as you probably have gathered already from my posts, i am a vegetarian who doesn’t consume much dairy. most of my friends and family members are omnivores, however, and i completely respect their eating preferences (and hope that they respect mine!) because i think that people (in general and in moderation) should eat what sounds appealing to them.
the beginnings of my vegetarian preferences go back to my childhood – i never enjoyed eating meat unless it was disguised in the form of a hot dog or potsticker. although my mom, dad, and sister are omnivores, my parents prepared many meat free meals, and thus i knew the option of not eating meat (and eating lots of yummy tofu!) was possible. around the age of 10, after many years of bargaining with me to eat just one more bite of meat, my parents decided i was old enough to make my own food decisions and to help them prepare vegetarian meals. they suggested i read the book diet for a small planet, and from this book – and them – i learned about nutrition and how to combine complementary foods to create complete proteins (like rice and beans). i chose to be a vegetarian way before i learned about how meat is produced and the environmental impact of mass production of raising animals for human consumption – but once i learned about these issues, i realized that vegetarianism went hand in hand with my personal belief system.
october 1 is world vegetarian day, and while i am not the kind of vegetarian who tries to convert people to my way of thinking or eating, i would like to challenge each and every one of you to eliminate meat in your diet tomorrow. if that doesn’t sound feasible to you, maybe try eating a lot less meat than you usually do, just to see what it’s like to eat more veggies, fruit, and grains.
as you ponder this challenge and think about what you might be eating tomorrow, i’ll leave you with the seven word quote from the fantastic author michael pollan: “eat food. not too much. mostly plants.”