Saturday, October 21, 2006

Vegetarian Agenda

I'll admit it - I only picked up our library's copy of The Good Good Pig after I found our that its author is a vegetarian. I'm glad that I did, though, and am now recommending it people who've enjoyed or are waiting to read John Grogan's Marley & Me.

When Sy Montgomery decides to adopt the sickliest runt out of a friend's piggery, she's not sure if Christopher Hogwood (named after a well-known British conductor) will make it though the night. Not only does Chris survive, but he grows in both girth and celebrity, eventually reaching 750 pounds and being included as a write-in candidate for a local election. Chris is an intelligent, sensitive soul who loves his slops and a good belly rub, though he has a mischievous side, as evinced by the many times he escapes to go running through the neighborhood of Montgomery's small New Hampshire town. Throughout the course of the book, we see how Christopher Hogwood touches the lives of those who meet him, whether it's the chief of police who keeps apples in his squad car to lure Chris back after escapes, the many friends and neighbors who save their slops for him (sometimes burning cookies or not finishing meals on purpose), or the kids who come to pamper Chris during "pig spa."

Christopher Hogwood, who lived to the ripe old age of fourteen, had a much better life than his fellow pigs raised in factory farms. I stopped eating pork almost a decade ago at the start of my (admittedly very long) vegetarian journey. Come on, people, this is why they made Bac-Os! And if you want bacon with your breakfast, make it tempeh. That's what I'll be telling kids when the new Charlotte's Web movie comes out this winter (as Brandon said, "Bacon and Wilbur - same thing").

2 comments:

Jackie Parker said...

Piggery?

Anonymous said...

Damn, that tempeh blog looks good, all of the food in that blog looks good, I should get a chef to cook for me like that full time.