Do you eat real?

I called my cousin, an environmental studies major, the other day to talk to her about our assignment and see if she had any suggestions or ideas for my behavior change. She sent me this link: http://www.foodday.org/14questions.  On this website there is a quiz where you answer questions about your weekly food intake and you are then graded based on your responses. For each question you are given individual scores based upon how it impacts your health, the environment, and animal welfare as well as a combined total score based on all three categories.

The grading system is based on the number of points you earn. The scoring scale is: 75 or more = A , 25 to 74 = B,  -24 to 24 = C, -74 to -24 = D, -75 or less = F. Sadly my overall score was only a C. A huge factor that influenced that grade was the question concerning how much beef and/or pork I eat weekly. The score for its effect on health was a -10, on the environment and animal welfare were both a -4, and the overall total was a -18. To be honest I had no idea eating either of those two things would have that much of a negative effect on my health. The other areas where I noticed a higher number of negative points had to deal with meat as well.

I have severe anaphylaxis food allergies to eggs, milk, wheat, and seafood. I can not eat anything with even a tiny trace of any of those four things in it so I have always had a very strict diet that doesnt permit me to eat any animal bi-products.

Seeing the results of my quiz brought back to mind the documentary, Food Inc, I watched in highschool. Very little of us know how our food gets to our plate and are unaware of the terrible conditions that animals undergo for our selfish needs . Once you watch this film you will never view a piece of meat the same again; this is when I began to have thoughts of cutting meat out of my diet. I never actually followed through with this but after seeing how greatly eating meat effects the environment as well as myself I decided I would finally do it. At first I will ease into it, cutting it out four of the seven days but eventually I will have cut it out completely. I also want to try to eat more natural locally grown foods.