Category Archives: Health

Vegetarian II

In the 4.5 years since I stopped eating meat, my reasons for being vegetarian have evolved from my initial focus on health and preventing chronic disease.  That is still important, but now I have other compelling reasons, environmental impact and social justice being at the top of the list.

Most people will not choose as I have and give up meat entirely, and that is fine.  Rather, think about ways to eat less meat: reduce portion sizes, incorporate meatless meals every week, and encourage others to do the same.

Recent reading, including the book I mention here, provides evidence that animals (and meat) can be raised and consumed in ways that sustain the environment.  If you do eat meat, try to find a local source.   Take the time to talk to the cow/chicken/pig farmer and find out about his/her practices.  Go visit the farm and see the animals.  What do they feed the animals?  How do they handle the manure?

For now, I am happy and healthy as a vegetarian.  My diet includes eggs and a moderate amount of dairy.  The eggs are from local free-range or pasture-raised hens.  The milk and some of the cheese comes from an in-state dairy.  Other cheese comes from smaller, local farmers.

Will I ever eat meat again?  Maybe.  But I will do so with some pretty high standards.

No time to cook?

Could it be because you just spent an hour in front of the television?

Michael Pollan in The Times Magazine:

“. . . a great many Americans are spending considerably more time watching images of cooking on television than they are cooking themselves — [cooking is] an increasingly archaic activity they will tell you they no longer have the time for.  What is wrong with this picture?”

Oh, the irony.

That said, cooking does take time, but it is a worthwhile investment.  The food tastes better and is healthier than any ready-to-eat or prepared options.  Food, and cooking, should be enjoyable and social.  Involve all members of your household, and it becomes a family activity rather than a chore.

Vegetarian I

For the first 21 years of my life, I was an unquestioning omnivore.  Well, not completely unquestioning.

Me: Did you wash that spoon?
Mom: I’m still using it.
Me: But you used the same spoon to stir the ground beef when it was raw, and now it will contaminate the cooked ground beef.

Me: Did you just touch the sink after handling raw chicken?
Mom: [Rolls her eyes as I proceed to thoroughly disinfect the sink.]

Sure, I ate meat, but I also had issues with it.  I handled raw meat like it was a hazardous substance.  The only thing missing was a HAZMAT suit.  Turns out, I was right to be worried, although at the time I didn’t understand WHY the meat was so hazardous.  Sure, I knew about e. coli and salmonella, but I did not know that those things were directly connected to our agriculture and food production system, a broken system.

I started cooking for myself regularly when I moved off campus for my senior year of college.  Except for an occasional chicken breast or a can of tuna, I did not prepare meat for myself.  It was just too much of a chore, what with the washing my hands every 4 seconds, sterilizing the sink, and using 10 different spoons to prepare one dish (a spoon for every stage in the cooking process, from raw to fully cooked).  Combine that with my growing interest in nutrition, including some convincing arguments that frequent meat consumption is NOT healthy, and you have the perfect vegetarian storm.

I did some reading about, and started experimenting with, alternate protein sources (legumes, nuts, soy).  I was eating well, saving money, and not missing the hazardous material handling.  Before I went home for Christmas break that year, I ate my last frozen chicken breast, and said goodbye to meat and hello to vegetarianism.

It wasn’t the candle

Mom: I started painting the den.

Me: Cool.  Did you use low VOC paint?

Mom: Um, sure . . . .  What it low VOC paint?  [Translates as, “probably not.”]

Sometimes, I take my environmental knowledge for granted.  VOC stands for volatile organic compound.  These chemicals occur in paint, among other things.  If you are painting, especially indoors, you will inhale VOCs.  Breathing VOCs is bad.  Immediate health risks include breathing problems, headache, and eye irritation.  Over time, some VOCs are also linked to cancer risk.

The levels of VOCs are highest immediately after painting, but your newly painted walls continue to off-gas VOCs long after the paint is dry.  The good news is that low- or no-VOC paint is readily available.  Look or ask for it for your next indoor painting project.

In addition to the random knowledge already in my head, I found information on VOCs here and here.  If you want more details, click one of those links.

Taters

"Blue" potatoes
"Blue" potatoes

In real life, they are purple, but the seed company called them blue.  I’m not complaining — they are gorgeous, delicious, AND healthy.  These little taters have the same antioxidant profile as blueberries (which are often listed as a “superfood” because of all the antioxidant goodness).

However, that information is not doing much for my quads, which are still upset over their part in harvesting 200 pounds of potatoes on Saturday.  They hurt when walking, which is not an optional activity.  If those muscles could talk, they would have said, “Woman, what are you doing?  Are you trying to kill us?”  when I got on my bike this morning.  I think the movement will help them feel better faster.