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Well, it seems like our time is coming to a close. I have enjoyed this project and have learned some valuable information that I will certainly take with me for future reference. From these few weeks, I have successfully became a pesco, lacto-ovo, and lacto vegetarian and somewhat of a vegan. I did screw up on my final week becoming a vegan due in part to eating bread and cheese, but I bounced back and stayed on track for the rest of the week.
Overall, I thought the project was fun to do. I enjoyed being able to research a topic I knew absolutely nothing about. I have always wanted to become a vegetarian, but I thought I could never do it. Throughout the month, there were hard times like having to plan out meals in advance and reprogramming my brain to think about food differently. Through these hardships, I learned a lot about myself and how society has played a major role in my way of thinking about food.
Before this project, I had no clue about the process of how we obtain our food. The amount of resources it takes to get meat from the slaughterhouse to our grocery store is amazing. Not to mention the hazardous gases being transported throughout the factory that workers have to inhale day in and day out. We do not consider how much water goes into the animals we kill for our consumption (half our water supply), or the amount of land that is destroyed in order to provide cropland for animals to graze upon (260 million). We never hear about these environmental and social issues at all, they are simply hidden away from the public view. This project has not only opened my eyes to how society “sweeps things under the rug” so to speak when it comes to the meat industry, but also how we conceive meat in general.
Another concept I learned about was privilege. I have already discussed how privilege played a part in my project, but also in obtaining research for my blogs and presentation. I never realized how much I underestimated the benefits I have been given when it comes to the freedom of choice and utilizing resources around me. Attending K-State has given me the opportunity to view online journals and do research that others do not get the chance to see. Even going to the library or on the computer is a privilege because some people do not even have libraries or places to get knowledge about a topic they are interested in. Recognizing how lucky I am to be able to change my eating lifestyle and having the resources to do it was unexpected.
The concepts of ecofeminism went hand in hand with becoming a vegetarian and vegan. The “power over” principle comes into play when dealing with the animal rights issue. As Karen Warren discussed in Ecofeminist Philosophy, power from the Ups aka dominant groups helps control the Downs aka subordinant groups (48). The interconnection between women and animals is seen throughout our culture. Animals, just like women, are victimized, objectified, consumable, and are viewed as commodies. For example, women are often seen as “pieces of meat.”
Karen Warren also points out some of the arguments portrayed by most ecofeminist animal welfare. They say, “Meat eating is an integral part of male dominance; vegetarian acts as a sign of disease with patriarchal culture” (126). Taking a holistic view of vegetarianism is something Warren addresses in her book. If we change our way of thinking about how we see animals simply as meat for our consumption and connect ourselves with nature, we can change the dynamic of our society including value dualisms (135-136). All these concepts have increased my knowledge of how power is distributed in the sense of individuals and has been a vital resource in my project.
Even though my project is done, I am still a lacto-ovo vegetarian, which means I do not eat meat but I do eat dairy products and eggs. For my hectic schedule, especially now during finals, lacto-ovo vegetarianism is the most effective one for me to continue doing. Once I graduate, I do want to go back to trying the vegan lifestyle. I find it challenging and I want to see how far I can go with it.
This project has been worthwhile because I view life differently. I am looking at what I have in my house for meals, I look at quality instead of quantity, especially when it comes to the getting the proper nutrients for my diet. Along with changing my attitudes concerning food, I also feel I have made a difference by not eating meat. If I continue this up to one year, I will be saving 100 animals from becoming slaughtered. I might be only one person, but at least I know I am not contributing to the mistreatment of animals by not purchasing the meat at the store.
I hope you all have enjoyed my posts and have at least learned alittle something about vegetarianism and veganism. I do hope you all would take the time and examine your own way of thinking about food, how our society has contributed to our conceptions of food, and the hidden knowledge being kept from us concerning the meat and dairy we eat on a regular basis for some.
During the week of Spring Break was when I became a vegan! Needless to say I was not that thrilled about becoming a vegan since I thought I would be starving for the entire week. It was a tough week, but I managed to stay on track and not eat anything that has meat or dairy in it. Yeah for me!! I wanted to point out though that when you become a vegan you not only refrain from eating animal and dairy products but also do not wear leather or anything that was made from an animal. Since I had to work the entire week, there was no possible way for me to complete the entire vegan experience due to wearing leather heels. Besides that, I did follow the rest of the experience when it came to eating.
