You're a what? A vegetarian...
I am just starting out on a vegetarian journey. I have eaten and thoroughly enjoyed meat my whole life. There is no doubt about it. When you are raised and live as a carnivore, vegetables are just an afterthought. I will miss steak, bacon, sausage and barbecue, hell, I will miss it all, even pickled pig's feet (thanks Mom). I even wanted to start competing in BBQ, but I guess that is practically impossible now. The story goes like this.
For the past few months I have been toying with the idea of being a vegetarian. My wife thought that it was impossible, that I could never give up something I love so much. I loved cigarettes too, but I gave those up 10 years ago, I still want them, but I know it is a stupid habit (I beat cancer once, probably shouldn't try it again). How much worse could this be? It would be good for me and the animals.
I had done research, seen the effects, understood the consequences of the industry on us and the environment and still didn't do it. Then, two weeks ago, I started experiencing the worst bout with gout I had ever had (the purines in meat are a major contributor to gout). I used it as an excuse to finally make the switch. Something in me, physically and emotionally, clicked.
We are not natural vegetarians. We are omnivores, we don't process cellulose and we have canine teeth. We need the amino acids present in meat. However I arrived at the conclusion that the way we get our food, especially in "civilized" nations, is the problem.
I guess I am what is called a ovo-lacto vegetarian. I will not give up eggs and cheese, but I will try to find them locally from now on. I don't know if I will be able to totally give up seafood (I understand by-catch). Ultimately it has come down to the treatment of animals and an understanding that we could feed so much more of the world if we weren't feeding animals for our consumption.
It is hard to change over thirty years of behavior. I told my wife that I will not prostheletize, but I seem to have a hard time doing that, knowing what I know. I have the same problem with religion and politics. It's like some dirty little secret. "Don't tell anyone the truth because they will lose their appetite." My father was in the meat business for years, and he warned me that I didn't want to know where the food came from, just to be happy that we had it.
I am only a week into my experiment in change. So we will see how well this goes.
For the past few months I have been toying with the idea of being a vegetarian. My wife thought that it was impossible, that I could never give up something I love so much. I loved cigarettes too, but I gave those up 10 years ago, I still want them, but I know it is a stupid habit (I beat cancer once, probably shouldn't try it again). How much worse could this be? It would be good for me and the animals.
I had done research, seen the effects, understood the consequences of the industry on us and the environment and still didn't do it. Then, two weeks ago, I started experiencing the worst bout with gout I had ever had (the purines in meat are a major contributor to gout). I used it as an excuse to finally make the switch. Something in me, physically and emotionally, clicked.
We are not natural vegetarians. We are omnivores, we don't process cellulose and we have canine teeth. We need the amino acids present in meat. However I arrived at the conclusion that the way we get our food, especially in "civilized" nations, is the problem.
I guess I am what is called a ovo-lacto vegetarian. I will not give up eggs and cheese, but I will try to find them locally from now on. I don't know if I will be able to totally give up seafood (I understand by-catch). Ultimately it has come down to the treatment of animals and an understanding that we could feed so much more of the world if we weren't feeding animals for our consumption.
It is hard to change over thirty years of behavior. I told my wife that I will not prostheletize, but I seem to have a hard time doing that, knowing what I know. I have the same problem with religion and politics. It's like some dirty little secret. "Don't tell anyone the truth because they will lose their appetite." My father was in the meat business for years, and he warned me that I didn't want to know where the food came from, just to be happy that we had it.
I am only a week into my experiment in change. So we will see how well this goes.
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