A Man Finally Eats his Veggies: A Meatless Year

All writing, videos and pictures copyright the author of this blog unless otherwise noted or, if really darn obvious.

Obama to Sign Food Safety Bill

2011-01-04T06:38:00.000-05:00

According to this article:

Congress has passed a bill that "will be the first major overhaul of the U.S. food safety system since the 1930s."

This is good news but the article also goes on to say,

"The new law would not extend to meat, poultry or processed eggs. Those foods are regulated by the Agriculture Department and are subjected to more rigorous inspections and oversight than foods regulated by the FDA."

Really? While our peanut butter may soon be safer for consumption, we will still have to worry about e coli in meat products? I believe that even though the Agriculture Department claims to “more rigorous inspections” of meat, poultry and eggs they don’t seem to be doing the best job they possibly can. I see articles all the time on unsafe practices in the meat industry such as this one.

To me, this new bill only works to solve only about half the food problems in this country since the U.S. is still a nation where the majority of people still like to eat meat and big portions of it. Even though I no longer consume beef, pork, poultry, eggs and fish/seafood, it would be nice if we could see improved safety standards put in place for those that do.

If you knew some of the unsafe practices of the meat industry you would realize that Congress and President Obama still need to work on making all types of food safe for everyone in this country. The article also mentions that "The bill had broad bipartisan backing in Congress". If this is the case then this really should be a no brainer as it looks to be one of the few issues that both of our major political parties agree on, don’t you think?

The more things change, the more things stay the same.

Talk to you soon!

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Happy New Year! I’m Back!

2011-01-01T12:30:00.002-05:00

Hello all and Happy New Year! I hope you have been well and I apologize for not coming back sooner like I promised I would. It has been a very busy holiday season and I have been otherwise occupied preparing for important job interviews and a move to a new location. I also just plain realized that I needed more time off from this blog then I had initially thought. This was a useful thing as it allowed me a chance to step back and see what I had accomplished in 2010.

I will admit though, it was tempting to step away from this blog for good. Why? Well I simply wasn’t sure if I had anything more to say and the initial arc of the blog, my first year without meat, was completed. So what more can one post about the meatless world? Plenty, but this time I don’t think it should be on my experiences alone.

Since doing this blog I have heard from other vegetarians and people I have met online through this blog or personal acquaintances I have known already telling me that they now want to go veggie too. They have been asking me for advice on how to do it and I have been more than happy to share my experiences with them. Maybe, just maybe, I can get them to share their own stories on here.

My challenge to others out there is to go veggie in 2011—if not for a least a year, then I challenge you to try it for at least 90 days and see how you feel. I think if you make the effort you will be most pleasantly surprised to see how it can change your health for the better.

Talk to you soon!

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Montague Reporter article from November 4, 2010!

2010-11-14T15:50:00.000-05:00

Here is the Montague Reporter article on the blog from November 4, 2010! Click on the pictures to peruse in a bigger size. Special thanks to Anne Harding and the rest of the fine folks at the Montague Reporter! Enjoy!

Talk to you soon!

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The Last Supper

2010-11-02T00:03:00.002-04:00

Day 366—1st Meatless Year Complete!

By the time you read these words my first full year as a vegetarian will have been officially completed.

It’s chilly outside and clouds completely line the sky like a continuous sheet of cotton as I scribble onto a cheap notepad that will comprise this entry. It very much reminds me of another day, November 2nd 2009, to be exact. Precisely one year ago on that very day I chose to go meatless for a year.

That day started with me waking up in a very comfortable and clean bedroom in upstate New York. After showering, shaving and dressing I bid the owner of said bedroom goodbye. I didn’t know at the time when we would see each other again but somehow I think we both knew deep inside that it would be never.

She looked very beautiful that morning in a black dress, which was inadvertently appropriate on this occasion. We briefly kissed goodbye and she left for her teaching job. I packed my suitcase for the long trip back to Western Massachusetts and saw myself out.

About five hours later, I was driving north on I-91 and decided to take Exit 20 to go into Hadley, MA. I had a shopping list of my basic food staple items that would help me wade into this new vegetarian lifestyle. Whole Foods, Wal-Mart, Target, Trader Joe’s and Stop & Shop were all in relatively close proximity to each other. This was a good opportunity to compare and save prices. I went home that day with three or four grocery bags filled with natural peanut butter, whole grain bread, salad greens, canned beans and fresh fruit.

