‘Meatless: The Movie’: A 90 Day Vegetarian-Vegan Experiment

by Elizah Leigh August 27, 2010
Categories: Animals, Eats, Film/TV
Tags: colin beavan, julia child, julie powell, michael pollan, shane close.

meatless movie

Throwing oneself headfirst into a radical new lifestyle experience and documenting it every step of the way has become the modern day equivalent of saying buh-bye to your anonymity and hello to a viable income stream. It certainly worked for Julie Powell when she cooked her way through Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Similarly, when Colin Beavan (otherwise known as ‘No Impact Man’) decided to live off of the grid with his family for 365 days in New York City, both his film and companion book received accolades and boosted his literary career.

Indie filmmaker and confessed barbeque-holic Shane Close is no stranger to making waves, having been a surfer for the better part of his life. Following the completion of Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma, his wife asked him if he could embrace vegetarianism and he decided to rise to the challenge, on film of course. The result of his experiment is called Meatless: The Movie (a work in progress that will be released via Big Happy Films) which covers his first 30 days living meat free and another 60 days consuming an entirely vegan diet.

Close has noted that the drop in his LDL cholesterol has been a definite plus, not to mention a noticeable boost in his energy, and though his grocery bill was more affordable when he cut meat from his diet, he ended up shelling out more money once he sought out specialty vegan foods. Eschewing meat, he discovered, is not just an animal rights issue but also an eco-concern since “28 percent of global methane emissions [come from meat production]”. In his adventure, he also learned that mainstream beer is not vegan since it’s created with dried fish bladders as well as grain that is eventually transported to factory farms.

If this project piques your curiosity, be sure to visit Cl ose‘s Meatless website for regular updates on his progress, plus stay tuned for his trailer…

Via Broward Palm Beach New Times

http://Htt//theladyexpressions.wordpress.com Arabia Marshall

This is real interesting. Thats a heavy commitment to do. Personally, I want to start eating better and I know it takes time to do so. This is inspiration to try I’m not sure if I could give up meat all the way . Maybe cut back from it from time to time. I liked this. Thanks for sharing this.
- Elizah Leigh
  
  That’s exactly the point that Shane Close is trying to make. If a die hard meat and potatoes lover like him is able to pull it off, then there’s no reason why the rest of us can’t reel in our animal protein consumption, whether for health, animal rights or eco-reasons (or maybe even a little of each). Cutting back will definitely go a long way toward helping the environment, your wallet, and your arteries Plus, if you’re looking for a ‘bridge’ veggie food to help you in your journey, there are countless great tasting frozen veggie burgers that offer tons of flavor and nutrition, convenience and dietary diversity. They’re unfortunately highly processed, but I think that overall, they’re far better than chowing down on steak kebobs wrapped in bacon!
SR

This is a great experiment, I’m very interested to see how it goes.
From personal experience, being vegetarian and vegan is easy (I’m vegan). To begin, all you need to do is look into the amounts of vitamins and minerals you need and their sources and go from there. Having some good cookbooks helps too.
As far as cooking, I find that I make pretty much everything from scratch, that way you know what you’re actually eating. Also, contrary to what people assume, vegetarians and especially vegans do eat, and not just “cardboard”. I enjoy food and have very high expectations about what I eat.
People are always skeptical about coming over for dinner and not having any meat or dairy, however they always leave raving about the meal and how it’s better than what they eat at home. Vegetarian and especially vegan eating is not about living off carrot and celery sticks. It’s about finding a balance between different types of foods and doing some experimentation. You can even eat desert. And I personally don’t use imitation meats and cheeses, you can live without them or substitute them with other types of food, though on the odd occasion its nice to indulge.
http://trehops.com Tracey

This is completely shocking to me. I am a vegan and I had no idea that’s what I was drinking. I will be thinking twice about beer and wine from now on.
Plaga

I am a very conscious vegan & a beer drinker and I know a lot about what beers/wines/liquors are and are not vegan (those using things like isinglass as a clarifier) and make sure to steer very clear of spirits such as Guiness and Stella Artois. However, today I was very alarmed when I heard about some beer companies whose grain is eventually transported to factory farms. I was wondering if anyone knew what companies transport their grains to factory farms and what websites I can look to for more information on this subject. I would appreciate any and all information. Thanks & cruelty free CHEERS!
- http://www.meatlessthemovie.com Shane Close
  
  barnivore dot com has a petty good list. I don’t think it is totally complete, but it is a good start!