Lately I've been eating vegetarian at work. It's been more than one month since I started, and that also included the Christmas Party dinner (wasn't sure about it, esp. after hearing some awful stories about "vegetarian is the same dish as the other one, only removing the meat"; but finally I decided to go for it… and it turned out to be yummy!). Note that I not only not claim to be a vegetarian, I don't even claim to have it as a goal.
I guess the first question is "why?". Some people have suggested/assumed that maybe I'm spending too much time with a certain person :-P I'm sure that has somehow paved the way or helped, but actually I never thought of changing my eating habits until I saw a film called "Sharkwater". Sharkwater is a documentary about sharks that shows some of the misconceptions about them and the cruelty there is towards them (mostly shark finning). When talking about the possibility of shark extinction, it explains that it can be a huge problem with the planet's oxygen supply. The film got me thinking, and I also connected some dots with stuff I had read on the Meat-Free Mondays website. Also, watching Sylvia Earle's TED talk made me think even more about the impact of people's eating habits in the world. And I realised that I was eating meat in almost every single meal, every single day, so I decided to change it for the environment, for my health, and for the craic.
So I guess the next question is "why not go all the way and really become a vegetarian?". That's a good question. For one, I don't have that moral thing with animals. Not yet anyway. Maybe I just have to watch a couple of documentaries ;-) Another important point is that I don't live alone, and I can't really impose my view of the world or eating habits on anyone (although we're doing meat-free dinners on Monday so I can have Meat-Free Mondays, yay!). Third, I'm not even sure I'm currently able to: I mean, giving up on sushi? For life? I doubt I can do that. Now, limiting myself to eating it, say, just a couple of times a year… sure thing. And finally, as the main reasons for the change were practical (health and environment), I currently don't feel I need to completely give up on meat. I guess it's a matter of economics. Sort of.
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Back in the 80s America was importing Brasilian beef at the expense of the rainforests when there was a surplus of american beef at the time. That was what triggered me to give up imported beef at first and all mammals not long after. Even within fish, my main source of protein, I try to be what one friend calls “gastro-political”; avoiding the overfished and so on. In your case, ethical sourcing may be more important than cutting out the product… for example, I have made exceptions for reindeer on a couple occasions since I know it supports the Sami people, hasn’t traveled far, and isn’t battery farmed or connected with deforestation. Anyway, even if a lot of locals are baffled, you have a lot of support at the office.
January 21, 2010 @ 3:15 am
Even if you still eat fish like I do from time to time, I still think it’s a huge improvement both: for your health and for the world. Go for it ;-)!
January 21, 2010 @ 3:25 am
Cool! After watching Sharkwater, I wanted to find a list of what is overfished and what is not too bad. Do you have such a list for Norway?
And I love the “gastro-political” thing, haha. I’d like to become one just because of the name :-D
January 21, 2010 @ 3:57 am
We’ve pretty much learned the hard way that overfishing isn’t good. From http://www.nytimes.com/1995/08/27/us/new-hope-for-species-depleted-by-overfishing.html?pagewanted=1 :
“Dr. Hutchings said that Norway proved that cod stocks can recover. He said the fish population plummeted because of overfishing off Norway in the 1980’s. The country put strict limits on the catch and now the cod has recovered enough to support a reduced level of harvesting.”
There were also some whale species that almost disappeared completely, but we now have restrictions on that as well to make sure it’s a sustainable industry. That said, I don’t know if overfishing has stopped completely on all areas. In addition, we’ve had problems with fishing boats from other countries coming into our territorial waters and fishing without giving a fuck.
January 22, 2010 @ 5:45 am
Two movie suggestions:
Food Inc
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eKYyD14d_0
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1286537/
Earthlings
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Sx7HS6Bp7E
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0358456/
For the “shock effect” that might awaken “that moral thing with animals” go for Earthlings, but i highly recommend Food Inc. It covers a lot more than just animal cruelty.
January 22, 2010 @ 11:25 am