FROM THE OTHER SIDE:
More than ‘meats’ the eye 
August 31, 2009 by Shane Collins
“How would you like your cow cooked?” That’s where it all started.
My friend’s birthday at a local steakhouse made me think beyond the pricey menu and into my own eating habits. Here I was at a restaurant devoted to serving carnivores and I suddenly wanted a salad… hold the meat.
Just hearing the waiter name my food by the animal it came from smacked me with perspective. My entire life I have been a vulture for slaughtered cows, pigs, lambs and chickens. I have never set down my fork and steak knife long enough to consider an alternative to my eating habits.
I always thought vegetarians and vegans were interesting, if not for the fact that they passed up juicy cheeseburgers, then because they seemed to remind everyone at every meal that they didn’t eat meat.
In retrospect, I always thought it was funny when I heard some vegetarians and vegans criticize omnivores for eating living things when I always thought, isn’t the Earth’s flora living, too? Vegetables and plants have the same life cycle as animals and humans — a seed is planted, they grow, they mature and they die. What’s the difference?
Then I came to think that vegetarianism was just a trend that would fade away, like boy bands or bell bottoms. Organizations like PETA use celebrities to promote their message and that can be very influential to some. This can make vegetarianism seem trendy or cool, rather than a lifestyle choice.
The other day I was talking to a friend who is a strict vegan about how someone goes about taking on a vegan lifestyle. My friend doesn’t eat anything that didn’t grow from the earth. You won’t see her wearing leather and she even washes her hair with vegan shampoo.
It amazes me that there is an entire subculture of students who live vegan, but what amazes me even more is how they can pass an In’N’Out without their mouths watering. Ice cream? Forget about it.
Why? That is exactly what I am going to find out.
I vow not to eat meat for the next two weeks.
For the next two weeks I will cook carrots and slice tomatoes instead of roasting cow and frying chicken. I am going to cut eggs, milk and yogurt out of my diet. I won’t enjoy my weekly sushi fix for the next two weeks. Goodbye, delectable chicken quesadilla from Chipotle. I’ll have the rice and beans instead of chicken wings.
After talking to my friend, I realize that I may not be able to go completely vegan. I have a wide selection of leather belts I need for work and a giant bottle of regular shampoo.
Also, I never realized how extensive, and expensive, it would be to go completely vegan, and I don’t get paid for two weeks so I won’t be able to buy non-leather belts and I would hate to throw my giant bottle of shampoo in the trash.
I don’t expect to be a perfect vegetarian at first, but for the sake of the experiment, I plan on keeping a detailed record of what I eat. I will have a true vegan grade how well I conformed to the lifestyle after two weeks.
When all is said and done, I hope to gain insight into why someone would willingly choose to cut meat out of his or her diet. I want a better understanding of how strong my urges to eat meat are and find out what my relationship with food is.
Most importantly, I hope to appreciate the reasons behind someone choosing this lifestyle.
So the question now is: Would I like my plant rare or well-done?
Good for you! You know, words are powerful. Just a simple line like “how would you like your COW cooked?” got you to take a step back and rethink your habits. Realizations like this are pretty common among vegans and vegetarians. One day, it just clicks and there you have it (at least it did for me).
By the way, we tend to think that eating healthy or switching over to vegan bath products is expensive, but it’s really not. You don’t need to buy Paul Mitchell hair products (vegan but super expensive). A bottle of shampoo at Trader Joe’s (if available in your area) is $3.50. Trader Joe’s products are great because they are often not tested on animals and have no animal ingredients…and are cheap!
Anyway, I wish you all the luck in the world. Just one bit of advice. I wouldn’t set a date to stop being vegan, because that will make you antsy and not enjoy eating new foods. Instead you may only be looking forward to when the two weeks is up, thereby setting yourself up for failure. You shouldn’t look at it like a punishment.
I am blessed to live everyday with a healthy body and clear conscience that I attribute to being vegan.
Congratulations on your choice to eat consciously and compassionately. Just wanted to add that just because you wear a leather belt or leather shoes doesn’t make you “not vegan”. Being vegan is not about perfection or purity, it’s about making choices to reduce suffering. I always tell people who decide to go vegan that if you have leather shoes or whatever to just wear them if they can’t afford to replace them. In time, those things will get worn out and when the time comes to buy new, you can just buy vegan.
Also, if you’re craving something “meaty” please keep in mind there are a host of delicious meat substitutes out there. Some of my favorite are Field Roast sausages, Tofurkey, and Riblets by Gardenburger.
Good for you! The animals thank you and so does the environment. Did you know that people who have been diagnosed with heart disease have completely reversed the diagnosis in 3 weeks by switching to a low fat, 100% plant based diet? It’s true!
Let me know if you need any help or support. I have lots of recipes for all kinds of tasty, easy dishes for breakfast, lunch or dinner.
