You ever put something on the TV just for background noise and find yourself completely caught up in the show, the pressing tasks of the day temporarily forgotten?

I just moved cities. There’s a lot of unpacking to do. When I’m doing stuff with my hands but not my brain, I get bored. This weekend, I picked a random documentary off my Netflix list to play while I unpacked. Next thing I knew, I was surrounded by full boxes with fifteen browser tabs open as I clicked between “what counts as processed meat,” “vegan vs. vegetarian,” and “what is mad cows disease” on Google.

What the Health? on Netflix is a (controversial?) documentary I’d never heard of before. The description just said something about how our diet affects our health, which is something I’ve been researching a lot with this new gluten-free, dairy-free life to manage my chronic health problems. The narrator/filmmaker is dramatic and over-the-top, with an obvious agenda (make the world vegan, basically) and a conspiratorial tone. But, as I watched and googled, I learned that some of his points on health and meat did have objective merit. I started to wonder… why not try veganism? It can’t hurt to give it a shot.

I’ve heard plenty of arguments both for and against veganism. (Daniel Sloss is probably my favorite comedian, sooo…) I mostly keep out of the entire conversation. Until now, evidently.

Living in Indiana, I see the problems with CAFOs (confined animal feeding operations), and I do know the vegan arguments about animal treatment — as well as their criticisms of meaningless terminology used for marketing “free-range” or “grass-fed” food — aren’t blown out of proportion.

But PETA’s anti-sheep-shearing campaign can go shut up, and I also know that the people responsible for growing blueberries or harvesting cocoa beans aren’t treated well in many operations. When it comes to a balanced, affordable diet, there’s really no way to eat completely, 100% humanely.

Once upon a time, I swore I could never be vegetarian, let alone vegan. Who knows? That might still be true. This food experiment could fail horribly in a month.

Then again, there was also a time I believed I’d starve without bread. Now, after a false start in January, I’ve lived happily gluten-free all summer, without spending the extra money on alternative breads, crackers, or cakes. I can’t say I don’t miss those things, but I certainly don’t miss how I felt after eating them. Apparently a girl really can live off potatoes.

I haven’t decided how dedicated I’ll be to the whole vegan thing. There is a surprising lack of information or support for people who choose a vegan diet without the entire “vegan lifestyle.” What if I decide I’m okay with eating gelatin, made from animal by-products? (Can I survive without marshmallows?!) Will I continue sweetening my oatmeal with honey, or switch to maple syrup? Do those things contribute to the inflammation my vegan diet is meant to alleviate, or is it just meat, dairy, and eggs I need to look for?

Being gluten free, and a picky eater in general, will also make this a more challenging transition. A lot of vegans get protein from broccoli, which I can’t bring myself to eat raw, and iron from kale and spinach, which I’ve usually eaten with meat dishes. I’m a fan of smoothies, but almost all recipes call for either yogurt (dairy product, no bueno) or bananas (to which I’m allergic). I have yet to actually find coconut yogurt, the number one alternative I’ve seen online, at any of my usual grocery stores. And the snacks vegans recommend carrying to prevent caving and cheating out of hunger often involve sandwiches (bread) or crackers. Even Oreos are vegan, but not gluten-free.

I am eating a lot more nuts. Cashews aren’t half bad.

I’ll keep you posted on how this whole vegan thing goes. I’m already tired of the self-righteous “think of the crying pigs” vegans that seem to populate all corners of YouTube, so finding resources and advice might prove challenging. I take heart in the fact that many of my latest dairy-free, gluten-free staples are already unintentionally vegan. All else fails, I can dump canned corn and black beans in rice and call it a taco bowl.