that are so common and ingrained. Today losing weight is not the only reason for avoiding some foods and consuming others. I myself am a vegetarian (no meat, little dairy), leaning at present toward becoming vegan (no meat or dairy of any kind) for many reasons. From my experience people have a difficult time understanding this, though they eventually seem to accept it and respect it. Some, however, do feel threatened by the change. They seem to concur with Sir Robert Hutchison who said, "Vegetarianism is harmless enough, though it is apt to fill a man with wind and self-righteousness." I certainly do not intend to be self-righteous and will always be accused of having a little too much wind. But at the same time I feel obligated to see a picture of this world wider than what is on my plate. Respecting the issues at hand, I feel the personal need to adjust my intake of food, not to mention the purchasing of certain products. The question then becomes what should I consume. Luckily, we live in a society that provides a wonderful array of choices, some of which are far healthier and more in tune with issues of ecology and justice than others.