As I get older, I come to realize how much sense living a vegan lifestyle makes. I've never been one for moderation... but have become wise enough to know when to ease myself into a transition so that it sticks-- so that it truly becomes a LIFEstyle and not a passing phase. As a nutritionist-to-be and avid athlete, I have a huge interest in the very powerful relationship between food and health.
A series of events happened in the past several months to help nudge me into this transition of veganism. Perhaps I was easing myself into it a bit too leisurely. Funny, how the universe can give you a big kick in the ass, yet in such a compassionate and loving way that you don't realize you've been kicked (except for the telltale boot imprint on your derriere)!
The first of these events came in the form of a TV show called No Reservations. I watch TV very infrequently and had managed to plop (does the word "plop" make my ass look big?) myself down during a very busy semester of math (eek!) to escape into one of my favorite food/ travel shows hosted by an abrasive (takes one to know one!) New Yawk chef by the name of Anthony Bourdain. Chef Bourdain loves to make fun of vegans and has been known to make comments like "Vegetarians, and their Hezbollah-like splinter faction, the vegans, are a persistent irritant to any chef worth a damn. Vegetarians are the enemy of everything good and decent in the human spirit, and an affront to all I stand for, the pure enjoyment of food." Haha... I admit, dude's FUNNY... and I love to hear people say what's on their minds uncensored and totally UN-PC. But I didn't find myself laughing this time. In this particular episode ... which you can view here... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EoibxOxjCYc ... I found myself crying my eyes out at the thought of eating a helpless little shivering armadillo. But wait... don't I KNOW that the organic free-range chicken and grass fed beef I've been eating for years on end comes from ANIMALS?! Which brings me to my next lesson courtesy the Universe.
Ya know, Facebook is a funny thing. Recently, it brought me back in touch with an elementary school classmate who has been vegan for the past few years. She suggested I watch a film, Food Inc., which I figured wasn't much different from another similar documentary I'd watched years back and decided to just file away somewhere deeeppp in my memory bank so I couldn't remember what I'd seen. It must've worked because I still cannot remember the name of that film! So, I busted open my organic olive oil-lightly salted popcorn and sat back for the show. Ohhh, the HORROR. Remnants of the last film came flooding back to me... was this film all that different? Not really. But I was different this time. I couldn't finish watching it. Many parts of the film stuck with me... and in particular, the idea that city-folk are so damn detached from the food we eat. We conveniently "forget" where our food comes from. And grocery stores aid & abet us in our forgetful behavior by selling animals deboned, filleted, ground, stuffed, certified humane... any which way they can to keep us from remembering what it is we're about to buy and consume. I wonder what court of law might dismiss a murderer if his defense was "yeah judge, i killed the guy... but I have a certificate says right here that I did it humanely"! I imagine the guy's name is Vern and he has some missing front teeff. :-P
I grew up a burger lover. and the last burger I had was just a few months ago. What I recall from growing up eating meat is that encountering any gristle has always been a deal-breaker. I would always say "I don't like to be reminded what I'm eating". Even as a child. Sometimes we should listen to that child inside... because he/ she is more intuitive than we might think.
I am in the beginning stages of this new lifestyle. I still eat foods with faces... and I don't care what Nirvana says... fish DO have feelings. I feel so lucky to live in Los Angeles with all these yummy options... my newest discovery that I'm oh-so-excited about is delicious grain protein products made by Field Roast... you can check them out here: http://www.fieldroast.com/. I suppose that's why the Universe quickly put the kibosh on that dude from Texas whose idea of fine dining was gettin his grub on at Chick Fil A. I mean, really! What the hell was I thinking?!
OK luvees... I really look forward to sharing my adventures with you during this transition. I would also love to hear from my readers... your experiences and comments are most welcome and highly encouraged!
Stay tuned for... why veganism is your insurance policy for good health!
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
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