oh yeah and one more thing
I've stopped eating meat.
I was actually a vegetarian back in high school, as part of my (sadly displaced in Orange County) budding liberal values. Except I ate like a high schooler does, i.e. stupidly, and when one day I passed out in the middle of track practice my coach decreed protein for me and stat. Since then in the back of my mind I've always thought that if I went back to paying that much attention to what I ate I'd develop an eating disorder for reals. And besides, I love bacon.
But I've never been entirely comfortable with the thought of eating animals, especially ones that weren't living in the best conditions before they were killed to make my food. Last week I finally read The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan, which I highly highly recommend. Not because it will make you a vegetarian. Pollan's not, and I actually know Eric Schlosser of Fast Food Nation fame isn't either. But it will definitely give you a lot of information about the food choices we make every day. I think the thing that was most shocking to me is that the living conditions of animals from which we get organic and so-called free range meat might be just as poor as their industrial agriculture counterparts. Organic beef cows might be getting fed organic grains instead of corn, but they also might still be standing around in pens instead of roaming across a grassy field. Free range chickens by definition can still be all cooped up together as long as they have a door to an outside area...even if they never use it.
At first I was thinking I would just want to be very careful about where my meat came from, such as local farms with guaranteed happy cows and pigs. This was where I was at when I talked to some of you Sunday night. But then I thought, what the hell. I live in one of the most vegetarian-friendly regions in the entire world, where everything is clearly labelled and delicious choices abound. And so with a few minor adjustments this week, no more meat in my diet.
Although I respect veganism and realize there are plenty of issues with dairy, I'm still consuming milk/cheese/eggs for now. Particularly because cheese is one of my comfort foods. I haven't eaten fish this week but probably will, especially when I travel. However, I'll be careful to eat low on the food chain and pay attention to the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch guidelines.
I feel really empowered and happy about my decision, and that's why I wanted to share. Like faith I believe what you choose to eat is an intensely personal decision, so I want to be super low-key about it. Just don't wave a crisp piece of bacon under my nose, I'm begging you.
Comments
(And I'll stash the smoked bacon and pulled pork when you visit!)
The first thing you need is the the methadone for bacon.
Oddly, I've made a change back to eating some dairy. We've gotten a pretty good handle on which cheeses and how much we can eat without aggravating our lactose intolerance. Unfortunately, brie is still off the menu :(
I've been answering more questions about why I became a vegetarian than ever before. In San Francisco, when folks found out I was nearly vegan the reaction was usually either "Oh," or "me too." Now I kinda go through the my process in one sentence for people:
I usually leave out the part about idolizing Mr. Spock from childhood and always respecting the vegetarian lifestyle of the Vulcan people. :)
The checkout ladies and baggers know me now, so I have to answer fewer vegetarian questions at the grocery store than I did last year.
Folks are also much more conscientious here when eating around me, which is hilarious and endearing. I get lots of "Do you mind if I eat this next to you?" Once I explain that my wife and daughter (and dog and cat) eat meat and that I cook meat on a regular basis, all is well and I usually find I have some new-found respect as a husband and father.
For obvious reasons, this sentence in your post gave me a pang: "I live in one of the most vegetarian-friendly regions in the entire world, where everything is clearly labeled and delicious choices abound." But it was a small pang, because even in Savannah, GA I have plenty of food available to me. Granted, there is no place to get a tofu scramble (oh Boogaloos, I miss you so), but all of the markets have good natural food selections and Kroger has a crazy variety of fake meat products including some East Coast specialties I've never seen before like Wham!
Another interesting bonus is that because of Savannah's large African-American population and their high rate of lactose intolerance, soy milk is available even in our little corner market.
So congratulations on your new ovo-lacto lifestyle! I think in your honor I'm going to go make myself some biscuits and meatless sausage gravy!
Still, I've moved here to Rio Grande do Sul in Southern Brazil to teach. It's great here, and I live with a wonderful host family. Only the diet is composed mainly by meat, red meat. I tried to be stubborn for a while and refuse eating it, but that meant only eating beans and rice, rice and beans. At least during the summer/autumn there used to be plenty of fruit. Now it's cold and all that's left are bananas, apples and limes.
I've finally given up. It's almost impossible to get even a couple of my recommended 5-a-day rations of vegetables, let alone being vegetarian.
I guess I'll resume a flexitarian diet when I'll be back on my own. I can't wait.
Good luck!
I did the exact same thing 2 days later. Started reading Pollan's book May