Eating Vegetarian

Before I moved to China, I was a vegetarian. Actually, before I went to China the first time on our "kung fu holiday" I was a vegan. Living in China, I didn't cook my own food, and some things were a little bit shady, and so I decided it was in my best interests to start eating meat. I started out slowly, and ate a couple pieces here and a couple there, until my body could digest it again.

The reason I became a vegetarian in the first place, honestly, had nothing to do with my own mindfulness. Or anything to do with my compassion for animals. Which is still a factor. But mostly, I just did a lot of research and decided that a vegetarian diet was more globally sustainable. And I still feel that way. Right now I'm at odds, because every Auto Immune Protocol style diet is mostly paleo. I always say my diet is a paleo style diet because I don't think I would ever feel comfortable eating completely paleo. It seems selfish to me to eat a diet that is so unsustainable and has such great global impacts. This is where eating mindfully comes in for me. If I know where my food came from. If I know it's from my own garden, and that I've put into it, just as much as it gives back to me, then I feel more connected to the things I'm eating. Just as in there's value for me in putting my time and effort into the kwoon, there's value in putting time and effort into what I eat. Taking ownership for all the the things I put into my body for fuel is an important part of my identity.

I'm excited to try the 30 days vegetarian and see how I feel. My diet is already primarily made up of veggies. Just cut out the meats, and make sure I'm getting enough omega 3 fatty acids. Good for the brain!

I also wanted to share a link with you from the David Suzuki Foundation. You might have already seen it, but it's certainly food for thought.

http://www.davidsuzuki.org/blogs/science-matters/2016/08/how-much-food-can-cities-produce/