I’m part Polish, Slovakian, and Irish. I grew up on bread, meat, cheese, and potatoes. I’m also Roman Catholic so during lent I don’t eat meat on Fridays. It’s hard on Fridays to not eat meat because when you live off meat, especially red meat, and you can’t have it, you want it more than anything. On days that I don’t eat meat I go against the norm. I go against the norm that most people, at least in America, eat meat. I also go against the norm for people who are atheist or of another religion than mine. People find it strange that I don’t eat meat on Fridays during lent. Whenever I bring it up to someone new who does not practice it, I am questioned as to why I do it and I always receive a judgmental, strange look from them. It hard for people to understand the reasoning behind my beliefs and my upbringing. It’s against their norm and their beliefs or habits, but to it’s always been normal to me.

On Fridays I have an impact on societal issues, like vegans and vegetarians do everyday of their lives. By not eating meat we effect the production of greenhouse gas and environmental pollution produced by the livestock industry. Eliminating meat results in a decrease in methane gas used to produce burgers and meat products. It also cuts done on the fossil fuels used to transport the meat from farm -> industry -> store -> plate. The fossil water usage can also decrease because less water will be needed to produce feed for the animals as it takes more than one plant unit input to produce a single beef unit product. It is also much easier to obtain nutrients from plants than it is to get them from an animal source. It is a more direct line of consumption of nutrients from plant -> human, than from plant -> animal -> human. Especially since the animal uses up some of the nutrients decreasing the initial nutrient content that could have been obtained.