So what's the deal?

What made me do it? Why vegetarian, why now? The entire story would take far too long to write, and though I am certainly willing to undertake the task, I’m sure you would find all the details that led up to it to be vastly less interesting than I do.

Going vegetarian is not a great leap for me. I started eating organic five years ago. A three-year hiccup (during which time I was living on a university campus, working on a master’s degree, and eating in their dining common) was reversed when I watched Robert Kenner’s extraordinary documentary Food, Inc., which reminded me of why I had been eating organic in the first place. And so I returned to eating organic in December of last year. Not always easy to do on a limited budget, but I do the best I can.

I rarely eat fast food, I make every meal at home myself outside of the few a month which are meals out with friends or my roommate is having company and I get a free home-cooked meal (yay!). Salad ranks among my favorite foods/meals, I make my own granola, and I love whole grain breads and pastas.

Vegetarianism, for me, is the next logical step towards becoming as healthy as I possibly can. Towards the end of my three years in grad school and through the end of last summer, my eating habits took a complete nose dive and I realized I was putting on weight. I took the weight off, started exercising regularly, switched back to organic food and felt better than ever. Statistically speaking I was probably among the most-healthy eating people in the state, but I wasn’t satisfied. I wanted to eat even better.

Many people are vegetarians because of health reasons. Many people are vegetarians because of animal cruelty issues. I am a vegetarian for both reasons. I no longer have the desire to eat meat or participate financially in an industry so full of cruelty. The kicker was watching this video from PETA:

I realize this is not commonplace amongst born-again Christians, especially the fundamentalist circles I travel in. And it’s a shame. I am the temple of the Holy Spirit, and if that means keeping alcohol, cigarette smoke and illegal drugs out of it, I think it should also mean keeping unhealthy “foods” out of it. And if we are so adamant in defending the fact of the EVENT of creation I think we also should adamantly defend the PRODUCTS of creation (and not just the human ones). I also want to make sure that my reasons are scriptural and so intend to undertake a study of the entire Bible in the attempt to discern God’s intentions for food for His children. This may take a year or more.

Becoming a vegetarian is not an instant transformation. This is a journey. There will be days, especially at the beginning, when I will be very proud of myself and eat very well, and there will also be days when I will eat poorly or be too embarrassed to tell someone I am a vegetarian and will find myself eating meat rather than draw attention to myself. There are self-righteous vegetarians who love to announce the fact publicly at parties and barbecues. I pray I will not become one of them.

One of the pros of becoming a vegetarian publicly is that I will have accountability towards those who read this blog (even if they be only my mother and sisters) along with their support. One of the cons is that I will also find myself accountable to those who do not support my decision and will seek to question and find inconsistencies. But this is not about them; it is about me, and what I believe I need to do. So here it is: my blog on becoming a vegetarian.