Long before Meat Free Mondays came into existence and well before factory farming was a concern or recessionitarianism was even coined, I was an unwitting part time vegetarian. Growing up in a typical American household, I was intimately familiar with the scent of pot roast wafting through the air or sausage and peppers frying up in a pan, but those selections were reserved for very special occasions, and boy did I appreciate them when they arose. I'm guessing that our neighbors tucked into chicken pot pie, Shake-n-Bake coated pork chops and pan fried burgers on a regular basis, whereas the bulk of the meals consumed in my household consisted of meatless stick-to-your-ribs fare such as spaghetti-butter-and-parmesan, breakfast for dinner, and the perrenial favorite, rice and beans. Despite what you might think however, my sister and I were in hog heaven (figuratively speaking) and not once did we wonder what might have been missing from our diet.

On the other hand, I'm quite sure that my flesh loving father, who salivated at the mere suggestion of the words oink or bacon, would have loved dining on animal-based protein 7 days a week or straight up lard scooped out of the perpetually full coffee cup that he stored in our refrigerator. Since things were always tight, he learned to tolerate the humble but filling fare that tumbled out of our kitchen with relatively little complaint. Funny that my sister and I never associated the lack of meat on our plates with budgetary restrictions or compassion for the lives of animals. The fact that meat was normally MIA was just typical of the way things were, and frankly, we were tickled pink just to have a hot meal whenever our stomachs were grumbling.

Although we were raised to love, respect and admire all creatures great and small, we never really made the connection between Old Bessy and the beef stew that we were fortunate enough to indulge in once every few months or so. I suppose that my parents didn't have the heart to break it to us, and I'm convinced that we were innately happier and more carefree because of it. They simply just allowed us to be children, nuzzling with wet nosed cows and squealing with delight when we caught a glimpse of anything with horns, hoofs or a beak. We could in good conscience jump up and down while excitedly visiting our local petting zoo or a nearby farm for the hundred thousandth time. As soon as we returned home and gathered around the dinner table, we could easily plow through our mother's special three meat lasagna without ever contemplating the inherant moral dilemma within. All we knew was that our food tasted grrrrr-eat and all of the baby pigs and billy goats we fed earlier that day were sooo cute!!

Given my slightly unusual background as an animal sympathizing rainy day flesh eater, it's been hard for me to understand why vegetarianism can be perceived as a turn off to some. It's not as though you're forced to donate bone marrow or a spare kidney...it's just a simple dietary restriction (and tofu doesn't even have to enter the picture). I continue abstaining from meat on a part time basis as I did during my entire upbringing but these days, it's by choice and based on my environmental, health and moral concerns. Still, the real reason why so many people give vegetaranism the cold shoulder has eluded me for many years....that is, until I learned about PETA's recent Chicken McCruelty Unhappy Meal. In an attempt to lampoon the regular staple of our consumer culture and highlight the animal cruelty lurking behind those familiar yellow arches, the animal rights organization chose to promote a blood-stained Happy Meal anti-Christ to send their message home. Anything but edible, it includes a bloody rubber chicken, photographs of various mutilated animals and a crazed-looking image of a knife-wielding Ronald McDonald along with a Chicken McCruelty T-shirt.

Way to go, PETA. Everyone has their missteps, but it seems that they've certainly mastered the art of being extreme(...ly tactless). In our land of free speech,  I do think that everyone should be entitled to embrace their personal beliefs and even express why they feel so passionately about particular issues, but when that emotional purging session borders on child terrorism, all bets are off. By choosing to target McDonald's Happy Meal -- as non-nutritive and cruelty-ridden as it may be -- they are targeting an audience that does not deserve to be weighted down by the harsh realities of our world. Who consumes most of the Happy Meals in the world? Children will become adults soon enough, PETA. Just as my parents spared me from what goes on behind factory farm doors, their marketing gurus should have the innate sense (or at least dare to exercise enough wisdom to consult with a panel of hands-on parents) before sending such graphic imagery out into the world. It's unreasonable to use today's current brand of in-your-face media entertainment and children's purported desensitization as an excuse, either. Makes me want to gnaw on a chicken leg just because.