Here is a video I found where it describes the vegan lifestyle.
One thing I noticed about becoming vegan is that you have to pay close attention to food labels. Most of time it lists whether or not there are eggs in certain products. When looking at meat alternatives, most of the labels said they included eggs so that was not an option. Also, when it comes to dairy products that say organic or soy, whether it be cheese or milk, you have to pay attention to the ingredient casein which I found out was a milk protein. Obviously, these products say they are soy cheese or milk, but they still contain milk products in them. All these things are something I had to pay close attention to.
Here is a video which talks about the things you should look for on the food labels when you are finding food for the vegan lifestyle!
Well, this was the inspiration for doing this project. Some of the points that were mentioned in this book I particularly did not agree with, but as far as resources for vegan food it helped out immensely. Some of the food items I particularly loved was Vegenaise which is vegan mayo for your sandwiches with Tofurky slices, Whole Soy & Co yogurt which I mixed with fruits and granola for breakfast, Back to Nature round crackers and Soy Delicious ice cream sandwiches for snacks and desserts. Another option for a cheese substitute was Follow Your Heart’s Vegan Gourmet cheeses which actually melts and I used Earth Balance for my butter. All these items were purchased at the People’s Grocery. This book not only gave you options for breakfast, lunch, and dinner but they also gave you recipes for each day to use if you wanted to. I mostly used those meals for the entire week so I could stay on track.
The only problems that I faced were trying to find a variety of food to eat and the prices. There is not that many stores that sell vegan items except for People’s Grocery and Dillon’s. The only way for me to continue the vegan lifestyle would be to find food on the internet. One of the websites I looked at was http://www.veganstore.com/vegan-food-items.html where I found tons of food items along with clothing and other items as well. Another problem I encountered was the prices. I am quite frugal when it comes to practically everything. When I looked at the prices I was really shocked because I am used to Aldi’s and Wal-Mart prices. Trying to lower that barrier was rather hard to do especially when you have to plan meals for a family. It was hard trying to find foods that I could fix for my myself along with my mom and brother. Most of the food items I found were pizza, different meat alternatives (which were helpful), and individual packages like burritos or pot pies. Finding items to make for meals was difficult but I managed to accomplish this task.
The vegan lifestyle was interesting to say the least. I give vegans major kudos because, especially where we live, the food selection is just not there except for the People’s Grocery. If it was not for that store I do not know what I would have done. For my lifestyle right now, I could not be able to remain a vegan. I think for me, researching was a must because not knowing what ingredients to look out for I would have blown the entire week. Having ideas from books and the internet helped out too because they gave me their favorites and possible foods I should try. Without these resources I would have been lost!
It has been a hard couple of weeks having to become a lacto vegetarian and a vegan. I will be discussing my experience with veganism in my next blog, but I wanted to talk a little about why I decided to do this in the first place.
During Christmas break, I received a book titled Skinny Bitch (love the title!) where it talks about basically becoming a vegan and learning about the treatment of animals, how our milk and dairy is produced, and how the government has control over all this but fails to do anything about it. Well, one chapter made an impression on me that I will never forget. It was the chapter of the mistreatment of animals in slaughterhouses and factory farming. The way the chapter was set up was to place you into the animals’ shoes so to speak. They explained that it was graphic, but if the animals had to experience this then we should be able to at least take the time and read about it. It was horrific but I also realized how much priviledge and power we have as individuals. We are able to have the chance at life and be able to choose any type of food we want. Any craving we have we just go threw a drive-thru and order it or pick it up at the store. We have easy access to food whereas some other people and countries do not have this priviledge we are privy to.
It goes beyond having the choice of what food I would want to eat, but also being able to change your lifestyle however you choose. I have the ability to go from a meat-eater to a vegetarian while others are scrounging for undernourished food or starving. For me, my way of looking at this project has gone beyond just trying out different food lifestyles, but it takes into account how we value and undervalue food in our society.
As I was looking at research for this project, I realized how priviledged I am to be able to educate myself by simply hopping onto a computer to look on the internet for some information or got to the library to check out books. This is considered a luxury for others. I am thankful for being able to choose the food I want to eat and gaining the proper knowledge to be able to share with all of you.
