First Anniversary

On what would have been my first anniversary of choosing the vegetarian diet, I felt it appropriate to talk about the subject.

Yes, I said "would have been." I decided to eat meat in Honduras so as to not burden my host family with my special needs. Not that I wouldn't have gotten enough protein while I was there (everything was protein). Calories may have been a problem though. With that decision, I was able to sustain my weight for the most part, only losing four pounds (average loss is 10 lbs. according to Profe (the teacher who runs the Honduras Project)). And losing any more than that would be rather detrimental to someone who is already 20 lbs. underweight. Actually, I'm probably even more underweight now, according to the height/weight chart. One of the first things my mom said when she first saw me in the airport was, "Oh my gosh- you got taller." This fact was disputed until today when I went to the doctor's office (I'm sick, again). 6'6". This is not supposed to happen. Dad was his full 6'10" by 17 years of age. I guess all those years of chanting, "No more than 6'4"!," had no effect.

Yes, I am sick once again (I'm supposed to be sleeping right now). Less than a month later, and I miss my fifth day of school this semester. The thought has entered my mind that I may be feeling the effects of malnutrition due to my diet, but there are other factors that have caused these two recent bouts of illness. The former was obviously directly related to my travelling home, and the latter, by self diagnosis, is directly related to my procrastination, and the pulling of "half-nighters" that follow. Yet, as I first discussed a few posts back, I am looking into the possibility of changing my diet yet again. Adjusting is probably a more appropriate term. While I'm researching this, I'll of course continue exploring how well I can balance my diet without meat, but I am looking into the production of meat outside of factory farms, or feedlots- the technical name given in my Environmental Science book. It's interesting that we are studying this topic (food production, specifically meat production) the same week of my (would be) anniversary.

Vegetarianism is largely a movement made up of a few, very vocal longterm vegetarians (however I know some vegetarians who do not broadcast their choice at all) and a large portion of newbies that generally will last a few years to a few months on the diet before quietly resuming their consumption of animal as health problems develop. That statement is made authoritatively because it is based on this source. Hearing this would be very discouraging for anyone still immersed in the idealistic philosophy of vegetarianism, but I don't think anyone (who I know) that reads this blog is in that position. A month of eating meat in Honduras certainly weakened my resolve. To realize that I still enjoyed the taste of rotisserie chicken despite months of telling myself that meat was disgusting was an enlightening experience. I actually discovered that I handled meat best when it was least processed (on the bone). Even before I officially turned veg, I could no longer eat fried chicken because it was just too evident where the meat had come from- a chicken. I was more comfortable eating meat that had no direct evidence back to its living source. Well, with my recent education on primitive life, the less it resembled its natural state, the worse it was to eat. The two worst meals I had in Honduras were both very American. The first greatly resembled a McChicken sandwich, with ground up, chicken mystery meat. That actually gave me stomach problems. The second worst meal was hot dogs. It was an interesting situation to have my roommate's favorite meal (I cringed at how many times he complimented the meal that night, personally hoping it would not reappear before we left for home) also be my least favorite. But I did get to the point where I chose to eat rotisserie chicken at Rancho Tipico (an open-air restaurant a few blocks away from my house) under my own volition.

There is a fun flash cartoon here, shown by my EnSci teacher in class, that I had surprisingly not seen before, what with all of my internet research on the topic. It specifically speaks against factory farms, not eating meat, which is the direction in which I am heading.

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I apologize for not writing more on Honduras yet. Yes, school and sickness have prevented me, but I had an excellent opportunity last weekend that I threw away. I attempted to write, but the volume of what is there to express is a little overwhelming. My method of storytelling has been to comment on pictures, but I don't think loading over 600 pictures is an option right now. It'll come when I don't force it .