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Natural Family Living
50 Ways to be a (Greener) Vegetarian
By Tammie Ortlieb
Maybe you're vegetarian. Maybe you're vegan. Maybe you're one of those on the fencers. Whoever you are you have no doubt been swept up in the current green revolution craze. U.S. News & World Report's April issue, for example, devotes major page space to "Why America Needs an Energy Diet (and so do you)." The magazine heaps earth-loving, money-saving, good for the soul energy tips in a knee-deep pile right at the readers' feet. Articles recommend switching to fluorescent bulbs, mowing with rechargeable lawn mowers, and turning off computers when not in use. Writers also suggest unplugging appliances when turned off in order to stop the demon power sucking that goes on when nobody's looking. Most readers are like, oh, that makes sense; I never thought of that; I'll give it a try. But you? Not you. You already do those things. You love the earth. You are kind to the animals and gentle on the land. You eschew any unwise use of our beloved planet's resources. Or do you?
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Just as there are healthy vegetarians and unhealthy vegetarians so, too, are there earth friendly vegetarians and earth be damned vegetarians. When asked why they went vegetarian, most people say to be kind to animals, to go easy on the earth, or to improve their health. Someone who wants to avoid blood pressure meds and the diabetes that runs in the family may not give a flip whether they leave lights on when pulling out of the driveway. A teen who detests factory farming practices may not connect with the waste of a forty minute shower. And I, earth loving writer that I am, I still fill my reusable shopping bags with cleansers that would scrub the white off rice (if indeed I bought white rice).
An article in my local newspaper, the Kalamazoo Gazette (and, yes, there really is a Kalamazoo!), suggests that an increasing number of parents are being pressured by their children to go green. Parents would be wise, author Leanne Italie maintains, to listen to these future green revolutionists. She offers tips such as researching with your child, carpooling if a new hybrid is not in the budget, using paper bags when you forget the reusable alternatives, and respecting your child's opinions by simply listening. Referring to the younger crowd as Generation Green, Italie discusses how kids as young as third grade care about pollution and its effects on the lives of wild animals. Not only are these children being educated at school, but they learn about recycling efforts, hybrid cars, and postconsumer waste through television shows, movies, websites, and books.
My Life as a Chicken, for example, by Ellen A. Kelley, has poor Pauline Poulet escaping the confines of factory farming. Through a lyrical, hysterical, gut busting series of misfortunate events, Pauline flees a wiley fox, ravenous pirates, and the talons of a most eager hawk. She prevails through prickly briars, sloshy waters, and unexpected hot air balloon rides. In the end, our heroine finds a loving home among animal friends and caring humans. While this home, a petting zoo, is not exactly the ending I would choose for poor Pauline, she nonetheless eludes the farmer and avoids the tragedy of becoming tomorrow's dinner.
Children are learning earth and creature friendly lessons from characters such as our dear Miss Poulet and others. Bookstore shelves stock titles like Michael Recycle, The Dirt on Dirt, and Eco Babies Wear Green. And every first grader's favorite vegetarian, Katie Kazoo, Switcheroo, has no shortage of ideas on living a kind and gentle life. In fact, author Nancy Krulik devotes an entire series to these pint-sized lectures. Youngsters of the internet savvy generation surf websites such as www.kidsrecycle.org, www.ecokids.ca, and www.kidskonnect.com. They measure their carbon footprint at www.zerofootprintkids.com. They are learning. They are learning about big issues the likes of energy shortages, postconsumer waste, and global warming. They are learning. And they are living what they learn.
And we can too.
Through books such as The Green Book by Elizabeth Rogers and Thomas M. Kostigen, David Bach's Go Green, Live Rich, and It's Easy Being Green by Crissy Trask, we can learn how our actions impact the world around us. We can surf websites like www.happyhippie.com, www.treehugger.com, and www.frugalvillage.com, for tips on living a good life while cutting waste. We can subscribe to environmentally friendly magazines such as Plenty and E. And we can do what we can every day to listen and share and learn. We can do these things, and we can try.
I challenge you to begin now with this simple exercise. Think of one product or one habit you could eliminate from your life. Just as you decided to go meatless or to discontinue using dairy, drop another area of consumption. Imagine the resulting environmental savings—the packaging, the marketing, the shipping, the waste. I, for example, never use fabric softener when I dry my clothes. And I let my hair air dry after every shower. My makeup routine no longer begins with a base foundation (something, by the way, I, at one time, never would have left home without!). There will always be more that I can do. But for now I can do this.
Below I have offered up fifty other ideas for making a step toward a greener life. Try one each week, each day, or just whenever you feel like it. And get those trash saving, animal loving, tree hugging Generation Greeners out there policing your efforts!
1. Eat off the grid for one day—thinks wraps, veggies and dip, and cold whole grain cereal
2. Recycle clothing
3. Adopt a pet from your local shelter
4. Plant a tree
5. Perform a random act of vegetarian kindness
6. Taste a new fruit
7. Try tofu
8. Join PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals)
9. Check out new recipes at www.vegweb.com
10. Tell five people you're a vegetarian
11. Donate a Vegetarian Times magazine subscription to your local library
12. Give a copy of Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin's Skinny Bitch to three friends
13. Find local veg restaurants at www.happycow.net
14. Order a "Go Veg" t-shirt from www.veganessentials.com
15. Subscribe to VegNews magazine
16. Check out a book on vegetarianism from the library
17. Talk to someone you know who is vegetarian
18. Order a vegetarian starter kit from www.goveg.com, for yourself or a friend
19. Print out the "I Can't Believe it's Vegan" shopping list at www.peta.org/accidentallyVegan/
20. Download a list of companies that do not test on animals at www.peta.org
21. Plant a vegetable
22. Share with someone why you decided to go vegetarian
23. Support a restaurant that offers lots of vegetarian options
24. Learn waist and wallet friendly cooking tricks at www.ftefreevegan.com
25. Surf veggie YouTube videos with your friends [check out Vegfamily's VegTube]
26. Unplug something
27. Explore the world of vegetarianism at www.tryveg.com
28. Google "Meet your Meat"
29. Volunteer an hour at your local animal shelter
30. Learn about a grain that's unfamiliar to you
31. Watch this: www.veg-tv.info/Earthlings
32. Cook a veggie dish for a neighbor
33. Walk your dog, or a neighbor's
34. Donate dog or cat food to an animal foster program
35. Shop at a consignment or thrift shop
36. Donate non-leather shoes to your local homeless shelter
37. Go to www.vrg.org, for nutrition facts
38. Buy an organic cotton sweater to replace your wool standby
39. Switch to a vegetarian vitamin supplement
40. Shop with reusable shopping bags
41. Bake a vegan cake
42. Use fans instead of air conditioning
43. Save on packaging, marketing, and production energy—drink water
44. Park your car—walk instead
45. Switch to plant based beauty care products
46. Thank a restaurant for carrying plenty of vegetarian options
47. Educate the parents of a teen who is transitioning to a veggie lifestyle
48. Suggest your local library order the newest vegan cookbook
49. Be a good model of vegetarianism by keeping yourself healthy
50. Give this list to another vegetarian
Tammie Ortlieb is a freelance writer and adjunct instructor with a Master's Degree in Developmental Psychology. She resides in southwest Michigan with her omnivorous husband, four veg kids, and small menagerie of pets. Tammie writes for various vegetarian sources, mostly on being okay with your vegetarian self. She's a book nerd, a research nerd, a health nerd, and a huge glass of soymilk half full kind of creature. Visit her blog at www.middle-agedveganchick.blogspot.com.
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