vegan musings

Well, my friends, I have survived a month-long vegan diet. In doing so, I learned several things:

1. I'm a better cook than I originally thought.
2. It's really time consuming to cook something from scratch every day.
3. Blogging takes longer than the 10 minutes per post I thought it would.
4. Eating vegetables gives me a different kind of energy, one that's impossible to get from animals.
5. Cooking is therapeutic, cleaning up is not.
6. Most importantly, sticking to a vegan diet sparked an internal debate about the ethics of eating animals (and animal products).


I listen to the vegan argument and find myself agreeing with a lifestyle of compassion toward all living creatures, and treating animals with respect. Does that mean not using animal products, though? I'm not entirely sure because at the same time I'm intrigued by the question, is it possible for life to exist without killing and death?

Take a vegan/vegetarian diet, for example. It revolves around the consumption of plants, plants that are killed. I realize that uprooting a bunch of kale or carrots doesn't invoke the same emotional response that killing a cow or pig does, however, I think it's important to remember that while plants may not scream or cry upon dying, there's still massive destruction happening. Cultivating plants for food damages the environment and kills animals like birds, insects and other creatures often forgotten about.

Does this matter? I think definitely. Ecosystems and lives are destroyed in both meat-based and plant-based worlds.

There are some really interesting ideologies that exist about the ethics of eating meat and I'm treading water, trying to figure out where I stand among them. I am -- and always will be -- vehemently against the meat industry and factory farming. There aren't enough hours in the day for me to express my disgust and disappointment in the business of maximizing profit (to meet the demands of our meat-addicted country) at the sake of basic decency and respect toward animals.

In many eastern cultures, it is thought that you take on the energy of the foods you eat. While eating a big, juicy steak may taste delicious, you might also be ingesting the sick, sad, panicked and scared energy of the factory-farmed cow (or multiple cows if you're eating a burger). Could this be a reason why Americans are so sick, depressed and stressed? Interesting idea, huh?

On a lighter note, I hope that you give some of these recipes a try. While I can't wait to get my hands on some Brie and Jarlsberg, I do believe that a diet using minimal animal products is the way to go. I'm not a fan of titles, perhaps that's why I missed cheese so much -- because I was 'stuck' inside the vegan diet title.  Would I have even thought twice about cheese if I knew I could have it? Who knows. The same goes with any diet, though. I'm not a fan of the restrictions. No wonder diets are so hard to stick to when there's a voice upstairs telling constantly saying, "don't eat that, stay away from those, steer clear of these, and not that." In my opinion, life is too short to worry about the don'ts.

We have this one body and one life on this planet so take care of it. I live according to some really basic principles:

~ Eat good food, nourish your body, and most importantly love yourself.
~ Go outside, fill your lungs with fresh air and exercise.
~ Splurge on junk food occasionally, don't beat yourself up about it, and get back on the healthy bandwagon the next day.
~ Tell the people in your life how much they mean to you. And, repeat it often.

If we can do that, there's no reason why the world can't be a better place -- for you and for me and the entire human race. Sing it, Michael Jackson.

Until my next food adventure --
~Jo