2008 Woodie Awards
Diary of an Almost-Vegan
Carlos Aquino
Issue date: 4/28/08 Section: Viewpoints
I never was too concerned about what I ate. I was raised on meat and milk just like most kids and was always thrilled when we could go "out to eat" at McDonald's. When I made it to college every guy in my dorm passed around the Men's Health magazine, eager to know the new tricks to getting "ripped abs" or shoulders that were "absolutely jacked." Some of the articles that got in the way of new training techniques were general food recipes and health tips. I read them and was surprised by how many things in our diet hindered the Adonis-like body we all wanted. High-fructose corn syrup, trans fats-these were the first things I eliminated from my diet. Awareness is always the first step to change, yet I could not perceive that there would be so many steps to follow.
This past spring break, I found myself in the woods with forty other individuals all participating in Americorps, doing training and team building exercises. It rained the first three days and I passed the time with a coworker and an altered state of mind. This co-worker managed to bring in his iPod and speakers with which I was introduced to new music. Blackstar was one example, a rap group that was vegan. I listened and was quite swayed by their lyrics about eating healthily. We cooked vegan dishes that were surprisingly delicious (not the raw vegetables and grains I imagined) and the relaxed atmosphere of the resident vegans was so peaceful I was eager to join this new lifestyle. No longer would I eat the flesh of animals that had suffered in squalid conditions, no longer would I poison my body with vitamin-infused dairy or ingest any other artificial food products. Things were looking good and I was feeling good, too.
After saying goodbye to pizza and sushi I made the complete switch. I was surprised how easy the change was. When meats or dairy was offered I found that I was oddly repulsed, even after such a short time. I read up on recent works and found that many had forged the path for me: instead of dairy, I can guzzle vanilla soymilk; in place of fish I could consume my omega-3's by eating crushed flax seed; I could snack on fresh fruit instead of beef jerky. It was like voting-maybe one person cannot change much but I was one more vegan lowering the demand for the neatly packaged meat at your grocery store.
This past spring break, I found myself in the woods with forty other individuals all participating in Americorps, doing training and team building exercises. It rained the first three days and I passed the time with a coworker and an altered state of mind. This co-worker managed to bring in his iPod and speakers with which I was introduced to new music. Blackstar was one example, a rap group that was vegan. I listened and was quite swayed by their lyrics about eating healthily. We cooked vegan dishes that were surprisingly delicious (not the raw vegetables and grains I imagined) and the relaxed atmosphere of the resident vegans was so peaceful I was eager to join this new lifestyle. No longer would I eat the flesh of animals that had suffered in squalid conditions, no longer would I poison my body with vitamin-infused dairy or ingest any other artificial food products. Things were looking good and I was feeling good, too.
After saying goodbye to pizza and sushi I made the complete switch. I was surprised how easy the change was. When meats or dairy was offered I found that I was oddly repulsed, even after such a short time. I read up on recent works and found that many had forged the path for me: instead of dairy, I can guzzle vanilla soymilk; in place of fish I could consume my omega-3's by eating crushed flax seed; I could snack on fresh fruit instead of beef jerky. It was like voting-maybe one person cannot change much but I was one more vegan lowering the demand for the neatly packaged meat at your grocery store.
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