Meals Without Meat

As I was walking out of Petco on Sunday evening, I saw a large group of people holding signs and showing a DVD. Now you need to understand that demonstrations in Union Square are par for the course. I didn't pay them much attention until I saw the video. They showed a cow being held on a conveyor belt by its feet while a slaughterhouse worker slits its throat. OMG! I was shocked! I also saw workers slam "runt" pigs on concrete floors to kill them, crowd tens of thousands of chickens into cramped cages where they can't even open their wings, and auction off cattle with lesions and tumors to be made into food for humans. I had always heard of PETA and kinda thought they seemed a little crazy. But, I had never really thought about the deplorable conditions of factory farms.

I fully believe that it's alright to slaughter animals to feed people. Some don’t, but I do. I like hamburgers, bacon, and turkey on Thanksgiving. But, the video and demonstrators really got me thinking. It's hard to look at a burger and not see the face of that cow hanging upside down with its blood draining while still conscious. Even if I wanted to still eat it, the images make me lose my appetite.

They handed me two pamphlets - one on vegetarianism and one on veganism. I highly doubt that I could ever be vegan. I think it's a little obsessive to give up all animal byproducts, even though I saw cruelty in regards to hens and dairy cows. Hey! You can't win them all, right? But I think that I may be able to give up meat. The literature also said that people who eat a vegetarian diet have lower cholesterol and risk for certain kinds of cancers. I guess it makes sense. They put so many antibiotics and growth hormones into animals. Why wouldn't they then pass them on to us when we eat them?

I requested a free, starter kit and asked my friend Hannah to give me more information. I will definitively need to make sure that I can get more than enough protein in other forms. My muscles need protein in order to keep growing and getting bigger. I feel sorry for the chickens, but I won't be giving up my physical goals for them. Sorry!

I haven't decided exactly when this new diet will start, but I'm sure I'll do it gradually. Maybe I'll start with just one or two days without meat and see how it works. Trying new things is the only way to grow and learn, so I'm willing to give it a shot.