In addition to the blog and article reading I've been doing, we also talk about food and diets at work quite a bit and my coworker, a hunter, has a theory that if you could not kill and eat your own food, you should not eat meat. Admittedly, if I had to kill or even just butcher my own meat, I would FOR SURE be a vegetarian. I am blissfully unaware. Only now, I am not so unaware. There are truly some ATROCITIES that occur in the factory farming industry. In order to not be the biggest hypocrite in the entire earth, I have been trying to purchase "friendly" meat, meaning organic meat from vegetarian fed hens and grass fed beef, etc. from cruelty free sources. It is more expensive, but trust me, if you informed yourself about the animal cruelty that goes on in factory farming, you would be appalled and disgusted.
Still, for the time being, my love of chicken and lunchmeat wins out. I rarely eat red meat, but I am still not above it. I am mostly just don't know how to cook it and am too lazy to learn. I think if I had the time to really learn how to cook and how to substitute other types of foods as proteins, etc., I could be a vegetarian. I would have to ease into it. I love a sandwich. It's pretty much my favorite food. If the world were uncivilized, though, and I was forced to literally eat what I could kill, I would hop on the VEG train real quick-like! I'll keep you all posted on my journey and whether or not I decide to go meatless. I don't see that happening anytime soon, but it is something to consider.
What are your thoughts on the matter? Do you think that if you would not butcher your own meats, you shouldn't eat meat? General thoughts on vegetarian and veganism? Are any of you vegetarians?
Okay, as you know I am a vegetarian and I have been for eight months. It's not as hard as you think.
ReplyDeleteI love Fried Turkey more than anyone ever could and I successfully turned it down on both Thanksgiving and Christmas.
I was never a big meat eater to begin with, like I would never eat meat at a resturaunt or anything so that might have something to do with how easy it has been.
I don't think youre a picky eater if I remember correctly but if you are a picky eater that doesn't like the following things, do NOT be a vegetarian:
Beans of any kind, mushrooms, soy, tofu (you can easily avoid tofu if you are eating vegetarian, I just happen to like it), cheese, potatoes, all vegetables, all fruits.
If you like or are willing to try those things, you'll be fine.
I think being vegan would be really hard. I can't say I won't ever try it, but I think it would be super tough. I applaud anyone that has that kind of self control.
Anyway, that's my two cents. It's worth, like, a fourth of that.
Yes, Stacey, I believe you are my only vegetarian friend. At least, you're the only one I know of. My vegetarian blog girl does have a tutorial on how to cook tofu (one way) and it looks easy enough. I have not been brave enough to test it yet. I like most beans, mushrooms (as long as they are sliced thinly), most vegetables and most fruits. I am weird about textures. It hinders my culinary adventurousness. Is that a word? It is now. Unfortunately, I love cheese.
ReplyDeleteDid you lose weight once giving up meat, or did it make a difference?
I gave up red meat Jan. 2011. i cantgive up chicken or fish....i love them entirely too much. However I do make a concious effort to know where my meat comes from. You need to watch Food, Inc.
ReplyDeleteI do love all the vegetarian dishes I see on blogs!!! Vegetarianism is very tempting!
I have seen some difference in my weight. Not a lot, but some, especially when I first started. I have gotten out of the habit recently of cooking good things for myself and that is probably why my weight is at a stand still.
ReplyDeleteI know you have done a lot of researching online about this, but a book that really sealed the deal for me is Eating Animals. After reading it, I didn't want to touch meat again.
Kelly, Stacey suggested Food, Inc. as well. I may have to give it a look, although, a part of me still wants to remain ignorant about it all. Now that I sort of know about it, though, I don't know if I can.
ReplyDeleteStacey, I looked on the PETA and ASPCA websites last night and saw the book suggestion, Eating Animals. Alec Baldwin had a disturbing video on the PETA website, and while PETA celebs generally get on my nerves, there is no denying what I saw on the video. Very, very disturbing. Downright disgusting, actually.
I still don't know if I am ready to go meatless, but I definitely want to inform myself. Knowledge is power, right? It's really too bad the government doesn't get more involved.
http://peasandthankyou.com/page/2/
ReplyDeleteThis lady is a mom of two and her whole family is vegan. All the recipes she posts look delicious and I would eat them in a heartbeat. The post I linked is her list of books she's read about veg/veganism. Its super informative. You might like the blog too! She's used to be a lawyer and she's funny like you too!
Please don't read PETA-they are hypocrites. Google it.
ReplyDeleteAnyhoot, I feel as if I am somewhat an expert on this subject so here goes:
Any form of vegetarian/veganism is radical-just like any crazy ass religions out there. They are extreme. I do, however agree with reducing the general meat intake, especially crappy meat. When you eat meat that has had a crappy life and had nothing but crap to eat, it makes you feel crappy. Not just emotionally, but also physically. I've instituted a policy, eat what will make you feel good. Will eating a shit ton of candy and chips make you feel good? I doubt it.
Read Michael Pollan's Food Rules-he says if you are going to eat fried food make it yourself, because it's hard to make and it's labor intensive, thus you'll make it less often.
