Pescitarian Challenge

What is a Pescitarian?

Well, to start off with Pescitarian is a noun. Kind of a weird looking word, don't ya think? Urban Dictionary defines it as: Person who follows a vegetarian diet with the exception of fish and all other sea foods.

I don't really know why I've been thinking about this so much, but it has really been on my heart and my mind. Slowly over the past few years, I have started to be less and less excited about eating meat.

It started with just a little seed planted a few years back. I heard a news story claiming that if Americans ate beef only twice a week, it would make a huge difference in green house gases. There would be less carbon being admitted by the factories and trucks that are used to turn a cow into a steak. If there was less demand for beef, there would be fewer cows which would mean less methane being farted into the air. Even grass-fed beef is bad because in addition to the above, the cows trample down the grass and then it is not able to remove as much carbon from the air.

I know that converting semi-trucks from oil to electricity would have a much bigger impact, but that is not something that is easy for me to fix. I think we need to focus on small steps that we can each take. (Plus, I reduce the amount of trucks on the roads by not buying a bunch of "stuff" that I don't need. I also try to buy local)

Another thing that I realize as always bother me is that we no longer respect our food. I remember thanking everything as a child. I thanked the sun for shinning and the rain for bringing water. I thanked the flowers for sharing their beauty and I loved that in the movies, Indians would always thank the animal that they killed for food. I have no connection to the meat that I eat and I don't think that is right!I love that we grow some of our own fruits and veggies. Morgan has also done a little research into the farms where we buy some of our other veggies. The food we eat just tastes better to me when I know more about it's life.

I am starting to think that maybe eating animals is not moral any longer. We no longer need to eat cows, chickens, pigs, ect. We live in a world where all of our diet needs can be meet without the eating of animals. For me this really hit home last time I pulled the meat off of a chicken bone, all I could thinking about was that I felt like I was eating my own leg!

Of course I don't feel this same way when I order a chicken burrito, but that is because there is even less of a connection to the food, when someone pulls the meat from the bone. I don't think of it as an animal, its just MEAT! What is Meat? Oh yeah, animals.

For some reason, it does not bother me to eat fish. I think that is because fish is fish. There is still a large connection between me and fish. When I eat it, I know it's fish (it looks and tastes fishy!)

Starting right now, I am a Pescitarian (for a month) I am going to live this lifestyle for one month and see if I feel the same way in 30 days. I want to see if I feel better, both physical and also morally/mentally. I also want to challenge myself and my willpower. How much control does my meat addiction have on me?

Please help keep me accountable for this. The best way is to ask my how I am doing on this. I would love it if someone else wanted to take this challenge along with me. Everything is easier with others.