We did it! Three weeks!
Week three was the easiest yet. Wendy and Marty checked in on me this week. Talking to people who are super jazzed about not eating animals makes it seem way more cool and fun.
They also gave me some advice and places to try, which makes me feel like I’m not alone, and like it might actually be possible to live a life without eating meat.
I’ve still been craving meat, but craving it less.
I also got a surprise in the mail from Wendy and Marty. (Yay, I love surprise presents!) It’s Alicia Silverstone’s book – The Kind Diet.
Get this. On the first page is a preface by Paul McCartney(!) Okay, I’m listening.
Part of it reads, “When the United Nations (not a vegetarian group!) issued its report in 2006 saying that the livestock industry was responsible for more damage to the environment than all of the transport industry put together, I was glad to see a further reason for going veggie being made public.”
The livestock industry is worse for the environment than the transportation industry? I was not aware of that. I definitely care about the environment, so I’m starting to find reasons that would work for me if I ever decided to be a vegetarian long-term.
I will say that one meal that was hard this past week was during my trip to Petaluma. The Greyhound bus stopped at a Burger King. There was a screen that showed constant footage of sauce being poured on meat, various sizzling meats – all kinds of slow-motion food-making footage that involved lots and lots of meat.
I looked at my options, and ended up having a veggie burger. (Did you know there is meat in every salad and wrap available at Burger King?)
I had a veggie burger, and it was absolutely terrible. I spit out my one bite and couldn’t bear to take another one. I ended up having fries and onion rings – the dinner of champions.
Another thing that’s been rough is that we get various food trucks that come to our work everyday, and we’ve had a bunch recently that are all burger-centric.
I find it to be a challenge to live in a meat-eater’s world. (At least my little circle seems to be a meat-eater’s world. I’m sure everyone’s food worlds are different based on where you live and work, and who you spend time with, etc.)
Some people I’ve talked to think it’s not all that hard to be vegetarian. I guess maybe it’s not “hard.” That might be the wrong word. It’s not necessarily hard, but it is something you have to put effort into to, to get it right. It’s better if you really care and are really driven to do it, ’cause I think it can be challenging.
Along those same lines, until this week, I sort of viewed vegetarianism a little like a punishment. “I’ll muddle through and suffer for a good cause.” But Wendy and Marty are so jazzed about vegetarianism, that I tried to view it more as an exciting adventure…
I didn’t wasn’t always able to view it that way, of course. There are absolutely frustrating moments that come up. It certainly is a challenge. But, I tried not to see it as a punishment.
I’m self-imposing one more vegetarian week on myself. (I stupidly ate some gummy bears.) More on that in the next vegetarian post next week.