[Phoenixsmommy]

I just watched a documentary called FOOD,inc. and it literally made my stomach turn, i would be lying if i said i didn't have an idea of how are food was processed but the sanitary conditions were just outrageous, i never even thought about it honestly and i am sad to say that.Anyway the documentary focused alot on the major food company's that produce our meats and stuff like eggs... Also showed how many of the brands you see on the shelves come from the same farm, like 35 different company's all came from the same corn field even though some of the products were "hormone and Antibiotic" free.

Either way after watching how terrible the big brands like tyson, perdu, Smithfield etc treat their animals and just the nastiness in general i dont think i can literally ever put meat in my mouth again.I talked with DH abut it and agreed we are really going to try to cut out all meat from our diets , we will continue to eat eggs/cheese and drink milk but we buy all that Organic anyway.

So i guess i want to know your thoughts on this, are their any vegetarians or vegans that can spread light on tis subject or know how to make the transition easier?Also i highly recommend the documentary and i can bet you might think twice about the food going into your mouth.

[CeilidhCurses]

I went through a similar thing, and came to similar conclusions! I didn't SEE the mistreatment, but I read a few books about it after some of my vegetarian friends (for digestive rather than moral reasons) started playing with veganism.

It's really hard, for me, anyway, in a little bitty rural area, to stay strictly vegan, so I'm basically a very picky vegetarian. I eat eggs and cheese on occasion, but buy that locally -- if I had the room, I'd have my own chickens and goats and I'd know exactly how the animals were treated!

But I can't go "downer" pigs and cows and stuff. I will never again eat fried chicken from a fast food joint. That stuff makes me sick. I think I was meant to be vegetarian though, I haven't ever been able to stand the texture of meat. On the down side though, a vegetarian diet isn't always healthier, balance is important!! I ate nothing but potatoes and pasta I packed on the pounds! That's why I'm here (:

My mother is a fan of the "raw food" diet, so I'm no stranger to odd diets, but I'm not really sure if I can give you any tips. What in particular are you struggling with? Making main courses with mostly veggies, or what? That gave me the most trouble. I did a lot of casserole-ish, one pot type meals, looots of minestrone soup etc.

But if it helps, I think PETA's website lists a lot of grocery items that are vegan that we don't necessarily expect. I think Lays potato chips is one, and while I know that isn't really healthy, it's just "normal" stuff you'd find anywhere vs a health food store.

And if you're the really serious type, depending on where you live, it may mean cutting out eating out-- there are a lot of resources for vegans eating out, but I was sad to discover that most of the options around me include condiments and dry lettuce!! (made my mom happy though, waving her giant foam finger emblazoned with RAW FOOD DIET, GO!) Even soups have animal byproducts/flavorings. Check out some cook books at your local book store or search 'em online!

Ceilidh

[DCAGirl]

I saw that documentary as well but it didn't quite give me the same reaction

We've been buying most of our meat/veggies/fruits from local farmers and it makes try harder to not buy the stuff from the big companies. We can drive not very far and buy meat directly from the folks who raised the animals. I realize this is not doable for everyone though!

I personally could never be a vegetarian. I LOVE meat

[kuhrisuh]

I saw the documentary too... made me sick to my stomach as well.

I actually don't even like meat at all, aside from chicken. Even then I'm really picky about what kind of chicken it is and how its cooked etc, so I don't end up eating it very often.

Personally, I don't think I could ever go vegan. I can't do eggs, but I love cheese and milk!

[FreeSpirit]

Vegan here! Have you watched the movie Earthlings? Much worse than Food, Inc.

What I did was just dived right in. I refused to make eating meat/dairy/eggs an option. It wasn't a thing of "I don't want to" it was "I can't."

[Star2Be]

**Post-writing edit: I hope you will forgive me if I speak too frankly here--this *is* a topic that will bring out my militant animal activist side, LOL. No offense intended to any of you omnivores out there! **

I'm a vegan too! I've been a vegetarian for almost five years now, and began slowly phasing dairy/eggs out of my diet over the course of last year... I was sort of unofficially vegan for a few months before making the decision to give up animal products altogether last Spring (my 1-year "anniversary" is next week, actually! ) I'm not sure whether I have any real advice to offer, but I think the most important thing is to consider your actual reasons for doing this. For example, when I decided to go vegetarian, it was entirely for ethical reasons. Because of this, it was not all that difficult for me to stop eating meat, and I do not experience any cravings whatsoever... I honestly am disgusted by the concept of exploiting/murdering another sentient being, thus I don't find meat the slightest bit "tempting," you know?

