Finale or Continued?

Today makes the final day of my project.  I cannot believe it has ended so quickly!  I have jumped over several hurdles, and I have even fallen on my face a couple of times.  However, I have learned a myriad of information on vegetarianism and what it does to people.  First, I have learned that vegetarianism just doesn't affect you physically, but mentally and spiritually as well.  Second, I have learned that vegetarianism is clearly better than non-vegetarianism.  Finally, I have learned to become creative and open minded with food and people.

Yes, I stayed strong for my final day and kept my vegetarian diet.  Unfortunately, I never became a vegan, a dietary choice that I was wanting to make for a day.  However, being a vegan would of been too difficult because I love dairy way too much.  This is how I want to conclude my project by stating that you do not have to take drastic, radical choices to make a difference.  Ever decision is an influence, and any decision, no matter how small, that upholds humanity is a positive entity.

This project has taught me that being a vegetarian will not stop animal cruelty or global warming.  However, with smart choices, one can make a positive impact.  Therefore, I have decided that I will eat meat, but I will try to limit my intake of meat whenever I can.  Vegetarianism made me more conscience of what I was eating; however, I just love it way too much to give it up for the rest of my life.  Also, I did not realize how much meat is emphasized at social gatherings where it is impossible to go without eating.  Also, one should not be consumed with labels.  I was boxed into this vegetarian identity that I sometimes forgot who I was.  Make smart moves, know who you are, and if you crave meat, then eat it with thanksgiving.

Speaking of Thanksgiving, I will try to make smart decisions for the holiday as well.  I want to consume meat as little as possible unless I absolutely crave or desire it.  It showed me that just because something is delicious or is filled with protein, does not mean you should consume it all the time in huge portions.  I'm honestly going to miss writing for this blog and telling everyone about it.  I am going to miss seeing those three or four views from creepy Russian guys that I have never met.  This blog meant so much to me, and I truly just want to say that I love every single reader/follower out there.  You guys are the best, and you guys are what kept me motivated.

Finally, after all this time without meat, where is it?  Meat is everywhere, everywhere except for my stomach (except for the times that I cheated).

Goals

For my final interview, I got to interview Jennifer Hicks, one of my friends from my elementary school.  Jennifer is a Seventh Day Adventist and a vegetarian.  I thought she would be the perfect example of the ups and downs of vegetarianism, and I was accurate in thinking so.

Q:  Define vegetarianism in your own words.
A:  A person that does not eat any sort of meat including chicken, fish, etc.  (Some people will ask me if I eat fish.  I respond with no because it is still fish.  You do know there is a vegan too, right?  There is a difference.

Q:  How long have you been a vegetarian?
A:  Ever since I was born.

Q:  Why did you become a vegetarian?
A:  It was my parent's decision.

Q:  What motivates you to stay a vegetarian?  Any temptations?
A:  My parents' rules, and yes, everything is a temptation.  It is hard lots of times.

Q:  Any struggles or defining moments of being a vegetarian?
A:  My parents' rules, and yes, peer pressure, the wanting to eat but not being able to, and just the curiosity of it because I have known of some vegetarians who have tried it and chose not to eat it anymore.

Q:  What characteristics of vegetarianism do you like?
A:  It is healthier, and you do not have to worry about hormones or anything.  Your immune system is more built up, and you can stay away from infections.  I know someone who hasn't been sick for over twenty years.

Q:  When will you stop being a vegetarian if you ever decide to?
A:  At the age of 18.

Q:  Any last words of advice you can give to a struggling vegetarian.
A:  Make sure you understand why you want to become a vegetarian and commit to it.

This interview reminded me of the article done on independent and dependent vegetarians.  I think that it is much more difficult for one to become a vegetarian in a family that is non-vegetarian.  Imagine if their were rules of vegetarianism placed on you by your family.  Being a vegetarian would be much easier yet more frustrating.  I could tell that she was sort of in an annoyed attitude towards the idea of it.  Also, I thought her last piece was awesome!  A plethora of people jump right into projects and do not even understand their purpose(s) of starting it.  If people do not understand their purpose(s), then there is no way people can truly commit to their goals.  Throughout this entire project, I have constantly been reminding me of why eat the way I do, and it has helped me.  Today, I went another day as a vegetarian, and I cannot believe there is only one day left of my experiment.  Will I continue my vegetarian journey?  You will find out tomorrow in my final blog post.

