For the past 6 months I have been trying my own version of vegetarianism. It is similar to a weekend vegetarian. I thought I would share my diet with others incase you want to try or what to give me feedback or share your thoughts. It came out of my desire to eat healthy, and have less of a negative impact on the planet and its other inhabitants. All while still not missing out on enjoyment of food and culture. Continue reading for more info.
Details:
All the time
- Eat vegetarian
- Eggs and Dairy are ok if they are organic and free range
Once a Week:
- Can eat a serving of fish or seafood
Once every two weeks:
- Can eat a serving of Chicken if it is organic
Once a month:
- Can eat a serving of red meat. Because it is only once a month, spend money on really good, organic, free range meat. I will not waste it on a McDonald’s burger. Maybe eat buffalo or a higher end meat. Also keep the serving small, no 24oz steak.
Why?
Well there are a number of reasons to reduce the amount of meat you eat.
- Raising meat is very hard on the environment (1lb of meat makes as many green house gasses as driving an suv 40 miles)
- Meat is very inefficient, it takes a lot of grain and water to make a little meat. (16lbs of grain alone for 1lb of meat, not counting water)
- Bad for your health. Eating to much meat, especially red meat is not good for you. It leads to heart problems, and high blood pressure.
- Hard to find good meat. Many meats out there now are factory raised and chuck full of antibiotics and pesticides.
- Price. Meat is expensive, especially good meat.
- Care about animals. This for many is the most important. Many would prefer not to kill animals for food, and if they do, they want them to live a happier life then that at todays meat factories. It was high on my reasons also.
Why not become a full vegetarian then??
Your probably wandering why not just be a full vegetarian? Well here are a few of my reasons why.
- I know myself. Cutting meat fully, is hard, and a few things would be hard for me to give up forever. Cutting back a lot makes a huge difference.
- Dairy and Eggs, if raised right, will not harm, kill or make animals uncomfortable. Including these in your diet will make it MUCH easier to stay healthy and get all the nutrients you need. With out them, you will need to find sources of B-12, D3, and keep track of your essential amino acids(check out my amino meter for this!).
- Social situations. If you are a guest in someones home, it can be very rude to turn down food they have made for you. In many cases, buffets and such, you can avoid meat, but some times, a special made dish will need to be tried. Setting an example or sharing your life choses is far different from insulting a host.
- Longevity of my choice. By allowing some meat, much of the stress is avoided that often comes when on vacation or when chooses are not available. I have failed before at being a vegetarian rather quickly. When you do fail, it is hard to keep up. With this diet, its an easy change, and I don’t see any problems keeping the changes in the long term.
- Still can support responsibly raised meat. Often the people that would support a free range buffalo farm are full vegetarian. So the few times I do eat meat, I can support the good ones out there.
- Travel and culture experience. To know a culture, you have to experience there food. This often includes meat. Food and travel are two off my passions, and although many times vegetarian options are available, in some places you will be missing out on a cultural experience. With in reason of course… I am not going to eat monkey or anything I am worried came form a factory farm or unsafe source. Interestingly enough you will find, many cultures can not afford meat, so have very little if any in there daily cuisine. Some of the best and most interesting foods have none!
I think this choices is a healthy, happy and much lower impact option and I recommend you give it a try. It also could be a great way for an aspiring vegetarian to get started. Let me know your thoughts and ideas!
**updates**
You can live longer now!
Double Food Pyramid puts importance of the environment next to health. Also it puts meat on the “eat sparingly” part.
