Thought I’d continue the meat theme (see my griping above) by letting you know about Vegetarian Summerfest. From July 5th to 9th at the University of Pittsburgh in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, non-face-eaters will gather on the campus–a 650-acre mountaintop wildlife preserve with 40 acres of hiking trails–to listen to speakers, make food, eat food and play.

Maybe I’m mentioning all this meat/veggie stuff to alleviate my own conscience–though I’ve been pescatarian for years (meaning I eat fish), I’ve recently begun sampling red meat on the recommendation of a nutritionist and an acupuncturist. I need to build my chi, says the latter. The former says that because I’ve just recovered from a blood-based cancer (lymphoma), I should be eating more blood-strengthening foods.

I generally find the whole thing pretty icky, but last week I went to the farmer’s market, got beef from the happiest most clean-living, hormone- and antibiotic-free cow ever, made tiny patties and froze them. I’ve been meting them out since, having falafel-sized hamburgers on bread with Annie’s ketchup and greens. I feel a bit heavy after, not stronger, but we’ll see. I still can’t really think about what I’m eating–I’ve looked deeply into too many cow eyes to feel that it is truly okay to eat another mammal. But right now, I’m one-burger-at-a-timing it.

Do you eat meat? What kind? Why?