Not so nice to meat you.
I'm in love with chicken.
I'm infatuated with cow.
I'm enamoured with pig.
I won't be putting them in my cart anymore.
I will be looking harder at the menu when I go out to eat.
I have thought about dropping meat out of my diet for quite some time. The more I read about meat the more I felt weak for eating it. I do live in a family of four, so when the idea of going vegetarian was brought up it was usually shot down. I still read disturbing things that were hard to get outtta my brain.
I remember an article in Dirt Rag about "Vegan" Rob Lichtenwalner that had a sidebar with a few facts about meat and it's real impact on the world. That was one of the first articles I read that really had me thinking about going over to the other team. There was resistance on my family's part, so I pushed it to the back of my brain. I would still see disturbing things once and awhile that were hard to ignore, so I kept gently pushing and nudging.
The Boy now has a slight health issue, and oddly enough it COULD (or might not be) related to an inability to properly digest animal protien. Being an RN this put The Pie into full research mode. She was finally reading the disturbing things that I have been reading for years. In a nutshell our desire for cheap meat affects our health, our water supply, the global economy, the price of gas, and most importantly it starves people. I can't just sit there and eat a Double Whopper without thinking about the fact that it took about ten pounds of grain to put that cheap meat in my mouth. I think about how many people could be sitting at a table with me (you know, those people Sally Struthers was always trying to feed) enjoying the feeling of a full stomach. I just can't do it.
I'm not gonna get all preachy about the topic. The facts are all out there if you wanna know them. I know the little things I do aren't gonna change the world, but I can no longer enjoy a big plate of hot wings without thinking about just how they came to be in front of me. I really loved hot wings too.
I've still got plenty of habits that aren't helping the global situation. At least The Pie and I are on the same wavelength when it comes to a lot of things. She doesn't freak out when we go into a restaurant (that's a funny word), and I want to leave when I see a bunch of styrofoam. She's down with using cloth grocery bags, she doesn't think a couple mile round trip to the video store is too far to walk, and she let's the "yellow mellow". Lately she has been putting a lot of time and energy into finding us new foods that I didn't even know existed. I have eaten quinoa, couscous, tempeh, and pine nuts this week. Google any of those foods and you'll wonder why you're not eating them, especially if your an athlete looking for healthy options to get protien in you diet.
Here's a problem I know I'll deal with at some point. I have seen lots of vegetarians less than thrilled about their options at the big stage races I've done in the last few years. Even when the promoters have offered a vegetarian option they seem to forget that EVERYBODY needs protien to recover from a hard day's effort. I kinda figure that I'll be at the mercy of the promoters if I ever do another stage race. Now that airline luggage restrictions are getting tighter bringing all your gear PLUS a good supply of non-meat protien will cost you money (not to mention the inability to cook it, not being able to keep it with you in your tent because of bear attacks, and the limiting size of the supplied gear bags). I'll probably just have to eat meat and deal with it.
I will do my best to make sure my choice does not inconvenience others around me. I realize this is not a convenient choice though, and it's kind of a sad state of affairs. Trying to eat healthy seems like a part time job if you go to a regular grocery store. I'm really reading labels since the idea is to know what's going in my body. Avoiding hydrogenated oils, high fructose corn syrup, "enriched" flour, and all the other things man has invented and decided to call "food" ain't easy. It just seems odd that we got so far off track all in the name of money, because when you really think about it that's what all this crap is about. How can we make more money selling people food (or at least whatever the FDA says we can call food)?
I don't think I wanna be a part of that anymore.
I didn't want this to sound preachy. I could have let my brain blow up all over the keyboard, but I did my best to restrain myself.
My flame suit is on.
Deep fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches are the new steak.
Natural Light is organic, right??
I'm infatuated with cow.
I'm enamoured with pig.
I won't be putting them in my cart anymore.
I will be looking harder at the menu when I go out to eat.
I have thought about dropping meat out of my diet for quite some time. The more I read about meat the more I felt weak for eating it. I do live in a family of four, so when the idea of going vegetarian was brought up it was usually shot down. I still read disturbing things that were hard to get outtta my brain.
I remember an article in Dirt Rag about "Vegan" Rob Lichtenwalner that had a sidebar with a few facts about meat and it's real impact on the world. That was one of the first articles I read that really had me thinking about going over to the other team. There was resistance on my family's part, so I pushed it to the back of my brain. I would still see disturbing things once and awhile that were hard to ignore, so I kept gently pushing and nudging.
The Boy now has a slight health issue, and oddly enough it COULD (or might not be) related to an inability to properly digest animal protien. Being an RN this put The Pie into full research mode. She was finally reading the disturbing things that I have been reading for years. In a nutshell our desire for cheap meat affects our health, our water supply, the global economy, the price of gas, and most importantly it starves people. I can't just sit there and eat a Double Whopper without thinking about the fact that it took about ten pounds of grain to put that cheap meat in my mouth. I think about how many people could be sitting at a table with me (you know, those people Sally Struthers was always trying to feed) enjoying the feeling of a full stomach. I just can't do it.
