So I became Vegetarian ,er Pescetarian I suppose, in the recent past.
It wasn't hard, I don't even like meat. The only thing I would miss is fish and I will be cutting that out soon. In fact I will also be cutting out Dairy products. Yep thats right, I'm going to give Veganism a 30 day trial. Why so extreme you ask? Well, I've done a lot of reading and researching on the subject and its really not that extreme. There are many many substitutes for dairy products. In fact, in preparation for the 30 day trial I have already stocked up on soy cheddar and mozzarella "cheese". I've got vegan butter, tofu, and B12 supplements- the only vitamin that Vegans have a hard time finding in there diets.
Don't worry, I wont be missing out on any delicious food either. I have this wicked awesome cook book ( a couple actually, one is healthy the other one, er, not so much. Thats right, you can be a very unhealthy vegan!) I already made some bomb vegan cookies! Yesterday I had the yummiest vegan lunch ever at this local health food store, Mothers! My taste buds were in Heaven! There are substitutes for your favorite meat dishes. Tofu or Tempeh chicken nuggets, breasts, strips. Fake bacon, corn dogs, hamburger. Substitutes for sausage or chorizo and even ribs! Thats right meat lovers, there are alternatives for pretty much everything out there.
My reasons for doing this are for health, environmental, and ethical reasons. For just a brief overview.
Health: Beef. Corn fed cows create the bacteria e coli in their stomach and its in their poop which is all over them since they are wallowing in it. Believe it or not that poop also makes its way into the meat and wala! Theres your deadly bacteria.
But thats not the only way e coli spreads. It also spreads into the water run off from the massive factory farms which spreads it to the vegetables and your drinking water.
Not to mention that the cows (your beef and dairy product) was pumped full of antibiotics hormones and other chemicals to increase productivity.
Same with your chicken (minus the creation of e coli) Chickens are so pumped with hormones to make them nice and fat that they can only walk a couple steps before plopping down in exhaustion. So they too are wallowing in poop. Chickens on Factory Farms never see sunlight,they keep it unlit to prevent fighting.
As for milk, that stuff is for babies. Babies have these enzymes called Lactase that help break down the Lactose in foods. Our bodies stop making these after 2-3 years. We are the only creatures that drink milk into adulthood. Weird. Not to mention most people are lactose intolerant.
Environmental: Factory Farms are responsible for more greenhouse gas emissions (or carbon dioxide) than all of our vehicles. Check out this site, it'll tell you all about it http://www.hsus.org/web-files/PDF/legislation/gafs_manure.pdf
Ethical: The horrible horrible things they do to animals in the slaughter houses contributes a lot to my decision. First of all, all the animals are crammed into tight often unlit spaces with hardly any room to move. They are filthy and are wallowing in their own shit. Baby animals are taken away from their mothers almost immediately. Male calves are made into veal. Chicken have the tips of their beaks seared off while they are just chicks so they wont peck each other. Pigs, who have the intelligence level equivalent to a 3 year old child are stunned with electric rods which aren't always effective. They get jabbed in the face, back, and places where the sun don't shine with those rods.
The people who work in these slaughter houses are usually illegal immigrants who cant complain about the low pay and dangerous working environments. Slaughter house workers have the most dangerous job. Animals hung on the racks are often still alive and thrash and kick injuring workers. Feces and blood causes disease and infections.
Don't believe me, go watch Food Inc or some PETA videos (I haven't actually seen any Peta videos but I hear they're really scary.)
The 30 day trial is mostly just to appease friends and family who don't think I can do it and maybe I can't but I'm fairly certain I'll stay vegan after the trial is up.
I'm not saying it wont be hard, but it's becoming easier to become vegan especially here in Southern California. And like I pointed out earlier, more and more vegan product is being made available everywhere.
Also I'm not trying to make everyone I meet go vegan, but everyone asks what the reason behind the decision is and so I gave it. For me, the more I learned about it, the more it made sense to do it.
Its also all about timing. I dated a Vegan guy and didn't feel compelled at all to become vegan then. Its all about where your head is.
And just to be clear, Im not saying people who eat meat are bad people. Eat your meat, it's fine, to each his own. Vegan is just a choice I made for my self.
My Grandpa has a farm and they treat all their animals good. They are happy, well fed, and kept in nice, open, and large pens. They eat the eggs that the chickens lay and once a year they slaughter some of the cows, turkeys, and chickens for eating. They slaugher them right there on the farm in humane conditions. My Uncle owns a small dairy. His cows are treated real well. He even has a website where you can meet all his cows. I've even milked them myself. Uncle Finney makes the most delicious cheese too and if your not vegan you should definitely order some! www.finneyfarm.com (look at me, promoting dairy consumption on my vegan blog. I'm already a bad vegan)Alls I'm saying is, when at all possible, buy your food from local farmers who treat their animals right.