Days passed, meat was successfully ignored. Pounds started to leave and long lost energy came back. A relationship ended with one woman and, soon after, another very special woman in my life passed away.

Weeks passed, and I added exercise back into my life. Holidays where thanks and gifts were exchange passed without turkey passing my lips.

Months passed and I was watching movies like King Corn and Food Inc. Going meatless was a big factor behind my healthier state but not the only one—I looked at everything I ate. More vegetables than ever before were consumed, less and less processed foods were eaten and whole grains and brown varieties replaced white breads and white rice. Of course, the exercise played its role as well.

365 days can change a lot.

I have not been this thin since grade school. I feel energized, have increased flexibility and have not experienced any illness or irregularity in the past twelve months. The closest to illness I have experienced in this time is feeling sluggish the day after I have treated myself to too many sweets at the movies or wherever.

In the middle of writing drafts of this text I had my own private celebration to commemorate being veggie for a year. I had a simple meal of rice, beans, greens and cheese-filled tortillas with a cup of coffee at this nice local place called The People’s Pint. I alone decided to go meatless and eat better so I think it was only fitting to have the last full meal of my initial meatless year by myself.

I was initially thinking about how to celebrate it in a bigger way. I thought my first ever skydive would be fun but it isn’t in my budget right now. There were many good suggestions and I went with the simplest suggestion of a veggie friendly dinner at a local restaurant. However, that actually isn’t my true reward.

Improving ones health is the reward in itself. I cannot think of a finer prize, can you? This is not some fad diet but instead healthy eating habits one has to keep up for life. Nothing in this life that is truly valuable comes without hard work.

And speaking of making a change to a meatless diet, are there those out there who want to undertake their own meatless year? Please let me know. I can do my best to give you advice and if I don’t have the answer I can most certainly point you in the direction of someone who can.

Thank you once again to Audra, Chris, Joe, Melinda, Mike and both Rebeccas for relating their experience with their chosen ways of eating before I went veggie a year ago.

To my family for accepting this new eating choice of mine and the many friends who did the same.

To the wonderful faculty and staff of the Greenfield YMCA for showing me how to properly get back into an exercise routine and also for their great sense of community.

To Mike Glazier, David Neil and Steve Mish for acting in films made especially for this blog.

To David Centeno for providing the opposing point of view and keeping all of us meatless consumers on our toes.

To Ingrid dos Santos for designing the nice new masthead.

Thanks to Dr. Paul Carlan, Jade Arcade, Monte, the cast, director and crew of Ja’Duke’s Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, Nayana Glazier and Anne Harding of the Montague Reporter.

I also want to thank all of the veggies out there for supporting my efforts on Facebook and other places on the web. Lastly I want to thank you, the reader, for checking out this blog. A Man Finally Eats His Veggies will continue as an ongoing blog. See you in a week.

All writing, videos and pictures copyright the author of this blog unless otherwise noted or, if really darn obvious.

The last day…

2010-11-01T13:12:00.001-04:00

Day 365

of the first year of me being a vegetarian.

I have almost made it. I am almost there and quite different than I was a year ago.

Just a matter of hours…

Talk to you soon!

In December I started exercising again.

http://twitter.com/ManEatsVeggies Meatless Man on Twitter

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A Look Back Upon My First Meatless Year: For those who came in late

2010-10-31T19:55:00.002-04:00

Days 363 and 364

Look just above this text and you will see that I have reached day 364. As of this writing, I am one day short of having been meatless for an entire year.

In the last couple of months this blog has gone from having hundreds of visitors a month to thousands. Many of you discovered this cozy corner of the blogosphere after the halfway point in my first meatless year. For your benefit, I have posted below links to most of the highlights of this year of personal change. Enjoy.

The day I went meatless.

A Facebook fan page is started for the blog.

Tried going vegan.

Stopped being vegan.

I stopped taking multivitamins.

Got a new suit.

Met my weight loss goal!

Got new clothes.

One more day to go… thanks for reading.

