For the last part of the food unit, I decided to put the things that I had learnt by reading Omnivore's Dilemma and by watching Food Inc. into action. Both the book and the movie stressed the point that industrial production of food is a cruel and unhealthy system. So for the last leg of this unit, I decided to not eat anything for 72 hours that is made in an industrial factory. This included all kinds of meat, vegetables and fruits grown with pesticides, dairy products from industrialized animals, and eggs from industrialized chickens. This may sound preposterous and extremely difficult but to be honest, it wasn't.
I started my special diet from Friday and I ended it today (Sunday). Being raised in a family who always eat meat for lunch and dinner, it was quite difficult for me to convince my parents that I would be a vegetarian. My job got a lot harder because my sister was coming home from college and we would be celebrating her "outstanding success" my going out to a restaurant. In the restaurant my mom was getting quite annoyed with me because I would not touch any of the food since I did not know where it came from but I was pretty sure that it was industrialized food. So to be on the safe side, I didn't eat any of the meat. I really didn't want my whole family to be angry and upset so I decided to eat some Nan bread with lentil. I figured those had to be hand made for the most part. Right?
I was really hungry when I got home that night and my family talking about how delicious the meal was did not help. I went straight up to my room, played some video games and went to bed. I did not want to think about how hungry I was. I woke up very late on Saturday. I had completely forgotten about me being a "non industrialized food eater" and was about to go eat some breakfast when my mom reminded me (very pointedly) about my diet. She also said that we didn't have any food that would (and I quote) "fit the majesty's liking". But to my surprise my dad had woken up really early and gone down to the Grand Army Plaza green-market and would be coming back any minute. I was really happy when I heard this because I felt as if I had accomplished something great! I had inspired my dad to eat healthy! My mom didn't really like this since she had a whole meal planned that we would be eating as a family which is a rare occasion since my sister lives in long island.
My dad had come back with enough groceries to last the weekend! He also added that if I wanted to turn into a permanent vegan, I would need to go look for a job since the groceries were really expensive compared to our normal ordeal. Since my mom was overpowered, she had given up trying to change my mind and started cooking our lunch with the new groceries and I made breakfast for everyone. Breakfast was a little different since I couldn't eat cereal, I made everyone omelettes and just a glass of milk with one tablespoon of sugar. My family wasn't really satisfied with the meager meals at the end of the day but I felt pretty happy that I was able to share my experience with my entire family.
After my near 72 hour diet I really didn't feel any different. Some people say (especially in my country) that they cannot survive without eating food X everyday. I used to think the same, I didn't think it would be possible for me to survive without meat for 3 days. It was a little difficult since I didn't have my mom's full support because she did cook meat on Sunday for lunch and it was just torture not to bite into a big chicken drumstick. This experience really made me think of my food values in ways that I never thought of before. I don't think I can ever be a vegetarian for life let alone a vegan. Maybe if I changed up my diet every month or so to be the same as the one i had for the last 72 hours, I could possibly get used to eat and one day not really on meat and cheap food so much.
