I’m Never Eating THAT Again!

Deep down I always knew that I was going to be a vegetarian. Even when I was young, I would stumble upon something related to animals that would upset me deeply and I would think, “I could stop eating meat if I didn’t like < fill in the blank> so much”. I believe that many people can probably relate to that feeling. Truth be told, I became a vegetarian due to an unfortunate scroll through Facebook about three years ago.

The Yulin Dog Meat Festival in China features countless numbers of “man’s best friends” publicly slaughtered and hung for all to see. It resembles something close to what you would see behind the closed doors you at a slaughter house. The article I stumbled upon that day specifically followed a woman whose dog was stolen and shipped with many others in unimaginable conditioners on a freight liner to China. No doubt that they were on their way be killed and fed to the masses. Luckily, the story had a happy ending and this woman (after my own heart) met that freight liner in China and fought along side of activists to get her beloved pet back! YAASSS! My joy, however, was short-lived. As I sat, allowing what I just read to sink in, utter shock and horror began to take over.

Hold on…wait…they eat dogs!?!? What savages would eat a dog?! How could they do this? How is this allowed?!”

It was at this point that my father happens to call me right in the middle of my hysteria and outrage over this article. He is a practical man with an incredible sense of humor, I know my father tolerates my emotional outbursts. I proceed to go on about the horrors I just read and my opinion of people that would allow public torture of such beloved animals. Very calmly and yet jokingly he says to me, “Well, we eat cows and Indians pray to them.” Silence. In one short sentence, my father unintentionally changed my entire perspective. In my mind, we as Americans, were no different then the cultures whose meat industry just consisted of different animals (or inventory as some consider them). They are tragically the same. I would be a hypocrite to believe otherwise. Just because the animals they eat, we happen to domesticate, doesn’t make them any worse or us any better. The silence was broken with my epiphany…“Oh my god, WE are savages!”, I said to my father in horror. As I looked into the faces of my sweet, precious dogs… I knew I was changed forever. Pandora’s Box was open.

Just because I decided that I didn’t want to eat meat anymore, didn’t necessarily mean that I ate any healthier. As a matter of fact, I had no idea what I was going to eat. The only thing I knew was that I would not, could not, go on eating meat. Especially knowing now that these animals most likely lived a tragic existence for the sole purpose of ending up on my plate. Naturally, I ate like a freshmen in college… french fries, pasta, pizza, peanut butter sandwiches. Get where I am going with this? I’ve worked my entire life to stay in shape and in one swift decision, the pounds were beginning to sneak up. I realized that almost everything I knew how to cook had meat in it. Also, I didn’t start off eating a completely plant-based diet. It began immediately with beef and shortly after pork, then slowly poultry, and finally seafood. I still have the rare, yet occasional love affair with crab cakes and crab dip. Hey, I’m a Maryland girl and no one is perfect. Needless to say, I began looking up vegetarian recipes and substitutes to make this transition a little easier on myself and those who know me. Eating more fruits and vegetables is inevitable, the make or break is preparation and having things ready. Plain and simple. I’m still improving in this area as I tend to live life flying by the seat of my pants, but there are a TON of resources out there.

Sitting high on my soap box, I was proud of myself and my willpower. It’s tough not caving to what is convenient and familiar. I knew I was making a good decision and it had little at all to do with health; though I soon began to find out the numerous ways this decision would also benefit my wellness. The quest for knowledge grew with each passing day and I (sometimes reluctantly) began reading and watching everything I could find to support my choice and further my understanding. What surprised me is that people did not always have the same enthusiasm towards the information I wanted to share on the benefits of a plant based diet, and definitely not the horrors behind the meat industry. You know what? That’s OK! People have to make their own decisions about their health and what they will and won’t accept.

Today, some of my personal goals (that I will be blogging about in the future) are completing a Master Cleanse, while focusing my efforts on further progressing into a vegan diet by next eliminating dairy and eggs. I would also like to study nutrition and aromatherapy, especially as it relates to Integrative Health and Functional Medicine, both fields that I am fortunate to work within.

If you find yourself curious and/or looking for more information, here are some resources to start with, check out my blog, Vegetarian Life. As always, please feel free to contact me with any questions!

From my journey to yours…