Image shamelessly borrowed from the Environmental CenterAlthough it’s ridiculous that the Earth only gets a lot of mainstream media attention one day a year, Earth Day still seems like something I want to mark. I took a walk in the woods with two friends this morning, but that was about nourishing myself more than about honoring the Earth. I got an email from the Environmental Defense Fund suggesting political actions I could take to cap global warming pollution, and that felt important, but not that satisfying. Instead I want to start an experiment, or restart it, actually. I want to try to eat less, not just out of vanity and health concerns (though those play a part), but because I want to reduce my carbon footprint, the largest part of which comes from my diet, according to this cool carbon calculator.
Before anyone worries that I am going to waste away in self-denial like the Buddha, who reported ate only one grain of rice per day during his extreme ascetic period, rest assured I’m going for more of a “middle way” approach. No starving myself, which I’m quite sure would backfire, just a deliberate curbing of my excesses, which involve almost daily large chocolate bars and seconds at dinner, when I really don’t need them. The chocolate has been a particular struggle because I’ve long been aware of the role of slavery in much chocolate production. I buy Fair Trade chocolate when it’s convenient, but not all the time. I justify this by recalling an NPR interview with an anti-slavery advocate who said that boycotting chocolate would just drive chocolate prices down, forcing more children into slavery, but still my habit sits uncomfortably. In the past, when I have tried giving up chocolate or sugar, I’ve never lasted very long, leaving me feeling like a failure. I’ve also failed at being a vegetarian and have never even attempted being a localvore, though I do buy local food, again when it is convenient.
However, this fall, when I started thinking about just eating less—not out of self-loathing or the desire to look like an anorexic model, but out of the realization that it was something I could do that would be good for my health and the planet’s—I lost about eight pounds. The fact that those pounds have been creeping back lately has made me realize that I had totally forgotten about the change in thinking, which had felt so exciting initially. So, I’m giving it a shot again. I’m thinking of it as meal mindfulness—just being mindful of what my body needs and what I’m feeding it. I’m hoping that going public with the experiment will help to keep me accountable after a few months when the novelty wears off.
I’m sure you don’t lack for reading suggestions on this general subject, but the related book that I have been guided by in a similar quest is Mark Bittman’s Food Matters. It’s not a recipe book, but it does have a number of recipes; and when it comes to food, I need all the guidance I can get. His basic idea, which I’m sure you’re familiar with, is to be a "vegan before 6pm." It’s an easy wagon to fall off of, but it’s also easy to get right back on. (The link is to Amazon; sorry. But you can read about the book there and look for it elsewhere. Or borrow my copy.)
Thanks, Phil. I haven’t read that book and never heard the "vegan before 6" advice. Part of my problem is that I keep hearing conflicting advice. First, being a vegan was best. Then soy products and food shipped long distances were worse than local organic chicken. I liked what I heard Michael Pollan say on Oprah. I think his 3 basic rules were: eat less, eat more vegetables, and don’t eat anything that your grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food (i.e. processed food).