Personal Stories...

I would love to hear from anyone else who is vegetarian or vegan. People's stories are always inspiring to hear. Please email me and I'll post them so others can read :)

My journey is still a very new one. I pretty much became vegetarian overnight. I first saw Jonathan Safron Foer (Author of “Eating Animals”) on Ellen. He made such good arguments and shared some heart wrenching information. Then I watched Oprah’s show where she did a segment on the movie “Food Inc” and interviewed some well known authors including Michael Pollan. She also featured Alicia Silverstone and her new book “The Kind Diet”. I knew I wanted to learn more so I decided I would start on my research. But, that night Tyson had already cooked a meal for us (he loves to cook-what a great guy). I don’t remember what the side dishes were, but we had pork slouvaki on a stick. I remember taking the first bite off of that stick, and could only think of the backside of a pig. As I chewed and chewed, I thought of it more as muscle of an individual, rather than just “meat”. I couldn’t finish it (much to Tyson’s dismay because he thought he didn’t cook it correctly).

Even thinking back, I could never eat ribs because it was too personal for me. Eating meat off of a rib and breaking them apart made me shiver. I could never cut meat. I hated to handle it and felt horrible when I saw a vein inter-coursed through my chicken. Subconsciously I think I always felt bad eating meat…but it is socially acceptable. So, I just accepted it and never tried to step out of the box.

It was the hardest during my research phase. I was trying to eat meat substitutes until I got some recipes down pat. Plus, I think I just wanted to find some excuse that it would still be okay to eat meat. But, after seeing all the facts I just decided I couldn’t take part in animal suffering anymore. I didn’t want dead animals in my body. I am constantly reading and doing research. I still don’t know all there is to know…but I do know enough to make me become vegan.

To this day I don’t “crave” meat. I crave the convenience of it though. It was so easy to stop and get a burger when I was hungry. Now I have to plan ahead or look out for restaurants with vegetarian choices…but I feel better for it. Mentally and physically.

Like many other vegans, I only gave up meat to start with. I was still eating milk products (even though I am lactose intolerant….products like Lacteeze and lactose free cheese are still real milk products-just with the lactose taken out). I was also buying free-range organic eggs. But after diving deeper into the billion dollar industry that is factory farming, I learned that the milk and egg industry also perpetuate the system. I will post another blog about this in the future.

I guess now would be a good time to post some definitions (these are by no means the "technical definitions").

Omnivore: Eats everything
Vegetarian: Eats no animal meat. There are different types
of vegetarian diets. Some exclude milk or eggs. Some still eat fish.
Vegan: Eats no animal meat. Eats no animal bi-products (no
eggs, no dairy).

So if you’re looking for a healthy alternative, buy local! Buy organic. Buy eggs from a farmer down the street and it wouldn’t hurt to try some almond or soy milk in your coffee or cereal. Eating a variety of veggies and fortified milk-free drinks are more than enough to supply you with the calcium you need. Or, try a vegetarian meal once a week. All those tiny steps are helping to save the planet…and an animal’s life.

I am still in the early stages of figuring out the easiest and tastiest meals for me. I will soon be posting some easy comfort food recipes…along with what staple products I use in my everyday diet.

Jenna :)