Today I begin a vegetarian diet!
I am not ready to declare myself a vegetarian just yet. But perhaps the experience of (and writing about) my first 30 days living as a full-on veg will change that.
I've been thinking more seriously about going completely vegetarian for a while now. I don't eat meat very often, and when I do it is usually a small component of the meal. Since moving to the new apartment this year, I am pretty sure I've only cooked meat twice. I certainly have eaten meat more often than that - either when my boyfriend cooked burgers or when we've eaten at local Cuban restaurants and I've indulged in beef empanadas.
The fact that I eat meat so infrequently serves as both a catalyst and impetus for me to switch to a completely vegetarian diet. In one respect I think that I should make the full commitment, which would be an easy transition since I already seldom eat meat. But then on the other hand I think, since I so seldom eat meat and hardly contribute to the meat industry, why bother becoming a vegetarian when I can focus efforts elsewhere? Of course, it's also easier to just eat meat sometimes. And I'm not sure why I couldn't put effort into being vegetarian and contributing to whatever other causes...
So what has pushed me to make the full move to vegetarianism? Well, yesterday afternoon I was watching the film Life in a Day, while reading some blogs, sending some emails. The film, which shows slices of life as documented and submitted via youtube by filmmakers all over the globe on the 24th of July, 2010, includes the execution of a cow. We see the docile animal standing in a sterile crated area shot by a worker in the head. Seconds go by. The animal is still alive, eyes darting around in panic. The worker shoots it a second time in the head. More time goes by. It felt like hours but I suppose it was probably only 20-30 seconds. Then, once the cow collapses from the head wounds, another worker opens the crate to let the animal fall out to the floor, and then he slits the cow's throat, allowing the blood to run along the tiled floor to a drain.
I can't tell you how horrifying I found this clip to be. I was trying to cover my eyes and just look away until the next segment began, but the execution was dragged out for so long! Finally, I had to just shut the film off - fumbling in a panic with the Xbox controller. I felt like I would vomit. Tears came to my eyes and I was overtaken with emotion. And disgust. Disgust.
Right then I decided to stop contributing to that - to the mass slaughter and general mistreatment of animals, particularly those in factory farming, for the consumption and economies of a class of people that can afford to eat more humanely, but chooses not to.
For me this is an ethical decision. I wholeheartedly believe in the health benefits of a vegetarian diet; however, those benefits are not what drives me. I have already eaten meat so seldom for years that I already do largely experience those health benefits.
Being that it is an ethical decision, you may wonder how I feel about eating eggs and dairy products. And well, honestly, it's something I feel guilty about but continue to do. I try to make ethical decisions when buying these types of products, but really, I know that's not cutting it, because well, the options to make ethical purchases just aren't readily available.
Since I enjoy cooking and often take photos of the food I've prepared for facebook, I will try to highlight the best of my new vegetarian creations here. Tonight I actually have a vegan dinner guest, my ex-boyfriend's sister Ali Berman. So, I will be making a spinach apple salad, roasted thyme potato stacks, and a Moroccan butternut squash chickpea stew.
Wish me luck!
I am not ready to declare myself a vegetarian just yet. But perhaps the experience of (and writing about) my first 30 days living as a full-on veg will change that.
I've been thinking more seriously about going completely vegetarian for a while now. I don't eat meat very often, and when I do it is usually a small component of the meal. Since moving to the new apartment this year, I am pretty sure I've only cooked meat twice. I certainly have eaten meat more often than that - either when my boyfriend cooked burgers or when we've eaten at local Cuban restaurants and I've indulged in beef empanadas.
The fact that I eat meat so infrequently serves as both a catalyst and impetus for me to switch to a completely vegetarian diet. In one respect I think that I should make the full commitment, which would be an easy transition since I already seldom eat meat. But then on the other hand I think, since I so seldom eat meat and hardly contribute to the meat industry, why bother becoming a vegetarian when I can focus efforts elsewhere? Of course, it's also easier to just eat meat sometimes. And I'm not sure why I couldn't put effort into being vegetarian and contributing to whatever other causes...
So what has pushed me to make the full move to vegetarianism? Well, yesterday afternoon I was watching the film Life in a Day, while reading some blogs, sending some emails. The film, which shows slices of life as documented and submitted via youtube by filmmakers all over the globe on the 24th of July, 2010, includes the execution of a cow. We see the docile animal standing in a sterile crated area shot by a worker in the head. Seconds go by. The animal is still alive, eyes darting around in panic. The worker shoots it a second time in the head. More time goes by. It felt like hours but I suppose it was probably only 20-30 seconds. Then, once the cow collapses from the head wounds, another worker opens the crate to let the animal fall out to the floor, and then he slits the cow's throat, allowing the blood to run along the tiled floor to a drain.
I can't tell you how horrifying I found this clip to be. I was trying to cover my eyes and just look away until the next segment began, but the execution was dragged out for so long! Finally, I had to just shut the film off - fumbling in a panic with the Xbox controller. I felt like I would vomit. Tears came to my eyes and I was overtaken with emotion. And disgust. Disgust.
Right then I decided to stop contributing to that - to the mass slaughter and general mistreatment of animals, particularly those in factory farming, for the consumption and economies of a class of people that can afford to eat more humanely, but chooses not to.
For me this is an ethical decision. I wholeheartedly believe in the health benefits of a vegetarian diet; however, those benefits are not what drives me. I have already eaten meat so seldom for years that I already do largely experience those health benefits.
Being that it is an ethical decision, you may wonder how I feel about eating eggs and dairy products. And well, honestly, it's something I feel guilty about but continue to do. I try to make ethical decisions when buying these types of products, but really, I know that's not cutting it, because well, the options to make ethical purchases just aren't readily available.
Since I enjoy cooking and often take photos of the food I've prepared for facebook, I will try to highlight the best of my new vegetarian creations here. Tonight I actually have a vegan dinner guest, my ex-boyfriend's sister Ali Berman. So, I will be making a spinach apple salad, roasted thyme potato stacks, and a Moroccan butternut squash chickpea stew.
Wish me luck!
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