A Whole New World

Today began as normal as ever- with a growling stomach. :/

I grabbed a chewy bar and a diet snapple for breakfast. For lunch, I enjoyed- for the 4th day in a row- a mixed-green salad with blue cheese dressing. A tasteless broccoli and cheese soup for garnish, and I was anything but satisfied. Sitting at the lunch table, I began to imagine the rest of the semester. Constantly having my mouth water over what my friends were eating. Tonight, I grabbed a handful of chips before rushing to work. I just recently began working at a fairly upscale restaurant in an adjoining town. The food is fantastic, at least from what I've tasted, and I've had wide eyes for their buffalo chicken wings- my all time favorite food- which look absolutely delicious at this restaurant. My stomach was again, as always, grumbling with discontent, and I fought it mentally throughout the night. Between the kitchen and the dining room I would walk, drifting through clouds of savory smells, between steak and chicken sandwiches, pulled pork paninis and beef stew. My mind has been wandering in and out of the images I saw last night while I watched the customers eat. Tonight I served a steak that was still bleeding, and the image of a baby veal cow tied to a post with a foot of rope flashed before my eyes.

I was still hungry while I was in the process of clocking out, when one of the waiters invited me to a few plates of food that had been misordered through the kitchen. They were up for grabs, and they usually cumulated in the waitstaff corner.
"What is it?" I asked, surveying the platters of mixed colors and textures.
"Well, this is a cheese souffle with honey drips, this is a platter of pot stickers, and this is veggie chili." He pointed each out to me.
"I can eat these?" - More of a personal question, as I was astounded to have options other than a salad or pasta".
"Yeah? They're here for us. Help yourself."
I was frenzied. I scarfed down two pot stickers, half of the cheese souffle, and munched on the veggie chili. Delicious. So many different tastes, textures, colors, OPTIONS! I was satisfied for the first time in a week as I ordered myself a plate of pot stickers for the ride home. Finally, I had dove into the whole new world of living Vegetarian.

A Successful (?) Week

So, I’ve been doing great so far. Other than the whining. And the growling stomach. And the craving for some buffalo chicken wings. But other than that, things are going great. It’s been difficult walking into the cafeteria everyday with my friends and circling the lunch lines in search of something that would satisfy my hunger. So far, my most satisfying meal was pasta with tomato basil sauce and 10 pounds of cheese. It was a horrible day, my first “vegetarian” trip to the cafeteria, however. I almost chose to postpone my assignment when I saw corndogs- one of my favorite, greasy, meaty foods- on the grill menu. However, with a heavy heart and a determined mind, I reached for a grilled cheese. My friends think that it’s great that I’m doing something like this- they’re very supportive, but they also think I’m slightly unhinged for doing something like this as a class assignment. I’ve been assuring myself that it will be over soon, but I’m nervous for my first breakdown. I know it will come with immense amounts of guilt. Today I was feeling especially hungry. I had a quick piece of bread for breakfast, a small salad for lunch, so on my way to dinner, I was wide-eyed and my mouth was already watering. I watched my friends pile their plates with turkey sandwiches, cheeseburgers, and steak stir-fry. I was starting to get irritated having so few options while I was making my pasta bowl. My mind started to wander, and I imagined how my friend’s chicken ceaser salad must taste. I wondered how long this would last. How long would I maintain this simply for a school project?
When I arrived back in my dorm room this evening, I decided that I needed my first boost of motivation. It has been exactly a week since I began this project. I searched “vegetarian animal cruelty” on Google, and browsed the results. I found this website- http://www.chooseveg.com/- The first video that showed, called “Meet your Meat” was about 11 minutes long- of which I spent the majority of times holding back tears and continually swallowing down my pasta plate. I have heard millions of stories and facts about animal cruelty in the food industry, however it was never enough for me to stop eating meat. I always told people, “As long as I don’t see my food being killed, it still tastes good”. Unfortunately, tonight, watching that video, I saw the fear and heard the horrible cries of a baby pig getting his ears and tail ripped off while being totally conscious. I saw a cow, hanging upside down, have his throat cut while still wide awake and aware of what was going on. He kicked and thrashed while his blood showered to the floor. I almost shut it off, but I knew why I was watching this. Not because I’m a sick person, but because I need to see these images- that is why I’m doing this. And because I know I won’t look at my friend’s burger tomorrow with jealousy- but with disgust.

How it Started

Ok, I'm not really sure why I chose to dive into this, and I keep telling myself it won't last, but I've made commitments before, so this can't be that hard. It's just a few months. Just a few months and I'll be able to do whatever. It's not like a jail cell- well, not completely. And I'm doing it for a good cause. I'm saving lives. It's just meat, right? So, this growling in my stomach and this ache for something juicy, savory and meaty is a good thing. I'm beginning a semester's trek through vegetarianism. For my final project in Honors Intro to Political Science, we are required to either read a political memoir (on top of the 7 already required in the class), or endure (did i say endure, I mean undertake) a lifestyle change that has Political meaning. Personally, I am not a political person. I can barely tell the difference between Communism, Socialism, Totalitarianism, Cannibalism...wait, I know that one. But really, I have no political preference, and I based my vote in last year's groundbreaking election on things I heard from Saturday Night Live. I knew for this final project that I really didn't want to read another book, but what could I possibly do that would have political ramifications? I have no political thoughts in my head! However, upon talking with the professor about my options, he gave me an idea: that Vegetarianism (another ism?) could be a political choice. I hadn't thought of food in that context before. His idea did come with requirements (don't they all): that I would have to keep a diary-like record of my account of meat-less days, and that I would write up my final report with consideration to why I chose to do this project. Personally, I have always loved animals, and this made a very easy transition to this idea- That I would research the maltreatment and horrible conditions of animals in the food industry, and would complete a semester of Vegetarianism in protest of these conditions. Sounds political to me!