Eating With a Purpose

As I was pondering about a minute ago what to do to “increase benefits and reduce barriers” I looked up on my desk and saw the following: a box of granola, a bag of kale chips, a half eaten pear/apple hybrid, an apple, an orange,

and three books about organic food. It was then that I realized I have unintentionally psychologically manipulated myself to eat, breath, and live healthy eating. By very little specific conscious effort of my own, I have reduced a lot of the barriers to my veganism. I have an abundance of vegan snackage at the ready as well as books, pamphlets, and events all reminding me why I’m vegan. I adapted to my fairly constant hunger by buying a lot of food which ends up on my desk and then satiates my hunger because of its blatant availability on said desk.

The most powerful barrier reduction/reward is the fact that I have created a strong image of myself to which I’m subconsciously trying to live up.

Last night I was a table facilitator at the Lafayette Food Forum, and although I could not snack on the lovely looking organic, locally made cheese, I was met with another reward: the nods of respect when I told my table that I’m vegan. I feel accountable to the label which I’ve placed upon myself. I thrive from seeing the surprised look on people’s faces when I tell them “No, it’s actually not too difficult to be Vegan in the dining hall, there are signs and a salad bar!”  I’ve always known that I’m incredibly responsive to human interaction, but I didn’t really think it would have THIS much of an impact on my successful sustainable behavior change.

As we near the end of the semester and the sustainable behavior challenge, I reflect on the past few weeks of my veganism and the past 6 or so months of my vegetarianism. I noticed a strong improvement in my health after both transitions as well as the existence of stronger discipline in many other aspects of my life. I’ve found myself to be even more passionate about environmental and food issues since my daily habits are beginning to align more closely with my beliefs. I feel a deep sense of purpose whenever I buy locally grown fruits or vegetables because I know that the food is good for me, but also for the environment and society.

These strong positive feelings around this lifestyle switch are definitely going to propel me past this semester with this diet change. Although it’s difficult to find vegan food in a lot of places, I will remain vegan when I can, although I’ll be less strict than I have been. However, I hope that my “cheating” veganism will be for foods along the line of cage-free chicken eggs, locally made cheese from grass fed cows, and pizza from the mom n’ pop pizza shop in my town.