My feelings on eating meat.

I have discussed why I decided to start eating a vegan diet on my blog, but I have concentrated on the health and nutritional aspects of my decision.  I don't really discuss my ethical views on the subject much.  The main reason is probably because it is the most controversial aspect of veganism.  The other reason is that it is a very personal thing for me.  I have been an animal lover as long as I can remember.  When I was a kid, probably around 7 or 8, I remember my mom letting us take in a cat that had gotten part of his paw cut off somehow.  We didn't have much money and couldn't afford to take him to the vet, but my mom called a vet and got suggestions on how we could care for his wound.  I remember the cat would sleep with me at night.  I felt so special that he chose me to sleep with!  After a couple of weeks he started getting diarrhea and going to the bathroom on the carpet.  My mom decided we could no longer care for him and let him back outside.  I remember crying that night because I missed him so much.  The same thing happened when we had to give away our first dog because the apartment we moved into didn't allow pets.  Part of this could have been because we didn't have pets much when I was growing up until I was in high school.  The other reason could have been that I was dealing with my parent's divorce during my first animal experiences, and separation of any kind was difficult for me.  Whatever the reason, I have been a huge animal lover ever since.

I dabbled with vegetarianism since my first year in college because of my love for animals.  I was young and thin, and although I was into working out and eating relatively healthy I wasn't that concerned with the long term effects of what I was eating.  I cut out red meat for almost a year.  Although I started eating things like hamburgers again eventually I was never able to stomach things like steak again.  My system just couldn't handle it anymore after the hiatus of red meat for a year.  That should have been my first clue that maybe meat was not necessarily healthy for you.  I never went fully vegetarian, because basically I was super picky back then.  I couldn't stand most cooked vegetables, especially the popular ones like broccoli and cauliflower (I still can't stand either to this day actually).  I just thought I could never like vegetables enough to go vegetarian.

Fast forward to today.  As I started rolling into my 30s I started trying new cuisines and vegetables cooked in other ways than the normal mushy, cheesy way you find most often in the south.  To my surprise (and I'm sure my family's as well) I really liked these new things I was trying!  I finally decided after reading a couple of books to try becoming vegetarian.  Then, to my surprise, I started trying non dairy alternatives and actually liking them.  I have to say that the start of my interest in to this new diet was for the health benefits.  But the animal rights was always in the back of my mind, which is really the main reason I decided to go fully vegan.  I watched a lecture on You Tube by Gary Yourofsky that showed what these animals had to go through, especially in the dairy industry, and that was my final motivation.

So, what is my actual stance on eating meat?  How do I feel about others eating meat around me?  This is what gets me in trouble with both the meat eating and vegan communities.  Why?  Because one side is fully insistent that we should, have to, and need to eat meat.  The other side says eating meat, or even being around it, is 100% wrong, and if you don't shun those who do or aren't judgmental of them then you aren't a "true" vegan.  The truth is that I don't necessarily feel that eating meat is wrong.  I feel that cutting meat and dairy out of your diet is MUCH healthier, and will eliminate any risk of health issues such as diabetes, heart disease, and high cholesterol.  But, eating meat has been a part of our culture for centuries.  The problem is the factory farms that produce our meat and dairy.  Even the free range farms aren't much better.  Not only are the animals tortured in too many ways to count, but the practices make the meat very unhealthy for us.  It's not the pig or cow being raised on a 100 acre farm in SD, living it's life to roam free and producing some milk for your family, until it's time to slaughter the animal, then you use every single part of the animal and spread out the meat for months to feed your family.  That's how it was back in the days of Laura Ingalls Wilder (that's actually an exact story of how they raised one of their pigs in the first book of her Little House on the Prairie series).  If that was the case I would have no problem with people eating meat and dairy at all.  The main problem is that people aren't educated on these practices and what actually goes on in the factory farms.  And, the people that have the opportunity to learn turn around and run away with their fingers in their ears, because they if they see and know then they will have to rethink everything they grew up with and have been taught for decades.  Most people just don't want to know.  

To V or not to V. That is the question.

I didn't mean for it to be so long between my last post and this one.  I've failed!!

