Beef shakes

So day 10 of the Pesco-Ovo Sustainability plan, I hit my first wall...

After breezing through lunches and dinners of salads with a bit of shrimp, scallops and pasta, mac and egg, and even venturing into the Veggie Delight option at subway for lunch twice last week, I thought "This isn't so bad. Why do people make it seem like it will be tough?" I quit cold turkey, literally. I've lost a few pounds, feel pretty healthy, if not slightly rumbly from all the roughage, and don't miss the meats I've vowed to minimize or at least ensure are humanely raised and will help me sleep better at night after my Vegan/Vegetarian friends have talked with me for months and slowly influenced my thinking with video images of animals being raised for slaughter, and then scooped up like garbage for processing and turned into food for us.

The political, carbon footprints aside, I think the idea of making the world a slightly less cruel place is appealing to me on every level. I go out of my way for every stray dog I pass on the street, cry at the SPCA commercials (damn you Sarah McLachlan) and have made the Humane Society my #1 charity since I was ten. The least I can do is search a little harder for healthy food options where animals aren't tortured for me to get my weekly cheeseburger fix. Seems like a small and easy price to pay.

Day 10 though - the beef shakes hit. I crave a burger or steak or some type of red meat to the point that I'm sweating and my hands begin to tremble. The thought of never eating cow or chicken again leaves me light-headed. I feel iron deficient, I'm sure I can feel it in my blood now. (Okay - I can't really feel much Iron in my blood on a daily basis, so maybe I'm over-reacting). I decide then and there to allow myself one day a week to fall off the meat wagon in this initial phase......still striving to make healthy, sustainable choices and learn about social and fast food options that will help direct me towards the best choices, but also allowing myself some latitude as I adjust to this new dietary choice.

Beef shakes aside, maybe my body does want me to make better/healthy choices. That's my goal here.....not to become a total Vegan, I don't, but to reduce my own impact on the environment in small ways every day.


Not to get preachy - but for a quick overview check out Wikipedia's page on what sustainability means -

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainability

The American Public Health Association (APHA) defines a "sustainable food system"[96][97] as "one that provides healthy food to meet current food needs while maintaining healthy ecosystems that can also provide food for generations to come with minimal negative impact to the environment. A sustainable food system also encourages local production and distribution infrastructures and makes nutritious food available, accessible, and affordable to all. Further, it is humane and just, protecting farmers and other workers, consumers, and communities."[98] Concerns about the environmental impacts of agribusiness and the stark contrast between the obesity problems of the Western world and the poverty and food insecurity of the developing world have generated a strong movement towards healthy, sustainable eating as a major component of overall ethical consumerism.[99] The environmental effects of different dietary patterns depend on many factors, including the proportion of animal and plant foods consumed and the method of food production.[100][101][102][103] The World Health Organization has published a Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health report which was endorsed by the May 2004 World Health Assembly. It recommends the Mediterranean diet which is associated with health and longevity and is low in meat, rich in fruits and vegetables, low in added sugar and limited salt, and low in saturated fatty acids; the traditional source of fat in the Mediterranean is olive oil, rich in monounsaturated fat. The healthy rice-based Japanese diet is also high in carbohydrates and low in fat. Both diets are low in meat and saturated fats and high in legumes and other vegetables; they are associated with a low incidence of ailments and low environmental impact.[104]

At the global level the environmental impact of agribusiness is being addressed through sustainable agriculture and organic farming. At the local level there are various movements working towards local food production, more productive use of urban wastelands and domestic gardens including permaculture, urban horticulture, local food, slow food, sustainable gardening, and organic gardening.[105][106]

and I thought this was a great article to start with for anyone interested in changing their diets....thanks you Jillian!

http://yourhealthybody.jillianmichaels.com/pescovegetarian-diet-2310.html

Good luck if you try it....make healthy choices!

Matt

#diets #healthychoices #theenvironment