5 Reasons to Become a Vegetarian

This post isn't meant to be preachy. This is a post for me to come back to and remember why I want to not eat meat and be a vegetarian. Hopefully it will not only help me, but inspire anyone who reads this. Either way, what someone does with their diet is a personal and private decision.

• Health
• Animals
• Sustainability/Environment
• Tasty!!
• Zombie Apocalypse

- Oh to be glamorous and beautiful! I may not be rich and famous, but I can sure help myself to become the envy of all the girls. Well maybe not. But by not eating meat, my health will become better. By going veg I will cut down on fat consumption which will mean in the long run, a smaller waist line. Also, by cutting out all of the fat in my diet, it will help to cut down on the risk of health problems such as high blood pressure and heart disease. Furthermore, by not eating meat, I will have less exposure to unnecessary chemicals and antibiotics that are often given to commercially raised livestock. Having a vegetarian diet will lower my risks to diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, obesity, stroke, cancer and osteoporosis. Statistically speaking, vegetarians are healthier than the rest of the population. Let's not forget, by skipping out on a hamburger, I could be skipping out on a potential case of food poisoning. The vast majority of food poisoning cases come from ill-prepared meat.

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- Do you like the furries?! And no, I'm not talking about creepy old men who dress up like squirrels. I'm talking about our friends who share this great planet with us. In the US alone, 500,000 animals are killed for meat every hour. Although some animals are lucky enough to die humanely, most are not. Most animals die in terror, sadness and in pain. Each day, tens of millions of male chicks are brutally murdered simply because they can not produce eggs. There is no humane slaughter act to protect poultry, so more times than not, these tiny, harmless creatures are murdered brutally with out a second thought. Let's not forget that humans are animals, too. Slaughterhouse employees are often not paid enough and have poor or no health insurance. They are also the ones that are murdering defenseless animals which can have it's negative affect not only on an individual but communities as a whole.

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- We all live here, we may as well make it a decent place to live. There are approximately 6,769,540,000 people on planet Earth. It's pretty much the only home we all have to share. Did you ever want to end world hunger when you were a child? By cutting back on your meat consumption, you could help pave the way. 60 million people die from starvation each year. In African countries, where millions are dying from starvation each year, grain is exported to other countries to help fatten up animals going to slaughter. If Americans were to cut back meat consumption by 10%, the 60 million that starve to death could live off of the grain that feeds cattle. It takes 100 acres of land to produce enough beef for 20 people. That same 100 acres could grow enough wheat for 240 people to eat.

The world as we know it is constantly changing. Half of the rain forests in the world have been destroyed for the purpose of raising cattle for slaughter. The burning of rain forests contribute to 20% of greenhouse gases and roughly 1000 species are made extinct each year. Water is the biggest source of life on planet Earth. Meat producers are the biggest polluters of water. Not only that, it takes anywhere from 2000 to 2500 gallons of water to produce just one pound of meat. It only takes 23 gallons to produce one pound of tomatoes. That's a 1000% difference! Ever wonder why your water bill was so high? If it wasn't for tax payers shelling out the money for the costs of water, the US meat industry would have to charge $35 a pound for hamburger. And here is one last statistic for you to chew over: For every pound of beef a steer produces, it eats 7 pounds of grain and soy protein, making it a negative cost per content protein source.

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- The quickest way to a persons heart is through their stomach. Not only is being a vegetarian good for you, it tastes good too! By eliminating meat from your daily diet, you will discover a world of food you never knew existed. You will try new things and find that you don't miss eating meat at all. You'll discover new cuisines from all over the world from Ethiopian to Mexican, Thai to Indian. You may even find new ways to prepare those veggies that you thought you did not like. Whole grains, vegetables, and fruit are available all year round, but you may notice that as the seasons change so do your meals. You'll never have a boring dinner again.

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- It's better to be prepared, than to be one of them. Laugh if you must... But when the zombie apocalypse hits, I will still be human. Seriously, when was the last time you heard about someone becoming a zombie from eating bad spinach? I'll tell you when... NEVER! Almost always, zombie-ism starts with a slab of bad meat. If you wont save yourself, think of your friends and family who are doomed to be eaten by a zombiefied you. THINK OF THE WORLD, MAN!! Seriously though, fuck zombies.

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So those are my 5 Reasons to Become a Vegetarian. It's different for each person, but if you're considering a meat free lifestyle, I would suggest reading the online book How to Successfully Become a Vegetarian (which I've sited as a source a few times here!).

If you're looking for books to read I would suggest picking up the following:

Slaughterhouse: The Shocking Story of Greed, Neglect and Inhumane Treatment Inside the U.S. Meat Industry

Fast Food Nation

Food Inc.: A Participant Guide: How Industrial Food is Making Us Sicker, Fatter, and Poorer-And What You Can Do About It

The Complete Idiot's Guide To Being Vegetarian

Back on the bandwagon

so for the last two years, I've pretty much been off of my vegetarian diet and have been eating meat pretty regularly.

I've decided that I simply can not do this anymore. I feel like shit, my skin is awful, and I'm chubby again. It's time to take better control of my life and stop eating meat and dairy and go back to my happy veggie ways.

So, even though I was a vegetarian in the past, I've decided to research. I'm actually surprised at how much research I did before because it's mostly a huge review. hahaha. It's been kind of eye opening though. And I hope that this will stick. I don't want to slide back into eating meat again. It would be a lot easier if I had someone doing it with me, but I wont pressure anyone into this lifestyle unless they want it, which I know no one who does. So I'm flying solo.

