Ethics in Eating

A day of eating

This assignment to capture photos of my food throughout the day proved more difficult that I originally anticipated. Remembering to take photos and gather quotes about my 3 meals was borderline impossible. After two frustrating and slightly embarrassed nights on Friday and Saturday, I implored my friend An to remind me Sunday to take photos, as he too chose Sunday as his day to complete this assignment. When I arose in the morning at 11:00am on Sunday, December 11th, I again forgot about my required task that day. When I got to brunch I organized my plate and acquired my beverages. I was sitting down and had already enjoyed some of my breakfast when An, out of nowhere asked if I had taken my photo yet. Now for my plate's explanation: I got some eggs as they are a good source of protein. However, I reduced my normally large helping of eggs to try the egg casserole that hosted sausages, peppers, and onions. Some of that sweet breakfast was added, as well as was the potato patty. This plate was not complete without a serving of ketchup on my eggs. A simple water accompanied this meal as water is my drink of choice at the dining hall.

Photo by Conrad Laesch. Taken at 11:43am

Since this assignment was not in my head at the time, taste dominated my feelings towards each option, except the protein and health aspect of the plain eggs. This plate was relatively clean at the end when I handed it to the dishwasher, though the egg casserole that I deemed too sponge-like remained. This brunch was not over as I had not yet satisfied my sweet tooth. I returned to the food station to obtain the apricot pastry and a slice of the coffee cake. On top of this food I got a coffee for the caffeine benefits and to function as a cake dipping vessel. By this time, I was fully conscious of the assignment and deliberated over my food choices. This is a rare occurrence, so these thoughts did not affect my decision making, only my guilt for my consumption. The guilt I was feeling only increased when I discarded my first coffee because it was much too watery. I thought about many potential ethical factors of the coffee, the agriculture affect of the environment, and the transportation pollution.

Photos by Conrad Laesch. Taken at 11:51am

My next food adventure was to Pizza Chef with my good friend Charlie Seavey. We called ahead, both ordering buffalo chicken wings and a chocolate milk. Charlie also got a small chicken, bacon, and ranch pizza. By the time we arrived, at around 3:30, the food was already ready. We wasted no time diving into our food and finished it with extreme speed. Unsurprisingly we both forgot to take photos of our food, so we captured a gem on the way back of Charlie holding his leftover pizza. Once we recalled our assignment, a quote from Charlie was recorded by me. Faced with his potential harm done by the food he consumed, Charlie had this to say about his feelings, "I feel bad for eating both a whole chicken and a bit of a pig, but f--k was that good."

Photo by Conrad Laesch. Taken at 4:07pm

After working off my Pizza Chef playing NHL with the boys, I made my way to the dining hall for the last meal of the day: dinner. Not wanted to explode, I only grabbed some pub steak and a baked potato. The potato was chewy and bland, but the steak was tender and full of flavor. My tradition of two waters at meal continued. This concluded my food for the entirety of December 11th.

Photo by Conrad Laesch

Taken: 5:28pm

This blog post has helped me realize many things about myself. I learned that taste is my biggest concern when it comes to the food I eat. Another thing I gained from this experience is that I have a lot of trouble remembering to complete a certain task. However, I don't know what this stems from, it could be my ADHD or just poor mental discipline. At least I finished this assignment in the end, as that matters most.

Sitting with my guilt of consuming animal products, I'm still stubborn to believe I am anthropocentric. Anthropocentrism is a term we have been working with in class and it means to have a human centered perspective in regards to the relationships between animals and humans. I do not give intrinsic value to animals who are subsequently consumed as food, which invalidates my stubbornness. Though I feel very strongly about my forward thinking when it comes to the environment, I do not believe that I have the guts or patience to attempt to consume a plant based diet. I can, again, potentially attribute this inability to make the leap to a different diet to my weak mental discipline. If I can't remember to take photos for a project, I don't think I'm ready to consider complex ethical factors and then alter my food choices accordingly.

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