2005 Food Blog Award Winners Announced!

Kate has announced the winners in the 2005 Food Blog Awards at the Well Fed Network.

I won.

I am in shock.

I won the Reader’s Choice Award for Best Post for Meat Comes From Animals, Deal With It, or Eat Vegetables.

I am virtually speechless, mainly because I did not expect to win–the competition was tough. I was up against Pim, for goodness sake–one of the three writers who inspired me to start this blog. (The other two are Clotilde at Chocolate and Zucchini and Kate at The Accidental Hedonist.)

I very much want to thank everyone who nominated me for the awards, and those who read the post and voted for it. It means a great deal to me to be recognized for my essay–because when I wrote it, I never dreamed that it would travel as far and wide as it did. It still amazes me, that months after it was written and posted, to find that people are still emailing it around the net, and I am still getting comments on it.

It started out as a simple rant–a vent, because I had heard one too many times, “Oh, I cannot eat meat that looks like it came from an animal.”

And I guess it struck a chord with a lot of people.

Anyway, if I continue, I will blither in an inchoherent, incomprehensible fashion.

Once more, thank you to everyone who read that post, voted for it, sent it out on the net, commented on it and talked about it.

And thank you also to all of the readers of this blog who are part of the reason I keep plugging away, writing here and at the Well Fed Network. Thank you for reading, commenting, asking questions, challenging me, and forcing me to improve myself and grow. Thank you, also for being really cool people whom I am priviledged to get to know.

32 Comments

RSS feed for comments on this post.

  1. Congratulations,Barabara.A well deserved award indeed!

    Comment by Sailaja — January 23, 2006 #

  2. Congratulations, Barbara. I’m very happy for you and proud to know you!
    Keep up the good work.

    Comment by Indira — January 23, 2006 #

  3. Congrats! I’m so happy you won, especially as I voted for you! I think it was a really good piece of writing and also an important issue that you brought up!

    Comment by ilva — January 23, 2006 #

  4. Excellent- and well deserved!

    Comment by lindy — January 23, 2006 #

  5. Congratulations! I just read the piece now and I can see why it won. Keep up the great work.

    Comment by Tania — January 23, 2006 #

  6. Congratulations Barb! I loved the article – definately something I could hear you explaining to some of your students.

    -Tom

    Comment by Thomas — January 23, 2006 #

  7. Congrads Barbara – A well deserved win!

    Comment by Kirk — January 23, 2006 #

  8. Barabara,

    couldn’t happen to a better person or about a better post. I have liked your blog and particularly your forthright writing style since I came across you and that post deserved the award – it made a difference around the web and that’s the most and the best you can expect. Keep up the good work.

    Comment by Owen — January 23, 2006 #

  9. YAAAY!!!
    YOU WON YOU WON!
    KICK SOME ASS MOM!!!
    WOOHOO!
    Heh, got a little carried away….
    but I’m happy!!!

    Comment by Morganna — January 23, 2006 #

  10. Congrats! You certainly got my vote. I love your blog!

    Comment by Barbara (Biscuit Girl) — January 23, 2006 #

  11. Barb

    Congratulations! I loved that one as well. It really struck a cord with me, I’ve been saying the same thing for years! Thank you very mutch 🙂

    Torquil

    Comment by Torquil — January 23, 2006 #

  12. You rock Mei Mei, we knew it and now they know it too!!!

    Comment by Bryian — January 23, 2006 #

  13. Congratulations. Barbara!

    Comment by mzn — January 23, 2006 #

  14. Congratulations Barbara. You certainly deserve the award! It is a joy and am learning more through your writing than when I took oriental cooking classes several years ago. Keep it up!

    Comment by Maureen — January 23, 2006 #

  15. Congratulations Barbara! That WAS a great post.

    cheers
    Pim

    Comment by Pim — January 23, 2006 #

  16. Congratulations, Barbara!

    It was a deserving win!

    Comment by Ivonne — January 23, 2006 #

  17. Yayayay! You won! I’m so happy for you – it was a great essay and your victory is well-deserved!

    Comment by Hadar — January 23, 2006 #

  18. I really want to thank everyone for coming here to congratulate me, and wish me well. I am still walking on a cloud. It means a lot, everyone–I totally did not expect to win.

    Sailaja–thank you very much.

    Indira–I am very proud to know you, too. Thank you.

    Ilva–thanks for the vote! And I am happy that the important issue has gone all over the net. That means a lot to me.

    Lindy–thank you so much.

    Tania–I am very glad you found the post and read it! And I am glad you liked it.

    Tom–yes, I have had this discussion with my students over the years–you are quite right.

    Thanks, Kirk!

