I have been interested in health and nutrition for a long
time. I became a vegetarian at 13 but
that was more about animal rights and my spiritual path rather than for health
reasons. I have never been convinced
that meat and animal foods were necessary for human health, even though people
tried to bully me into eating my meat as a kid.
I knew too many lifelong vegetarians, vegans, Jains and a wide
assortment of people who were healthier than my meat eating diabetic, heart
troubled relatives with their self righteous opinions on superior nutrition. Fortunately, over the years, vegetarianism
has become main-stream and books like The China Study made me jump up in glee.
I must interject at this point that I respect everyone’s
right to eat whatever feels healthy to them.
I do believe that there are environmentally responsible and humane ways
of meeting the meat requirements of those who need it and that it is worthwhile
to reform the meat industry to these standards of quality and ethics. Similarly, I also believe that agriculture
also needs major overhauls, think GMOs, broad scale pesticides, chemical
fertilizers, soil degradation etc. Many
vegan foods such as soy, corn and wheat among others are also grown in ways
that are extremely detrimental to the environment and by extension, to
biodiversity and animal life. I stress
here vegetarianism is a personal choice based on my belief that a plant based
diet is healthier for most humans and as a stand against animal cruelty. With that disclaimer… let’s move on…
I have dabbled with veganism on and off over the years but
it never stuck. I always felt wonderful
and healthy on it but the social awkwardness didn’t seem worth it. You get to be one of those people who go out
or go to a friend’s house and quiz them about ‘hidden’ ingredients. Is there any whey in the veggie stock you
used to make this dish? And you have to
cook all your own meals, prepare your own condiments and sauces to avoid the
paranoia. When you’re young and busy…who
has the time? But I haven’t honestly
tried being vegan again for about 5 years so maybe the world has changed to
accommodate it better. Now that I’m
older (36), I’m starting to think that great health is worth some social
awkwardness. I enjoy cooking, gardening and farming... things I absolutely had no time for in years
past. So, becoming vegan is sounding more attractive to me.
I have been reading about raw veganism and completed a few short
“detoxes”- they were blissful. I am a
little worried that becoming a raw vegan may lead to complete social isolation
- carrying apples and carrots in your bag, being asked if you are anorexic or a
member of some weird cult. Getting so
marginalized that eventually, you have to run off and live in a forest with
other raw vegans, fruitarians and the like… While living a more natural and
simple life definitely appeals to me, I think that a life based around dietary
choices is actually quite limiting. The
freedom of being able to travel and live anywhere, socialize with all sorts of
people, have a large assortment of good friends from rabid meat eaters to
enlightened breatharians and everything in between is something that I do
appreciate. I don’t want my dietary
choices to limit my experiences in life or shut others out. In any
case, I don’t want to create a self identity that is based around food or food
activism. I believe that we are all more than what we eat.
I want to enjoy being a vegan – to eat good, healthy tasty
food. I want to explore world cuisines
and discover new veggies, fruits, tastes and flavors.
I’m hoping that you
wonderful vegans around the world will free to get in touch with me, share
links for blogs, recipes, vegan restaurants, personal experiences and anything that will
help. I also hope that as I become a
more seasoned vegan, you can hit me up for tips and any support (non medical)
that you need.
So..the journey begins
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