My Omnivore Dilemma

It’s kind of funny. Who would have thought writing a novel about vampires would get me thinking about what I eat? If you haven’t read it yet (in which case, why are you reading this and not asking to see the manuscript?), I try to take a different approach with blood feeding creatures. I put some thought into their nutrition. What’s that? Vampire nutrition? Okay, odd. Maybe. But it is actually kind of significant in the end.

Anyway, it got me thinking quite a bit about human nutrition… being that humans are the source for my vampires. (None of that feeding on animals malarkey. Sorry, Twilighters, that does not make you a vegetarian. Never mind vegan.) Thus, what people put into their bodies affects the health of their bloodstreams… and consequently the fuel for the undying creatures who feed upon them.

All this to say, it got me thinking about what’s in my blood and how that affects my health. Not that I didn’t know a lot of this stuff. I grew up with a nutritionist. But I also grew up with the Brennans, with whom every gathering is a schmorgasbord of meats and creamy casseroles and sugary desserts. The emotion of food has stuck with me much more than the knowledge.

But I found myself writing this novel, trying to lend some sense of realism to the idea of healthy humans making a healthy less monstrous vampire. I also started feeling like a hypocrite because… well, frankly, I’m not a very healthy human.

The novel got me running again. Not enough. Not up to my habit of three summers ago. Not with the discipline to run a race as I intended at the turn of the year. But I try not to let too many days pass without a few miles. Even in the midst of this grotesque humidity. It’s not the best I can do, but it’s a start.

In terms of diet though, I am starting to find myself shifting attitude. Coupled with a social conscience about the evils of food production, I am starting to re-evaluate what I consume at every meal. This summer I invested in a farm share, forcing me to add vegetables (some of which I might never buy in the store) to nearly every meal. If I don’t, they go bad and my investment goes in the trash. Not cool for my wallet. And definitely NOT cool for the environment.

Speaking of the environment, food production is a part of that. The way we farm meat producing animals. They way we produce feed for them that isn’t natural to their instincts. The way we dispose of their waste. It’s all waste, really. And all bad for the planet. Plus, it is inhumane. Even more inhumane than a vampire sucking the blood out of a person.

I’ve given serious thought to cutting meat out of my diet altogether. I don’t think it would be that challenging right now. I have an increasing number of friends who are vegan and fabulous cooks. They tempt me with the news of their meals and sometimes even let me sample a dish or five. In the attempt to make use of my farm share, I’ve created so many meals that don’t require meat. I could definitely live without it.

But meat isn’t all bad. I don’t think it is unnatural for humans to eat the flesh of another animal. It is the circle of life. ‘We fat all creatures else to fat us, and we fat ourselves for maggots.’ I think, however, the industry of fatting other creatures has turned into something horrific and against nature. Destructive. Monstrous. Rather like a coven of blood-sucking monsters. Yeah, no, that isn’t cool to me. Not even in fiction.

I’m still weighing my options. It took me over thirty years to open up my eyes to a different reality. I’m not going to jump head first into a hasty decision that will tire me before I’ve had time to let it grow on me. But, at the very least, I seek to be as conscientious about my health as I want my characters to be.