Balance is key, if you eat pizza, don't eat the crappy kind with the crap cheese, but make it yourself with the good cheeses and meats, etc but also eat something healthy along with it, like a salad. Balance. Whenever I feel bad, I always crave something balanced-my go to meal is a rotisserie chicken, some greens, and a starch, mostly a roasted potato of sorts. Aim to eat 3-4 fruits and veggies each day.
Make a smoothie in the morning and add a large couple of handfuls of spinach-you CAN'T taste it, I promise.
Now, Food, Inc is a great documentary, but if you can't handle watching the animals, then don't. The problem is this: it shouldn't make you a vegetarian it should make you want to NOT buy from mass producers. The problem with the meat in our country is that
1. we think we need to eat it at every meal, 7 days a week which makes the demand increase
2. when demand increases, quality decreases
3. the issue is if we STOP buying from these producers, then they will go out of business and thus we'll stop consuming meats like we do.
Yes, buying the organic, free range, grass fed (make sure it's grass fed through out the life and not corn finished), is expensive, but that's good. It means we eat less of it!!
The point being: try and eat in season fruits and veggies (freeze what you can from the summer), buy locally grown produce, and know your meat source. Traceability.
Hope that helps-I'm proud of you Holly!
Please don't read PETA-they are hypocrites. Google it.
ReplyDeleteAnyhoot, I feel as if I am somewhat an expert on this subject so here goes:
Any form of vegetarian/veganism is radical-just like any crazy ass religions out there. They are extreme. I do, however agree with reducing the general meat intake, especially crappy meat. When you eat meat that has had a crappy life and had nothing but crap to eat, it makes you feel crappy. Not just emotionally, but also physically. I've instituted a policy, eat what will make you feel good. Will eating a shit ton of candy and chips make you feel good? I doubt it.
Read Michael Pollan's Food Rules-he says if you are going to eat fried food make it yourself, because it's hard to make and it's labor intensive, thus you'll make it less often.
Balance is key, if you eat pizza, don't eat the crappy kind with the crap cheese, but make it yourself with the good cheeses and meats, etc but also eat something healthy along with it, like a salad. Balance. Whenever I feel bad, I always crave something balanced-my go to meal is a rotisserie chicken, some greens, and a starch, mostly a roasted potato of sorts. Aim to eat 3-4 fruits and veggies each day.
Make a smoothie in the morning and add a large couple of handfuls of spinach-you CAN'T taste it, I promise.
Now, Food, Inc is a great documentary, but if you can't handle watching the animals, then don't. The problem is this: it shouldn't make you a vegetarian it should make you want to NOT buy from mass producers. The problem with the meat in our country is that
1. we think we need to eat it at every meal, 7 days a week which makes the demand increase
2. when demand increases, quality decreases
3. the issue is if we STOP buying from these producers, then they will go out of business and thus we'll stop consuming meats like we do.
Yes, buying the organic, free range, grass fed (make sure it's grass fed through out the life and not corn finished), is expensive, but that's good. It means we eat less of it!!
The point being: try and eat in season fruits and veggies (freeze what you can from the summer), buy locally grown produce, and know your meat source. Traceability.
Hope that helps-I'm proud of you Holly!
yeah, that just posted twice. what's up?
ReplyDeleteTrust me, PETA is not my basis for research. I just came across a video that happened to be posted on PETA's website. Those people are annoying and remind me of religious zealots.
ReplyDeleteAs for the meat thing, I agree that it is extreme to go vegetarian or vegan. The problem is, though, meat that is readily available to the average consumer is the meat that is "crappy," meaning, produced by one of the few large corporations controlling the food industry and coming from factory farms. Farmers markets and buying locally are great ideas, in theory, and everyone knows it's the right thing to do, but it's not always a feasible option. Not everyone can afford to do it and it is a real inconvenience when compared to a trip to the grocery store or even to Whole Foods or a store like WF. So with that being said, if you know that you either cannot afford locally produced meat, or it is not readily available to you, is it better not to eat meat at all?
I watched Food, Inc. yesterday (post to follow soon) and I am going to try and make a point to eat foods that are actually in season, as foods no longer know seasons due to advances in science.
Oh yes, and as for the spinach smoothies, I have had several Green Monsters and they are delish. I believe you and Anna turned me onto them with your old blog, Morgan. Yummo.
I love the discussion. I rarely get blog comments so yay!
I would think that not eating the crap meat is better, however not feasible for most people. But if one greatly reduced the amount of meat consumed, it would be beneficial for both the consumer and also the small farmers.
ReplyDeleteWhy don't you do a blog challenge, like eat meat once a week or something like that? Anything to get others to eat more produce in their diets.
I teeter all the time with things like bananas, spinach and frozen fruit in my smoothies. I know those things are not in season year round, but is it better to NOT eat them because they aren't in season? I choose to eat them...
I look forward to your blog Holly and the discussions that follow!!
I think I could definitely do meat for dinner only once a week, but I eat turkey pretty much every day for lunch. That will definitely make a challenge of eating meat only once per week, well, a challenge! It will take some serious meal planning (which is my very LEAST favorite part of eating healthy). Maybe I will give that challenge a try next week, after I have had time to plan and go to the grocery. I already have meat for this week's meal plans. Looking forward to turkey taco salad and baked chicken after we finish the yummo black bean soup.
ReplyDeleteI am so glad the blog is generating conversation! (even if it is just between me and you, Morgan :)