And Happy Halloween everyone!

Talk to you soon!

http://twitter.com/ManEatsVeggies Meatless Man on Twitter

All writing, videos and pictures copyright the author of this blog unless otherwise noted or, if really darn obvious.

Why the updates have not been as frequent: The Final Chapter

2010-10-29T14:49:00.001-04:00

Day 362

If you are in Western Massachusetts and are trying to get into the Halloween spirit then please come see this show I am in! Click on the images below for more details.

Talk to you soon!

http://twitter.com/ManEatsVeggies Meatless Man on Twitter

All writing, videos and pictures copyright the author of this blog unless otherwise noted or, if really darn obvious.

The Future of this blog

2010-10-28T12:37:00.000-04:00

Day 361

After, “Will you stay veggie after your meatless year is up?” the question I get asked most is “Will this blog continue after your first meatless year?”

Yes.

Which is why the title of this blog has been modified from "A Man Finally Eats his Veggies: A Meatless Year" to just "A Man Finally Eats his Veggies".

To reflect this change, the new and shortened name is in the beautiful Ingrid dos Santos artwork on the blog’s masthead and has now been incorporated into the blog’s Twitter page as well:

Speaking of the blog’s Twitter page, I have changed my screename on there as well. The new name is ManEatsVeggies and you can find the new location for the Twitter page by clicking here.

So far, the blog has primarily focused on my veggie eating habits but it has also talked about the other things that we put in our bodies. Don’t be surprised if you see even more food topics in this blog that don’t necessarily focus on a meatless diet. After all, dropping meat alone does not guarantee a clean bill of health.

Talk to you soon!

All writing, videos and pictures copyright the author of this blog unless otherwise noted or, if really darn obvious.

How should I celebrate one year of being meatless?

2010-10-27T16:34:00.004-04:00

Day 360

How should I celebrate one year of being meatless on November 2^nd? Any suggestions?

It seems that something this important to me that has radically changed the way I look and feel should be commemorated somehow on the 2^nd but how?

I considered making my first skydive ever and videotaping it but that is something I really cannot afford right now so that is out.

And before anyone sarcastically suggests it (you know who you are) I am not going to celebrate with a hamburger, steak or anything that involves eating meat.

Any ideas? Let me know.

Talk to you soon!

http://twitter.com/ManEatsVeggies", Meatless Man on Twitter

All writing, videos and pictures copyright the author of this blog unless otherwise noted or, if really darn obvious.

The Final Week Begins

2010-10-26T15:49:00.000-04:00

Day 359

As of today I am one week shy of having been meatless for an entire year.

For 51 weeks I have eaten no beef, pork, poultry, seafood/fish or whole eggs.

It went by so fast, didn’t it? I am still in disbelief that I stayed meatless for almost a whole calendar year, met my weight loss goal, gained the energy of my youth back and overall changed my health for the better.

Many of you have asked if I am going to quit vegetarianism after November 2nd. My answer to that question has been, “If you were doing something that made you feel great and was good for you with no side effects, why would would you stop doing it?” I will admit, this was initially going to be just a year long experiment, but I just don’t feel the urge to go back to the lethargic way things were before November 2nd of last year.

However, I am wrestling with the idea of going back to eating whole eggs and seafood. One of the factors keeping me from consuming the latter again is the pollutants that some experts claim to have contaminated the fish and seafood—before or after the Gulf oil spill earlier this year.

Of course, there is also the matter of how sea life and egg laying hens are treated. There are more humane ways to get eggs so maybe I will only consume them from free range chickens.

Speaking of poultry, the smell of turkey on Thanksgiving and Christmas is tempting. These are the only times I would ever be tempted to partake in poultry. But should I? Starting my meatless year in November wasn’t an arbitrary decision. I started that particular month as to get the hardest part of being meatless, the holidays, out of the way within the first two months.

There is the social aspect to consider as well. Over the course of the past year I have also received funny looks from people when I ask if a dish is meat free—so imagine how it would look to others refusing turkey on the holiday in front of a friend’s family or my own. If I just eat turkey on the holidays would it make me a bad person? Would it make me a hypocrite?

What do you all think?

One week to go.

Talk to you soon!

