A conversation had whilst eating mac and cheese at 10 a.m.; I was typing while they talked. 

George: Is meat cow, mommy?

Me: Hamburgers and steak come from cows, yes. And chicken comes from chickens, and pork comes from pigs. And hot dogs…

Della: …come from dogs. We eat dogs for dinner.

Me: No. We don’t eat dogs. Hot dogs come from either cows or pigs.

George: Do we eat fox for dinner?

Me: No.

Della: Or frogs for dinner?

Me: No.

Della: I heard we eat fox sometimes.

Me: No.

Della: I know something else we eat. I know dragons are not real, but we eat dragons.

Me: No, we don’t.

Della: Don’t you know kale is dragon? And spinach is dragon.

George: Is kale dragon, mommy?

Me: No.

George: (to Della) It’s not. (To me) What comes from mac and cheese?

Me: Pasta comes from a plant called wheat, and cheese comes from milk, which comes from cows.

Della: Easy. Easy to make mac and cheese, isn’t it? All you need to do is cook it.

George: How do buffaloes eat?

Me: They graze on grasses just like horses.

George: Oh. Do we eat buffalo?

Me: Sometimes we do. Buffalo burgers.

George: Hey—Bungalow Bill! That used to be my favorite song. Did Bungalow Bill used to be my favorite song?

Me: Yeah.

Della: How do dogs eat and cats eat?

Me: Out of bowls. They eat dog and cat food. I think it has meat in it.

George: What about boats? What about boaters?

Me: Boats eat gas, and boaters are people, so they eat like we do. They eat all kinds of things.

George: A boater is a kind of rock.

Della: Boulder. Boulder is a really big rock.

Me: Oh. Okay. Boulders don’t eat anything.

Della: Mom, how do humans eat?

George: They just crunch.

Della (singing): Do you like mac and cheese? Yes I do, yes I do. Do you like humans? No I don’t, no I don’t.

Me: I have a question for you guys. How do you feel about eating animals?

Della: Embarrassed.

George: Crazy. No, I mean bad.

Me: Do you think we shouldn’t eat animals?

Della: No.

Me: Why is it ok?

Della: Because animals that are good for us can make us strong. Wanna see how strong I am? (flexes)

George: Wanna see how strong I am? (flexes)

Della: Wanna see me eat all my mac and cheese?

Me: Sure.

George: Cowboys are very, very, very, very, very strong.

Me: Did you know some people don’t eat meat?

Della: Yeah, like vegetarians.

Me: That’s right. Did you know you don’t have to eat meat if you don’t want to?

Della: Well, I like meat.