For my personal project, I decided to attempt the popular vegetarian lifestyle over the course of the next five weeks. For anyone who isn’t familiar with the vegetarian diet, allow me to enlighten you. By definition, a vegetarian is someone who abstains from eating any form of meat products, fish included. Unlike veganism, vegetarianism doesn’t exclude all animal products. Vegetarians may still eat dairy products, eggs, etc.
In doing some personal research, I found that the reasons one may follow a veggie diet vary greatly. Some do it for health related reasons (medical issues, weight loss, etc), while for others, the diet is followed in opposition to the practices of the meat industry, or more specifically, the killing of animals for the purpose of human consumption. Many vegetarians believe that violence against animals is morally unacceptable, considering that there are numerous other foods that can sustain human life. As someone who loves (and I mean loves) chicken and fish, I wanted to try and make this process a bit easier by educating myself on the meat industry and its practices. I can confidently say that after viewing the acclaimed documentary Food Inc., I was definitely ready to begin my journey.
The first few days of eating vegetarian proved to be a bit difficult. Finding things in the dining hall that were adequately filling was a bit of a challenge, since prior to this diet, I would usually consume some form of meat to fill me up. I found that in my first few days eating green, I would usually have to eat a pre-bed snack due to my grumbling stomach, something I never had to do during my days as a carnivore. Every time I felt the need to reach for a chicken cutlet, I did further research on the grotesque practices of the meat industry, which usually subdued my craving. As I went on my third day of the vegetarian diet today, I found that the pesky grumbling has gone away as I’ve increased my vegetable intake, and started incorporating things like squash, quinoa, and chickpeas, all of which are vegetarian friendly foods with filling macronutrients. I’m hoping that as my body adjusts to this lifestyle, I will begin to feel the positive physical and mental affects that come along with this nonviolent form of eating.
I am super impressed with your decision to go vegetarian – I don’t think we ever really process how integral to our life our diets are until we actually change the way we eat. Five weeks is also a very bold time frame, so I applaud you for your ambition! Although I can tell from your writing that your motivation was moral objections that arised from learning about the meat industry, I am really curious about what specific imagery or evidence in the film prompted this?
Looking forward to more updates on your journey.