I’ve never had a character in a book who was a vegetarian but being a vegan or vegetarian seems to be more and more common in today’s society.  In the book, Smooth Talking Stranger by Lisa Kleypas, the heroine starts out the book as a vegetarian, but is “seduced” by the hero back to eating meat.  She’s also seduced in other ways as well.  lol

Being a vegetarian and/or eating organic produce seems to be such a part of today’s society that I’m surprised I haven’t mentioned it.  It may be because I’ve never given it much thought.  It “wasn’t” on my radar.

I like red meat too much to quit…but I am considering buying organic produce.

Recently I read some articles on ”The Dirty Dozen.”  These are fruits and vegetable known to be the most susceptible to  having pesticide residue.  I learned that some fruits with a fuzzy exterior (like kiwi) or a thick rind (like cantelope) do a pretty good job of resisting absorbing the pesticides.

The worst offenders were apples and blueberries.  One article said 98% of those tested were contaminated.

The article said that for many fruits and vegetables there is no need to buy organic.  But for the following (the dirty dozen) you should ALWAYS buy organic:

Apples, Blueberries, Strawberries, Peaches, Grapes, Nectarines, Cucumbers, Lettuce, Kale, Celery, Spinach, Potatoes (but sweet potatoes are okay), Green Beans and Bell Peppers.

Okay…so maybe that’s fourteen.  The dirty dozen + two.

I’m curious.  Are you a vegetarian?  Do you buy organic produce?  And, would you be empathetic to a vegetarian hero or heroine?