The dilemma of going vegetarian

Starting next week my goal is to try to eat a vegetarian based diet, and limit my dairy intake for at least 2 months. I don't plan to give up meat and dairy 100%, but I will only eat them every other weekend. Today I was in the grocery store and realized what a challenge this will be. Most of my favorite foods are dairy-based (cheese, yogurt, eggs), and while I could probably do without beef and chicken, I love seafood (mainly shrimp, lobster and scale/bony fish). While I don't eat an abundance of meats right now, do like dairy. My main reason for doing this is to see how it changes my overall health, and because livestock agriculture plays a huge role in global greenhouse gas emissions. I'm not going to suddenly turn into a "Meat is Murder" judgmental fanatic, but I will make these conscious, personal choices. On my shopping list are: Drinks: Coconut, Almond and Soy milk. I like Almond Silk, but I'm going to try packaged coconut milk as well. I've only ever h ad it by naturally producing it, but that would be challenging here. Water, maybe some orange juice, as well as hard cider--but only Stella Artois :-). It's overall low in calorie and sugar content. Snack: homemade granola. and veggie chips, as well as cucumber sandwiches, and avocados. Meat: I'm going to try some of the veggie alternatives, but I probably can just get by on imitation crab meat for the first two weeks. I also have fish to last a while, so I will just eat it on weekends. Greens: To date, I've always bought lots of veggies and fruits, but I end up having to freeze them because I don't eat them fast enough. That will change. It will be 90% veggies 5% fruit and 5% "meat" for the duration of my personal challenge.

I recently watched the documentary "Cowspiracy", and while I think Kip Anderson's method for extrapolating some of the numbers for the impact of agricultural runoff and human livestock consumption was somewhat flawed, it doesn't understate the reality that our meat-heavy diets and mostly sedentary lifestyles are literally costing us the planet and our health.

It is really a conundrum for me because on the other side are dairy and livestock farmers who work VERY hard to earn their livings... Growing fruits and vegetables are just not as profitable, and the U.S. Government already has to subsidize many farmers because they make so little from the sale of their products. So what is the solution? Is there a way to have both a healthy planet and lots of T-Bone steaks? I think we need to do more to find a solution that works for both farmers and consumers before it becomes an even greater crisis.