I'm not gonna get all preachy about the topic. The facts are all out there if you wanna know them. I know the little things I do aren't gonna change the world, but I can no longer enjoy a big plate of hot wings without thinking about just how they came to be in front of me. I really loved hot wings too.
I've still got plenty of habits that aren't helping the global situation. At least The Pie and I are on the same wavelength when it comes to a lot of things. She doesn't freak out when we go into a restaurant (that's a funny word), and I want to leave when I see a bunch of styrofoam. She's down with using cloth grocery bags, she doesn't think a couple mile round trip to the video store is too far to walk, and she let's the "yellow mellow". Lately she has been putting a lot of time and energy into finding us new foods that I didn't even know existed. I have eaten quinoa, couscous, tempeh, and pine nuts this week. Google any of those foods and you'll wonder why you're not eating them, especially if your an athlete looking for healthy options to get protien in you diet.
Here's a problem I know I'll deal with at some point. I have seen lots of vegetarians less than thrilled about their options at the big stage races I've done in the last few years. Even when the promoters have offered a vegetarian option they seem to forget that EVERYBODY needs protien to recover from a hard day's effort. I kinda figure that I'll be at the mercy of the promoters if I ever do another stage race. Now that airline luggage restrictions are getting tighter bringing all your gear PLUS a good supply of non-meat protien will cost you money (not to mention the inability to cook it, not being able to keep it with you in your tent because of bear attacks, and the limiting size of the supplied gear bags). I'll probably just have to eat meat and deal with it.
I will do my best to make sure my choice does not inconvenience others around me. I realize this is not a convenient choice though, and it's kind of a sad state of affairs. Trying to eat healthy seems like a part time job if you go to a regular grocery store. I'm really reading labels since the idea is to know what's going in my body. Avoiding hydrogenated oils, high fructose corn syrup, "enriched" flour, and all the other things man has invented and decided to call "food" ain't easy. It just seems odd that we got so far off track all in the name of money, because when you really think about it that's what all this crap is about. How can we make more money selling people food (or at least whatever the FDA says we can call food)?
I don't think I wanna be a part of that anymore.
I didn't want this to sound preachy. I could have let my brain blow up all over the keyboard, but I did my best to restrain myself.
My flame suit is on.
Deep fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches are the new steak.
Natural Light is organic, right??
See you at PMBAR... (Comment this)
I'm taking a similar approach to SWL - avoid farmed and feedlotted meat where possible, buy organic and/or free range where we can, find 'sustainable' suppliers, eat game (wild) meat where possible. Living in rural Aus, we're lucky - we have access to farmers and farmers markets (the new cool over here), and access to good quality game (kangaroo) meat.
There is an inherant danger in people turning vegetarian (just 'cos), and but not thinking through their food choices.
Informed choice needs to be the catch cry. (Comment this)
I've heard about the soy thing too. Everything I've read though still points to the fact that fewer mouths to feed (I mean animals) means less wasted growing space. If we used all the land that is currently utilized for animal feed to produce food for human consumption I have to believe there would be no such thing as a "food shortage".
Big time agribusiness is always going to exploit the earth in any way possible. It's what they do. If people are buying soy then they're gonna chop down some rain forests and make it as cheap as possible.
Read "Not a Drop to Drink" if you really want some disturbing info on agribusiness.
http://www.powells.com/biblio/9781930722682 (Comment this)
Tofu jerky and bean burritos travel nicely for post race fuel too. It's not hard but it does take a good bit of forethought. Ethic restaurants usually serve your needs well.
Going veg to start makes the transition easier, vegan later just kinda comes naturally if you keep thinking about how the industry works. (Comment this)
Most cows are fed on grain, which has to be grown somewhere...
We buy our meat from a butcher located 15 minutes walk from our house. He buys his animals from local farms and has them slaughtered at an abbotoir which is about 15 miles away.
While the animals will be fed grain through the winter, they're out in grassy fields for the rest of the year. In fact, there's a chance that the bullock that licked my Brooks saddle while out on a ride ended up on my plate :)
Veggie is probably better than eating any old meat. But, eating local, good quality meat is probably better than eating any old veggie.
Local, organic veggie is probably best of all, but I like meat. (Comment this)
Just imagine someone walking up to you with a heaping plate, half chicken and half 3 bean salad, saying that you should have gotten in line sooner because the 3 bean salad is delicious.
(Comment this)
What I'm trying to say is that you should find a balance that works well for you. (Comment this)
I've found that if I augment my bacon servings with sausage and livermush, I tend to enjoy my portions of porkchops and ham that much more.
mmmmmm.... pig.....it's what's for dinner. (Comment this)
- Padre (Comment this)
(Comment this)
I'm in the same dilemna.
My meat consumption has decreased quite a bit. I try to feel better by eating chix but that's it's own horror story.
-parker (Comment this)