There was this certain commercial that featured a wife who decided that she and her husband were going to be vegetarians. The sad-sack husband reluctantly agreed to this new diet imposed on him by his wife, but would secretly torture himself by watching food shows, behind his wife’s back. Oh, how he’d yearn for the taste and the smell of all those cheese-slathered, bacon-wrapped concoctions featured on “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives”! He wanted to shove them into his mouth because that is what he really wanted to choose for himself, not the salads and brown rice that his wife said he should be eating.
Last year, out of the blue, a friend’s teenage son announced that he was going to become a strict vegetarian. Green veggies, fresh fruits, nuts, whole grains, no processed foods - the works! That’s what he proclaimed he wanted for himself. The only problem was that this kid still lived at home, had no license, had no car, no job, no paycheck, no means to purchase any of these vegetarian-approved groceries. He just up and decided to make this major life-change for himself, but then turned over the actual responsibility of it to his parents. He expected them to research his choice, to fund his choice, to shop for his choice, to support him without question, and to join in on his choice at the table. (It lasted approximately 2 weeks before the boy was stuffing his gullet at an all-you-can-eat barbecue buffet.)
Then, there are dedicated vegans. These people did the research and made educated choices based on deeper, heart-felt principles. Many vegans forego animal products because they are morally opposed to cruel livestock practices and brutal slaughtering techniques. Other vegans do not want to ingest the fats and cholesterols and antibiotics found in many meat products. Still other vegans object to the environmental impacts of livestock production: the massive acres of grazing land required to feed herds, the methane gas and sewage that livestock produces, the enormous tons of grains needed to feed animals that give only hundreds of pounds of usable meat.
So…
The reluctant husband played along with the plan inflicted upon him, for the sake of that someone else, but couldn’t stop fixating on what he really wanted to be choosing for himself.
The unprepared teenager decided that everyone else should support his decisions, do all the work for him, and force him to stick to it.
The vegans felt that their principles and beliefs were not being respected by what was going into their mouths, so they worked to make lifelong changes toward foods and methods that are healthier and more sustainable.
And, finally, the most savvy quitters who read this today knew that I was not talking about vegetarianism at all.
