How I Went Healthy... And THEN Went Veg

I decided to go vegetarian mid-May of 2005. I didn't realize it at the time, but I had been laying the groundwork for that decision and adjusting my diet to make the transition to vegetarian easier for an entire year already. Why? Because I decided to eat a healthier diet when I moved to Madison, WI, and started a new job in March 2004.

The fact of the matter is that whether you eat meat or not,  you also need to eat a variety of other foods including fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and beans if you want to stay healthy.

I realize that individual dietary choices, allergies, or food preferences may eliminate some foods from your list, but as a whole, a diet that is rich in a variety of plant-based foods is good for you - whether or not you choose to augment that with eggs, meat, and dairy.

I was browsing through books one day in 2004, right after moving to Madison, when I came upon a book called SuperfoodsRx: The Fourteen Foods That Will Change Your Life. "Well, perfect!" I thought. I had a pretty darn good idea of what NOT to eat (cookies, cake, ice cream)... but what should I eat? I loved the Superfoods Rx book because it recommended specific foods (or families of foods) and gave ideas on how to eat them. For a while, I looked for the specific foods listed, wondering if the foods left out (like peaches) maybe weren't all that good for me.

Ultimately I concluded that if nature grew it, I should eat it. The key is variety. Even if you do stick to the Superfoods diet exactly, you will be assured a variety of mostly plant-based foods. (The fourteen foods are: Blueberries, Walnuts, Spinach, Broccoli, Tea, Soy, Oranges, Beans, Pumpkin, Oats, Wild Alaskan Salmon, Turkey, Yogurt, and Tomatoes). In other words, several days a week you should try to eat citrus, beans, nuts, cruciferous vegetables (like broccoli), dark leafy greens, orange vegetables, something red (like tomatoes or watermelon), berries, and so on. Once you do this, trust me - you won't be eating all that much meat anyway. You'll be too full.

It was only after that that I began to see reasons here and there why I should give up this meat or that meat. Albacore tuna has mercury, swordfish are overfished, factory hog farms produce massive amounts of waste that pollute the environment... I thought it would be foolish to categorically swear off meat without a reason to give up absolutely everything. So instead I gave up each species as I found a reason to do so. Pretty soon, you could hardly even take me to a restaurant. I was just too picky. I usually ended up eating the vegetables anyway, after giving the poor waiter a full interview about each of the animals on the menu ("Is the salmon Atlantic or Alaskan?").

Still, I didn't go veg. Ultimately, what tipped the scales was an environmental argument. Going veg uses less fossil fuel than eating meat. Well, I thought... I'm so picky about meat anyway, I might as well give it up. I made a bargain with myself: one more lobster dinner, and I get to eat the turkey at Thanksgiving. Other than that, no more meat.

At home this made very little difference in my diet. At restaurants, it felt strange. Suddenly I found myself asking if there was lard in the refried beans, whereas I used to never care. By the time I cashed in on my lobster dinner and my Thanksgiving turkey, I found that meat was a disappointment. I was REALLY looking forward to that lobster. By the time I had it, it could NEVER live up to my expectations. So kicking the lobster habit for good was no longer a problem.

It was only after I'd been a vegetarian for a while that I began to grapple with the animal cruelty issues that cause many vegetarians to swear off meat in the first place. When my normal diet included meat, I just couldn't deal with the issue. As a vegetarian, I've found that despite a federal law requiring humane slaughter (if there is such a thing), atrocities are committed in slaughterhouses regularly.

Given the recent passage of Prop 2 in California - the law banning specific cruel livestock practices - I don't think meat eaters want these violent acts committed in their names. I am happy as a vegetarian, but I understand others may not be. Still, I'd like to see our meat habits become healthier, most sustainable, and more ethical in this country.

(Photo credit: karimian on Flickr.)