Dietary Restriction

I'm pretty into trying to cut meat out from my diet. I'll try not to rehash every tired argument about being vegetarian or vegan everyone's heard before. I've never been a fan of PETA. Well, in middle school I was into them, but fuck middle school. I'm not particularly offended at what some have called the subjugation of animals. I'm more concerned with the environmental impact of and having some form of relationship with the meals I eat. My love of food and love of over-analyzing everything means that I think about what's on my plate and going into my body a hell of a lot.

I feel like the worst foodie* who is into politics ever, because I haven't read Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma yet. I'm really feeling the need to read it right now, and maybe blog about some of the products I'm cooking with and their origins and impact on the environment and my body (bio, nutrition, etc.) I think I have a little bit of what Pollan writes about buzzing around my head, just from looking into the locavore and freegan movements. This project could encourage me to buy more local and simpler ingredients. What I don't want to happen is that I learn about this, think long and hard about it, and then continue to buy what I consider to be "bad" foods while feeling guilty but somehow secure because of my knowledge of how horrible it is. The Liberal's Dilemma, if you will.

I think a lot about what I put in my body. I think about how what I put into my body effects the world around me, with its path starting in a strangely global way but leading into my tummy. So much goes into things we consider simple, particularly convenience foods, with things like ramen, frozen meals, and the ever talked about fast food having an incredibly complex path into our mouths. This isn't just about how going veggie (or vegan, maybe possibly some day) could effect my health. Currently I rarely eat meat, maybe once or twice a week, with the goal of complete vegetarianism in mind. Going vegan is a maybe, some day. These decisions are based more on the environmental impact of feeding our meat when it's still alive and growing, giving it range land, slaughtering the animal, storage, and then transporting the dead meat in freezer trucks. That's a hell of a process, and a time commitment, for a burger or sausage.

I'd also love to do a deconstruction of some of the vegan and vegetarian recipes I find all over, too, for their overall environmental impact. Soy-based meat and dairy replacements involve a huge amount of processing. Some ingredients that seem to be staples for some vegan meals involve shipping from far away, which I'm not entirely comfortable with. But, I have to remember to stick to one project at a time.

There is so much involved in one meal, it blows my mind. My next project will probably be an analysis of each meal I eat, maybe just for a day or two, and trying to find viable replacements that are both better for the environment and for my body.

Unfortunately, I'm dirt poor right now. That could put a damper on my plans for more involved projects. If only I could get a grant for eating...




*what does this word even mean