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Week of Sweets

2010-10-25T18:01:00.001-04:00

Days 356 - 358

Two Weeks Ago…

Where has my will power gone? Just look at this scale reading—look at it:

I was just 150 the week before!

Excuses to skip the gym have been turning up like mad. It feels a few days on, then one week off. It is like some ADD that I have when it comes to working out, “Alright, the nautilus room—look, a squirrel!”

Of course, these tempting treats could have been easily avoided during the course of this week:

According to this article a workout break for a couple of weeks could help ones muscles relax, especially if they are usually good at keeping a regular workout schedule and have been pushing themselves.

This week…

I am down around 150 lbs again. That is a weight I can live with. I think it is okay to fluctuate, just as long as I keep one eye on the scale and the other on my dinner plate.

Talk to you soon!

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Why the updates have not been as frequent: Part III

2010-10-22T00:22:00.003-04:00

Days 349 - 355

Talk to you soon!

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Once again, why the updates have not been as frequent...

2010-10-15T11:04:00.000-04:00

Day 348

In Western Mass the next few weekends? Click on the picture below for something fun to check out while you are in the area:

Talk to you soon!
meatlessman@yahoo.com
Facebook A Man Finally Eats his Veggies Fan Page
Meatless Man on Twitter
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And I thought the blog redesigning was over…

2010-10-14T16:56:00.004-04:00

Day 347

You may notice the blog masthead has gone through yet another change! Loyal blog reader and artist, Ingrid dos Santos, approached me with a new graphic for this blog:

Wow. How could one pass up this superb piece of art?

Want to see more from her?

You can check out her blog:

And there is also her official webpage:

Tell her Jason sent you!

Talk to you soon!

All writing, videos and pictures copyright the author of this blog unless otherwise noted or, if really darn obvious.

Things That Don't Surprise Me (and Shouldn't Surprise you Either): Happy Meals Don't Decompose!

2010-10-13T16:52:00.002-04:00

Day 345 & 346

This is just gross:

Motivational Monday!

2010-10-11T12:05:00.004-04:00

Days 339 - 344

The wonderful Shana Moore writes a blog named 100 Pounds and Counting that you can check out here.

It is the story of how Shana one day discovered she didn’t like being 250 lbs any more and decided to do something about it. It is very inspiring and I will be talking more about her blog in the coming days. Please click on the link above in the meanwhile and give it a good read. It is very inspiring.

From time to time, Shana features other weight loss stories in her blog in a segment she calls Motivational Mondays. This Monday she has chosen to profile me and I am very honored! You can check out my piece by clicking on the image below.

Talk to you soon!

All writing, videos and pictures copyright the author of this blog unless otherwise noted or, if really darn obvious.

Flocked

2010-10-05T23:23:00.006-04:00

Days 337 & 338

To Steve, Mark, Jared, Andy, Kumail, Pete and Amanda.

The following videos are from 2007. They are a sitcom pilot I acted in and I am heavier looking in it. I may have been a little around 212 lbs at that time. Well anyway, during the filming of the diner scene found in part one below, Pete Grosz and I are having breakfast. In between takes we discussed what we liked to eat for breakfast which you can read about in more detail here.

In this last part watch for the scene where I am photocopying (no, it is not that kind of a video!) and you will notice I am thinner than in the previous scenes. This is due in part to them filming a few weeks after principle photography had ended. By that time I had started a weight loss competition at work.

Needless to say, I quickly put all the weight that I lost back then on again. Right now I have managed to keep my current weight loss off for about two months. That is something huge for me. Never before have I managed maintaining such a loss of weight for such an extended period of time. Eating healthier and exercising pays off.

Talk to you soon!

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New Look, Same Goal.

2010-10-03T11:53:00.002-04:00

Day 336

This is the bland way my blog used to look:

Here is the blog you are looking at now in screenshot form for comparison:

You will notice that it looks much sleeker in design now. It is something that I had been meaning to do for a bit now and I really apologize for not doing it sooner.

New look but same mission to inform the internet surfing public about better eating choices. Stick around!

Talk to you soon!
meatlessman@yahoo.com
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One more month to go…

2010-10-02T13:10:00.005-04:00

Day 335

As of today, I have been meatless for 11 months!

