Ever since reading The World Peace Diet, I’ve been toying with the idea of becoming a vegetarian and vaguely considering the idea of actually making the shift to veganism. For those of you who have made this shift, you know that it can sometimes be difficult. For those of you who haven’t, you probably think it impossible.
For me, it’s not necessarily that it would limit my epicurean options. After all, I have Natalia, a wonderful raw food chef, who shows me several vegan recipes in our video series In the Kitchen with Natalia. Nevertheless, eating meat has been ingrained in me since I was but a young ‘un. Other than the mornings I had cereal or oatmeal for breakfast, pretty much every meal I had revolved around some type of meat – pot roast, spaghetti with meat sauce, broiled chicken, barbecued kielbasa, pork tenderloin… okay, you get the picture. I mean, I was raised as a Baptist. We have barbecue for communion, for goodness sake.
Yet I know that American meat consumption is way over the top. The new KFC Ultimate Double Stack Artery Blocker is a testament to that (replacing the buns with fried chicken breasts? I mean, come on!). I know that the methane emitted by beef cows is not good for the environment and a possible contributor to global warming. I know that the practices used by many of our factory farms is far less than humane. I know that it takes more crops to feed livestock than it does to feed people. And I know that the runoff from these factories causes a great deal of our pollution. Even with all of that knowledge, giving up meat is no easy task.
But I did challenge myself to become a vegetarian for the month of July. And I must say that I’ve done pretty well. The first nine days went off without a hitch. I was eating plenty of leafy vegetables, Boca burgers, and raw foods. I even had a Chipotle burrito without the carnitas. Then my wife had a craving for a rotisserie chicken and I fell off the wagon. Nevertheless, I crawled back on, and I’m proud to say that I went to the all you can eat buffet at Troyer’s Amish Restaurant and managed to eat no meat. I had a great salad, potatoes, stuffing, corn, green beans, broccoli, and topped it off with cake and ice cream. And while I humbly admit that I slipped up in my vegetarian commitment, I’m not beating myself up over it.
What’s important to me is cutting down on my meat consumption. One of these days, I’m sure I’ll become a total vegan (especially if they invent a barbecue tree), but for the time being, I’m taking baby steps. I think too many people, myself included, get so caught up in the “all or nothing” mentality that they end up hating themselves for faltering while trying to change a lifelong habit. I’ve got plenty of things to get mad at myself about. I’d rather rejoice when I do well than get down on myself when I do bad.
Recently, I saw the following video on TED by the founder of Treehugger, Graham Hill, where he talks about his own struggle with going vegetarian. He brings up some pretty good points, and I thought I’d share it with those of you who are considering the transition, but become grim when holding your “last” hamburger in your hand. As for me, I’m taking one day at a time.
Steve
In addition to serving as Managing Editor and contributor to Modern Hippie Mag, Steve McAllister is an actor, musician, accomplished author, filmmaker, and the man behind Your Daily Groove. His most recent novel, The McAllister Code is available as an e-book at www.themcallistercode.com. Find Steve on Twitter, @InkenSoul. Read his reviews and articles here.
Steve McAllister, Modern Hippie Mag's resident Lifestyle Guru, describes himself as a Renaissance Man. An author, filmmaker, songwriter, and perpetual artistic experimenter, he has recently re-released his second book The Rucksack Letters into paperback to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the journey. His latest book, a comical foray into philosophical science fiction, is How to Survive an Estralarian Mind Meld. His latest artistic project is The Labyrinth of the Unbroken Path. .
it could be a slow transition but you are on the right track! I also started to play with an idea of veganism and was on and off meat for a while. Now I could care less about meat. Most important not to stress out and go with the flaw one day at a time and great things will happen! Join my FB page For raw/vegan ideas http://bit.ly/c7e6nE
Or, you could read "The Vegetarian Myth" and re-think the notion that being a vegetarian is the only eco-conscious route. It's not the consumption of meat that is the problem, nor is simply eating veg the answer. We need to pay more attention to where the food is coming from–how is an apple grown in Argentina and transported to Boston more eco-friendly than a lamb shank pastured and slaughtered 30 miles away? You are far better off–ecologically and health-wise–eating a pasture-raised beef burger than that Boca.
It's spooky how clever some ppl are. Tnhaks!