The Vegetarian Challenge Analysis

In my previous Slate Post, I talked about how eating plant based is better for animals, our human health, and reduces climate change. Consuming less meat or avoiding meat altogether could change our lives, other’s lives, and the world we live in. I promoted vegetarianism and I understood how hard the change could be, to go from eating everything to eating fully plant based. Before coming up with my idea for my Agent of Change, I came across a list of organizations and resources that you can donate or share with other people to raise awareness for eating plant based. I think supporting vegan/vegetarian organizations is another great way to educate yourself and others. It’s for a good cause and unlike my vegetarian challenge, it’s not limited to only SLA students, anyone can sign or donate.

For my Agent of Change, I decided to create a Vegetarian Challenge where I encourage students at SLA to eat all plant based or attempt to eat all plant based for a week, in hopes of introducing the vegetarian lifestyle and bringing awareness to the harmful things eating meat can do. This idea first came to be when I questioned, how can I get people to physically change their diet and what they eat, without forcing them to go full vegetarian. That’s when the idea of a challenge popped into my head. A low pressure, vegetarian challenge that could help people arrive at the first and hardest base of vegetarianism; actually eating all plant based. The rules were to try to eat all plant based for five days while keeping a food log of all the things you ate during the week. At the end of the week, participants will receive a google form they have to fill out and turn in their work logs.

I know how hard it is to have enough commitment to eat all plant based and resist meat, so I thought, maybe participating in a challenge will help motivate others to stick to that diet for a week and see how they feel physically and emotionally. It was really nerve wrecking organizing a challenge but in the end, everything fell into place. It was my first time being the creator of any type of event, and I would say it has been very interesting being on the other end of something. From the responses I got back, I think my Agent of Change has been really effective. Most of the participants felt physically and mentally better. I decided to do more research on how eating plant-based food can affect your mental health and according to this article, certain foods can either increase or decrease anxiety and depression. The foods you eat play an important role in your mental health and well being. Eating plant based releases serotonin, making you feel more positive because plant foods are high in antioxidants. Meat and animal products are high in arachidonic acid, which will create a chemical reaction in our bodies that can increase anxiety, stress, and depression. I also felt like it was a success because most of them said they would consider being a vegetarian after the challenge. Even if they didn’t want to go vegetarian after, I think it’s great that they are now aware of the situation.

I’m really happy with how my project turned out. My project wouldn’t be this successful if the students of SLA didn’t step up and volunteer to participate so I really appreciate everyone who participated in this challenge! I was so lucky to have people who were vegetarian see my challenge in the advisory memo and request to spread the word of my challenge to their friends.

Something I learned about myself while working on this project was that I could handle the pressure of organizing a challenge or a program. I learned to not doubt myself and to believe that I am capable of making a change, no matter how small or big my actions are. I think something I could’ve done better was reach out to the participants more. I kind of felt disconnected after I introduced the challenge. If I could do this project again, I would have a mid week check up on the participants or maybe send encouraging words, just something to show that I want them to do good. There is still a lot of change we need to promote in order to convince everyone to eat plant based, but overall, I think my project was a successful way to reach out to the SLA community.

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