A week of eating green

Joe and I visited the Green Toronto Festival last weekend at Dundas Square, and found ourselves very open to suggestion. One vendor promoted the idea of trying vegetarianism for one week, which we smiled politely at then grabbed some coupons for "chicken" nuggets. However, much like Homer's leap into Clown College, the idea of temporary vegetarianism stewed in our minds until we were convinced that no one was going to stop us. I haven't had meat today yet so I guess today is my first day of vegetarianism.

My reasons for trying vegetarianism are health and environment related. Vegetarianism has been recommended as a way to lower risks of cancer and heart disease, and vegetarians have a lower mortality rate than meat eaters (see Wikipedia entry). Eating less meat would also mean less livestock to pump methane into our atmosphere.

I have a sense of what not to do in the coming week. Joe's previous foray into vegetarianism resulted in rapid weight loss, probably due to a lack of protein. So, I'll be eating some tofu, beans, etc. I'll also try to integrate lots of green vegetables as opposed to empty carbs into my diet. This is in contrast to a former classmate of mine whose vegan diet consisted mostly of french fries.

I hope that my friends will not mock me by throwing steak in my face or singing, "You don't make friends with salad," which a vegetarian friend of mine endures every Thanksgiving with the relatives.

I have to state that there is no guarantee that I will not start licking my lips while watching my cat or a friend's baby. In fact, vegetarianism may prove itself to be an unhealthy choice; a friend's vegetarian uncle was directed by his physician to eat a ham sandwich a week in order to maintain a healthy diet ("Did he ever vary it up - steak here, chicken there?" I asked. "No!" my friend retorted in horror, "It was a necessity, not a pleasure.") But, I am willing to give vegetarianism a shot and record the results on this blog.

Stay tuned!