When I heard about
Meatless Monday my first thought was who would want to give up meat any day of
the week? I was consuming meat at just about every meal, mostly because I was
under the impression that for the best source of protein I needed meat. Gym
trainers, nutritionists and even restaurants enforced this school of thought by
making protein synonymous with meat. It would be years before I learned that
broccoli, spinach and a variety of other plant based foods have as much, or
even more protein than meat. It would be months before I would figure out that
I could experience Meatless Monday and be satisfied with what I was eating. And
full.
When I decided to
start off 2015 by giving up meat for the month of January, I was a bit weary.
Last year I swore off gluten, which proved to be pretty difficult, but I
continue with a mostly gluten free diet because it makes me feel better. I was
surprised to find how easy eating vegetarian actually is.
Even though eating
vegetarian was easy there were drawbacks. First of all, it is easy to eat fast
food. Did you know that every meal at Taco Bell can become vegetarian if you
just ask for no meat? While we weren’t eating fast food very often before
eating vegetarian, it became something that we could eat in a pinch. It is
amazing how simpler eating vegetarian can be, but how much more meal
preparation is needed.
We were making some
meals at home, but it seemed that we were cooking a bunch of veggies. I felt
like we were lacking actual meals. I shared this with friends who were long
time vegans and vegetarians who knew exactly how I felt. Their solution was
soups, sandwiches and salads. We frequented our local vegetarian Vietnamese
restaurant who I think had it right. They treated the vegetables the way traditional
dishes treat meat. I don’t think we have creating vegetarian meals down yet,
but we are working on it.
We have continued
eating mostly vegetarian, with a few meals a week including chicken, turkey or
seafood. The reason behind our meatless month was more than a health
resolution, or even for the love of animals. Sustainable Sam and I chose a
month without meat for environmental reasons. If you aren’t familiar with the
state of soil, you might be wondering what soil and meat have to do with one
another. I joined Sustainable Sam at the viewing of the documentary Symphony ofthe Soil and learned much more than I ever thought I wanted to know about soil.
One fact is that monocrops (growing only a single crop at a time) that are
grown to feed meat industry animals are not only contaminating soil with
pesticides, but damaging the natural make up of the soil. When healthy soil is
missing, food cannot grow and animals, including humans, cannot eat.
In fact, last week
the Washington Post published a story about a report put together by the
nation's nutrition panel that will be used to update US dietary guidelines that
highlighted how the American diet should be more plant based, not only for
health, but also for environmental reasons.
The first timeMeatless Monday was introduced in America was during World War I by President
Hoover. Americans were inspired to create meals around vegetables grown in
their own Victory Gardens by the saying "Food will win the war". Giving
up meat once a day, once a week, or even regularly today can do the same. Food
will win.
How will you help win
the war on soil?