- I have not had beef, pork, poultry, seafood/fish or eggs in their whole form in almost a year!

- I am presently at a very healthy 150 lbs, a 62 pound difference from the 212 lbs I more or less weighed around this time last year.

- I have increased energy, stamina and flexibility.

- Better digestion.

- Overall I feel fantastic!

Thank you all for all the kind words of support. Keep reading as there is still one more month to go!

And after that? Who knows?

Talk to you soon!

All writing, videos and pictures copyright the author of this blog unless otherwise noted or, if really darn obvious.

Happy World Vegetarian Day!

2010-10-01T00:22:00.002-04:00

Day 334

Talk to you soon!

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How YOU can celebrate World Vegetarian Day.

2010-09-30T19:41:00.002-04:00

Day 331 - 333

Tomorrow, October 1st, is World Vegetarian Day and I have pondered just how exactly will I celebrate it. What exactly do I do to show how exactly I feel about having gone veggie?

I have found the answer my friends. For the duration of World Vegetarian Day I will post the following image I made in Photoshop as my Facebook profile pic and I encourage all other veggies and veggie supporters to copy the image below and do the same:

Have a Happy World Vegetarian Day bitches!

Talk to you soon!

This breaking news changes nothing.

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Ben & Jerry’s is no longer all-natural…was it ever really?

2010-09-27T22:11:00.000-04:00

Days 329 & 330

As longtime readers of this blog know, one of my old unhealthy eating habits was devouring a pint of Ben & Jerry's in one sitting.

Okay, I confess I have done it once—maybe twice since I wrote the above mentioned entry. It is my favorite hard serve ice cream and I think as long as I don’t do it every week or even every month it is okay.

Oh Ben & Jerry’s, I know you are no good for me but I need you upon my lips and in my mouth every now and then just to feel alive.

Talk to you soon!

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Haven’t updated much this week because...

2010-09-25T22:07:00.004-04:00

Day 328

I have been busy with a new temp job and in rehearsals for this:

Check out the Facebook event page for here.

The OTHER Facebook event page for it here.

And you can buy tickets directly here.

See you in October.

Talk to you soon!
meatlessman@yahoo.com
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Cheers to Kirstie Alley?

2010-09-24T21:01:00.001-04:00

Days 321 - 327

Remember when I voiced my doubts over diets and weight loss programs in this entry and then in this one?

Yesterday, the news broke that Kirstie Alley has recently lost 50 lbs. Congrats Ms. Alley, that is quite an accomplishment!

Wait.

Didn’t you slim down before? How did you do that again?

Oh yeeeaaaaaah:

"Last year, Alley, 59, confessed that she had ballooned back up to 230 pounds — after initially losing 75-pounds via Jenny Craig and announcing it on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" in 2006."

Ms. Alley, I know it is hard to lose weight and keep it off, but I also know the best results I have ever reached for weight loss was from exercise and eating healthier—more vegetables, no meat, less sugar and white flour, as well as reducing my processed food intake. I am not saying you have to drop meat from your diet but please, see a dietician or nutritionist, one that doesn’t work for or endorse a weight loss center because it seems those places didn’t work for you. I am not saying weight loss centers don’t work at all, but you can’t depend on one forever to keep the weight off. That comes from you and nobody else.

So how long until the “Organic Liaison" line of foods fails you as well and you gain some or all of that weight back?

Not trying to be mean, just playing devil’s advocate.

Once again, congrats on the weight loss, Ms. Alley.

Talk to you soon!
meatlessman@yahoo.com
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Have you tasted Green Lantern’s Glo Balls?

2010-09-17T22:25:00.011-04:00

Day 320

I saw this ad in a magazine on Wednesday:

DC Comics, a subsidiary of DC Entertainment Inc., is trying to push the Green Lantern name onto the public at large before the movie of the same name starring Ryan Reynolds reaches theaters in June of 2011. Flash is in an even earlier stage of film development, so he gets a snack cake of his own as well. However, instead of focusing on Flash’s cakes, I will instead focus on Green Lantern’s Glo Balls.

