Much like one of my fellow editors, I’ve given up meat.
While it hasn’t been for nearly as long, the overall change from a meat-filled diet to a vegetarian diet has improved the way my body as a whole has felt.
A month without meat has given me less stomach pains, not feeling as gross as I did when I had meat with a meal.
I’m now more conscious about what I eat and what I don’t— by giving up meat, I have to look for food items that replace what vitamins and proteins I’ve given up.
I’ve planned for a while to go vegetarian, but finding the right time to give up meat was a huge factor, I didn’t over the summer because I was eating whatever was cooked at home and had less of a control over what I eat without having to use what little money I got over the summer to pay for my own meals.
But when I got back to the University, I had more of an option. Meal plan allows me to eat wherever I want and get whatever I want, without having to take in much more into consideration than that.
After the first couple stressful weeks back to school, I didn’t really consider what I was eating, as long as I was eating.
But once things settled down, I became aware of what I was consuming and put a stop to eating what meats I normally ate. And that’s where I am now— meatless for a month.
When I tell people I’m a vegetarian [even though I feel like I’m not, with it being only a month since I gave up meat], I’ve had reactions from other individuals ranging from great— people who either are vegetarian/vegan or can actually respect my life choices- to those who can’t give up meat and let it be known, to those who call it something along the lines of a fad, or believe it’s awful that you’re not consuming meat.
By no means did I give up meat for the taste, but for the overall health benefits, the fact that so many resources [water, crop and land] are all used on livestock that can be spent on other, more valuable resources, along with the abuse these animals are put through before they’re slaughtered.
Did I ever mention I have the biggest soft spot for animals?
It kind of helped a lot that I’m allergic to some meats— pork products make me sick.
To me, becoming a vegetarian isn’t a ‘fad diet,’ but a lifestyle I plan on following for hopefully the rest of my life.
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