Lately I’ve been listening to podcasts on my iPhone during my morning walk with the Rubsicle. At first I wasn’t sure how I’d like it…sometimes podcasts are kind of awkward or just annoying depending on the commentators or dj’s or whatever you call them. 
I’ve found that my two favorites to listen to are The Jillian Michaels Show, and Tranquility Du Jour with Kimberly Wilson. The Tranquiltiy Du Jour podcasts usually fit my normal 2 mile walk just perfectly, the Jillian Michaels ones tend to be a little longer, so if I’m really into it I’ll do a few extra laps with the pup. Not only are the podcasts free and entertaining, but they enable me to avoid talkative neighbors. “Sorry, I’m on an important call, can’t chat!” as I hightail it in the other direction. It’s 6:30 am…I don’t want to talk to you, or anyone.
Last week, a Tranquiltiy Du Jour podcast I was listening to was focused on a documentary film “Vegucated“. Kimberly Wilson interviewed the woman behind it all, Writer/Director/Editor Marisa Miller Wolfson. Here is part of the synopsis found on the Vegucated website:
“Vegucated is a feature-length documentary that follows three meat- and cheese-loving New Yorkers who agree to adopt a vegan diet for six weeks. There’s Brian, the bacon-loving bachelor who eats out all the time, Ellen, the single mom who prefers comedy to cooking, and Tesla, the college student who avoids vegetables and bans beans. They have no idea that so much more than steak is at stake and that the fate of the world may fall on their plates. Lured with true tales of weight lost and health regained, they begin to uncover hidden sides of animal agriculture and soon start to wonder whether solutions offered in films like Food, Inc. go far enough. Before long, they find themselves risking everything to expose an industry they supported just weeks before.”
Nick bought a super fancy Blu-Ray player that I can’t even figure out how to turn on, so I had him digitally rent the film for me via Amazon and we watched it together last night. I was shocked that he agreed to watch it with me, but so glad that he did because there were some parts that I couldn’t handle. Cut to me, crying hysterically, looking at Nick with one hand blocking my peripheral vision of the television. “Is it over yet? Tell me when it’s over. I want to look, can I look?” and him saying, “Why do you do this to yourself? Don’t look!”
The film itself was awesome and I am so glad that I watched it. It really opened my eyes to the horrible reality of mass meat production. I had heard all sorts of things about what really went on in slaughterhouses and farms, but until you see video of it, I guess it doesn’t really sink in. Well, it definitely sunk in last night. I was upset, I felt sick to my stomach (having just eaten homemade turkey meatballs for dinner). I felt guilty, I felt awful. It definitely got me thinking about how I can further improve my own diet and cut out or scale back the amount of meat that I do eat. Eventually I would like to be completely meat-free, but for now I’ll start with baby steps.
I haven’t eaten red meat in years, but I do eat poultry (chicken, turkey), fish and occasionally pork. I can say for sure I will no longer be consuming any pork products. It’s not worth it to me. I don’t like pork that much anyway, and after seeing those adorable little piglets….I’ll spare you the details. No more. As far as my consumption of chicken and turkey goes, I am planning on cutting both of those back as much as possible. If I get a hankering for either I want to make sure that I am getting locally sourced meat. I’m thankful that there is a Whole Foods close to the house and will definitely be utilizing their meat market. As far as eggs go, again, I’m going to make sure that they are organic and from a local farm with humane practices.
Of course after I told Nick about my plans to change and seriously cut back on my own meat consumption he was instantly annoyed. He said that my dairy-free diet was already so limited that it made it hard for us to go out to eat as is and that if I totally cut meat out it will be even worse. 
I assured him that it will all be fine, I will figure it out and that I will still prepare meat for him if he would like me to. The last thing I want is for him to feel burdened or negatively impacted by my diet but after watching the film I’m having a hard time justifying eating meat at all. I don’t need it to survive, and if I can make a difference by just switching a few things around in my diet, I am more than willing. There are plenty of other excellent plant-based protein sources out there.
I’m sure some of you are rolling your eyes (Dad, I’m talking to you!) and even if you are, I urge you to view the film yourself, or at least browse the website and educate yourself a little more about how eating meat effects your body and especially the environment. 
I bet you’ll learn some things that you didn’t know, and you may even think twice about your diet. The best part about this documentary is that it’s not radical and in your face like other documentaries are. It simply gives you the facts so that you can process them how you will. The film mentions several times that Veganism is not always a possibility for everyone, but even just reducing your meat consumption makes a huge difference. Different things work for different people, you just have to find what’s right for you, and that’s why I think I enjoyed this film so much because it made me think about my own “vaguely vegan” philosophy.
Has anyone out there watched this film, or heard about it? I’d love to hear some thoughts and opinions!
