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Just as a postscript to my post on cruelty at the slaughterhouse, it came out in the news yesterday that the meat industry is pushing back against the beef recall due to the injection of sick, disabled animals into the food supply (Beef Industry Presses For Reduced Recall). The justification is apparently “well, no one appears to have gotten sick and died yet”.

As stated previously, I think that even if you set aside the whole issue on inhumane treatment of the cattle, you really have to be concerned about the safety of your food.

As a sidenote, I’ve blogged about proper handling of crisis management over on my marketing blog. The best example ever is Johnson & Johnson’s handling of the Tylenol scare in 1982. In spite of a low risk to the population, J&J decided they would rather take a huge financial hit than risk the integrity of their brand. Contrast that with this case, where the meat industry is focused on maximizing profit at the expense of the safety of the populace and their own reputation. Short-term thinking at best.

You’ve probably heard about this in the news, or seen snippets from this video - an undercover guy from Humane Society documented one of the largest meat processing facilities in the country perpetrating incredible cruelty on sick animals, and then, against all laws and regulations, sending them off to slaughter.

Now, the purpose of my blog is not to promote any kind of peta-type actions. I don’t have any problem with consuming meat per se, having done so for years. But I think between the huge amount of drugs injected into animals by the factory farming industry, and incidents like this, you really have to question the safety and the quality of the meat you’re consuming.

Warning, this is not just a few outtakes, this is a longer, more graphic documentary of what this guy found at the slaughterhouse:

I’m heading off for a few day business trip this weekend, so I’m about to confront (for the 2nd time) the challenge of keeping it legal on the road — ie., how do you keep vegan when you’re away from home, trying to eat in restaurants and snack shops?

I had a brief brush with this about 2 weeks just after I had adopted the new diet. I did ok (although I do admit to cracking under pressure and having some clam chowder– I was up in New England for the first time, after all, so how do you turn down the local specialty?). One pleasant surprise - we ate at a ‘Legal Seafood’ one night, and I ordered their vegetarian stir-fry. I figured it might be lame, so I got it with shrimp. It turns out, I needn’t have ordered the shrimp, the dish was excellent, very tasty. In fact, it was a much better looking dish than the big cut of tuna which my colleague ordered.

 This time, I’m off to Orlando, Florida, the land of chain restaurants. I’ll try to report back on what I found to eat, and how ‘legal’ I was able to stay!

One of the things that appeals to me about a vegan diet is that you don’t have to control the quantity of what you eat. Have as much as you like. You just have to control WHAT you eat. Since I’m not a fan of putting 2 peas and a tiny piece of chicken on a dinner plate and calling it a meal, this aspect of veganism is enticing. The fact is, by eliminating the meat, the cheese and the eggs, you are cutting out a lot of calories. In my case, the forced elimination of my nightly bowl of ice cream (no milk products) probably accounts for about 500 calories I’m dumping. Then, if you go further by also eliminating as much refined sugar as possible, you’re cutting out another pile of calories.

There’s no need to go crazy with a low-carb obsession. I’ve tried that before, and while it’s effective, it’s just not sustainable. You can eat carbs, just avoid simple carbs. Focus on complex carbs. Brown rice instead of white. Whole grain break instead of Wonderbread. Go to town, fill up your plate. There’s no need to go to bed hungry.

I think it’s important to set tangible goals for yourself. I’m a pretty determined person when I have a goal. It’s even better if you state your goals publicly, since then you have not only your own inner drive to motivate you, but also the threat of public humiliation if you wuss out. Ahhh, shame. What a great inspirational force.

So here’s my weight loss goal, which is my primary motivator for adopting a vegan diet: lose 30 pounds. In my case, that means dropping from 122 on the day I started the diet down to my ‘fighting weight’ of 190. (OK, so it’s actually going to be 32 pounds). Further, I’m intending to do this while maintaining my muscle mass. I have no intention of becoming a scrawny waif.

I disagree with weighing yourself daily, since it tends to encourage the wrong kind of obsessive impulses. Also, it’s not that useful since your weight can fluctuate due to things like water retention and what you happened to eat last night. So what I’ve set up for myself is a plan to weigh myself every Monday. As an additional motivational kick, I’ll start posting the results here on the blog so all you people in internet-land can follow right along.

The WSJ article which inspired me on this vegan venture has an accompanying video of Tony Gonzalez mixing up a healthy and nutritious, but still tasty smoothie. Great way to start the day, and much better for you than donuts: 

You can blame it all on this guy (see pic). There I was, on January 25, 2008, minding my own business and reading the morning paper with my breakfast. Then I came across an article with an intruiging title, “The 247-lb. Vegan“. This article was about Tony Gonzalez, a star football player with the Kansas City Chiefs who, for personal health reasons, decided to adopt a vegan diet.

Now, let me step back to tell you:

• I love meat. Love it, love it, love it.
• I also enjoy working out- weightlifting, running, cycling.
• I’ve known vegans before. The adjective which comes to mind is ’scrawny’. Not exactly the image I seek out for myself.

But here was this article about a guy performing at the highest levels in a professional sport which demands speed, strength, and overall manliness, and doing it on a vegan diet. Hmmm, now that’s interesting.

But what really got my attention was the bit about how he rapidly dropped 10 pounds after starting the diet. Now, that was a problem for Tony, given his profession. But for me, seeking a way to drop extra pounds which have piled on… hey, this sounds intriguing.

So later that night, as I was stuffing in a meat-laden meal at a local Mexican restaurant with my wife, I broached the subject: “Now honey, don’t laugh at me for suggesting this…” (uttered with a mouth full of beef burrito), “but I think I want to try out a vegan diet.” The beginning of Lent was imminent, and having grown up Catholic, it always has seemed natural to deprive myself of something I like during Lent. So why not meat, the most important thing in my world? And if I can lose pounds, avoid chemicals and save the world while doing it, so much the better.

My wife didn’t laugh at me (which is why I love her). Rather, the next day, she came back from the supermarket with all kinds of (gulp) non-meat-oriented foods. Uh oh, it’s on now. The commitment - 60 days of veganism. Well, kinda veganism, since it’s not like I’m religious about it. That means I get to cheat if I’m stuck without something decent to eat.

Let’s see what happens!