The reasons why I wanted to do this project is because of course due to the mistreatment of animals, but I also wanted to branch out and try different foods and lifestyles. My eating habits were atrocious to say the least, so the big reason for doing this was to become more healthy and learn about nutrition along with different alternatives than eating fast food and junk food (which was a big portion of my eating). From the priviledges that I have discussed, I am able to see other food lifestyles and hopefully become a better person from this.
As for how was doing for becoming a lacto vegetarian…. IT WAS SOOOOO HARD! I most ate tons of veggies, potatoes, meat alternatives all week. I was doing good at the beginning, but I did trip up and ate some bread by accident (what can I say I LOVE my carbs). I was so mad at myself for eating that, but I continued on with the plan and finished the week off right. Next blog will be discussing my veganism lifestyle I had to accomplish during Spring Break. Lets just say it was interesting to say the least!
Hello again! My blogs are so off and sorry for that. Don’t you love this picture of the cow. I wish it was bigger. Anyways, this week I had to live the lacto-ovo vegetarian lifestyle. I have not cheated by eating meat and am gradually getting used to the fact of not eating meat. As I discussed in my previous blog, it was hard adjusting to the vegetarian lifestyle, but a couple of weeks into it I am enjoying eating veggies and fruits and do not find it as hard. Some would say they could never become a vegetarian, but you just have to get used to it.
Since some wanted some more recipes I have tried and loved I have another one. I fixed flat bread pizzas which are so good. All you do is get flat bread (I used Flat Out bread) and put some pizza sauce on there with cheese, veggies, and banana peppers (which are my favorite!) then place in the oven for a few minutes and voila you can eat. You can also make a taco pizza minus the beef, unless you want to use meat alternatives. I have been making cheese and onion enchiladas, lots of potato recipes, and trying out other things.
Do not get me wrong though, I have had temptations especially from my friends and family. This weekend my friends wanted to get together for a movie night and have burgers. I did not mention I was a vegetarian so I had to let them know the situation. Some were supportive while others did not get why I was doing this. Of course I had to explain my reasons, which they still did not get, but thought I must be determined for not eating meat. They got veggie burgers for me which was nice and fixed a salad. Needless to say, they were supportive, but they still managed to make fun of me in the process oh well. My family had mixed reactions as well because my mom was surprised that I would be doing this but was proud to see me be so determined about this project. She even has tried to become a vegetarian which did not last very long, but she tried. My younger brother, on the otherhand, could not believe why I would do this and continued to force me to eat meat. But I overcame the temptation and stuck to my guns so to say. For the most part, my friends and family have been supportive about my decision to become a vegetarian.
Starting next week, I will live an lacto vegetarian lifestyle which will restrict not only meat but eggs from my diet. This coming week will be extremely hard, but I am up for the challenge. The only problem I will have is staying away from the breads, pastas, and eggs in general. I LOVE all those things and eat bread every day. This is going to be my challenge for next week is to stay away from all that and still remain strong. Wish me luck because I will need it!
Here are some videos I found on Youtube explaining the meat industry. One is called Backwards Hamburger which is a cartoon describing the process your hamburger goes through, which I thought was fascinating. The other one is The Meatrix 2.5. I know last semester someone posted the original Meatrix, which I loved by the way, so I decided to show another one for all of you. I hope you enjoy these better than the previous one, since it was pretty disturbing, but I wanted to show the nitty-gritty of the meat industry.
One and a half weeks down, only a few more to go! Sorry everyone that I have not posted this earlier, but here is how my first week and a half have been becoming a pesco vegetarian!
It was hard getting used to the routine of actually having to plan every single meal out because eating out or raiding the vending machines were my daily occurances, but now it is nearly impossible to do. The positive aspect of this is that I am not spending a lot of money on fast food and junk, but actually eating healthier food for a change. Beginning this project, I thought becoming a vegetarian would not be difficult at all considering I only ate chicken, beef, and fish. Everything else I am not a big fan of. My first thought was, “This will not be so bad. I just have to eliminate these few meats from my diet. No biggie.” The one thing I did not think about was how I disliked most vegetables besides peas, carrots, and lettuce. I know I was that bad. From going to eating those few vegetables to everything imaginable is quite alarming and shocking to me. I am very proud to say I have managed to successfully eat no meat INCLUDING fish for the entire week.
