Personal Narrative: Transformation Into A Full Vegetarian

In his essay, “Against Meat”, found in the They say/I say readings, author Jonathon Safron Foer analyzes how he became a vegetarian and how it affected his future lifestyle. Foer delves into his childhood and explains what caused him to become vegetarian, as well as the people that influenced his decision. He also discusses the importance of what pursuing this type of lifestyle can do for those that decide to follow his footsteps. Although meat may contain types of protein and other favorable aspects, Foer and others argue that, in the long run, abstaining from meat provides to be more beneficial for your health.

During the week, they act like a vegetarian, consuming no meat at all. People may think being a weekday vegetarian doesn’t make sense because you aren’t committing to one diet, but consuming less meat does a lot for your health and the environment. A point Hill brings up that many people don’t realize is that meat actually causes more carbon emissions than every single mode of transportation combined. Being a weekday vegetarian is a lot easier for most people because they don’t want to completely deprive themselves of meat, but they do want to do something positive for their own health and for the environment. As Hill talks about in the video, the weekday vegetarian diet is less restrictive than being a full time vegetarian because it’s okay if you break it every now and then since you aren’t committing to eating no meat at all.

I woke up in a cold sweat. My brother at my side still shaking me yelling “Emily we are going to be late!” I gave him an evil eye and rolled out of bed. I got dressed and ready and got on the bus. My best friend was there reading, like always. “Hey Wendy, what are you reading this time?” I said as I sat down “The Starving Maze” She said proudly. Like most fangirls, she has a crush on a make believe character that is played by someone that lives in Europe, or California, or Canada. In the book she has a crush on ‘Went’ which is short for ‘Wenton’. Anyway, she wishes she could meet this person and marry him. Remember that he is fake, I hope. At school everyone was looking sad, with no joy at all, even though it was the last day of school. I was

Vegetarianism is more efficient from production to consumption because there is less waste and the ratio of energy intake compared to gross production is much greater for plants than animals. Meat prices more drastically compared to those of fruits and veggies. You can grow your own fruits and veggies in your backyard with relatively little space and resources compared to trying to raise your own livestock. Vegetarianism may lead to a deficinacy of vitamins and minerals including iron, B-12, and protein. You can also be lacking in calories in general and may be more tired because many vegetarian foods are not as calorie dense. Eating vegetarian can also be difficult depending on where you live.

“You are what you eat”, a famous saying says. If this were truly the case, then the majority of Americans would be unhealthy, chemically processed, commercially grown slabs of animal meat. And although this is not a particularly pleasing thought, it is the epitome of a standard American diet that consists of Big Macs and Taco Bell. There are a select few who stray from this typical diet, and have altered it to where they can substitute meat with other nutrients. This type of diet is called vegetarianism, and is considered the way to live without poisoning oneself with the harmful and hazardous treatment that animals go through before becoming the next meal on your plates. While vegetarianism was once thought to be a movement without much action,

At first, I thought about starting my weight loss journey but could not find the motivation to do so. I began doing research and watching videos on people around the world who started and succeeded with their weight loss journey. As I watched those videos, I thought to myself, if they can accomplish weight loss, why can’t I? So then it began. I slowly started to change my lifestyle. I stopped with all the junk food that was harming my body and began adding healthy foods and exercises to my diet.

My whole life has consisted of insufficient finances, whether it be my mother struggling to pay the bills to keep the heat and electric on or her trying to find something for us to eat for the night with only $10. Even though there were hard time's she has always managed to take care of all seven of us. Due to these hardships, it has made me the person who I am today; hardworking and dedicated. For example, at the age of 16, I started my first job at Taco Bell, where I worked for 2 years and now work at Ruby Memorial Hospital being a Nutrition Care Assistant. Working at such a young age has shown me the value of a dollar and due to this, I have a great work ethic. However, financial difficulties have still held me back with schooling such