As for the veganism, there's a much more blurry line between the ethical and health reasons why I made that decision, so that does make it slightly more of a challenge... I've never particularly cared for eggs, and always got a little nauseated after having them, so that was no big deal at all. For dairy, I had already started avoiding it as I was losing weight because of the many health benefits I experienced (and have continued to experience) from doing so... So then it essentially became the combination of that and my natural aversion its exploitative origins that made me cut it out officially. I'm just as disgusted by eggs as I am by meat, but dairy is a little bit more difficult--I'm not tempted to ingest what I think of as "straight-up" dairy products, ie. milk, cheese, yogurt, ice cream, etc but it is much more difficult to avoid the trace amounts of dairy present in nearly all processed foods. I'm totally satisfied with the soy and/or rice alternatives to the "straight-up" items (although they are certainly more expensive and much harder to come by than their dairy counterparts), but for things like chocolate, or baked goods, or anything cooked with butter--it's much harder to look out for these things!

When I was still losing, it was easier to motivate myself to avoid some things as a favor to my health, but now that I'm maintaining I know I can have the occasional treat, so it's harder to talk myself out of something on those grounds... Sometimes, if a non-vegan item is extremely readily available, it is kind of tempting to have it out of convenience. I just try to remind myself how icky X actually is, that I love animals way too much to eat X, that X is unhealthy and I do not need it, etc. So yeah, I guess what I'm trying to say is that if you give up animal products purely for the "right" reasons (which is the ethical reasons IMHO), eventually you'll find that you do not have any desire to eat it. That is, you might begin to approach the situation as Do I want to put a dead corpse in my mouth? or Do I want to drink the secretions of some other animal's mammary glands? rather than viewing these things as "foods." I'm not trying to over-sensationalize the topic, but I want to represent my own feelings about it 100% accurately. Like FreeSpirit says, it becomes a matter of "I can't" rather than "I don't want to." Hope that helps, and best of luck making the switch!

BTW, I've heard of Food, Inc. and really wanted to see it... I might have to go and look it up now (oooh, and Earthlings too). Thanks for the recommendation!

[pinkalarmclock]

I'm in the process of going vegan myself. It is a journey for me, I couldn't do the one day sudden switch (especially considering i used to eat absolutely no vegetables and rarely fruit). I'm almost all vegan in the food arena.

The first thing I cut out was red meat, then chicken. I started adding a lot of vegetables and fruit to my diet but I was already doing this because of wanting to be more healthy. I then started drinking soy milk and now almond milk. I cut out eggs just a couple weeks ago. Now I'm cutting out fish (I have one fillet left and then thats it!). I've slowly been adding more and more vegan foods to my diet while doing this too, like tofu, and trying tons of different veggies. This way worked the best for me and I just recently went to the library and checked out a vegan cookbook! So many of the recipes sound so good and I use a lot of the ingredients already.

The reason I made the switch from meat eater to vegan was because of the way animals are treated, the effects on the environment and my health. I use to think "free romaing" chicken eggs were fine until i found out more info about it (they are typically killed after just two years). And another huge reason was I realized that I live in a country and time that humans don't need meat. We live perfectly healthy if we have the right plant foods and in America there is an abundance of whatever you want. I think the next social step forward for humans is to stop eating meat. I could never kill an animals myself so why should it be ok if someone else does it for me. I want to respect all animal life. Just think, some of the smartest, deepest thinkers of our time believed in respecting animals and a vegetarian diet (Ghandi, Buddha, Abraham Lincoln, Einstein....)

[dragonfly21]

I have been a vegetarian since I was 12 and at the time it was only because I found out that meat are the muscles of animals, lol. I thought it was some sort of separate part in animals that we don't have. After a while I just got so grossed out by watching my family and friends prepare raw meat- that I can't imagine ever eating it again- I mean c'mon- there are veins running through there- ick!!!! I have had brief forays into veganism- but I find I don't feel very good while eating vegan. I feel malnourished or something? There are days when I happen to eat vegan- but sometimes I need cheese or yogurt for satiety.

The one thing that has made being a vegetarian easier in the last few years was the explosion of food blogs. I have about 20 I look at most days. They give so many creative examples of veg. and vegan meals- it has made me less dependent on veggie burgers and beans. I definitely recommend browsing them to get some good ideas for healthy meals. I find bulk cooking makes my life easier. plus VEGANOMICON. that book is my food bible. AND- when I go grocery shopping with a roommate or something- I always spend less because meat is $$$!

[chickapea]

I've seen the movie and it was definitely eye-opening. I'm still working on coming to peace with eating meat with full knowledge of where it comes from and how it's produced. If you haven't read the Omnivore's Dilemma, it's also worth checking out.

In my ideal world, all my food would have lived happy fulfilled lives and been slaughtered humanely, and would be affordable and delicious on my plate. But really, it's impossible unless you're like a millionaire and sleep on a mattress stuffed with gold feathers. Or you have a farm. (Anyone watched It's Not Easy Being Green? It's so sad when they kill their pig to make bacon! )

I love lots of vegetarian and vegan food though. There is such a variety of food out there that just doesn't require meat. Blogs are awesome for ideas and I recently got a cupcake cookbook called "Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World" and everyone I've made them for says they like them better than regular ole cupcakes. I think the writers made a regular cookbook too, called "Vegan with a Vengeance" that I'd love to have on my shelf, even as meat-eater.