    Owen–your words mean a lot. Thank you so very much. You humble me.

    Morganna–Down, girl, down! (The girl nearly choked me to death with a big hug when I came back from my hair cut appointment. She and Zak had bought me flowers, chocolate and champagne–and they took me out for sushi. I have a great family!) (Oh–and btw–Morganna got straight A’s in her first semester of school.)

    Biscuit Girl–thank you so much–it means a lot.

    Torquil–I know it is an issue close to your heart–so I am glad that it got a lot of play around the net.

    Bry–shei shei ni.

    Michael–thank you.

    Maureen–you humble me. I intend to not only keep the quality of my posts high here, but to improve with each passing month. Thank you.

    Pim, you honor me–thank you very much.

    Ivonne–bless you.

    Hadar–I think I felt that cyber-hug all the way from Israel. Thank you, Little Sister.

    Comment by Barbara — January 24, 2006 #

  19. Hiya,
    Barbara! A big congratulations! Now, I can’t imagine you being speechless, but I hope it’s only for a micro-second. I’ve learnt a lot from your blog, and do keep up the excellent content. Shirley

    Comment by Shirley — January 24, 2006 #

  20. Congratulations!

    And once again thank you for your blog and the things you tell us every day.
    I love to come here and read what you have to say!

    I’m sorry that my english is too bad to find all the words I’d like to say, so I say again:

    Congrats and besth whishes from vienna
    Astrid

    Comment by astrid — January 24, 2006 #

  21. Congratulations. An excellent essay which echoed my thoughts.

    Comment by Justin — January 24, 2006 #

  22. Congratulations!

    Comment by Derek — January 24, 2006 #

  23. I knew you would win it Barbara! Congratulations.
    But now I have a challenge for you. I apologise in advance, but the idea popped into my head I was checking my feed reader this morning.

    If you eat animals – you should know where your meat comes from as you have already illustrated. If you eat cows and pigs and sheep, should you be just as accepting of people who eat dogs and cats? Would you eat them yourself?

    I know you love cats, so I would be interested to see your take on this.

    I caught this article Stray Cats turned inot lamb kebabs via Dispensing Happiness

    Comment by sam — January 24, 2006 #

  24. Shirley–as always, I am very touched by your praise–thank you.

    Astrid–your English seems fine to me–thank you much, and greetings back at you from Ohio. (Not as cool as Austria, but still, with many charms of its own.)

    Justin and Derek–thank you both.

    Sam–someone, somewhere, just recently asked me that. I think it was a comment on the post itself, in the past couple of weeks.

    I love cats, and am very attached to mine. And I love dogs, too. And horses, for that matter.

    But, unlike most Brits or Americans, I don’t have a distinction in my head about what is an improper or proper domestic animal to eat.

    What I am concerned with in the issue of eating cat or dog is two-fold. One, I am told by various sources I trust, that the meat from carnivores is not as good to eat as the meat from herbivores. Knowing as I do how much an herbivore’s diet can affect the flavor of their meat, then I have no reason to disbelieve the statement that the meat from carnivores just flat out doesn’t taste as good.

    When you are talking about stray animals–the quality of meat is bound to suffer due to the diet that the animal ate–garbage, rodents, feces–that sort of thing. (I know that raccoon and possums that have eaten garbage have meat that stinks to high heaven after it is killed and cleaned–whereas ones from the woods don’t smell as bad.)

    The second concern is how that animal is treated before it is killed to be eaten. If the animal is raised and treated humanely and then killed in a humane fashion, who am I to march into another country and tell a resident of said country what is moral to eat and not eat? That is cultural imperialism, plain and simple, and if there is one thing I don’t like it is busybodies from another part of the world telling people from other parts of the world that they are living incorrectly. (That said–there are times to raise a fuss about how things are done in other countries. Torture of political prisoners, condoned mass rape and genocide, cannibalism–these are not tolerable. But eating cats–that is cultural imperialism.)

    Near as I can tell, cultural imperialistic attitudes almost always have a whiff or two of racism about them, and so they get my dander up.

    That said, we now come to the real question.

    Would I eat cat, or dog.

    I probably would not ever eat my own cats or dogs, unless it was an issue of starvation. However, if it was that bad, I figure I am clever enough to hunt down a deer, so I don’t think it would come to that.

    As for, if I was in another country, would I go out of my way to eat dog or cat? No–not because I think it is wrong, but because I don’t think it would be so tasty.

    On the other hand, if I went to someone’s house in another country, and they cooked for me, and presented me cat or dog–out of my own code of courtesy and honor that was drilled into me as a child, I would accept the food gladly, eat it and show appreciation, even if I didn’t much care for it. That is what is done, if one is offered the best of someone’s kitchen, even if it is something one would not normally eat. It is just how I am.

