As I mentioned on Thursday once upon a long, long time ago I was a vegetarian. For whatever reason, I seem to like making big changes right around the start of a calendar year. That being the case 01 January 1992 I made the switch to a vegetarian diet.
The decision was not completely random I just felt like I wanted to try to understand an issue from the other side.
This was my entrance into reading labels and believe me I was shocked. It was amazing to me what had animal by products in them. Years later I would have a similar shock as I started to research celiac disease and then again recently as I’ve started being conscious about the carbohydrates that I take in with my diabetes.
My experiences as a vegetarian forever shaped my view of food, cooking, and health. As I began to read more from vegetarian advocates like John Robbins
Where’s the Beef?
Today is the Great American Meatout day and so depending on where you live and where you go today you may run into any various events meant to educate (or maybe even intimidate) omnivores about the benefits of a meatless diet and like every other issue in this country you will only hear one side of the issue.
Things that you are likely to here
- Vegetarians are healthier than people who eat meat. They have fewer instances of ailments like diabetes, high blood pressure, rheumatoid arthritis, colon cancer, heart disease, and more.
- A vegetarian lifestyle will spare animals such as cows and chickens from inhumane raising practices that terrify and abuse them.
What you won’t hear
Simply switching to a vegetarian lifestyle will not guarantee you better health. As I was saying when I first started as a vegetarian I was doing well in the healthy eating department but as soon as my daily life started getting really busy I found less time to cook healthy meals. But boy if I didn’t manage to find a lot of quick junk food options to eat: cheese pizza, cookies, potato chips, mozzarella sticks, take-out restaurant food of all kinds.
I should point out that the folks at meatout.com are advocating a vegan diet which avoids food with any sort of meat or animal by-product including milk, eggs, gelatin, etc. so in such a situation junk food would be a little harder to come by but if you were so inclined you can find it.
An old friend of mine who studied animal science did point out to me once that the cattle that we breed and eat these days have been domesticated to the point of total dependence. If those countries that are large cattle producing and consuming institutions all stopped eating beef the cow would go extinct like its ancient wild ancestors.
No one all-inclusive answer
Truth of the matter, like so much in our world today, is that some middle ground needs to be found. We cannot go back to “the way we were” without causing new problems. Yes, we all need to eat more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Yes, our national diet is the cause of a great many health issues. Yes, we need to eat less animal based protein if we wish to remain healthy. No rational minded person can deny any of that. What I do question is the all or nothing mentality on both sides of the fence. A grilled breast of chicken or a lean cut of beef is just as beautiful and satisfying to me as a vegetable enchilada or a vegetarian curry.
Moderation in all things – that’s the key!