A lot has happened in my "vegetarian" world the last couple of weeks.  The first (and most important) thing is a video of a lecture by Gary Yourofsky.  He is a vegan and animal rights activist, and is an excellent public speaker.  I had never heard of him before but happened to stumble upon this video on a veggie forum.  Even if you're not considering vegetarianism you should watch this video.  EVERYONE should be educated on the nutrition of what you're eating and where your meat is coming from.  There IS severe animal abuse in the meat processing industry, and everyone needs to see what happens.  If you watch this and still choose to eat meat then at least you're making an educated choice!!

Please watch the Gary Yourofsky video here

The lecture didn't change my views on vegetarianism and veganism, but I feel i'm much more educated on the subject.  Now when someone throws at me "Well people are made to eat meat" or "Veganism is unhealthy" then I can tell them why this isn't true.  I have started eating less dairy since watching the video though.  I am basically just eating whatever dairy products I have in the house and replacing it with mostly non dairy items.  And I do have some cheese or other dairy if I eat out and there is some on whatever it is i'm having  (And yes, there are nutritional benefits to cutting out dairy in your diet).

And that leads me to the new things i've tried since my last post.  There are several since it's been a few weeks!  The biggest thing was non dairy cheese.  It's the biggest because I LOVE my cheese and am very picky about it.  I was very nervous that I wouldn't like it.  It was surprisingly good though!  I have been using it on some things I have been cooking at home.  I still use regular cheese on occasion because I already have it in the house.  I don't see any benefit in throwing out food i've already purchased!  I also bought non dairy butter and dark chocolate almond milk the last time I was at the grocery.  The butter you can't tell a difference at all.  I was also nervous about trying any of the non dairy milk (it took me years to switch to skim milk!), but transitioning with a dark chocolate version was great.  I will eventually try the non flavored version as well as the other non dairy versions (soy, hemp, etc.) of milk.  One thing that I tried that I was not impressed with is a non dairy ice cream sandwich.  The soy ice cream had a weird taste in my opinion.  But, i'm not giving up on finding an ice cream that's non dairy just yet!

Tim and I have also tried several vegetarian and vegan-friendly restaurants.  Yang Kee Noodle is great because they can substitute tofu for meat in almost all of their dishes.  I have loved their cool lettuce chicken wraps for years, and i'm SO glad I can still have it!!  If you've never tried tofu and are nervous about it I would highly suggest going somewhere like this to try it first.  They know how to prepare it correctly so that it still has the same flavor and texture as the meat it is substituting.  Vietnam Kitchen is also great for this.  My 3 favorite dishes there (hot and sour soup, cold spring rolls, and J7 chicken) can all be gotten without meat or dairy.  YAY!!  Btw if you like hot and sour soup you will absolutely LOVE theirs.  It is the best i've ever had!  Last night we tried Boom Bozz pizza.  They have tons of toppings to choose from (other than the boring typical ones you get at regular chain pizza places).  We both decided to order ours with no cheese and just add the non dairy version when we got it home.  Delicious, not to mention healthy! 

I have gotten mostly positive feedback to anyone I talk to about my decision about going vegetarian.  I had one frustrating moment at work last week.  We had a drug rep. bring lunch for the office, and they were very late getting there.  It's frustrating because we only have a certain time frame we are free.  When they got there it was KFC.  Whee, vegetarian paradise...(insert sarcasm here).  I had already had a busy and frustrating day/week, so when I got to the break room and discovered the majority of the sides were gone I was not pleased.  Someone asked me "Aren't you going to get chicken?"  to which I responded with my usual "No, I don't eat meat anymore.".  The response was "Why, what's wrong with you?" in a joking but condescending tone.  Being the true redhead that I am I wanted to say something smartass, but I refrained and just walked away saying nothing instead.  You would think that working in healthcare you would get more understanding responses.  However, i've found that most of the healthcare industry (from medical assistants and nurses all the way up to most physicians) know absolutely nothing about eating healthy.  It's frightening and sad, especially when I see a patient with conditions that could be reversed by simply eating healthy.  Instead they are given a bunch of medications and told "Oh yeah, and try to eat healthier." in passing.  It makes me frustrated and sad that our country is so unhealthy and no one is doing anything to really fix this.

Overall the transition is still going smooth.  I'm still feeling healthier and still enjoying everything I eat!  And, I am eating whatever I want without being concerned with how it may be unhealthy.  If you can change your tastes to where you crave healthier foods and be fully happy and satisfied, then what's wrong with healthier eating??  :-)