Do we eat eyeballs?

Last night Rylan, Owen and I went grocery shopping. While in the meat dept., Rylan noticed the butcher come out with a cart of packaged meats to restock the display cases.

Rylan - So that's where meat comes from.

Me - Not exactly.

We continue onto the produce department and pick out the fruits and vegetables we need. Rylan counts out six apples. She fetches two cartons of sliced mushrooms. Rylan and Owen anxiously wait by the broccoli for the 'storm' to hit. (When they play the sound of rumbling thunder and little misters spray the vegetables). They both select a fruit roll-up for being good shoppers. We stand in line, and our cashier is a friend of mine - a mother of three, so we chat about what our babies are doing lately. Rylan takes a penny and rides the horse. Owen does not because he does not like the horse. He sits in the cart instead and tries to take his shoes off. We leave and load the groceries in the car and proceed to drive home. Yet all this time, the wheels in Rylan's mind have been turning. I am not even out of the parking lot when Rylan asks me this....

Rylan - Mom, when we eat animals, do we eat their eyeballs?

Me - (What???) No. We do not eat their eyeballs.

What do we do with the eyeballs?

We don't get our meat with the eyeballs - they have been removed and are in the trash.

What happens to the eyeballs in the trash?

They decompose.

What does decompose mean?

It means the eyeball slowly disintegrates into nothing, with the help of little tiny insects called maggots. It could also happen that another animal might find and eat the eyeballs.

What kinds of animals?

Oh, like foxes, coyotes, or maybe even raccoons. (Do raccoons eat just anything?? I have no idea..)

Why do they like eyeballs?

They will sometimes eat several different parts of the animal.

I don't want a fox to eat my eyeballs. That's why I stay right beside you, where it is safe.

Safe indeed... from little girl eyeball-eating foxes. I think I had better set the record straight for her that foxes are pretty nice animals and that they generally leave humans alone. They are fun to watch...from a distance.