Thursday, I went on a hunt for some Glo Balls. As luck would have it I found Green Lantern’s Glo Balls resting on a shelf at a local grocery store. As you can see, there were plenty of Glo Balls for anyone who wanted to take a box home and put a Glo Ball in their mouth:

These Glo Balls were too good not to pass up, so I purchased a box and brought them to play rehearsal that night:

I offered my soft and puffy Glo Balls to my fellow thespians, but only two of them took me up on my offer. It was tempting to try these tantalizing treats as a “reward” for slimming down this past year, but after reading the ingredients I decided against it:

Yep. Beef fat in the form of animal shortening. Be careful to read those ingredient labels folks. I am sooooo glad I didn’t place Green Lantern’s Glo Balls upon my lips.

Talk to you soon!

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Veggie Vitamin Deficiency?

2010-09-16T23:02:00.007-04:00

Day 319

After initially reading Dave’s column that I posted here yesterday, I thought to myself if it would perhaps be better to be a flexitarian after November 2nd.

The main reason I would go back to eating some meat was the vitamin deficiency he brought up in his piece. Vitamin B-12, selenium, vitamin D, calcium and riboflavin were the ones in particular that he mentioned.

Vitamin B-12 can be obtained from dairy products and eggs. As I am not vegan now and will certainly be eating whole eggs again after November second this is covered.

Selenium? I can also find that in nuts, cereals and eggs, so that is covered too.

Vitamin D and calcium? Again, I am not vegan so vitamin D and calcium I can get from dairy products that I still consume or even a supplement which experts say are one of the few effective vitamins to take right now. My doctor even said back in June that a vitamin D supplement would be good to take as most people are lacking it anyway.

That leaves riboflavin which can be found in almonds, milk, cheese, leafy green vegetables, kidneys, legumes, tomatoes, yeast and mushrooms that can fill that need for me.

I guess I can stay veggie and be healthy. I just have to look around for the missing vitamins I need.

Additional source not hyperlinked above:

Higdon, Jane; Victoria J. Drake (2007). "Riboflavin". Micronutrient Information Center. Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University.

Talk to you soon!
meatlessman@yahoo.com
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"The Case of the Missing Information or... Meat the Opposition" a guest blog by a meat lover

2010-09-15T21:04:00.008-04:00

Day 318

To truly have your opinion be well-formed I think you have to take a serious look at many different points of view on a subject. I don’t believe that everything can be labeled black or white and that many area of gray exist in many debates. This is why I try to see all arguments on matters I feel passionate about and this includes vegetarianism.

This being said, I want you all to welcome guest-blogger, and omnivore, David Centeno. I have known David for several years and he has been a supporter of this blog since almost the beginning—all the while posting to my Facebook wall about how much he loves eating steak in the evenings. He isn’t doing this to be disrespectful or rude, but because he truly believes that humans do need to consume meat to survive.

I know David to be an intelligent man and since he argues for being an omnivore so much I decided to ask him to do a guest entry on this blog. If I am going to go meatless and encourage others to do the same I think it is only fair to take some time out to show the other side of the argument. Keep in mind, even though he makes some good points below why it may very well be necessary to include meat in one’s diet, the following essay does not represent the views of this blog.

So without further ado, take it away David.

The Case of the Missing Information

or... Meat the Opposition

by David Centeno

I was asked by a recently meat-free friend to be something of a guest-blogger on his "A Meatless Year" experiment at ameatlessyear.blogspot.com. The voice of the loyal opposition, I suppose.

So I have tried to do a little research into the various reasons people go 'meatless' in general, in an attempt to understand a concept which has, admittedly, never made much sense to me. Suffice it to say that thus far I remain unswayed.

While searching the Internet, I easily found lists of reasons to forego meat. They cited health, environmental, ethical, and even philosophical reasons. Fewer were there lists of reasons that going meatless was a bad idea, which to me sounds like a gap in information if ever there was one. Worse still, the reasons cited in many of the lists I came upon were largely false, or at least, greatly exaggerated. Some were just so unbelievable I had to repost them. Here are a couple of my favorites from "49 REASONS WHY I AM A VEGETARIAN" (1) and I swear to God I am not making this up.

"Love of animals. I love animals as I love myself."

I know how I 'love myself,' and I hope to hell they're not doing that to animals.