I'll probably be updating with my progress as I go along and adding in some facts about vegetarianism that I think are interesting. I'm also going to be updating with restaurants that serve good vegetarian food.

So wish me luck... and give me support!

Wallowa County

Over Labor Day weekend, Eric and I went to his home town to attend the wedding of one of his oldest friends, Moses. We left Thursday day, and drove the long 6 hours to the east. Going through the sage filled desert and back into the greenery that only Oregon can provide.

We stayed in Enterprise, Oregon which is a small town, yet, the biggest in the county. That night we had a bachelor/bachelorette party to attend. He was going to DJ for most of the night. Apparently the bachelor party was paired with an annual party that happens there each year called the "Stockyard Party". It's put on by one of Eric's close friends Joe, and it's just a gathering of close friends enjoying music, drinks, and food. There was fire dancing and just general good times.



Friday was spent recovering from being up until 6am, and then later on eating and exploring the town of Joseph. (The first picture is the sign that greets you into the lovely little town). Joseph is named after Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce Indians. I was surprised at how rich in culture and history this little county and small towns were. It was very similar to going on a field trip in elementary school.

Now, to be completely honest, I fell a little in love with the town of Joseph. It's not only rich in the history of the Native Americans that live there, but it's also rich in arts. The whole town has these beautiful bronze statues up and down the main strip and although the shops are clearly aimed at tourist, they're all still very quaint and unique.







Friday night, Eric and I walked from our motel room to a nearby bar that his friend Joe works at. We spent the evening drinking, eating, and relaxing. Pondering jackolopes and reminiscing on the past. It was a lot of fun to listen to old stories I've heard a million times told from another perspective.

In case I haven't mentioned it yet, I adore Joe. He's very personable and outgoing. My friend Lance has deemed him the Don of Wallowa County, and I can see how he's earned that hilarious nick name.


Moses and Jill were married on Saturday. Their ceremony was casual, short, but quite possibly one of the sweetest I've ever attended. Moses is a gentle and sweet man and Jill is a shy, soft spoken woman with extremely beautiful eyeballs. They seem to compliment each other well and the love they feel for each other is nearly tangible.

They were married in the bottom of Hells Canyon near a town named Imnaha. (Imnaha is the smallest town I've ever been in, and I found out that I'm terrified of small towns. I'm talking population of 20 people or so.)




The reception lasted well into the early morning hours with family and friends drinking and dancing. Eric was asked to DJ again, after the old folks left, and he did so gladly. I wish now that I had tried to take a picture of how the canyon looked as the moon rose above the high mountains, but honestly, it was so breathtaking that all I could do was stand there and be mesmerized by the scenery.

Overall, my trip out there was one that I'll remember forever. Despite my shy demeanor and my inability to speak to strangers, I was welcomed by Eric's friends with open arms. I felt as if I wasn't an outsider attending my boyfriend's friend's wedding, but a friend who was attending a friend's wedding.

Sometimes, it's just not that interesting

I haven't really updated this lonely little blog in a while. Mostly because somethings are just not that interesting. We did go to eastern Oregon and I have some great shots from the trip that I want to post. We had a great trip and I'm planning on writing a little ditty about it... I've just been preoccupied with other things.

My baby cousin came and lived with me for a month, and then after a small blow out, decided to move back home because she could get a job in Louisiana.

There's a tiny bit of animosity there, but I"m pretty sure it's all just on my end. Whatever.

well, I was mostly just checking in... I'm not even sure if anyone tries to read this anymore... lol

We'll see, I guess.

Hopefully this works..

.. So work has gone through and blocked a whole bunch of sites all over again.  Sometimes I feel like these blocks are targeted directly at me since it seems that everyone else's favorite websites remain intact, while the ones I want to go to are blocked.  Meh.  Whatever.  I do my work, get it done, and will find other ways to fill the time in between phone calls.

 

This week has been excruciatingly hot here in Portland.  Two days ago it hit 107 with about 43% humidity and I swear I thought I was gonna die.  I felt awful for the kitties too.  Thank goodness I'm not covered in fur.  Luckily, I think we're past the nasty weather here and on to some really beautiful summer weather.  I'm not sure what the plans are for this weekend, but it's looking like some swimming and relaxation are long over due.  We'll hopefully be doing a huge overhaul to the living room here soon.  I'm looking forward to it.  Possibly a new TV but it just depends on how that goes.  I still need to pay my brother back for working on the Toyota.

 

I've been doing a horrible job at keeping up with this blog.  Mostly because I feel like my life is super mundane and boring.  I'm not sure anyone will really want to read this and I'm not even sure myself, if I want to catalogue my overly quiet and dull life. Also, I've been really grumpy and cranky lately.  Not entirely sure why, but it might have to do with the heat and the back pain that I've been pretending doesn't exsist. 

 

Which reminds me, I need to call my attorney and give him an update on my health.  I've put my chiropractic care on hold for the time being, and I'm beginning to think I dont actually need the procedure that the pain specialist was trying to talk me into.  I'm going to work on losing the extra weight that I've put on and just trying to deal with the pain a different way.  The more I eff with it, the more worried I get about it.  I think it's just best to work on doing something more constructive as opposed to shoving needles and gunk into my back.

 

Anyhow, I'm hoping that this entry posts.  I'm updating using my email and so I wont actually know or see until I get home from work today.  *sigh* oh well.