Vegetal
Although I’ve never been one to make a big deal about New Years resolutions, for the past six or eight years, I’ve taken that opportunity to make tweaks to my diet.
First it was eliminating cola. Other things I’ve done have included moving down to skim milk, and eliminating or reducing eggs, cheese, donuts, alfredo, bacon, butter & margarine, salt, potato & corn chips, and even ice cream (relax: that one was only temporary).
Interestingly, I’ve never had any difficulty keeping these resolutions. Maybe I’m just stubborn and strong-willed, but when I make a resolution, I always keep it. Except for that one about… well, nevermind.
This year, I’ve made a change that some might find out of character: to eat vegetarian one day each week. On one hand, it’s kinda a “gimme”: one day in seven isn’t exactly a radical lifestyle change. On the other hand, it really is, because I’m about as enthusiastic a carnivore as you’d ever find, and staying vegetarian even 15% of the time really goes against my nature.
My intent has always been to make small, incremental changes that are easy to do, but which over time result in substantial improvement in the quality of my diet. I think one day a week is about the right amount: easily doable, but a clear improvement.
Wednesday was my first V-day. Ironically, the client I’m working with took me out to Boston Beer Works, one of the few places in town where you can get a good burger. I wound up having soup (lentil) and salad, and I ordered O rings but I don’t think I ever got them. I have to say, I was pretty pleased with myself.
In the past, my goal with these resolutions was to improve or at least retain my health. However, I think this one is less a health concern than an ethical one, which is why I think people who know me would find it surprising. I dearly love meat and have no problem consuming mass quantities, as the Coneheads would say. But over time I am finding its consumption less and less defensible from an ethical standpoint, no matter how much I personally wish it could be otherwise.
A lot of people these days consider themselves morally upright, but very few of them will listen to their conscience when it is inconvenient or contradicts even their most trivial desires. “Situational ethics” thrives in our modern, egomaniacal society. My new resolution is something of a test to see where I fall on that scale, and whether my will power and my convictions will prove to be any stronger than my selfishness. It’ll be interesting to see how it turns out.