My views were not affected by morals. I do not categorically avoid foods because I am vegetarian, pescatarian, vegan, fruitarian, or any other type of eater restricted by ethical or religious qualms about eating certain things.
(Uh oh, cue minor rant about privilege....) Yes, when possible, I try to get meat and produce from companies that I know treat their animals well or better yet from farmers' markets. I prefer Heartland meat over anything I can get in Jewel. But I can afford to prefer that. Other people cannot afford to buy grass-fed beef over industrial beef. I respect that and do not judge what people eat based on how it came to be on their plate. I judge it based on if it's gross. (End rant. Thanks for sticking it out!)
But my views on what makes a food gross are also not tied up with cultural norms. I understand why people eat grasshoppers, squid, livers, testicles, you name it. While I would not seek out a testicle as part of my meal, I might feel differently if I hadn't grown up in a very specific part of the world. I also find culturally "normal" foods for my region to be disgusting. Pickles, for example. In the Midwest especially, people eat pickles off of sticks like popsicles. They are disgusting.
Pictured above: Nightmare fuel. Photo from http://jschumacher.typepad.com/joe/
But a lot has changed in a year. I have had many adventures, with varying degrees of success. There are foods that were securely on my "Do Not Eat" list that are now very securely on my "Do Eat" list. And I have come to terms with the fact that I may occasionally have to eat birds.
These are the foods that have made the jump to the other side:
- Bell peppers
- Beans
- Cooked tomatoes
- Cooked onions
- Squash
- Small amounts of pepper
- Larger amounts of mustard
- Ketchup
- Hollandaise sauce
- Worcestershire sauce
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