And so it begins!! I am finally a Full-Time Vegetarian.
I mentioned before that my plan was to cut out a certain type of meat every month since January 1st. It was to my surprise that I didn't actually need a lot of what I used to eat than I thought which is crazy now that I think about it. I made the transition and I'm glad I did it the way that I did. If any of you guys are curious as to how I did it, keep reading!
January
Pork
Pigs are another form of a dog.
They love, they have emotions, they have sustained memory, and they are very smart.
They also love to cuddle and get belly rubs!
These are many traits you'll find in your own dog. I see that it my three dogs every day. Would you eat your dog? (I didn't think so)
Cutting out Pork was probably the easiest, which is why I cut it out first. I made sure going into the new year, I told my parents and friends (the ones that normally cook food for me!) that I was starting this goal with the hopes of them being mindful when we were around. I know it was a lot to ask, but I also knew that if I didn't tell them, I wouldn't be serious about it. It wasn't like I'd be grossed out if I was out with my friends and they decided to order a dish with pork in it. It was more so that if my best friend came by planning to cook at our place, he'd have a sense of what to cook so we can all enjoy the meal! And of course, I have the best parents and best friend so I never had that problem.
February
Beef
Beef is one of the leading causes of our climate change. Did you know that producing 1kg of beef = 34.6 kg of Carbon Dioxide (CO2)? Which ultimately means, if our livestock released about 100 kg of Methane per year for each cow, it would be equivalent to about 2300 kg of CO2 per year.
Let's compare this value of 2300 kg CO2:
The same amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) is generated by burning 1000 litres of petrol. With a car using 8 litres of petrol per 100 km, you could drive 12,500 km per year (7800 miles per year) (that's a lot!).*
Beef was a little harder to cut out. I didn't realize how much I loved burgers until I had to cut it out. I'm going to be honest, it wasn't easy. For the whole month, I thought it would be a great idea that I ate all the beef dishes I could. I realized after that wasn't the purpose of what I was doing. It was to prove to myself that I never had to crave it ever again, and that as a human being, I would create a small impact of being one less person not eating something that was causing things such as climate change. (Trust me, I know there are a lot of other factors as to why there's climate change. This is just one of the bigger reasons why).
March
Chicken
Around 9 billion chickens and turkeys are killed for meat each year in the U.S. alone. These sentient animals spend their entire lives in total confinement; more chickens are raised and killed for food than all other land animals combined.
Once at the slaughterhouse, the birds are hung upside down and their throats are cut open by machines. The chickens are then immersed in scalding-hot water for feather removal - and they are fully conscious throughout this entire process. (LIKE, WHY?)**
There are so many reasons not to eat Chicken, and although they are a great source of protein, cutting it out was something to think about. Over the span of this year, I learned a lot about halal (thanks to my coworker/probably forever friend). And one thing I learned was the consciousness we can all have when deciding to buy from the deli or from the nearest KFC. The act of treating these animals in a different way prior to their death was definitely one of my morals. How could I enjoy the meat from these poor chickens without feeling remorse or guilt? Although I had all of January and February to eat Chicken, I made sure I was buying from a well known source. It feels better knowing where it's coming from and how they were treated prior to eating them.
April
Seafood
The global appetite for seafood is greatly outpacing the ability of fish to reproduce.
“Most people who eat crab and lobster probably have no idea that several whales may have had to die to put that shellfish on the plate,” Hourston of the Blue Planet Society said.
Cruise ships alone dump more than 1 billion gallons of sewage directly into oceans each year and boats in general dump an estimated 70 to 210 million gallons of waste oil annually. (Which essentially goes back into our system)***
I can understand how difficult it would be to cut out sushi if you are a crazy sushi lover like me. I absolutely love seafood. But cutting it out now rather than later made more sense. If I were to go back to eating seafood in the future, it would be on occasion, which seems more reasonable. I didn't want to contribute a negative impact for the Ocean. Especially if it meant reducing the amount of All-You-Can-Eat sushi restaurants Ronnie and I would go too. I'd rather help the Ocean and maybe, just maybe in the future, our marine life will have space to reproduce so that we can always satisfy the sushi lover's craving!
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So now that it's April 11th, it's been a week and a half without meat. Here are a few things I've noticed:
- I'm not as sluggish and I don't feel gross after eating meals
- I have more energy to last me the full-day without the need of a nap
- There's a lot more greens in our fridge, some I never thought I'd eat
- There's less waste in our household because we use our own produce bags
- I LOVE the beyond meat burger from A&W
- I'm in the kitchen a lot more trying to be creative. But let's face it. I am still an awful cook!
Now take a look at the food we made within the first week!.. Except the Zah - We celebrated our victory of lasting a week on the weekend. Mushroom Xtra Cheese from Pizza Land is to DIE for! If you like any of them and want the recipe, send me a message & I'll share it with U!
I can't wait to try more creative veggie dishes! I also can't wait for Charlie to come home from his first trip ALONE to JAPAN & KOREA! I hope you're having fun and you read this on your trip!
Until next time.
Jree
Also, give these links a read, you may find facts that you'll find interesting:
*https://timeforchange.org
** https://www.plantbasednews.org
***https://www.globalcitizen.org
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