Life Update

Here are a few updates about my life:

Diet: After twelve days of being vegan, I am positive that I will continue this for as long as is possible. I feel absolutely fantastic, and I am sure I have reduced the probability of developing many 'western diseases'. These diseases (things like obesity, various cancers, diabetes, hypertension, dental problems, etc.) have been brought to my attention by Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food (MP's website). I have only read the first third of the book, so far, in which he covers modern issues about food, about how our views of food in the industrial West have developed over the years, and give a warning about over generalizing the results of food research.

Books: Speaking of books, I have decided to embrace my short attention span when it comes to reading and read several books at the same time. This does not come as much of a surprise to me; it just feels right. To keep myself motivated, I have used the Daytum beta account I was given to log the pages I read each day. As motivation, it has worked pretty well. I was so sad that my daily average (note: it bugs me that I do not know how this average is calculated) was only 36 pages, so I started reading more. It is up to 60.5...still pretty meager, but a good improvement. Click and it will come (My Daytum).

Summer: I am going to Portland, OR. As I have told everyone who asks, something incredible will need to happen for me to stay in Ann Arbor. I am so excited to get out of here and live freely. Yes, I am already living on my own , and no, I do not hate my current living situation; I just want a change. I have been living in the residence halls for a good 2.5 years solid now, but the convenience we all love comes with a price. I am ready for a breather from my cushy room.

I am hoping to be really eco consious on my summer escape. To do this, I think I will make a list of all of the things I want to do:

  • Compost (vermi- probably -> Instructable 1 | Instructable 2)
  • Create a CO2 scrubber (Wiki | Instructable)
  • Reduce my water consumption (start and stop water while showering, etc.)
  • Find a new way to wash my clothes (Instructable)
  • Air dry my sustainably washed clothes
  • more to come! I am open to suggestions. (really, I got distracted and want to finish this post)
Personal Development: Oh, I can never get enough of personal development. I am like my own life coach. I borrowed some "Value Cards" from Kevin, so now I have values! I am going to sort through them and see which ones I relate to most. It should be pretty interesting. I am just hoping my values don't end up being pretension, snobbery, and being a punk.

That's it for now kiddos.

Wisdom?



The Experiment
Today, history repeats itself. Three years ago, I decided to avoid eating red meat for health reasons. After a week, I found that I had eaten little meat of any kind, so I decided to become vegetarian. I have been doing well since. Today, I have decided to repeat this experiment by avoiding the consumption of animal products. I am hereby vegan for the week, and perhaps the future. It is 1:21pm, and I feel fantastic.

My Research Questions

History
Larger Developmental Context
  • When/with whom was the first completely vegan diet?
  • Why did animals invade diets?
  • How did veganism as a social movement come about? 
  • Why do people choose to eat/live vegan?
  • Is there a future for veganism? Will it become the new standard of living?
Internal History
  • How has veganism developed over the years?
  • When the terms vegan, vegetarian, lacto/ovo, etc. first occur?
  • How has scientific knowledge contributed to diet modifications?
  • How have vegan diets changed over the years?
  • How have the reasons for living/eating vegan changed over the years?
Structure & Composition
Larger System
  • How has the creation of veganism as a movement affect the food industry?
  • How did the development of lactose tolerance and agriculture integrate animals into human lifestyles and diets?
  • How does living/eating vegan affect the environment?
  • How does living/eating vegan affect a person's social/community standing in different environments? Why?
  • Why are the rates of veganism/vegatrianism higher in queers?
  • What is the relationship between vegans and other demographics? (age, ethnicity, general health, location, upbringing, religion, world view, personality) Why?
Fit together as system
  • How do vegans interact with each other?
  • Do vegans relate closest with vegans who feel the same as they do?
  • How do people's choices to be vegan affect their views of the vegan movement?
  • What is the relationship of people who wear/live vegan, eat vegan, or do both? Why?
  • Why are there issues like honey? What are the big contentious points of veganism?
Categorization
Groups
  • What are the different types of vegan diets/lifestyles?
  • Do the diets/lifestyles differ around the world?
  • What are the different reasons for being vegan?
  • Are vegans viewed (by vegans and/or non-vegans) as different depending on their reasons for becoming vegan? Is this a hieracrchy? 
  • How do vegans order themselves? Does age or number of years vegan play a role?
Compare & Contrast
  • How do vegan lifestyles differ from non-vegan lifestyles?
  • Are vegans more consious of non-vegan related surroundings than non-vegans?
  • Just how much 'healthier' are strict vegans than lacto/ovo vegetarians and pescatarians?
  • How is veganism as a social movement present in other countries/cultures? Why?
  • How do strict vegans, lacto/ovos, and pescatarian's differ publicly?
  • How do the ideas and lifestyles of vegans by choice and vegans by upbringing C&C?
+ > -
  • Why is veganism NOT the norm?
  • If veganism is so amazing and friendly, why is everyone NOT vegan?
  • Why is it NOT a good idea to become vegan? (What are reasons NOT to become a vegan)
  • How is a vegan lifestyle NOT beneficial to people/animals/the planet?
  • How has living/eating vegan NOT benefited people (who have tried it)?
Speculation
New Context
  • How would the social view/idea of veganism be different if it originally developed in the third world? What if it caught on in the third world today?
  • How would veganism play a role in a perfect, liberal USA?
  • How would veganism be viewed if the presidential family ate vegan?
  • How would veganism as a lifestyle/diet be different if we kept different pets? 
  • How would vegnaism as a lifestyle/diet be different if agribusiness did not exist and the USA went back to small, family owned farms?
If it Never Existed...
  • How would modern food culture be different?
  • What would the argument against obesity and other diet related health issues look like without veganism/vegetarianism?
  • How would food/diet culture be different?
  • How would modern food science be different?
  • Would the idea reemerge in the modern social/economic climate?
Sources*
Agree
Disagree

For this part, the book suggests looking at questions and ideas you agree and disagree with from sources. As I am just starting this project, I do not have many sources. I will leave these questions for the future.