"Stance against Factory Farming.. I cannot make a statement against factory farming if I myself eat animals."

I blame suburbia for this one. I grew up in what I'd consider rural America and I worked in Vermont where I'm pretty sure there are still more cows than people... I never lived on a farm or anything, but I understand where my meat comes from and I understand how it gets into that Saran wrap in the meat case at my supermarket. Why is this information now such a huge, abhorrent surprise to anyone? I guess people have just become too removed. I suddenly feel the need to make some kind of donation to 4H. I know there are issues at some farms, factories, and/or processing plants--but seriously, the vast majority of it is what it is, and its as clean and humane as such a thing can be.

"Respect for Sentient Life. I show gratitude to my Creator(s?) by eating as low on the food chain as possible."

I swear, I'm not a hippie. But we are part of the natural order of things. And nature, or God, put this order in place for a reason. We are doing our part to balance the world by eating what has been provided to us. Vegetarians know better? How? Nothing else in nature presumes to. Everything else, every other animal, plays its part happily: living and dying, eating and being eaten. Come on, watch The Lion King--its the Circle of Life. Vegetarians claim a respect for nature as a reason for their choice, but really, what's actually more natural?

"Natural diet. Our hands, teeth, feet, intestinal tract...even our body chemistry is that of an herbivore."

Ohhhh, now I get it! Wait, what are my canine teeth for again?

"World Peace. There can never be peace among men while men are declaring war on other highly developed life forms."

Uhm... Yeah. And, my favorite:

"I believe in nonviolence."

That being the case, its probably best if the author of this list never visits 'the country' due to the likelihood of a boot in the ass for being an idiot.

Now, there IS some good information out there about the dangers associated with meat... And the best arguments I have found for not eating it seem to fall into the categories of health and environment and generally come from more convincing sources than the above cited herbidork. These are reasons that I can understand because they are areas of concern for me, too. The recent salmonella scare in eggs is a great example of some of the problems inside the animal industry. But is this cause enough to stop me from eating eggs? No. Why? Because I love them, and because extremism is never the reasonable answer. Nature abhors extremes--Everything in nature works toward a homeostasis; it balances itself out. It seems to me that if you've got moral issues with chicken or eggs, eat chicken and eggs from responsible farms. Take a firmer stance on what chicken and eggs you choose to buy. Similarly, if you're feeling sluggish or unhealthy because you've been eating too much red meat: just eat less, not none. We forget that meat is an important part of a nutritious diet, and provides riboflavin, vitamin B-12, vitamin D, calcium, and selenium. And just so that you understand, these are kind of important! A B12 deficiency during pregnancy, for example, puts a baby at a five times higher risk of spina bifida, which causes partial paralysis, and anencephaly where the brain does not develop and is normally fatal shortly after birth. (2) Vegetarians will tell you that you don't have to eat meat in order to get these things, but what they won't admit is that it may be the easiest way. For the love of Pete, have a cheeseburger and a milkshake, toast to your health, and enjoy your lunch for once... just don't do it everyday.

Those on the other side will tell us that there are plenty of meat-alternatives, like tofu, that we can choose instead of raising and killing animals. But tofu may not be as environmentally friendly an alternative as we once thought when you take into account all of the processes from growing and harvesting the soy up to refining and final production. According to a Dutch study, "a kilogram of tofu sold in the Netherlands produces about two kilograms of carbon-dioxide equivalent from the farm to the supermarket. That's only a little less than Dutch chicken, at 3 kilograms of CO2-equivalent per kilogram of meat." (3) And mackerel, herring, pollock, and mussels scored about the same or better than tofu. Yes, BETTER. Fish fry, anyone?

