A long time ago, I wrote a post titled "Going vegetarian?" -- with that question mark of insecurity and unease. I've taken away the question mark and put in a period.
I've been reluctant to broadcast this decision in any way in my "real life," but I thought it would be good to discuss here. I'm aware that any time I make a change in my eating, I have to be hyper aware of my intentions. After all, my anorexia started as an attempt to "just eat less fat." I get really obsessed, really fast. So, making this change in my diet doesn't come without a lot of thought. I really didn't eat much meat anyway, but I still think I have to be careful when I make an absolute decision like this. I think I'm doing it for healthy reasons though, and I'm more interested in talking to other people who are vegetarian and are recovering/recovered from an eating disorder. While I think "food is just food," meaning it's nothing to stress about, I also think we can have preferences or beliefs driving the food we choose. Yes, being vegetarian means I have to put a bit more thought into my food (mostly when I go out). Is it possible for someone like me to think about food without obsessing about it? I think so, but I'm curious to hear from others who have chosen to be vegetarian.
A few things about my decision:
-I've never been morally or ethically opposed to eating meat.
-I'm still not morally or ethically opposed to eating meat. I do believe that many animals exist to feed us (for example, chickens as a species would die off if we did not breed them for consumption). So, while it's bad for the individual chicken to have its throat slit, it's actually good for the species. I get that. I also get that humans are made to eat meat. Our teeth and jaws were built to eat plants
and meat. Our stomachs produce an enzyme to break down protein found solely in meat. Our bodies require things like vitamin B12 which come mostly from animals. I would never say that I don't think we're "meant" to eat meat, or that eating meat is archaic. It's not. I wish people paid more respect to the animal that died to feed them, but I don't think it's my calling to be a hippie on a soapbox.
-What I am morally and ethically opposed to is the way animals are treated in our food industry.
Even if chickens are bred to feed us, that doesn't mean they have to stand around in their own shit, or be pumped with so many hormones (to give us more of the white meat we love) that they can't even hold their weight well enough to stand up.
The problem as I see it is that there aren't many traditional farms left; there are factories. We're all about efficiency. Part of that efficiency means mass producing one thing -- corn. The government subsidizes this, so farmers do it, and the industry finds weird ways to use the mass amounts -- as sweetener in the form of high fructose corn syrup, or as feed. Cows are herbivores, designed to eat grass, but we make them eat corn because we have it, and because it fattens them up faster. I've read that we're even teaching fish to eat corn. Fish?!
Maybe I'm species-ist, but thinking about a chicken or turkey or fish being killed doesn't make me emotional in the way that thinking about a pig or cow being slaughtered does. Maybe I'm just a wuss, associating those larger, furrier animals with the domestic ones we love. I don't know. In an ideal world, I would still eat poultry, but from locally-raised, humanely-treated birds. This isn't totally realistic in my daily life so, I'd say I'm 99% vegetarian as an alternative. I don't really think it's about the meat, as much as it's about the industry.
There are environmental reasons for my decision, too. A great deal of fossil fuel goes into the meat industry. It takes something like 75 gallons of oil to bring a cow to slaughter. I know that any agriculture involves oil and, unless I grow my own food (which I'm not about to do), there are transportation costs (from the farm/factory to the store to me). But eating low on the food chain uses much less energy. I think that's a good thing. If I can afford it, I'll buy organic because I think the less land doused in chemicals, the better. Also, organic farmers don't spread fertilizers made from natural gas or spray pesticides made from petroleum. I'll probably pay more attention to buying local produce, and buying what's in season (because I really don't need some tomatoes flown all the way from Chile). I didn't realize I was this passionate about this, but I am. I do believe that any time I buy something at the store, I'm expressing what I expect from the food industry. This is one area where I think consumers do have the power to enact change.
As I read this, I'm worried I come across too overzealous, like someone with spiked hair, weird piercings, a petition on a clipboard, and a huge chip on my shoulder.
I'm most interested in hearing your thoughts about diet restrictions (for whatever reason) when in recovery from an eating disorder. Do you think recovery has to mean being completely non-discriminating about food? ***
Today's gratitude:
1. I'm just about finished with the first-ish draft (it's more like Version 1.5) of my Japan book.
2. I start work on Tuesday! I can't wait to go back to some structure. I'm sure I'll have bad days when I'll miss just hanging at home, but I'm going to do my best to see that the grass isn't just green on the other side; it's green wherever I am.
3. I'm reading at an Open Mic in Laguna Beach on Sunday, and in a showcase in San Diego on Tuesday (
www.dimestories.org ).
