Dean goes green
I have a confession to make. I was raised a meat-and-potatoes guy. Imagine the irony of being dean of the one school of public health in the nation where the benefits of a plant-based diet are at the forefront of daily conversation. While my overall meat consumption has steeply declined over the last 15 years, I am still subject to overwhelming urges of the carnivorous variety. What’s a dean to do? The right thing.
Starting with the winter 2008 academic quarter, I am eating vegetarian for 30 days, with the aim to adopt this lifestyle permanently. That’s right. No Famous Dave’s barbecue. No late night forays to In-N-Out. I promise to turn my head at the very thought of jerk chicken. This is going to be brutal. But if I can do it, anyone can. And you are going to help me. More on that later.
You might be asking yourself why Dave would waste valuable editorial space on such an issue. Here’s why: it’s an important public health and ethical Christian issue. The facts are overwhelming: the average American is very wasteful. We as a people consume three times more water, 10 times more energy, 19 times more aluminum, and 14 times more paper than our counterparts in less-developed parts of the world. Returning to the vegetarian issue—roughly 70 percent of the grain grown in this country is fed to livestock. By living a vegetarian lifestyle, I reduce stress on the environment associated with intensive livestock production, save energy that is lost during the processing of meat, and will probably extend my life expectancy. That’s ethical living.
In keeping with this theme, our School will proudly host the 5th International Congress on Vegetarian Nutrition, March 4–6, 2008. (Please refer to VegetarianNutrition.org for more details.) Dr. Joan Sabaté and his team have assembled an excellent scientific conference. The program will address some of the most widely discussed public health issues of our time, including obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and food production among others. This is one conference you will not want to miss.
Now back where we started. I request your help and encouragement during my month-long effort at vegetarianism. I will be blogging my experience beginning January 7, 2008. If you would like to track my struggles and ramblings, and submit some of your musings, this is the time. The website containing the blog can be found at WillHeMakeIt.org. As the head chef in the Dyjack household, I will be soliciting your finest vegetarian recipes, as well as moral support. I look forward to hearing from you.
Dave Dyjack
The Green Dean