Antioxidants and thousands of phytochemicals that protect the body and support good health. Overall vegetarians have a longer life expectancy and lower rates of heart disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, cancer, obesity, osteoporosis, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and the list goes on. But don’t just take my word for it, supports for vegetarian diets comes from numerous organizations including the American cancer society, American College of Cardiology, the Mayo Clinic, Harvard School of public and, the national institutes of Health which says, “Vegetarians may be missing out on grilled hamburgers at picnics, but they tend to also miss out on the major health problems that plagued many Americans”. Just look at the difference in heart disease the number one killer of American, which is twice its size, between those who eat meat and those who are vegetarian. The progression of some of the diseases can not only be halted but reversed in as little as just two to three weeks by switching to a plant based diet. Reducing and eliminating the consumption of meat and meat products with a greener diet rich in fruits, vegetables, nuts seed and whole grains will lead to a healthier world.

There are supporters of vegetarianism who theorize the idea that choosing not to eat meat will have a positive effect on starvation in the world. Tons of grain that could be used to feed these people instead goes to animals who end up feeding us. A decrease in demand for meat means an increase in the supply of grains, which could be sold to countries who need it. This theory makes perfect sense - on a large scale. It is obvious that a person alone shifting to the vegetarianism lifestyle will not have a dramatic effect on the supply of grain. The idea could become realistic if enough people ate less or no meat. As the author of “Can Vegetarianism Help Solve World Hunger?” explained it, “... the global price of grain would drop, and foreign markets

I'm going to be honest and say that I've tried basically every weight loss program available. Most of them work..for about a week then I get bored.

The mere thought of abstaining from meat makes some revolt, an instinctive reaction to giving up something they enjoy so regularly, but lots of folks do it because they believe it is the healthier option. Though, when thoroughly looked at, that isn’t always the case.

The majority of people will decide to change their health behavior at least once throughout their lifetime. The reasons for the change might be quite different from individual to individual. Some may be motivated to take action after experiencing a life threatening illness, while others are proactive and change their health behavior to decrease the risks of developing a potential disease. However, even if the reasons for the change are valid and well understood, there is a great possibility that one will not follow set goals long term. If the implementation of the scientifically proven health behavior change treatments in people’s routine is something that is going to cause them a lot of effort, or is difficult to implement, then they probably

For years and years I have struggled with the way my body has looked and even the way I have looked. Numerous of times I had been depressed because I couldn't be as pretty or as skinny as the other girls. It got to the point where I hated going out in public, but if I did I would always wear a jacket and pants even on 100 degree days because I was so ashamed and disgusted in myself I didn't want anyone else to see me. It's embarrassing to say it kind of took me until now to realize that I don't need to be like the other girls. I don't need a thigh gap, straight hair, freckle free skin, and a tiny body to be happy my thick thighs, curly hair, freckles, and curvy body make me happy and is beautiful and I don't need to change a thing because people

"Eating, as has been commonly remarked, produces a particularly intimate identification with the consumed product: we are what we eat. It is therefore not surprising when we look cross culturally at food patterns that meat, and to a lesser extent animal products, are by far the most common focus of taboo, regulation and avoidance," (pg. 18, Twigg). Though the religious establishments were mostly responsible for stating that meat, mainly red meat, could not be consumed due to the filthy nature of the animals it was taken from, people still were allowed to eat fish and poultry, except on certain days of fasting, like Good Friday or Lent. So, vegetarianism started out as a form of religious restraint on the people's diets. However, today's vegetarian differs from that of the older generations in that it has become an individual choice, relating to the person's feelings about the animals, but not necessarily being limited to that reason. "In the west& vegetarianism is very much a product of individual choice, and indeed, requiring one, as it does, to step outside the culturally prescribed forms of eating, depends on the development of a highly individuated sense of the self," (pg. 19, Twigg).

From personal reference, I can conclude with the fact that by subtracting meat from my life, I feel a lot better than I did before than when I was eating meat. I realize now that when I have given into temptation and eaten meat, my body feels sick afterwards, and I feel very sluggish. By sticking to a diet of just vegetables and grains, I always feel satisfied after eating, but never over-stuffed.