Content

Today, I went somewhere quite interesting.  My university loves it's alumni, and it produces a huge gathering for them.  This gathering consists of a gigantic festival filled with booths.  These booths consist of fraternities and sororities, games, and, of course, food and beverages.  However, there was only a booth for food, and yes, they were serving products with meat.  Did I fall for it?  Yes, I did.  All they offered were hamburgers, hot dogs, potato chips, and Little Debbie cakes.  As a poor college student, I had to eat this food.  My cafeteria was closed because of this event, so I had to eat a hamburger or skip lunch.  Because I was going to write a paper on my experiences and research shortly after the visit, there was no way that I was going to exist without lunch.

I think this experience is why it is so difficult for me to stay a vegetarian.  For some peculiar reason, cooking out is one of America's past times, and it is a fan favorite at social gatherings.  However, there are several vegetarian foods that one can cook outside that still fall under the vegetarian guidelines.  Why is corn on the cob, red peppers, and watermelon automatically cut out of our festivals?  I guess hamburgers and hot dogs are just one of America's way of life.

Also, I learned that even though I am in college, a plethora of food choices are still made for me.  I am broke; I have no income.  Because of this horrible fact, my options are limited.  Yes, I have more options being on my own, but these options consist of if I am going to eat on the right or left side of the dining hall.  People of all countries know that dining halls are extremely repetitive with food choices.

The vegetarian project has definitely taught me that just because I am living in college and on my own still does not mean that all of my dietary options are open.  In fact, most of my options, in all facets of my life, are usually chosen for me.  However, that is okay.  I live a good life.  

Eating Nemo.

Today, I stayed right on track with my vegetarian project, or at least I thought I did.  For breakfast, I ate nothing.  With such a busy schedule, I rarely have time for breakfast.  Since I did not eat breakfast, I had a gigantic lunch.  My lunch consisted of gravy and mashed potatoes, green beans, cheese pizza, and a chocolate chip cookie.  The food was extremely delicious because of a program that my university hosts.  This program gives juniors and seniors in high school and transfer students the opportunity to preview the campus in person, instead of just on the Internet.  Because the university wants more students, everything appears to improve on frontline, including the food.  There were so many delicious foods that it was very tempting not to eat any meat.  However, I stayed strong for lunch, but dinner is kind of a different story.

For dinner, I ate a peanut butter sandwich; however, it wasn't very fulfilling.  There was not any other appetizing meals either; therefore, I ate a fish sandwich.  That is right.  I ate fish.  However, I figured today would be another experimental day because there are only a couple more days left until this project is over.  The fish sandwich was not very fresh and somewhat stale, yet it was still average on the scale of tastiness.

Pescetarianism can fall under vegetarianism.  Fish have diminutive life spans, and they are bound to be eaten by some animal.  Also, there are a plethora of fish and not enough coral reefs which can hurt the environment.  Eating fish might be considered eating meat, but today, I followed through.

We Do Without.

I read an excellent article about the moral reason of why someone should become a vegetarian.  The article titled, "Moral Vegetarianism from a Very Broad Basis", written by David DeGrazia, a philosophy professor at George Washington University, arose an excellent point.  Because animals have at least some moral value, they deserve not be tortured by factory farms.  Even if you are not a total animals' rights supporter, one should still have no consideration towards vegetarianism or animals because it is inexcusable to be anything else.

I, honestly, am not a gigantic animal lover.  Growing up, I always played with action figures, not a pet. In fact, the only animals I was allowed to have were a couple of goldfish and a gecko; both species died rather quickly and provided very little, positive, and emotional support.  I also was attacked by a dog when I was around the age of eight.  These experiences displayed to me that I really did not like to be around animals at all.

