Future Vegetarian?

Today in class was the beginning of the two-part installment of "Food Inc."  I have never seen a documentary like this before because quite frankly, I didn't want to know.  I am an extremely sensitive person and I recognize that.  Watching this film was eye opening even as someone who isn't completely oblivious, but has never seen this kind of behind-the-scenes footage.

Upon leaving class today I simply felt sad.  Not only did I not want to eat meat ever again, but I didn't want to eat anything!  The fact that literally everything we put into our stomachs is modified and "enhanced" is so incredibly disgusting and disturbing that it makes my stomach hurt.  When making myself lunch, I looked at the back of my wheat pasta box and literally did not recognize a single one of the 5 ingredients.  They were all big words that I honestly had never seen (or noticed) before.  And this was just in pasta!  I know that the animal treatment is definitely jarring, but for me what was almost equally jarring was the fact that everything from tomatoes and lettuce (things that I like to eat because I do view them as healthy)  are not quite as healthy as I'd like to imagine.

I have seen footage of these kinds of animal factories before, but none quite as graphic as what we saw today.  Seeing all the dead chickens, the chickens who were too heavy to hold up their own bodies, the cows being held by a single leg upside down, and absolutely the most disgusting point, the man who had his HAND INSIDE THE COWS STOMACH was very saddening and made me feel like such an incredibly guilty party for simply being a consumer.  

Upon leaving class I started thinking about what I could do to change this cycle.  Quite honestly, trying to be positive is pretty difficult.  As a college student, I am living on limited funds, which does not allow me to purchase as healthy of food as I would like.  On top of this, I genuinely LIKE meat!  But thinking about where my meat comes from and how it is cooked together and mashed from thousands of cows makes me want to drop it all.  Or at least stop eating the meat discussed in this movie, until I can afford to pay for meat where I know exactly where it comes from and how the animals are being treated.  I think I will seriously consider changing my lifestyle and look at all the options available.  I plan on simply taking it day by day, meal by meal, and try to put the best possible products necessary into my body.