What You Eat Why: Caitlin

No post from me tonight as I’m busy dealing with some tough big girl things and packing for New Jersey. My flight leaves in six hours and I just got home from work. Yikes!

What You Eat Why

From Caitlin: Last April, I decided to become a vegetarian. My decision was the culmination of a lot of factors, but it reading the book Skinny Bitch was the final straw. Although I think the book has some pro’s and con’s, it was still a very eye-opening read. The more I thought about the ethical reasons for going vegetarian, the more committed I became to the idea. I realized my desire to eat meat – because it “tasted good” – was so small in my desire to do something that was bigger than myself and my taste buds. Vegetarians are not defined by what they won’t eat, they are defined by how much they are willing to give up. The sacrifice of backyard BBQs in the summer, Thanksgiving turkey, and hotdogs at baseball games seemed small to me.

When I said I was going vegetarian, my husband didn’t freak out – in fact, he was interested in my reasons why. We had a big discussion about the differences between a pig and a dog. “How can you hug our dog at night and then wake up and eat a pig?” I asked tearfully. He said he’d think about it, and within a month, he went vegetarian, too.

At first, he struggled with the diet and lost a little weight (he didn’t have weight to lose). But he figured out how to eat a healthy, filling, “manly” vegetarian diet, and he even put on 10 pounds of muscle weight because he started to lift more at the gym. He looks fantastic and sexy!

I’m glad that my husband decided to go vegetarian on his own. If I had “forced” him to do it, I would’ve felt bad about it. And I think he would’ve resented me for it. Now, we’ve had fun on the journey together, eating at new veggie restaurants and trying new foods. I think it made our relationship stronger because we’ve discussed and debated a lot of ethical and environmental issues.

I think there is a need for education in our country about the food system and how it impacts our planet, our bodies, and animals. Our country needs to be better educated about nutrition in general. I think its possible to raise animals in a sustainable way; but we cannot do that with our current level of meat consumption. Perhaps more people would eat less meat-based meals, and we wouldn’t have factory farming issues like we do today. We don’t judge people who eat meat; it’s OK to eat whatever you want to eat. I just wish more people would think about what’s on their plate. Even reducing your meat intake a little bit helps a whole lot.

- Caitlin, Healthy Tipping Point

Tagged as: What You Eat Why