However, even though I still do not like to be around animals, it still does not give me the right to torture animals.  I am not saying that eating meat is like swinging a hatchet at a goat, but what I am saying is that maybe humans should investigate the foods that they are eating.  Did the meat come from a farm that does not torture animals?  Were the animal environments sterile?  How do they kill the animals?  These are questions that all people should be asking, regardless of what dietary classification one belongs to.  An omnivore must investigate the farm while the vegetarian must investigate the plate. Yes, if the entire world became vegetarian, then animal cruelty would decrease.  However, action can still be taken with the cooperation of our omnivore brothers.  For now, though, we do without.

Back to the Fold

I did it.  I broke the habit of eating meat, and I am back on the vegetarian track.  Usually, it would of been just another vegetarian day; however, lately, I have been struggling.  However, I read through an article that gave me one more reason to be a vegetarian.

The article, "Children Who Choose Not to Eat Meat:  A Study of Early Moral Decision-making", written by Karen M. Hussar and Paul L. Harris, researchers at Harvard University, came to interesting conclusions.  They found that committed vegetarians from the ages of 6-10 condemn committed vegetarians but they do not pass judgment against uncommitted vegetarians when they eat meat.  I should probably be upset, but I am actually quite pleased.  It shows that vegetarian children truly do care about commitments and uphold them with great sincerity.  The research shows that these children do not judge people outside of the vegetarian circle for eating meat, but they do judge those who are in it.  I think this relates exactly with adults and the church, not to run off on a tangent.

The vegetarians I have come across are very open minded towards non-vegetarians.  However, when two vegetarians meet, situations can become heated.  Do you consume milk?  Do you eat fish?  How long have you been a vegetarian?  These questions almost show a sort of competitive nature.

However, I think that this competitive nature is an awesome characteristic about vegetarianism.  We, vegetarians, are always growing, shaping, climbing, and falling because we want to be the best vegetarians that we can be so we can uphold our personal and spiritual commitments.

What good competition is there among omnivores?   Who can eat the most hamburgers in a minute?  However, here I am counter arguing my entire point on judgment, so this post will end now.

Forgiveness

Not only have I eaten meat twice, but I have now eaten meat for a third time!  Please, let me explain my failures.

The first day that I ate meat was Sunday.  For my gateway class, a freshmen introductory course that teaches the elements of college life, my peers and I are required to complete service projects.  For one of our service projects we helped with the production and closing of a fall festival at a medium-sized church.  We were required to do little work, and we were going to be provided with free food.  Excellent!  What I did not think about was the type of food we would be eating.  I was starving, and I knew that there would be a plethora of food provided. Thus, I ate a very small lunch.  That was a mistake because the festival provided barbecue sandwiches, potato chips, and oatmeal pies.  I hate potato chips, and oatmeal pies are not fulfilling.  I knew my only chance of not starving would be to eat meat.  I was extremely tired, and we were working in very cold weather.  The only way I could obtain energy would be to consume meat.  Hence, the delicious sandwiches lead me down a vicious cycle.  

I ate meat the next day.  This time I was working on my homework with some friends when I missed the closing time for the cafeteria.  This would result in me walking to the Subway.  When I arrived at the Subway, I ate my sandwich with meat because the vegetarian sandwiches are not that appetizing.    I felt horrible.  I thought this was going to just be a one day time.

Today, I followed my vegetarian diet all the way through until dinner time.  The barbecue chicken looked amazing, and the vegetarian foods were prepared with little effort.  However, the chicken was not cooked properly, and I only ate a small portion of it.  I could not believe that I failed three days in a row.

I know what they say.  Three strikes and you're out.  However, I want to apologize to all of my followers; I have tried with all of my digestive might.  Here I am proclaiming why someone should be a vegetarian, and I am out in the world eating meat like a T-Rex.  When I ate meat, it felt like I was committing a sin; it felt so wonderful, but I knew it was wrong.  I ask that my readers please forgive me as I try to finish my course strong.