Vegetarianism and Food or Backsliding
After some study and reflection on a proper vegetarian diet recently, I’ve really been thinking about what I am eating. I’ve also been pondering this with my recent poor health I haven’t written here about it but I’ve been sick again to some degree the last two weeks. I’m finally feeling a bit better but it has led to some thought.
The long and short of it is that I’m going to retreat a bit from the vegetarianism that I’ve been engaged in since this Summer. I’m going to reintroduce fowl and fish into my diet though I’m going to keep it fairly light, especially by American standards. In the evening, we’re probably still not going to eat meat at dinner as R, who has not become a vegetarian, has been enjoying our meat free meals then. I am not going to eat red meat or pork at all but I am not going to avoid all meat entirely.
I feel kind of bad about this because I agree with vegetarianism philosophically to a great degree as a Buddhist and as someone who thinks about sustainability. That being said, I also don’t think that I’ve always been getting enough protein and as I have been trying to improve my health overall, this is important. I have lost 20 pounds, roughly, over the last four months and am beginning to work out on a regular basis. I am also looking at taking some yoga (with the recommendation of a friend of where to go) with R and take up some weekly martial arts practice again. I need to build up those healthy lifestyle habits as a sedentary, bookish computer geek who sits on his butt most of the day.
I pondered not saying anything here because it does feel like I’m retreating from some principles but questions around vegetarianism, diet in general, and Buddhism are things that I’m going to continue to ponder.
I’m interested in the experiences of others, especially Buddhists, when it comes to their relationship to meat eating and their beliefs and practices.
November 16th, 2008 at 6:32 am
Try spinning it this way: The very fact that you had the sincere inclination to become a vegetarian (whether for philosophical or moral reasons, or just because the idea of eating meat suddenly struck you as disgusting) is a good sign in itself, regardless of whether or not you are willing/able to keep up strict vegetarianism forever after. And the fact that you're now experiencing some kind of grief/confusion at having to go back to limited meat consumption is also a good sign, spiritually speaking. One's very awareness of a weakness or difficulty indicates that one is, well, AWARE. In any case, you'll probably never look at meat eating the same way again. And remember, the Buddha ate meat.
November 16th, 2008 at 9:29 am
Hey Al,
Barb and I went veggie after hosting a Khenpo and his vegan translator a couple months ago, but I included a reservation about restaurants. Well, you know how I am about restaurants. So far, that's made it a painless transition with no health issues. I look for something tasty and vegetarian on the menu first, but we don't go out to eat salads all the time. Not ethically perfect, but better than we were.
November 20th, 2008 at 11:44 am
I was vegetarian for two years.. I don't ID as a “Buddhist” but my Theraveda practice informs much of what i do, at least as much as the time I spent reading the Frankfurt School or trying to figure out some of the problems of modern life. I also have spent a lot of time reading about nutrition and exercise, as well as toying with those things.
I think vegetarian diets work because most people don't regulate their diet at all. The moment they start to control what they eat and pay attention to it, their health improves. Likewise in the States, going vegetarian means cutting out pepperoni hot pockets and most fast food and garbage like that. Any system is better than no system.
That said, I feel much healthier now that I eat meat again. I'm not cold all the time and I have significantly more energy. The best I've ever felt was eating paleo-style, i.e., unprocessed meat, vegetables, nuts, berries, but no grains, beans or starchy plants. That can be difficult to manage, and, likewise, I can't justify eating 2 lbs of beef a day. It'd be different if I could buy a quarter-cow carved by a butcher and put it ina deep freeze, or knew someone who hunted, because then I know i'm only responsible for one dead animal, not the twenty-five that went into a hot dog. Right now almost all the meat i do buy is locally farmed.
It is a very difficult balance, because I have to respect my own omnivore nature and treat that with compassion, but that means harming something else.
November 20th, 2008 at 12:12 pm
I hear what you're saying. I have already cut out as much processed food as possible because of general health and diet. That was part of the vegetarianism and I'm keeping it. I can't eat as much meat as you mention if only because there is a family history of heart disease on my dad's side and eating a lot of red meat is ill-advised for me. I figure some chicken and fish is a good compromise. I'm eating a lot of greens and grains and I've found that I generally feel better about my food than I used to because of it. My wife and I are starting to appreciate the whole “slow foods” movement a bit and knowing exactly what we're eating (which means it comes in identifiable pieces, probably cut up from its component plants ourselves).