Good for you! Best of luck this week … there are *tons* of delicious vegan recipes out there – believe me, vegans can eat very, very well! =)
And give up ice cream – are you nuts? Soy ice cream is virtually indistinguishable from dairy ice cream. Could you say the same about a veggie burger vs. a cow burger? Probably not. But we’ve got ice cream covered!
And I agree w/ Ari – don’t sweat the leather or shampoo or whatever you’ve already purchased. Somewhere I have a nearly two-decades old pair of leather shoes that I’ve just never thrown out, although I never wear ‘em either. If everything we purchased in our entire history “counted” nearly no one could “be vegan”.
Good for you! However, I would strongly recommend that you try to enjoy the two weeks by trying lots of new, delicious and interesting types of food, rather than just going for the “rice and beans without the chicken”. Vegans can and do eat extremely well – in fact, I found my diet to have become much more varied and enjoyable since I went vegan. This will, of course, require doing a little bit of research and trying out in order to find the food that will best meet your needs (taste-wise as well as nutrition-wise). Try “Vegan with a Vengeance” and “Becoming vegetarian” for lots of cheap, easy and delicious recipes (the former) as well as advise on proper nutrition (the latter). VeganOutreach.com also has lots of helpful resources. Your mission is to understand better why people chose to live a vegan lifestyle – but you won’t reach that goal if you’re just thinking about veganism in terms of sacrifice. In fact, it’s the opposite! You can eat well, look fashionably (there is lots of cool vegan fashion, including belts and shoes around now), lose weight, be healthier and feel better about yourself by going vegan!
As another comment pointed out: Veganism is about reducing suffering, not about being pure or perfect (it’s not a religion, after all!). So just go about enjoying yourself for the next two weeks, and don’t worry about your belts or your shampoo (at this point, nobody’s being helped if you just throw them out).
I hope you’ll have a great time (try to have lots of nice dinners with your vegan friend and others to share the experience), and who knows – maybe you’ll even make the transition permanent once you see how easy and enjoyable it can be?
Great news on the wonderful decision. I agree with previous posters – It’s not about “purity” – I also think the stereotype of a “limited” diet is completely false. I’ve been eating more variety of foods now than I ever did on my SAD diet… Just as, if not more tasty.
And in the course of all this recipe searching – somewhere along the way you might also want to investigate why, for ethical reasons – so many people opt for a vegan diet. Some of it may be painful to acknowledge, but recognizing the sentience of nonhumans is also an important step in this process of compassionate living. As a start you might find Colleen Patrick Goudreau’s “Food for Thought” podcast helpful: http://www.compassionatecooks.com/podcast.htm
Best to you!
Hello everyone!
I wanted to thank you all for your kind words and support. I am three days into my journey and I have to say, it is a little difficult, however, I am making strides and am finding my wallet getting fatter!
I think you all offered some great feedback and anymore suggestions for great vegetarian food around Las Vegas are most appreciated.
Keep reading to find out how my story ends in the Monday, Sept. 14, issue of the Rebel Yell.
Thank you again,
Shane Collins
I just wanted to add that, when I was transitioning to a vegetarian – and soon after a vegan – diet, I read in Breaking the Food Seduction (by Neal Barnard) that it takes a minimum of 3 weeks for your taste buds to forget about the taste of dairy or animal meat. I think what you’re doing is great – but 2 weeks of “cold turkey” (so to speak) may be pretty shocking to your system AND it may discourage you. I hope you find some of the answers you’re looking for through this experiment….
Oh, and I also read recently that we could do more for the environment if EVERYONE reduced their meat consumption (i.e. 1 or 2 meatless days a week) than if a small group of dedicated people eliminated all animal products from their diet. I’m part of the “small group of dedicated people” myself – but I try to encourage people around me to at least reduce their meat consumption if nothing else.
If there’s a Vegetarian Group in your area, I would encourage you to check it out because meeting people and talking to them about why they’ve made their choices is probably the best kind of learning you can do!!
Yay Shane! I am so proud of you. Just so you know, here are some of my favorite vegan friendly places in Vegas:
-The Red Velvet Cafe (get the vegan special of the day with some vegan red velvet cake. They recently opened a bakery attached to the restaurant that has mostly vegan delicacies.)
-Veggie Delight (veggie pork skin hand rolls.)
-Ronald’s Donuts (ask for a variety of the vegan donuts. You won’t be able to tell the difference.)
-The Saucy Tomato (their vegan pizza is…..to delicious for words.)
-Also, if you’re craving ice cream, try my newest “ice cream” obsession, coconut milk ice cream. Look for Purely Decadent brand coconut milk ice cream at Whole Foods, Smiths or the Sunflower Market. In my opinion, it’s the one of the closest vegan alternatives to the real thing as coconut milk is rich and creamy.
Oh, and for inexpensive vegan toiletries check out places like etsy. One of my favorite shops is You Stink Vegan Soap. Mary makes homemade vegan soaps, shaving aids, lip balms and more. Check her out:
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=84348
Have fun Shane