5/11/08

Breakfast: Banana/Strawberry Pancakes, POG

Snack:Candy, Cranberries

Lunch: Veggie Sandwich, Milk

Dinner: Grilled Cheese, Milkshake, Iced Coffee

DONE! :)

This has been quite the learning experience for me. I feel that I have successfully exposed myself to the vegetarian lifestyle, not only by eating a vegetarian diet but also researching motivations to become vegetarian, primarily the affects on the environment. Throughout my research I have shared my new found knowledge with my mother and she just told me that she would like to have two vegetarian meals a week, which seems like a big step since I am only with my mom 3 or 4 nights a week. Not eating meat was not easy at all, because so many of my usual meals consist of meat. Plus, when meat is out of the picture the food selection is greatly decreased. However, if I was to become a vegetarian I would definately invest time and money into alternative options that I'm sure I would learn to like. I hope that people are educated and inspired by my blog. I really feel that the United States especially needs to curb meat intake, in addition to many other changes. I am happy to have had this experience and to have learned about all of the positive benefits of being a vegetarian, in the future I will definately be more conscious of my diet choices and know that one person can make a difference.

5/10/08

Breakfast: Granola w/ milk, Water

Lunch: Grilled cheese, POG, Chocolate

Dinner: Sushi, Water, Ice Cream

After reading the article, "21 Reasons to Become a Vegetarian" a few reasons stood out to me:

Did you know that..."100 acres of land will produce enough beef for 20 people but enough wheat to feed 240 people."?!

keep in mind that Africa, where millions are starving to death, provides grain to the developed countries to serve as feed for livestock. And approximately 60 million people die each year as a result of starvation.

I also learned that half of the rain forests in the world have been destroyed in order to clear ground to graze livestock. The burning of rain forests contributes to 20% of all greenhouse gases!!!

It takes 2,500 gallons of water to produce one pound of meat

this article can be found at:
http://www.giveusahome.com/articles/vegetarianism.htm

5/9/08

Breakfast: Iced Coffee, Grapes, 1/2 English Muffin w/peanut butter

Snack: Granola bar

Lunch: PB&J, Sunchips, Water

Dinner: Cheese Quesadilla, Milk, Carrots

Did you know that “switching to a plant-based diet does more to curb global warming than switching from an S.U.V. to a Camry”?!

"In late November, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization issued a report stating that the livestock business generates more greenhouse gas emissions than all forms of transportation combined."
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/29/business/media/29adco.html?_r=3&sq=vegetarianism%20global%20warming&st=cse&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&scp=1&adxnnlx=1210191436-4Y3qAGCFL1YS6XupIJ29qw&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

5/8/08

Breakfast: Orange Juice, English Muffin w/ peanut butter

Snack: Muffin

Lunch:Cheese pizza, POG, Cookie

Dinner: Salad, Water, Pasta

In environmental science we learned about biomass and energy availability at different levels of the food chain. By becoming vegetarian one would be able to consume more energy while eating less.

Food Chain explanation:
1. Producers are plants. They have the ability to use solar energy, carbon dioxide, and water to produce sugar.
2. Animals are consumers. They do not posses the ability to use solar energy to make food, so they must eat other plants or animals. There are 3 types of consumers:
a. Animals that only eat plants are herbivores
b. Animals that eat other animals are carnivores
-Carnivores that eat herbivores are called secondary consumers
-Carnivores that eat other carnivores are called tertiary consumers
3. Animals that eat both animals and plants are omnivores
4. Bacteria & Fungi are decomposers that feed on decaying matter

In a food chain, as energy is passed from one level to the next only a small percentage of energy is transformed into new body mass, the rest is lost to waste or used to carry out life processes. As the energy moves up the food chain, less & less energy is available; therefore, consumers like carnivores, which are higher on the food chain require more animals to get the standard amount of energy.

here is a visual example of one example of a human food chain:
By becoming vegetarian one can eat less, while attaining the same amount of energy. By reducing animal agriculture, we could use the excess grain to feed people in need rather than livestock!

Sources: http://www.vtaide.com/png/foodchains.htm
http://www.sugar.ca/english/images/tradealliances/food_chain.jpg

5/7/08

Breakfast: Iced Coffee, Two Bananas

Snack: Water, Chewy bar

Lunch: Coke,Veggie Sandwich, Cookies

Dinner: Salad, Ice Cream

I'm realizing how much harder it is to have a vegetarian diet when it causes inconveniences for your family. I think that if I was to become a vegetarian I would need to be in a supportive environment that didn't tempt me. My mom keeps forgetting that I'm not eating meat and I end up eating a salad (like tonight) that doesn't leave me very satisfied or full, so I move onto ice cream! Even though this is just a trial period, it might be interesting to try vegetarian substitutes or recipes rather than just avoiding certain foods. I noticed that I haven't been eating as much as normal (could be seen as good or bad) because when I normally eat meat it is usually with pasta or other carbohydrates.

5/6/08

Breakfast: Water, Blueberry Muffin

Lunch: Coke, PB&J, Cookie

Snack: Vitamin Water, Apple

Dinner: Water, Salad, Cheese Quesadilla

I'm not going to lie, not eating meat today was a little more difficult. I felt like I was surrounded by meat and I really wanted to get a tuna sandwich from the snack bar! I never realized how prevalent meat is in our every day food selection. I can't imagine how many animals (turkeys, cows, pigs) can sustain such a huge demand. America is a huge meat eating country and as a result animal agriculture is a huge industry.

At earthsave.org I found an interesting report that felt that although focusing on reducing Carbon emissions is very important, other non-carbon greenhouse gases such as methane should not be overlooked.  The report summary stated that one of the most powerful strategies to reduce global warming is to convert to a vegetarian diet.  I learned from this report that CO2 emissions are not the main source of global warming; in fact, there are other greenhouse gases that have the potential to trap much larger amounts of heat.  One of these powerful greenhouse gases is methane, which is 21 more times powerful than CO2.  Methane's leading source is from animal agriculture in addition to coal mining and landfills.  Not to mention the demand for meat has increased tremendously in the past 50 years.  According to this report, methane is responsible for nearly half of the global warming currently affecting our planet!  

Day 1 (5/5/08)

Breakfast: Tangerine, Iced Coffee

Snack: Banana Bread

Lunch: Spinach Bagel, Iced Tea, Brownie

Dinner: Iced Coffee (w/soy), Chai, Water, Yogurt/strawberries/granola

Today is my first day as a vegetarian and so far its going pretty well. I have noticed that once I'm not allowed to eat something I tend to have cravings for it, so hopefully I can resist until the end of the week! I'm happy that I am attempting to be vegetarian for a week because I've always wanted to try it but never had any real motivation to; and, it will be interesting to take a step back and look at what I eat on a daily basis as well as how much money I usually spend on buying food.