I've decided to do this for a few reasons but what really spawned the idea was watching a documentary called Vegucated. (Thank you, iTunes, for delivering on a less than exciting night in!) For six weeks, Writer/Director/Editor and food activist Marisa M. Wolfson followed three NY-ers in an experiment in Veganism. She introduced them to the philosophy behind it, opened their eyes to the atrocities that happen in far too many animal plants around the country, and taught them about the exponential number of options they have in eating a non-carnivorous diet.
Now, I have seen plenty of documentaries that focus on the same topic, or one closely related to it. In fact, I will be reviewing a couple of them over the next six weeks right here! So often, I am turned off by the "holier- than- thou" tone of the creators. They sometimes act as if it isn't true that the taste of a perfectly fried slice of bacon in the morning is not delicious- PUH-LEASE. At that point, they lose all credibility with this girl.
In Vegucated, Marisa is much more open- minded to the idea that people probably won't want to give up all meat and animal products immediately. She "gets" that most of us grew up around kitchen tables where meat was the main course and that was that. Our food "choices" are really habits we've cultured since we were old enough to give up the bottle and for most of us- no matter how horrific the undercover footage of sadistic abuses against animals can be or how unhealthy we KNOW all of the greasy meat we consume is for us- are not going to give it up easily. Instead, all Marisa asks is that each of us learn the facts and make informed decisions about what we eat. Will we get it right all of the time? Probably not. Will we do better if we're willing to open up our minds and eat consciously? Most likely.
So, predictably, here I am feeling inspired and embarking on a vegetarian diet. I decided baby steps was the name of the game and not to try veganism just yet- Never say never, though! Over the next five weeks and two days, I'll share some of the vegetarian recipes I test, give a shout out to the NYC restaurants and cafes with great vegetarian selections, and share my general experience.... the "good", the "bad", and the "ugly", if you will. Maybe you'll be inspired to do this with me? Maybe you're a badass and can go full vegan (please share if you do!) and maybe you'll eat meat just one less time/week than you normally would. The goal here isn't to be competitive but simply to pay attention to your food choices and know what you're eating. After all, as my cousin so eloquently put it in her guest post a couple weeks ago, "one day my body will be a prison" and right now, I plan to treat it well and enjoy it to the utmost of my ability!
Wish me luck!
(Honestly, five days in, it has been 95% easy to stick to this new habit!)
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