I know being a pesco vegetarian means eating no meat besides fish, but I believe fish have as many rights as cows, pigs, and chickens do. The hardest part for me was adjusting to foods I have never ate before and learning which foods would provide the most nutrients for my body. Thankfully, I have not been feeling sick or nausous as some of the readings have suggested which is good. I have noticed minor changes in my body including increased energy. Before doing this, I was always tired and did not have a lot of energy. Now, it seems like I am more alert and energized. So far all is going good.
Boca chicken patties, Morningstar portobello burgers, and Tofurky deli slices are my new best friends! They are delicious and tastes just like the real thing. The People’s Grocery has also been a big help in finding meat alternatives and other yummy foods for me to eat. I have been experimenting with different recipes like meatless nachos (Amazing!). All you do is take nacho chips and add cheese, meatless chili, veggies like tomatoes, green onions, etc. and guacamole. Also, another recipe I found which is so good is when you mix 2/3 cup of white beans, 2 tsp of pesto sauce and 1/2 cup of diced tomatoes together and cook it in the microwave for a little bit and put it into a pita pocket. Oh my gosh! Definately a recipe I will be using often. There are many others which I might post later on.
This week, I am becoming a lacto-ovo vegetarian , which is eating mostly plant foods, dairy and eggs. Hopefully, I will remain strong and not feed into my tempation for a huge hamburger or grilled chicken salad (which I have been craving so bad!). There is a website I found which helped me in figure out which foods are high in fiber, protein, iron, and B-12. The website is http://vegetarian.lifetips.com/ . A book I have read exerpts from and is quite disturbing and literally made me cry is titled Slaughterhouse: The Shocking Story of Greed, Neglect, and Inhumane Treatment inside the U.S. Meat Industry by Gail Eisnitz. I have not read it in its entirety, but there are good reviews about it. The book interviews slaughterhouse workers and they describe in detail how they mistreat animals, including taking a pipe and bashing a piglet’s head in . I also have found a video from goveg.com describing 30 reasons why you should become a vegetarian. It is made by PETA and to forewarn you there are disturbing scenes of the maltreatment of animals.
Hi everyone! This is my first blog so here we go. First off, I am excited to see how this will turn out! I think it is going to be a lot of fun! I might be eating my words later on down the line, but we will see. For my lived experience, I am walking the talk by experimenting with the different types of vegetarians. I will be trying out the pesco, lacto-ovo, and lacto vegetarian lifestyles. For the final week, I will live the vegan lifestyle. These words might look foreign to some of you so I will explain them in a little bit.
For this project, I wanted to try out these different kinds of lifestyles to find out which one would be best for me. I will be discussing the effects it will have on my body and attitude along with my progress. I have read different articles saying that living a vegetarian lifestyle changes your life in a positive way so let’s hope they are right. The reason why it relates to this class is because it involves topics that are associated with ecofeminism. In our society, we often tend to think we are better than nature including animals. Thinking of them as the Other not only takes their rights away, but sees them as something we can control and dominate over. Our society does this by animal testing and slaughtering them for our own consumption. These different examples are part of ecofeminism and changing how we see nature but also women as well.
Here are the definitions I found for the different types of vegetarians along with the difference between a vegetarian and a vegan:
A vegetarian is someone who does not eat meat, while vegans remove all animal proteins and animal by-products from their diet, including dairy. Not only do they remove animal products from their diet, but they also do not wear leather and avoid products that contain anything made from an animal. The vegan lifestyle is the extreme form of vegetarian.
A Pesco vegetarian is someone who does not eat poultry, beef, or pork, but they do eat fish. This type is also called the semi-vegetarian.
A Lacto-ovo vegetarian mostly eat plant foods, but also eat dairy and eggs.
A Lacto vegetarian eat no meat or eggs, but will eat dairy.
There are different variations to each of these, but for this project I will be dealing with the ones I have mentioned above. A website that I found all this information and more that all of you should check out is http://www.veggie123.com/veggie/chapter1/url. It is a free e-book which discusses how to become a vegetarian and provides other useful information. Plus, it also has recipes for you as well.
I just wanted to leave you all with a comic strip I found which is titled A Good Cult. Hope you like it!
