Gaining more than I've lost...

An excellent composition student of mine this past term wrote a research paper on Factory Farming and much can be gained directly from reading the information and there is much that is to be inferred. After finishing the paper, I watched two separate documentaries about factory farms and then I did some research of my own. It is not as though this subject or GMO's or starting your own garden are new topics per se, but after reading her research and her view point, I decided that it was time that I applied the data to myself, to my family and to my life as an educator. What I discovered was revelatory. As a cheeseburger consuming, ketchup wielding, bacon frying kind of girl, I had always just kind of operated with the philosophy that the food chain exists for a reason and we, at the top, have an inalienable right to consume everything that falls below us, even if we didn't hunt, fish or kill it ourselves. I was raised on hot dogs, burgers, eggs, turkey sandwiches and so on and even when we started having kids, I never really thought about the implications of "meat" consumption because what I really started to think about these past couple of months was not "meat," but, really, animal consumption. Even as I type this, the pug is staring at me, knowing what I've done to his distant relatives, in the broadest terms. In conjunction with my research and film viewing, I also read Michael Pollan's The Ominivore's Dilemma and I read a transcript of a documentary in which a middle aged man from Australia documented a trip across the United States while consuming nothing but freshly blended juice from real fruit and veggies, but more on that later. When I sat down to think about the potential impact of all of this information, not just on the public, but on society, I have to admit, it frightened me. It made me step back and think about the notion of paying it forward. It's illogical to think that each of us can help everyone change their lives, but it is logical to think that if our example influences one and our kindness changes another and our awareness causes yet another to consider an idea then, it was worth putting it out there. And so, the 30 day Vegan challenge arose... Truthfully, I also had an ulterior motive, a new year, new challenges, a time to rethink my health regimen and, possibly, to get back into the routine that I had successfully carved out for myself the year before last. Honestly, I wasn't feeling well: tired, cranky, sluggish, achy. Yes, I am cranky very often, but the others applied on a really regular basis, even rivaling the others. Imagine. So, I went online, found the challenge, took Jake with me to Sprouts and the challenge began... In all, I went completely Vegan for 25 days and Vegetarian for the last 5. I had egg whites and dairy during the last 5 days. I lost 4 pounds and I gained a deep appreciation for my body and the choice, the action of every piece of food that enters into my system. More than that though, I gained a deeper understanding of how very little effort it takes to impart an idea, to share a new way of thinking, to help others feel that way too. I'm not going to lie. There were days when I wondered what the hell I was doing. I bought a juicer, I invested in a recipe book (anyone who knows me knows that it will just collect dust on my shelf), I registered for an online chat group with other "Veganites" and I started to talk to my family about the impact of their barbarism on the planet. They basically chastised me and told me to "Pass the Bacon." That's just the norm around here. There are 5 of us in my family and, given the research, if 2 of us change our patterns, or, if 50% of the number in your household (we aren't going to chop Ty in half, well, not today anyway) change the amount of meat products consumed in their families, eventually the shortages and the animal cruelty and the corn fed beef as opposed to natural grass fed beef, would wane. Interesting given the fact that most of the reading material that I came across did not patronize meat eaters, but instead, discussed in an informative and rather non-biased way the subject of how MUCH meat and egg and dairy products were are consuming and how that is contributing to a potential shortage in the near future; who are we kidding? There already is a shortage. We are consuming meat, including poultry and fish at such an alarming rate that the farms cannot keep up and, in turn, the practices that they are utilizing are barbaric, unsanitary and frankly, unsettling, to say the least. When I decided to change my diet, I thought about the contribution of cutting out all meat and dairy and instead, I realized that just by cutting out some, a significant difference could be made. That sounds so trite, but, again, as someone who was raised on meat, this is a profound alteration in the way that I had thought about food. In addition, I realized, as soon as I began this regimen, that the amount of chemicals and antibiotics and other ingredients in food products were affecting my system, including, my sight, my skin and, although I'm no longer using them for their intended purpose, my reproductive