Introduction

At a time where the news is a buzz about oil spills, political upheaval and celebrity romances, I doubt there is much interest in one girl's blog about her vegetarian lifestyle. To be honest this isn't so much for you as it is for me. Kicking the habit of eating meat like an addiction and I desperately need a catharsis. Spending a lifetime eating chicken fingers and french fries then switching to hummus, rice milk, and tofu is not something readily done overnight. Even though I may end up sounding patronizing, I'll try not to write too much on the moral and physical reasons to become a vegetarian (though there are plenty). It's a personal decision that one makes with their own beliefs and experiences. Only about 3% of American's adopt this lifestyle, and I find it fitting that coincidently only 3% of Americans supposedly have my personality type (INFP for your information).

This all started with a conversation I had with my friends at Dennys. I’m getting out of college in a year, and don’t have many goals or dreams at this point of time. My friend who is an avid animal rights activist and vegetarian suggested that I start advocating for animals as well. After all, what’s not to love about animals?

So for the hell of it, I sat down and tried to work out how many animals I’ve harmed in my lifetime. Obviously I don’t abuse my pets or have harmed any animal directly, but I have seen quite a few on my plate. I came up with a rough estimate of 159 animals. That number comes from a series of averages I got from the USDA and Wikipedia. The following is how I got that number;

Let’s start with the USDA average of eating half a pound of meat a day. This number isn't totally accurate as I usually eat less but for all intents and purposes it'll due.

1/2 lbs x 365 days in a year = 182 lbs a year.

182 lbs a year x 20.75 years of eating meat (21 years old - 1 year as I don't include infancy +.75(9/12 extra months since my last birthday)) = 3776 lbs of meat in my lifetime

Converted to a large amount of weight, that's about 1.8 short tons or the weight of a standard car.

A typical live Black Angus cow will weigh between 1200-1600 lbs (545 - 730 kg), depending on age. So 3776/1200-1600 would make a 2.36 - 3.14 cows or an average of 3.

An average live chicken weighs 7.4 to 10 lbs. 3776/7.4-10 would be equivalent to 377.6 - 510.3 chickens or an average of 444.

A large live pig weighs about 100 to 150lbs. 3776/100-150 would be about 25 - 37 pigs, or an average of 31.

So I've consumed something in the neighborhood of 3 cows, 444 chickens or 31 pigs.

Average them out, 3+444+31 = 478 / 3 = 159 live animals

That’s a lot of bad juju.

I used the weight of live animals to get a sense of how many lives I've taken by eating meat. The real number is probably extraordinarily higher since I only eat certain parts, and I'm not including some animal byproducts such as meat stocks or gelatin. Being an English major, my mathematical capabilities are limited but if someone wanted to do a more detailed statistic for me I'd be most grateful.

"So what's the big deal?"

For me it comes down to the fact that animals are sentient beings. They endure suffering like the rest of us, and I do not want to be a factor in their suffering. Plants, by our current understanding, have no central nervous system and so by eating them I don’t feel as I am causing them to suffer.

My friend and I once were having a conversation about God which indirectly led to another realization. I told him that if Jesus came down and gave me a friendly hug and a warm hello, we'd be golden. Until then though I don't have a lot of faith in things I can't see. On the other hand when I brought up vegetarianism he said that until a cow or chicken comes up to him saying "Don't eat me!" that he isn't going to worry about eating them to much. Now this may be a little bit sacrilegious, but I pointed out that we're saying the same thing. I want God to do a song and dance, and he wants an animal to speak up for itself. He says that there is a big difference between animals and God. I'm not too sure about that, but what I do know is that I have carried on perfectly sane conversations with my house pets. They might not be able to discuss Mozart with you but they can portray an interesting array of expressions; none of which should encourage you to eat them!

That and eating flesh is kind of gross.

I could go on and on about the health benefits of a healthy vegetarian lifestyle and the environmental impact the meat industry makes, but I feel that rings false with most people due to how many statistics are altered for political ends. Instead, most of you probably have a dog or a cat. Look at them. Compare how he/she makes you feel compared to how a human does. Do you feel they have a voice? Next, go to a farm, see a live cow or a chicken or a pig. If you like your pets, you probably will end up loving them too. The first time I saw live chickens I wanted to take one home with me! A lot of people have told me that animals are soulless, it's not a sin to eat them, they’re good for you, you'll starve without eating meat, they’re our domain, we can do whatever the hell we want with them etc. Well, people have told me a lot of things and I think it's about time I use what I've seen with my eyes and have felt with my heart to make my choices rather than placating people who are justifying their own!

So now I am all fired up and ready to try out this lifestyle. I've got books, I've got moral support, and most importantly, I have confidence that I'm doing the right thing for me. If you want to join me in my adventure or send me encouragement, please reply!

If you have anything negative or contradicting to say, just keep it civil. I'll be happy to read your opinions as well.