On the edge of becoming vegan...

So here is my post about why I am on the edge of becoming vegan! If you don't want to know - skip this one and the next one will be about why we don't have kids - chock full of hilarity!!!

The past six months has been an interesting journey. It was a combination of a few things.....

Six months ago I was on my way to Birmingham for work and I was eagerly anticipating stopping at a chik-fil-a for drive through dinner. I LOVED chik-fil-a sandwiches. About two miles out from the exit I got behind a semi-truck hauling chickens (presumably to slaughter). Feathers flying everywhere, filthy truck.... completely killed the craving for a chik-fil-a sandwich. It amazes me how we are able to compartmentalize and avoid acknowledging where meat comes from - that nicely wrapped in plastic sanitized slice of meat at the grocery store does not register for most people how it got there, we simply don't want to know.

I digress..... At this very same time my sister was reading the notorious book "Skinny Bitch". When I returned from this trip she loaned the book to me... I read it and about every other thing out there I could get my hands on within about a four week time frame.... Omnivores Dilemma, Mad Cowboy, Fast Food Nation, The Way We Eat - Why Our Food Choices Matter. Then came the podcasts, Meat Free Radio, Vegetarian Food for Thought, Vegan Freak Radio. All of the blogs - especially during October "VEGAN MOFO" (vegan Month of Food) were lots of fun. The list goes on - all extremely inspiring. I fed myself a constant supply of vegetarian and vegan information. And I have not looked back.

To answer the question on many minds right now - was it hard to "give up meat"? Not at all, it was like a switch went off in my head, and that was it. My dear sister has been my companion, alli and partner all along the way - we have had constant conversations about all sorts of things vegetarian. Its been a bonding experience for us - I feel like we are 8 year old sisters rallying together in some common childhood crusade!

I have also had someone in my life that is not a meat eater - my dear friend Beth has been a vegetarian since she was in high school. For her, the past six months have been a hilarious bout of quiet reflections of "see, I told you so". In the past we have occasionally had some discussions. I vividly remember a conversation probably ten years ago about the environmental impact of McDonalds... all I heard at the time was blah, blah, corn, blah, blah, cattle, blah blah pollution...and all I was thinking is man I love a happy meal. Now Beth - I hear you LOUD AND CLEAR.

Work has also been interesting. We have meetings - we eat together. In the past six months I have had my fair share of meetings with an obligatory sandwich platter - nothing is more satisfying than a cold cheese sandwich. Or worse, when lunch is ordered in and no one bothered to ask if anyone has any preferences - so Jason's deli ham sandwich boxes all around! Great, thanks. Again not wanting to call attention to myself and not make anyone go out of there way - I crawl "into the pantry" and suffer while I try to make a lunch out of a bun and maybe some chips. I have since learned to call ahead and quietly request that I have a veggie option for lunch.

And being newly veggie, the conversations and questions of course come up. My favorite is the assumption I am doing it to loose weight... ugh, I assure you I am not and in fact I think I have gained a few pounds exploring all of my new "options". This is NOT about weight.

What I have also noticed is that my day to day life and to those close to me my food choices have become a non-issue. There is no need for explanation or discussion - which is a very nice quiet and NORMAL place to be. So for those of you just beginning this - I promise it gets easier and you will eventually not have to talk about it so much!

A few brave people have asked: So why are you not eating meat? And again I am back to my perplexed state of what do I say. Do I say - "its a personal choice" stay in the pantry and move on; or blurt "Because of the horrors of industrially produced meat (aka factory farming) and the fact that over 70% of the corn grown in this country is to feed livestock that aren't even supposed to be eating corn and the fact that I can no longer justify that eating a cow is okay but it's not okay for me to eat my great dane - is why I do not eat carcass. And if you knew what I know you would not eat meat either." And stand and watch their jaws gape open and then they awkwardly move the conversation on. Typically my response is a sanitized combo of both of the above responses and if the person is even remotely interested I will tell them to watch "The Meatrix" - http://www.themeatrix.com/ it's a cartoon play on "the matrix" and pretty much sums up why I am not eating meat. It's benign and easy for most people to stomach.

Which brings me to .... Earthlings. I have not watched Earthlings. I started to... and I am too afraid. Having read and listened to everything that I have in the last six months - I am AFRAID of this documentary. I am afraid of what it will do to me. The documentary is nicknamed "The Vegan Maker". It is a VERY intense documentary that details the exploitation of animals as pets, food, entertainment and research. I watched the first section on pets and knew that it only got more intense from there. I am afraid it will make me hate people (more than I currently do now), I am afraid it will make me jump off the deep end and pack up and leave in the middle of the night to join the Animal Liberation Front. I am seriously afraid of this documentary. It's like "The Meatrix" is a Disney film and "Earthlings" is XXX pornography. Or perhaps more appropriately a "snuff" film.

I am afraid of Earthlings.

So I am on the edge of becoming vegan... I have switched to soy milk. That itself was funny - I tried vanilla silk soy milk, hemp milk, almond milk, rice dream... and FINALLY bought just plain ol unsweetened silk soy milk and it is REALLY GOOD. Lesson learned - stick with the basics - you can't go wrong! I have "sour supreme" and "better than cream cheese" and earth balance "butter" in my fridge. I am in love with field roast and match meat. We've discovered a GREAT vegan cafe here in our small town - and have become regulars. I crave their ruben tempeh sandwich - it is INCREDIBLE.

I am almost vegan - I think there were eggs in a few things that I ate yesterday (Thanksgiving). There are a few products that I have I know have egg in them - Quorn is "NOT VEGAN". (for those of you that listen to Vegan Freak Radio you are laughing right now) But it is a really REALLY good chicken substitute - makes a really mean stir fry!

Side rant - I wish more manufacturers would put "VEGAN" on their labels - but it's almost like the mass public would automatically think - ewe that can't possibly be good. SO not true - you'd be surprised what IS vegan - OREO's are vegan - Surprise they are still YUMMY!!! Okay back to the blog

I look at my suede jacket in my closet VERY differently now. I know where it came from. It makes me sad. I buy cosmetics and toiletries that are not tested on animals and do not contain animal products.

My dear Hubby is an omnivore - but he is a REALLY good sport. He likes food as much as I do - and if it tastes good he will eat it. He doesn't care if it's cow or soy. I greatly appreciate that he is supportive. I think at first he was scared that I might jump off the deep end - but has come to respect my choices and it is not a problem. I am encouraging him to make better choices and when he does eat meat it's "Happy Meat" (again vegan freak fans are laughing here).

I am doing what I can. My sister's favorite quote is "Be the change you want to see in the world". I know that I cannot change the world - but what I can do is be one less meat eater on the planet. Deep down inside I do think if you knew what I know you might reconsider your choices.

I leave you with one of my favorite quotes - "You laugh because I am different, I laugh because you are all the same"