“Vegetarian” Vampires

The Controversial Twilight Quote

In the 1st Twilight movie, hunkofburninglove & vampire, Edward Cullen (Robert Pattison), attempts to redefine the term “vegetarian” to his mortal love interest, Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart):

“We call ourselves vegetarians because we don’t drink human blood. But it’s kind of like a person surviving only on tofu: you’re never really satisfied.”

Well I object.

1) How would Edward Cullen know what it’s like to be an actual vegetarian when he’s been a rabid bloodsucker his entire life?

2) As a person who does not eat meat, I can honestly say that eating a plant-based diet is not only satisfying, but feels ethically good. When your heart hurts because you are indirectly ordering a schlew of animals to die for you, things don’t taste as good. Vegetarianism, and espcially veganism, is a lighter form of living. You still experience the same tastes as meateaters (who probably wouldn’t love “their” meat so much if it wasn’t seasoned with herbs and spices – plants, I might point out), AND culinary advancement in the vegan realm has made it now possible to enjoy even the textures of meat products in vegan substitutes. When you stop eating meat for long enough, you cease to consider it as food. It instead becomes the flesh of a confined, sloppily slaughtered sentient beings. Yumck and : ( : ( : (

Further Insight: Vegetarians don’t secretly crave meat all the time (maybe ocassionally in the beginning, out of habit). But being vegetarian is about having the cajones to decide for yourself what is healthy and changing unconscious  patterns. Having control over what you put into your body. Questioning the foods you were rasied on: What tastes good to you? Why? Would it still taste good if you knew where it came from? WHO it came from?

3) It needs to be said, the term vegetarianism relates to vegetation. This doesn’t include animals, babe.

4) In the name of tofu, when people say they don’t like tofu, I usually reply that they don’t know tofu. Tofu is the liquid metal of all foods – it can shape shift into just about any meal, as soy can take on many forms, tastes, and textures. So if you’ve had a bad experience, try something new. Tofu is great in desserts (mousse?), smoothies, stir fry, skewers, salads, omelettes… need I go on?

5) The comparison of vampires being naturally inclined to suck human blood to humans being naturally inclined to eat animals does not draw a parallel for me. Most people in modern day society could not take down a cow.

- we don’t have claws

- or fangs

-  we don’t have short intestinal tracts to quickly pass meat

- we don’t have the stomach acid to quickly digest meat

- and lastly, look around – we do not live in the wild anymore

Real Vegetarian Vampire: No Blood – Only Your Soul