4. Free time this weekend :)
5. Larry. I love him.
I've been reluctant to broadcast this decision in any way in my "real life," but I thought it would be good to discuss here. I'm aware that any time I make a change in my eating, I have to be hyper aware of my intentions. After all, my anorexia started as an attempt to "just eat less fat." I get really obsessed, really fast. So, making this change in my diet doesn't come without a lot of thought. I really didn't eat much meat anyway, but I still think I have to be careful when I make an absolute decision like this. I think I'm doing it for healthy reasons though, and I'm more interested in talking to other people who are vegetarian and are recovering/recovered from an eating disorder. While I think "food is just food," meaning it's nothing to stress about, I also think we can have preferences or beliefs driving the food we choose. Yes, being vegetarian means I have to put a bit more thought into my food (mostly when I go out). Is it possible for someone like me to think about food without obsessing about it? I think so, but I'm curious to hear from others who have chosen to be vegetarian.
A few things about my decision:
-I've never been morally or ethically opposed to eating meat.
-I'm still not morally or ethically opposed to eating meat. I do believe that many animals exist to feed us (for example, chickens as a species would die off if we did not breed them for consumption). So, while it's bad for the individual chicken to have its throat slit, it's actually good for the species. I get that. I also get that humans are made to eat meat. Our teeth and jaws were built to eat plants and meat. Our stomachs produce an enzyme to break down protein found solely in meat. Our bodies require things like vitamin B12 which come mostly from animals. I would never say that I don't think we're "meant" to eat meat, or that eating meat is archaic. It's not. I wish people paid more respect to the animal that died to feed them, but I don't think it's my calling to be a hippie on a soapbox.
-What I am morally and ethically opposed to is the way animals are treated in our food industry.
Even if chickens are bred to feed us, that doesn't mean they have to stand around in their own shit, or be pumped with so many hormones (to give us more of the white meat we love) that they can't even hold their weight well enough to stand up.
The problem as I see it is that there aren't many traditional farms left; there are factories. We're all about efficiency. Part of that efficiency means mass producing one thing -- corn. The government subsidizes this, so farmers do it, and the industry finds weird ways to use the mass amounts -- as sweetener in the form of high fructose corn syrup, or as feed. Cows are herbivores, designed to eat grass, but we make them eat corn because we have it, and because it fattens them up faster. I've read that we're even teaching fish to eat corn. Fish?!
Maybe I'm species-ist, but thinking about a chicken or turkey or fish being killed doesn't make me emotional in the way that thinking about a pig or cow being slaughtered does. Maybe I'm just a wuss, associating those larger, furrier animals with the domestic ones we love. I don't know. In an ideal world, I would still eat poultry, but from locally-raised, humanely-treated birds. This isn't totally realistic in my daily life so, I'd say I'm 99% vegetarian as an alternative. I don't really think it's about the meat, as much as it's about the industry.
There are environmental reasons for my decision, too. A great deal of fossil fuel goes into the meat industry. It takes something like 75 gallons of oil to bring a cow to slaughter. I know that any agriculture involves oil and, unless I grow my own food (which I'm not about to do), there are transportation costs (from the farm/factory to the store to me). But eating low on the food chain uses much less energy. I think that's a good thing. If I can afford it, I'll buy organic because I think the less land doused in chemicals, the better. Also, organic farmers don't spread fertilizers made from natural gas or spray pesticides made from petroleum. I'll probably pay more attention to buying local produce, and buying what's in season (because I really don't need some tomatoes flown all the way from Chile). I didn't realize I was this passionate about this, but I am. I do believe that any time I buy something at the store, I'm expressing what I expect from the food industry. This is one area where I think consumers do have the power to enact change.
As I read this, I'm worried I come across too overzealous, like someone with spiked hair, weird piercings, a petition on a clipboard, and a huge chip on my shoulder. I'm most interested in hearing your thoughts about diet restrictions (for whatever reason) when in recovery from an eating disorder. Do you think recovery has to mean being completely non-discriminating about food?
***
Today's gratitude:
1. I'm just about finished with the first-ish draft (it's more like Version 1.5) of my Japan book.
2. I start work on Tuesday! I can't wait to go back to some structure. I'm sure I'll have bad days when I'll miss just hanging at home, but I'm going to do my best to see that the grass isn't just green on the other side; it's green wherever I am.
3. I'm reading at an Open Mic in Laguna Beach on Sunday, and in a showcase in San Diego on Tuesday ( www.dimestories.org ).
4. Free time this weekend :)
5. Larry. I love him.