Confessions of a Former Meatatarian

Before being diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 30, I was a big foodie. I ate a lot of meat and remember repeatedly saying that I could never be a vegetarian. I liked all of the posts on Instagram poking fun at vegetarians and vegans and can't remember the last time I went a full day without meat.

Fast forward 7 months later and my how things have changed. I still eat meat but not even close to the same amount I used to, I have incorporated fish into my diet and my fridge is always stocked with vegetables.

The first sign that something needed to change was after my third round of chemo when feeling good with no major side effects, I decided to have a steak for dinner. The nurses tell you not to eat a big meal after chemo and there is a reason. That remains the only time I felt really sick during chemo...I felt nauseous and my body couldn't digest it. If that wasn't enough of a warning that I needed to cut down my consumption of red meat, this announcement definitely hit home. In October, 2015 the World Health Organization was in the news for publishing a warning that red meat causes cancer:

http://www.cancer.org/cancer/news/news/world-health-organization-says-processed-meat-causes-cancer

People who love meat, like my husband, will say that everything causes cancer these days....the environment, microwaves, deodorant, the list goes on. Obviously not everyone who eats large quantities of meat will get cancer but I figure that if I am already susceptible to it, maybe I should be cutting back.

Cancer aside, the documentary Cowspiracy on Netflix will give you some other reasons to cut back or cut it out completely. Who knew that animal agriculture is responsible for 18% of greenhouse gas emissions, more than the combined exhaust from all transportation? I am not an environmentalist by any stretch but this documentary is worth a watch!