10.07.2005

Going to the Chapel...

And I'm going to be a vegetarian. Except those are two totally different topics for discussion. Let's deal with the vegetarian thing for now.

So...I'm really not sure what it was exactly that made me say "Hey! I want to try a vegetarian diet!" but it had a little bit to do with this crazy PETA ad I saw about J Cru. Yes, I think the PETA people are a bunch of crazies but that's neither here nor there. Anyway, I got to thinking about this article in Wesneek from a few months back that really disturbed me. It was about how they force feed ducks before turning them (or, rather, their little livers) into foi gras. And I couldn't read the article but ever since I keep thinking about these ducks. And then I start thinking about the cows and the pigs and the chickens and I KNOW they're treated inhumanely from the moment their born until the moment they are turned into a hamburger or bacon.

But I'm also thinking about the environmental impact of raising the feed for these animals and the amount of water required to feed and raise them and the nasty manure run-off that ends up in streams. So, now I'm thinking I'll try a vegetarian diet and we'll see how it works out. I guess that was about 2 weeks ago and I've had chicken twice plus a turkey sandwich with bacon. Oh, and I had a cheeseburger somewhere in there. Man, this is not easy. And, I LOVE bacon. LOVE IT.

So, here I am, still working on this whole vegetarian thing and I even bought a book on how to do it in a healthy way. And that's what I have to say about that. We'll see how it works out.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

"I've heard the screams of the vegetables..."

We have been eating organic meat, or at least when the grocery store sells it.

For me, it is a recognition that biologically, meat should be a much smaller part of my diet than our culture encourages. I am probably just going to be a "flexi-tarian" for a while.

But I support Kelly in this. If it helps you feel good in body and/or spirit, go for it.

Kelly said...

Yeah, I've been buying organic meat for the last 3 years and I feel much better about eating meat when I do that...but there's still the environmental impact of needing water for feed, water for animals and run off. I'm going to try it for a while and see what happens.

Anonymous said...

wow. yay!
stronger woman than I. I don't eat a ton of meat, but I don't think I could cut it out entirely. A similar discussion has been going on over at the food blog. Check it out - and score yourself some yummy veggie recipes in the process.
http://foodgoodness.blogspot.com/

Carl said...

Good for you! It's kinda fun to be a vegetarian. I lapse back to meat sometimes, when I'm too lazy to prepare something or seek out a decent vegan joint.

Eating a more-varied vegetarian diet has helped me feel vastly better. One of the biggest benefits, though, has been that I have an easy out when I'm dining with friends and they're eating some bizarre animal-y dish that I don't want. "No slimy oysters on the half-shell for me," I say, "I'm vegetarian!"