organs. I started to think about meat as not the pure product that I once thought it was; that is what really changed for me. It has been 10 days since the "end" of the challenge and since then, I've had eggs, turkey bacon and tilapia, but I have yet to have beef or pork and, without shooting myself in the foot, I can put out into the universe that there is a better than great chance that I will not eat those two ever again. I will limit my consumption of poultry and that includes eggs and I no longer drink "dairy" milk. I now use soy products only. While I did not extend my Vegan challenge into my household products, I am more mindful of the products that I do buy and that I use in our home and I am also on a mission to get my family to be more aware of what and how much they eat of something, but I do not deprive them of something if they want it. Jake just ate two cheeseburgers and Nick had a turkey sandwich for lunch. I think the turning point for me was when I really thought about all of the animals and how horribly they are treated in factory farms because of the production rate that has to be kept up. If people did not want to cut down by half, they could consider replacing certain products or even, just substituting something else for animal meals once in a while. This was my 30 day journey and this is what I've learned so far. I bought a new juicer. I had one years ago, but, alas, it was lost by the wayside. After reading this man's journey back to health based solely on 3 months of juicing, I was inspired to think about fruits and veggies in another way. While I had been a bacon girl, I am an avid veggie and fruit eater and so are my kids, well, more fruits than veggies but that is changing day by day. Even Ty has gotten on board with Kale, Apple, Carrot, Broccoli juice. I would have never imagined. Again, the main discovery for me has been how well I feel when I am consuming natural, whole, sometimes organic products. This sounds childish to me, not revelatory, but it wasn't the knowledge, it was the act of making a conscious choice to eat this not that or to drink that not this. And then, looking at the bigger picture which involves how my body is functioning. I sleep better, I'm calmer, I have more energy, these are given, BUT I began to think more clearly, at least that is what it seemed like. My focus was sharper when it came to certain activities and I didn't have to think about them repeatedly. This is revelatory for someone who wasn't raised to think about food as a mechanism by which to function more efficiently; I was raised to think of food as pleasure more than as fuel. And yes, a kale smoothie isn't going to substitute for a piece of cheesecake all the time, but it is going to make me feel like going for a walk or a swim so that I can later have that piece of cheesecake. I realize all of this has been said before but I guess I wanted to put it down in a context that was mine, a lesson that I learned. I try never to hate my body; it pisses me off sometimes, unknowingly of course, but whatever ails it, it is because of the choices that I have made. When I treat it well, it returns the favor and this 30 day challenge gave me some valuable insight into what it means to be kind to oneself. I have some really great friends who have also committed to adding in facets of health: drinking more water, daily activity, veggies galore, planking... and all of this, combined with a desire to be mobile in my later years has helped me to begin to heal again. I'm not going to make something up, but I stopped running when Coach Scott died. It's not a viable reason; his family goes on every day and they are an amazing group of people. I don't know what it was, I just kind of got lost again, fell out of touch with that girl that I was a long time ago. And I needed to think about the whole picture in another way and I really felt, when I read Tailyr's paper for the first time, that it was time to start thinking about the whole picture again, not just a fraction of the piece. I miss him. But I know what he'd say and for anyone else who knew him, they know too. I guess overall, when I hear people say, well, you only live once, I never really think that they are referring to the NY steak that they are going to eat or the vodka martini that they just threw down, oh, incidentally, no alcohol either on the Vegan plan... wait for reaction. Ok, continuing on, I guess I think that means that they are doing something dangerous, something that may compromise their health, their sanity, their fidelity and THAT is why they are doing it. But in my journey, that NY steak is indeed, one of those compromises. I suppose in a broader way, it is more fair to say I will try than to say I will, but let's face it, do we ever really get anywhere when we say we will try? We try, yes, but when we say we will, then we try in conjunction with succeeding. So, I will no longer eat red meat or pork. And I will try to be ever mindful of the reasons behind why I choose to do that. And those people are right, you only live once and I want that once to continue to be a journey of health, mobility and longevity. I want that for you too.