(just posted this over at ruhlman.com, thought it was worth bringing here)

Had a conversation with my nephew (5 years old) that got my brother’s ex-wife pissy with me.

Him: Dad says you were a vegetarian.
Me: I was, about 20 years ago.
Him: But you eat burgers!
Me: I do. But not a lot of them.
Him: Why not? I like burgers.
Me: Because meat comes from cows and chickens. Like your dog or cat. It’s ok to eat meat, but sometimes, when they kill meat, they’re mean to it beforehand. I think if we’re going to eat meat, we should be nice to the animals (ok, *you* try explaining factory farming to a kindergarten kid). So I try to eat meat from animals that people were nice to.

Apparently this resulted in a 5 year old saying, the next day, that he didn’t want to go to McDonald’s, because they’re ‘mean to cows’. And I’ve been told to stick to discussing Star Wars and Hot Wheels cars until he’s in college.

Panettone pain perdu. With grade B maple syrup.

Yum.