Just popping in with a quick update. Yours truly has decided to make the move and become completely meat-free.
Yup!
I’m doing it.
Many of you might remember me sharing that I’ve actually been a vegetarian before. For mostly ethical reasons, I decided on February 6, 2006 that I would go plant-based. I had learned a lot about the environmental impact of the meat industry and the way factory animals are treated and no longer wanted to support it. I had just turned 18-years-old. I tried my best, but my best wasn’t very good. I was still a kid and really didn’t have control over my food or the willpower to make healthy eating choices, and when I went off to college in the fall of 2006 I found myself eating nothing but french fries and salad. So I quit. I went back to eating meat in the spring of 2007 and have been eating it since.
I was never entirely happy with my decision to quit vegetarianism in the first place. My mind was made up seven years ago about why I didn’t want to eat animal meat, and to be honest my mind never changed. I mentally forced myself to separate what I knew about meat from the “substance” I was preparing and eating for food. I’ve tried to buy “organic” and “grass-fed” and “free-range” and “humane” whenever I could to ease my conscience. And mostly, I enjoyed being the 100% foodie that I am and being able to eat anything I wanted wherever I went.
I also remember very distinctly having one big problem as a veggie teen. I had NO clue what to say to people when they asked me “So, why are you a vegetarian?”. I knew my reasons in my heart, but would always get nervous or flustered. I would give some of the weirdest answers like “Well, I just eat too much meat and thought I should cut back…” or “I don’t really like meat much anyways so I’m just testing it out…” It freaked me out to have people question the decision that I made that goes contrary to so much of American food culture.
It doesn’t freak me out anymore.
So, without preaching or trying to convince anyone, but without hiding the truth, here’s my answer.
Why the heck are you becoming vegetarian?
- The meat industry takes a huge toll on the environment and the world’s resources, and I want to protect the environment.
- Animals in our country are tortured, abused, neglected, and exploited in unspeakable ways all for the purposes of profit and food. Our government does an absolutely terrible job of protecting the animals and protecting us. The standards are almost non-existant, and I have standards.
- I believe that every animal on this Earth, including humans, was made by God and is precious. I will not take the life of another living thing when it’s not necessary.
- Vegetarians live longer and enjoy much lower rates of chronic disease, and I like to be healthy!
- I was afraid to defy our food culture and be judged by others because of what I eat, and I am not letting myself be afraid anymore.
So today marks the first day of my “new” life, and I’m really pumped about it. I’m going to try my best to avoid the mistakes I made the first time around and give this lifestyle my very best effort. To be honest, I’m really freaking excited. I feel free and gloriously happy. A huge weight has been lifted from my conscious, and it almost feels like the decision made itself for me.
And since I already eat a lot of plant-based foods, I can still enjoy the things I really love!
I hope that you carnivores out there aren’t going to abandon me! Jason is still a meat-eater and therefore it’s possible that a meat recipe might surface here every now and again (maybe as guest posts from him). But the bottom line is that this blog will be focusing on plant-based foods from now on.
Hooray!
Live long and prosper eat vegetables! 🙂
Thanks for reading!
-Lauren
11 Responses
Callie
Good luck! I tried it out for a few months of 2012 and loved it, besides everyone asking me why. I got tired of answering and was lazy about finding meat-free foods (I eat in a dining hall still, so it was a lot of pasta and salad), so I started eating meat again. I think I might make the switch back to vegetarianism again. Thanks for the inspiration!
Xo Cal
P.s. I’m on my way to NoVa to hang with Tom and bluedogbelle!!!
Lauren
You should hop on the train again! I know exactly what you mean about the dining hall thing, that’s so much of the reason I quit at Wheaton. And AWWW MAN I’m jealous you’re gonna be in dc–Jason and I are going this weekend so we’re just gonna miss you!!! Have a blast!!! 😀
Monique
Awesome! I’m so happy for you, Lauren. I can’t wait to see what you cook up. 🙂
Lauren
Thanks, Monique! Who knows, maybe one day I’ll be brave like you and become a vegan. 😉
Athena R
Congrats on your decision. I was a vegetarian for a few years in high school and college, then started eating meat again. I’ve dabbled in it off and on over the years. Last year I went veg for about 6 months but became anemic though I ate lots of iron rich foods. I started back eating meat because I could not find an iron supplement that didn’t make me sick. Thankfully, I’ve since found one and continue to take it. I hope one day to go back veg, but I recently found out I’m pregnant so it will be a while. 🙂
Lauren
OMG congrats on the pregnancy!!! 🙂
Athena R
Thank you so much!
Eva P
Congratulations, Lauren, on your decision. The closest I’ve ever come to being vegetarian is doing the Daniel Fast 21 days a year for the past six years. Even for that short period of time, I’ve seen many benefits of a plant based diet. Jabari became a vegetarian about three years ago and he has been trying to get the rest of the family onboard. I’m seriously considering it for all the reasons you mentioned. After seeing your blog, I think I might be a step closer. Thanks for sharing. I’ll be dropping in to your blog to get some tasty veggie recipes. (-:
Nala S
Congratulations on becoming a vegetarian! I know it is quite rewarding to eat mostly plants and not have to worry about what you put in your body. I am mostly vegetarian and I consume alot of fish often. I try to eat a bit of chicken during the weekends. But I quit eating red meat last year, especially after reading how beef was raised and how this affects the environment. So far, I am vegetarian during the whole week and I eat chicken during the weekends. Maybe soon I will cut of the meat altogether. I am looking forward to the plant-based recipes=)
Abby
Congratulations! I went vegetarian in early 2011, but have incorporate fish and seafood back into my diet on a few occasions…I rarely eat dairy and follow a primarily vegan diet without having to try too hard. Find the right balance that works for you and there are PLENTY of food choices out there…I still eat red meat around the holidays, but determined to kick that habit this year!
Don’t waste your breath explaining to anyone, it’s your life and your food choice…
Darlene
Looking forward to the plant based recipes. I’m thinking about being a vegetarian a go.