My love for animals and a preoccupation for their rights has been leading me to do progressively bolder things.
It used to be I would just donate the occasional dollar to the save a homeless dog thing at PetSmart when I would buy food or treats for Bear. Then we adopted Harvey, which truly opened my eyes to the plethora of homeless, sad, scared, hungry, defenseless animals there are out there. Then I started trying to get more involved with Last Day Dog Rescue, the rescue that brought us Harvey. Now it is starting to snowball. As soon as I can afford it (AKA my Birthday money... how pathetic AM I?) I am going to donate to PETA and become a member.
And... here's the clincher.
I am going to try out vegetarianism.
GASP!
I have actually been thinking about it for a while now. I have seen my belief system go in this direction for some time but knew I would have to attempt this when I was ready. It feels like a big commitment to me. I didn't want to cut out my biggest protein source when I could be getting pregnant, or when I wasn't sure I could put my 100% into it. It's a lifestyle change and I wanted to take it seriously.
But with all the stuff I have been reading, researching, learning... it feels right to begin this now.
Yesterday I signed a pledge from PETA to be vegetarian for 30 days. Doing it made me actually commit to something I had always wanted to try anyway.
Actually making the decision was kind of interesting in a way, because of the new things I now have to take into consideration. There are a couple things to figure out. Will I be an ovo-lacto vegetarian... meaning will I eat cheese and eggs? The answer to that is a big fat hell yes. I realize I need some kind of protein, more than friggin' peanut butter. So yes, cheese and I will still be an item. I can reduce the chances of animals suffering for my nourishment by getting free-range eggs and maybe umm... I dunno, organic milk?
According to www.reference.com...
A lacto-ovo vegetarian is a vegetarian who does not eat beef, pork, poultry, fish, shellfish or animal flesh of any kind, but is willing to consume cheese, butter, yogurt and eggs. Lacto- means "milk" and ovo- means "egg".
In the Western world lacto-ovo vegetarians are the most common type of vegetarian. Generally speaking, when one uses the term vegetarian a lacto-ovo vegetarian is assumed. Lacto-ovo vegetarians are often well-catered to in restaurants and shops, especially in Europe and metropolitan cities in North America.
Some lacto-ovo vegetarians who are motivated by ethical reasons may avoid fertilized eggs as well as caviar, feeling that both involve the killing of beings or torture and exploitation of source animals. They avoid cheese that contains rennet and yogurts that contain gelatin as these two things involve killing.
The very thought of caviar makes me want to vomit. I think I can find it in me to give that up too. I didn't even know what rennet was, so I looked it up and took the liberty of copying and pasting the info that I found from the same site here:
Rennet, substance containing rennin, an enzyme having the property of clotting, or curdling, milk. It is used in the making of cheese and junket. Rennet is obtained from the stomachs of young mammals living on milk, especially from the inner lining of the fourth, or true, stomach (abomasum) of milk-fed calves.
Wow. I am glad I already ate before I read this. I felt a quasi-wretch with that one. If I would have KNOWN this had to happen for some cheeses to be made, than maybe I would have given that up years ago. YUCK. In case you're also wondering where you can get rennet free cheese, here is a veggie forum that can give you some pointers. http://www.veggieboards.com/boards/showthread.php?t=46149
Maybe one day I will be able to be vegan. As of right now this is not an option. To me, the thought of being a vegan is like the equivalent of a Muslim woman deciding to wear the hijab. It is the ultimate proof of your devotion to a set of beliefs. While I think that sure, they are both great ideas in theory, and I admire people who are capable of doing it, I am not ready for anyhing like that yet. My vegetarianism is SOOOO in its infancy.
So, you might think this is a good thing to do, you might think I'm an idiot. But when it all comes down to it, I feel good about the decision I have made. According to www.peta.org I can save over 100 lives a year by not eating meat. That makes me feel so much better to know that. And it is actually quite sad to think that since I have started eating meat regularly, lets say since 1982, when I was two years old... approximately 2600 animals had to die for me to sustain my fat ass. Wow. 2600 lives to nourish ONE.
Here is the video I watched that made me make the final decision to try it out, if you want to see it. It is pretty graphic, be warned.
