“You haven’t been eating processed meat for three months … like I have.” This is a simple camp song that a fellow Midwestern staff member and I altered words to in order to express our deep sorrow in our lack of “real” meat options this summer. Actually, including my six semesters of dining hall experience, that equals many breaded chicken, beef, or pork on a bun meals I have endured.

As the stereotype goes, Midwesterners tend to base their meals around meat and potatoes more so than other regions of the United States. I have always fit into that category without much complaining.

However, I began to rethink my food choices more than ever after spending a summer in Maine. Whether it was being on the East Coast or because of the interesting variety of people I lived and worked with, I was introduced to more vegetarians and vegans than I have ever met in all my years living in Iowa.

Observing their eating habits and discussing the reasons for their choice to not eat meat opened my eyes to different diet options I am slowly beginning to incorporate into my own life. I soon learned that soy milk doesn’t leave the same film in your mouth that regular milk does, and that I would rather poke my eyeball out than eat another same-flavored, different-shaped meat sandwich.

I’m not saying I wouldn’t enjoy a cheeseburger off the grill occasionally, but I definitely no longer plan my meals solely around including a portion of meat.

Other people in the Midwest are also slowly becoming aware of nutritional content in their diets as well. Yes, we are finally realizing that a barbecue should not consist of only 12-ounce steaks and bags of potato chips.

I changed my diet because I was put in a different environment for an extended period of time and found that eating meat only a couple times a week is more enjoyable. Other people are changing for other reasons.

There is a lot of controversy over our foods as more people are becoming conscious of agricultural processes.

Some people change their diets because they don’t agree with hormones or chemicals that are injected in animals which alter the animal’s normal life patterns. Another reason is that livestock are given little to no room to graze.

One of the most realistic reasons for eating less meat and more vegetables, which incorporates the two above reasons, is that eating less meat is better for the environment. It takes a much smaller amount of energy and resources to eat low on the food chain. According to “Nature’s First Law — the Raw Food Diet” by Arlin, 20,000 pounds of potatoes can be grown on one acre of land, compared to 165 pounds of beef that can be produced on the same acre.

Taking it one step further, eating more organic foods benefits the land even more. Organic foods have no sewer-sludge fertilizers, no pesticides, no genetic engineering, and no growth hormones or antibiotics. They must also use more stringent rules in soil management to prevent contamination and decrease the amount of nutrients lost.

The Midwest always seems to be the slowest responder in any type of change taking place in the regions around us. Perhaps it’s because we are more set in our ways and more skeptical to change than others. But mostly I think it is our lack of opportunity above all else which hinders our ability to grow. There are naturally less options in grocery shopping in small towns common in the Midwest compared to the hundreds of store options in large cities.

However, although progress is slow, the Midwest is attempting to evolve from the meat-and-potatoes lifestyle.

Living in Ames, a community rich in cultural and ethnic diversity, we can benefit from having a big-city environment in a medium-sized town. For example, the international grocery store, Pammel Grocery, Pammel Ct., sells food popular in other countries. Wheatsfield Grocery, 413 Douglas Ave., sells a variety of organic foods. Also, both Ames HyVee stores, 3800 W Lincoln Way and 640 Lincoln Way have recently added small sections of organic products.

There are plenty of options available that cater to a diet that does not revolve around meat. I recommend exploring different options and visiting these unique grocers in Ames to help expand your diet. You can’t go wrong with a lifestyle that caters both to the benefit of the environment and to your own health.