On Returning to Vegetarianism

So in November of 2006, I entertained the idea of becoming a vegetarian. Of course, when I shared the news with my parents, they would have none of that because they were good parents. I was still quite young and still growing; denying my body the nutrition it needs to develop was not the goal. And I was unclear as to my reasons why I would choose this diet. It wasn't about being healthy, it wasn't because I disliked the taste (au contraire, it was my favourite food group), it wasn't really about the animals either. I think at the time, I wanted to be a vegetarian just to be a vegetarian. To me, they were interesting and had my respect because, hey, finding meat alternatives is hard and expensive. Not to mention my family wasn't well known for holding back in the meat department (innuendo unintended but there nonetheless. Bite me.)

But, I became a vegetarian. My family would offer me a piece of chicken, and I would say

and that would be that. Sometimes, it was a little more difficult to say no. My dad makes the best steaks ever. I am serious, he has never made a misteak (badum-chhh!) So when I prodded the beans and rice and tofu chicken on my plate and my dad waved a piece of steak in my face, it was less of a "harumph!" and more of a

My artistic skills are unmatched 

Seriously. If I had three wishes, one of them would definitely be for meat alternatives to taste as orgasmically good as the real thing. Sadly, it's not true. Also, I know how a lot of people say that after they joined the ranks of the vegetarian, many great things happened. Their health improved dramatically, they had boosted energy, they lost weight and so on. None of that happened for me. Absolutely not one of those things. I developed low blood iron levels, resulting in constant lethargy, I was sick no less often than usual, and was actually a bit on the pudgy side for a while. I'm not claiming that this happens to everyone. For all I know, I was an anomaly and you really can get super powers from becoming vegetarian (I know, the pop culture reference states that only vegans get super powers, but for the sake of the joke just go along with it.) But I'm getting side-tracked.

Anyway, as you may have guessed from the title of this post, at some point I stopped being a vegetarian. I don't remember the exact date, but it was August 2011 that I ordered a chicken wrap at some random restaurant. Why did I stop? For many reasons, but mainly because I have had this strange ability to move my shoulder joint around in its socket. I've had this condition for as long as I can remember. I had it checked out when I was eight or so, and the good doctor told me I should grow out of it in time. It has been over ten years, and I still haven't grown out of it.

Dr Little thought this might be because my diet lacks enough calcium and magnesium and whatnot to develop  and maintain strong ligaments. My ligaments were weak, and they were causing this shoulder grinding thing. If this kept up, my ligaments would degrade. Right now, I am susceptible to shoulder dislocation, although it has not yet happened. In the future, I will be susceptible to arthritis I guess. So in order to combat this, I agreed to include meat in my diet once more. But not beef. The environmentalist in me wouldn't let me consume beef. I'll get into that in a later blog maybe.

So for about seven months, I partook in the chicken and the turkey and the pork, and I enjoyed it. Everything was so delicious! Of course, once in a while I fell back into my old vegetarian routine, which usually consisted of a roasted veggie-something, but that happened rarely. Now, I could once again have turkey jerky, one of my dirty little addictions.

I had gone into University, and started to lose some weight. Nothing substantial, maybe a few pounds. And the food I was eating was delicious! But I decided to return to my vegetarian ways. Why?

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Honestly, I dunno. Maybe I still have that initial desire to be vegetarian. Maybe my conscience is kicking into high gear and I'm feeling guilty because in a developed world, there is little need to consume meat in the first place. If you think about it, the only real reason people eat meat is because it's delicious. It isn't necessary for survival; meat is a luxury item. I have to call into question which I value more; my personal craving for something that merely tastes amazing, or the life of the animal that not only died to feed me, but lived to feed me as well. 

Now, I may be a student of the environment, and I may be a vegetarian, but I am not a hippie. I'm sceptical, I'm a scientist at heart, and I'm a bit pessimistic most of the time. I do retain a little bit of hope though. And I figure that if I can take my supplements (I'm terrible at remembering to take those darned things) I should be okay. Life isn't about satisfaction on the physical level alone.

Sometimes, it is necessary to stroke one's imaginary philosopher beard to achieve understanding of what I just said.

Anyway. What this boils down to I guess is that I actually like being a vegetarian for the metaphysical benefits. It makes me feel good in- well- a spiritual way. And I'm not even into spirituality. It's difficult to articulate. I don't even feel like I need to explain myself or have a reason at all for choosing this lifestyle. It suits me.

Hey, maybe you should give it a try too! Maybe you'll like it! Or maybe not. Who knows?