"She's a Vegetarian Because She's Afraid of Meat"

As I write this blog post, I am watching one of my most favorite documentaries: Vegucated.

                                                                        Here’s the synopsis of the film:     

“Vegucated is a guerrilla-style documentary that follows three meat- and cheese-loving New Yorkers who agree to adopt a vegan diet for six weeks and learn what it's all about. They have no idea that so much more than steak is at stake and that the planet's fate may fall on their plates. Lured by tales of weight lost and health regained, they begin to uncover hidden sides of animal agriculture that make them wonder whether solutions offered in films like Food, Inc. go far enough. Before long, they find themselves risking everything to expose an industry they supported just weeks before. But can their convictions carry them through when times get tough? What about on family vacations fraught with skeptical step-dads, carnivorous cousins, and breakfast buffets? Part sociological experiment and part adventure comedy, Vegucated showcases the rapid and at times  comedic  evolution  of  three  people     who are trying their darnedest to change in a culture that seems dead set against it.”

So why am I writing about vegetarianism/veganism? A couple of reasons I suppose; I think that choosing to become a vegetarian was one of the best choices I have ever made. I love being a vegetarian! I have never felt so healthy, light, happy, and energetic before! Within just a few weeks of becoming a vegetarian (mostly vegan at first) my skin cleared up and was a lot brighter, and I had more energy. I even lost a little bit of weight as well - just by changing my diet!

Most recently, I was worried that my trip to Belize was going to be a struggle as far as finding enough vegetarian options for me to eat. Thankfully, it definitely wasn’t a struggle by any stretch of the imagination. There were so many healthy, plant-based meal choices almost everywhere we went! The title of this blog post was something funny a friend kept saying about me on our Belize trip, all in fun of course! It also plays off of the time my older brother jokingly threatened to slap me with a piece of ham when we were having lunch one time. It was pretty hilarious, I don't even remember what the circumstances were.

Now, I’m not blogging about this in efforts to shame meat eaters, or to tell anyone they are wrong for what they choose to eat or not eat. But I think it is very important for us all to take a look at the value we place on food, because food is such a staple of the American lifestyle. Especially meat.

Americans are one of the very few populations that eats a meat protein at almost every meal. Being a vegetarian in Belize was so much easier than being a vegetarian back home in the midwest. I think that most people get hung up about where vegetarians get their protein from, as if it were only derived from meat. There are many countries whose populations don’t eat as much meat, if any at all.

The China Study, one of the most respected studies done, surveyed thousands of families all over China, taking a look at what the family eats and takes note of any health issues. It has been proven through the China Study, other studies, and studies of studies that plant-based diets are healthiest. Families in the China study that ate a plant-based diet had little to no health issues, but when meat was introduced to the diet health issues appeared. The more meat in a diet, the more health issues appeared.

This was one of the main reasons behind

my choice of becoming a vegetarian.

Having good health is one of the most important values to me, which is kind of nerdy as a 21 year old college student! I love eating and cooking healthy food! And just to amp up the vegetarian nerd level here, I'll throw in the fact that Trader Joe's and Whole Foods (also known as Whole Paycheck in my family) are two of my most favorite grocery stores (followed by The Fresh Market in Towson, Md, and Mom's Organic Market in Timmonium, Md). Nerd level: pro status.

While I know that it would be impractical to ask every single person to change the way they eat and live their lives, I challenge you to try eating healthier. That doesn’t have to mean becoming a vegan straight out of the chute; try to cut down on the fast food, the pop, processed foods, etc. Make a change for the better! Try a vegetarian diet for a week and see how you feel. A goal that I have set for myself is to cut back on my intake of dairy products.

There are plenty of delicious alternatives to eating meat

and other animal-derived products, why not try it out?

What have you got to lose?

Anna