    So–did I confuse you enough, Sam?

    The answer, in short, I think is this:

    No, I don’t like the idea of eating dog or cat, but it isn’t my place to tell people in other countries how to eat or live. I don’t really think it is unethical, so long as the animal is treated well in life and in death–which is my stance on all meat animals.

    I do, however, think that the meat wouldn’t likely taste good, because of my bias against carnivore vs. herbivore meat, and mainly for that reason, I would not seek it out myself.

    However, if it was presented to me, in good faith, in someone’s home, or at a banquet, by my own code of honor, I would have to try it.

    And at least pretend to like it.

    Does that make it any clearer?

    Comment by Barbara — January 24, 2006 #

  25. Congrats Barbara!! You deserve it!

    Comment by Meena — January 24, 2006 #

  26. THANK YOU BARBARA – such a swifty reply.
    Very well put answer.

    I think you hit the nail on the head.

    Comment by sam — January 24, 2006 #

  27. re the cats and dogs – one thing to remember is that all toxins and poisons move up the food chain – even the naturally broken down ones, but especially the really pernicious synthetic ones. That means that any omnivore or carnivore has a higher percentage and concentration of complex and bad-for-you checmicals in its body. The higher you go the worse it gets. So cats would be worse than dogs for example.

    My personal case is a lot like Barbara’s – even when I was a vegetarian, I often ate meat I was served by someone who didn’t know – my personal ethos was that the crime of being a rude guest was greater than the crime of eating meat – holds true for cat, dog, etc. I can’t imagine enjoying it, or choosing it myself, but if offered in innocence I would eat. There are animals I have and will continue to draw the line at – animals that aren’t really animals to my mind – or that are endangered. I have been in a position to order monkey (undefined type) and have walked out after making a public declaration of displeasure rather than support the establishment. In that case I would also refuse even as a guest – my belief that it is wrong to eat my cousins being greater than not wanting to offend. I know that that last muddies the waters, but there it is…

    Comment by Owen — January 24, 2006 #

  28. I tend to agree with you, Owen.

    And at this point–I am thinking that a post on the topic is in order, because the issue you raised–wild animals–is a whole ‘nuther world of ethics entirely. I chose not to visit it, because the question was about domestic animals–albeit cats and dogs, which are generally not considered food in the US and Europe.

    My feelings are very similar to yours, Owen. I will not eat an endangered animal, or one that is rare, even if it is offered to me–at that point, I would draw the line and risk offending the host.

    And yeah–it muddies the waters, which, of course, makes it perfect fodder for a post….

    Comment by Barbara — January 24, 2006 #

  29. Congratulations on a well-deserved award, Barbara. I truly adored your mother in law for her response in it. I look forward to your next post on the subject ;).

    Comment by Charlotte — January 24, 2006 #

  30. Barbara, judging by your original article and the replies in the comments, I am beginning to worry that you are me and I haven’t realised it yet… You are bang on in what you say: choosing meat is based upon whether it is “right” to eat it (and even choosing fish here in the UK is difficult because of over-fishing. Cod and haddock are definitely out), and whether it is tasty (This is why we don’t eat seagull: it tastes horrible). I get the feeling cat meat would not be good, and chewy as well.

    Comment by Justin — January 25, 2006 #

  31. CONGRATULATIONS!!!

    Tomorrow the world!!!

    I have eaten hot and sour soup, successfully breaded fish, and plan to change the way I stir-fry—–all because of you.

    As well as enjoying the blog and having mind-friends in Ohio as well.

    BIG HUGS!!!

    Comment by wwjudith — January 25, 2006 #

  32. Thank you, Charlotte–I don’t know if I will do “The Cross-Cultural Ethics of Meat-Eating” this week or not. I am preparing for Chinese New Year which starts this Sunday–and Morganna’s birthday which is the same day–so my posts are likely to be on light topics this week because of that.

    Justin–I would not be surprised to know that I have a soul-brother in the UK–much of my ancestry is from over there, after all. Anglo-Irish, Bavarian and Cherokee in the main (you know, let’s mix all those friendly people together and then wonder why the woman has a temper like a harpy–maybe too much hybrid vigor is a bad thing) make up my bloodlines, so I have no great difficulty in imagining that I might have someone “over there” who thinks a lot like I do.

    Judith–I am glad to hear that my blog has helped change your culinary life for the better. And it is great to have mind-friends in Canada, too.

    Hugs right back!

    Comment by Barbara — January 25, 2006 #

Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.

Powered by WordPress. Graphics by Zak Kramer.
Design update by Daniel Trout.
Entries and comments feeds.