Let me tell you why I've been a strict vegetarian, sometimes vegan, for 16 years:
It is not nice to mistreat or kill animals.
That simple reason has been downright easy to stick to over the years. It is (to me) inarguable, solidly rational, bombproof even?
Except, it has started to fail me (or I have failed it?) because, while my beliefs about animal rights haven't changed a lick, my awareness of nutrition and desire for optimal health have started to weigh more heavily. And yesterday... I decided to quit vegetarianism.
I know!
The horror!
What is the world coming to?!
Oh wait, the rest of the world isn't as wrapped up in my daily food intake as I am?
OK, carry on then. I'm going to rattle on with thoughts about this anyway...
So, vegetarianism has clearly always been about ethics for me; I didn't mix in "health reasons" as many do. Initially, I was really more of a mac'n'cheese-atarian, then a PB-sandwich-vegan, but over the past few years, I have sought to be the healthiest possible lacto-ovo vegetarian. Most recently, a typical day was:
Breakfast: coffee, blueberry/banana/spinach/yogurt smoothie, two poached eggs
Snack: handful of raw almonds/walnuts/pecans
Lunch: big salad, cottage cheese
Snack: apple dipped in peanut butter
Dinner: quinoa, sweet potato fries, broccoli
Dessert: chocolate
I felt decent after a couple of months with this routine, but... umm... decent? Decent is simply not a good enough result for my level of athletic activity and for what I think is pretty darn clean eating. Time for a change?
Add to this the fact that my kids are not being raised vegetarian, rather learning where all their food comes from and how to make healthy choices. I often find myself hoping they'll pick the turkey sandwich over grilled cheese, suggesting they try some of the fish S cooked, or recently breaking my I will not cook meat rule by tossing Naked Nuggets in the oven for lunch when they've had quite enough peanut butter for the week.
I am not keen on being such a hypocrite though. And if I consistently acknowledge that the healthier option is to get some protein from lean meat, what does that teach them about how I value my own nutrition?
Ugh, so many thoughts, but really not a lot of ambivalence about the actual decision, just the fall-out. I have to tell my family eventually. My three younger sisters went vegetarian shortly after I did. My dad, while not really on board, has graciously spent years catering to our diets at family gatherings. I worry about the message it will send Lola that I am quitting something. S has been supportive, but confused, and put it best when he said, "I don't know this person!"
I don't either!
I suppose I have far too much of my identity wrapped up in being the vegetarian. I list it when asked to describe myself because vegetarianism sums up who I am pretty nicely (thoughtful, stubborn, willing to buck conventional wisdom) without being as provoking as some of my other not-so-Midwestern beliefs (atheism and far-left liberalism tend to rile folks up around here, go figure). I'm not obnoxious about it, but have been known to be self-righteous – probably intolerable for my share of awkward social meals – and now I must prepare to say, oh, never mind!
Really though, what bothers me most right now is that I'm quitting something, one of the few things in my history that I have actually had the discipline and long-term drive to follow through on. That's pretty unfair though, an unreasonable amount of pressure on food choices to stand in for actual achievement!
For now, I'm treating this is an experiment. I'll start with occasional fish, some poultry, and see where it goes from there. While I don't have any delusions about meat production ever being kind, I still see value in seeking organic/pasture-raised meat. Oddly, I'm not interested in trying any processed products, and am more comfortable with meat that is clearly what it is. I buy eggs from a local farm, and think I might get one of their chickens to roast next week. Oh, and I have to confess, I'm a little excited about the new world of cooking that may just open up.
It could end up being a month-long break from vegetarianism – seems reasonable, a month for 16 years? – or a more lasting change in habits. We'll see. I'll probably keep yapping about it too.
3 comments:
Wow!! You want to know something?? I think I forgot you were a vegetarian. I forgot you were an atheist, didn't forget you were liberal though. :)
Whatever you do I don't care, you are still one of my favs. :)
Have a good week, and weekend, and hope the fam is all happy and all that good stuff. :)
ttyl, in a manner of speaking. :)
Are you sure you want to give it up? I recently read the Thrive diet book by Brendan Brazier and I am NOT a vegan or even vegetarian ... I REALLY need to add more protein to my diet.
His book gives great examples and recipes on how to do so. :)
Lately I've been icked out by meat, mostly because I have no idea where it is coming from - conditions, feed, slaughter method. When we lived in Wisconsin, we bought chickens raised by nearby Amish, and beef from an organic farm. I felt fine eating that meat. I felt like it was a responsible way to add meat to our diet once in awhile.
But here? Hm. I rarely prepare meat of any kind anymore. So it's kinda funny that I'm thinking about just going vegetarian and you're going to try meat. Let us know how it goes!
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