Watch more videos at PETA.org
I will keep you all posted about how going veg affects me. I wonder how much I am going to miss it? I was never a HUGE carnivore, but I probably still ate meat in some fashion almost daily. Well, so far the last time I ate meat was Tuesday night and so far so good. No meltdown yet! The biggest obstacle I assume will be around my period. I usually crave beef then. God, I sound like a vampire.
OK, well I have written all this after getting home from a 12 hour shift. I am SO ready for bed now. If you actually read this whole thing you are a trooper! :)
Damn am I going to miss bacon.
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5 comments:
I think it's a swell idea and an admirable undertaking. I did it myself back in my hippy days. No I take it back, I ocassionally ate chicken, but of course we know the horrors that the chicks and chickens endure, so it's best to avoid.
This is also a good oportunity to eat healthier, so don't go eating bags of chips because animals weren't harmed in their making. It's tempting, believe me.
i am with you all the way. I have a veg cook book around here somewhere. If not, we need to make a trip to waldens. any excuse will do. I also intend to subscribe to some of the mags. Can you send me the list again? I accidentally deleted it. I can't read all the information because it literally keeps me up at nite. But in college I saw enough of the films. I'm still trying to get over those. Anyway, like a ,ot of people I did the veg thing quite awhile ago. Trouble is i substituted meat with sugar. yuk yuk yuk. What a dummy. I got real anemic and I couldn't understand why I didn't lose any weight. duh. So u go girl. We can call ourselves "Udderly Veg Girls."
i wish you well.
i was a vegetarian for about 9 years or so, purely vegan for the first year. although for me it wasn't a moral issue. my main motivation was to avoid the hormones and adrenalin that come from how they treat the animals. i am actually okay with the eating of animals per se (please don't hate me) and actually, on that note - one piece of advice i would give you is don't turn into the food nazi :) i had a friend that was veg with me and she used to like to start fights with people at parties and then try to drag me into it - and then occasionally she would cheat with sausages . . . of all things!! but i soooooo digress!!
there are a lot of great substitutes and they are getting better at veg preprepared foods but if you are going to do it and eat healthy you have to plan the time to cook and it is a bit expensive.
i don't say any of that to discourage you. on the contrary what i am trying to say is that expect yourself to fall down now and then and maybe try one thing at a time. have patience with yourself. when i did it i did it all at once but i moved to a whole new place, redesigned my life and spent most of my time cooking. when life got busier i ended up eating fish for protein. the fact is you are fighting a lifetime of habits and an entire culture. that is NO exaggeration. the recent reduction of transfats at least mean that you will be ABLE to eat chips. when i did it they were still fried in animal fats. but all the same - you will find eating out difficult and eating in nearly as expensive as eating out. finally, much like a diet - don't beat yourself up for the times you fall down. i mean - you don't even want to know how people are treated to bring us vegetables :)
hmmm, i'm sorry it really does sound like i'm discouraging. i'm really not.
the upshot is once you do it for a while that is what you will *really* want. in fact, if you work at it you can train yourself to _hear_ your body tell you what it needs and all that becomes infinitely easier veggie. in fact overall you will feel soooo much better (if you don't live on pure processed)
i look forward to hearing about your progress and if i can help then let me know.
More delicious flesh for me.
If nothing else, I can promise I will not be a food Nazi! :)
People can do/eat what they want. You can be vegan or eat cheeseburgers for breakfast. I don't care. It's not my business. Doesn't bother me one way or another. I am choosing to do it because of my beliefs, and I expect people to act on behalf of theirs as well- whatever they may be.
:)
So this is my pledge to my friends, family and any other carnivorous beings out there reading this blog... I am not going to lecture or think less of you for using your incisors for the way God intended!
But you're right Cassie, I am already getting some disapproving responses from people. Like it weirds them out that I am thinking about the animals' feelings. I have heard a few "It's just a chicken"... comments. Either the thought is just so foreign to them it does not compute or I am making them think and question their own beliefs. hahahah.... I am interested to see if I rattle some cages!
And no Cassie, you were not negative at all! I appreciate your info.
Thanks to you all for your support. :)
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