And then there's the really dirty little flipside to eating meat alternatives and so-called "healthy" soy-based products like nutrition bars, veggie burgers, veggie cheese, etc. Literally thousands of other vegetarian products... even infant formulas today are made with extracted soy protein. Almost all of these use soy protein that is separated from its source beans by literally being bathed in a toxic, explosive chemical called hexane. "Organic" versions of these products are not a safer version either. Consider products such as Clif Bars with the label "made with organic oats and soybeans." They are only required by law to have 70% organic ingredients -- the remaining 30%, however, can legally be hexane extracted. Hexane residues of 21ppm have been discovered in soy meal commonly used to produce soy protein for said infant formula, protein bars and vegetarian food products. (4) Where's the healthy? Do we simply trust that either these highly processed products we're eating are free from contamination, or do we place our faith in an industry that would love us to believe that 21ppm is nothing to worry about? It took years and years to ban pthalates from children's toys and other products. How long do we have to wait until the industry and regulatory bodies wise up and we produce these things in a responsible way that doesn't leave harmful chemicals behind in our food? I think that people really need to pull back the curtain and see the truths behind their food. ALL their foods. Somehow meat, and often specifically chicken and eggs, has gotten a bad rap, an ugly reputation. I just can't see how it is justified, and how the outrage seems to be directed only toward the one side. Where's the balance?

And there again, I am forced to come around to that issue of balance. I think we need to achieve a sensible measure of balance in our diets, in our health and safety concerns, and in our lives as a whole. We should not denounce meat as unhealthy, nor should we condemn a hippie-founded health food industry gone capitalist. What we need is a balance of information; equal and open discussions about the problems inherent in any food production system or factory. A balance of both compassion for animals and of the need and necessity of farming these animals for food. And when it comes to actually improving our eating habits? How about aiming for a better balance, including more healthy foods from all groups and trying to limit those foods which go to any extreme? Avoid, at least with sensible moderation, nutritionally empty things like sodas, or any things which are extremely high in fat or calories, or anything which is excessively processed. It’s all about the yin with the yang. Maybe that's why they serve you that salad before the t-bone. Mmmm. T-bones.

(1) http://www.britishmeat.com/49.htm, "49 Reasons Why I Am A Vegetarian."

(2) http://www.ecologyhealthcenter.net/node/189, Ecology Health Center, "Low Levels of Vitamin B12 During Pregnancy May Increase the Risk of Neural Tube Defects"

(3) http://www.slate.com/id/2232916/, Slate.com, "How Green Is Tofu?"

(4) http://cornucopia.org/soysurvey/OrganicSoyReport/behindthebean_color_final.pdf, Cornucopia Institute, "Behind the Bean, The Heroes and Charlatans of the Natural and Organic Soy Foods Industry"

Wait for it…Wait for it…

2010-09-14T19:08:00.002-04:00

Day 317

Thank you all!

Talk to you soon!
meatlessman@yahoo.com
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All writing, videos and pictures copyright the author of this blog unless otherwise noted or, if really darn obvious.

The Mystery of Waist Not, Want Not (Revisited)

2010-09-13T22:27:00.005-04:00

Back in April I posted my shocking discovery on how clothing sizes differed from brand to brand.

This roused many responses on my Facebook page in response. I learned through said comments that many clothing companies mislabel their clothes with the wrong sizes for marketing reasons. I did not know about this, I thought that an inch should always be an inch.

So I put up a poll about it asking "Should clothing companies be held legally responsible for misrepresenting sizes on their labels?"

The results were as follows:

68% who voted said Yes.
31% who voted said No.

Now it seems major media outlets have independently picked up on this misleading clothes sizing practice:

CBS News also has a story on it that you can check out here.

By the way, I measured my waist this morning and am now at a little under 33”. That is down from at least half an inch from when I last measured it on August 2^nd. Go me!

Talk to you soon!
meatlessman@yahoo.com
Facebook A Man Finally Eats his Veggies Fan Page
Meatless Man on Twitter
All writing, videos and pictures copyright the author of this blog unless otherwise noted or, if really darn obvious.

Meatless Man’s New Clothes

2010-09-12T13:29:00.013-04:00

Days 314 & 315

Remember how I had to get a new suit a few months back?

Well, it only stood to reason that if a suit I bought just over a year ago was that loose on me then my regular clothes would be as well. And they soooooo were:

I donated them all to the Salvation Army. Just look at those piles of old clothes!

Hmmmm…what was I supposed to do with all that empty drawer space?

Why get some new threads of course!

And so in late June I went to Old Navy and Target:

And got new shirts and new pants that actually fit!!!!!

See?

It feels good to be trim and now it my clothes fit better too!

Talk to you soon!