Going Vegan... Maybe

I stopped eating red meat and pork in 1988. I initially did it on a trial basis, just to see if I could. Surprisingly, I never missed it and never had any desire to go back.

Cutting out chicken and turkey, which I did around 1995-96, was harder. Blair and I ate a lot of chicken-based meals together, finding food at a Wendy's or McDonald's became more of a challenge and frankly, Thanksgiving without turkey meat sucks. (I tried Tofurkey which is similar in taste and texture to regurgitated stomach snot. Don't do it.)

I always planned to either cut out or ease back on seafood, which I haven't yet. I love me some crabcakes and lobster! But I watched an episode of Hell's Kitchen where chefs had to drop live lobsters into boiling water and I was all but screaming at them, "Don't do it!" A little hypocritical, considering I eat lobster (dunked in hot butter... oh yum.) So I think I'll start easing off on seafood by no longer eating crab and lobster.

But I've been getting a lot of signals from the Universe lately about vegan. A friend of mine read "Skinny Bitch" and he and his wife are trying Vegan for a month. I'm waiting for him to report back to me. I've recently met several vegans and am semi-following a vegan blog.

Vegan scares me. It seems like a lot of work. But I might compromise (off-putting to the true vegans, I know.) I'm not so much one that believes it's wrong to eat animals as I am someone who believes it's wrong to torture animals before we eat them, which is exactly what happens with standard meat, eggs, etc. I don't want to eat tortured animals from a moral standpoint, but also from a health standpoint. I don't think eating something raised in suffering can be good for me.

Which is why I'm quite interested in the "natural" food wave that's sweeping America. Blair has made some inquiries to local farms about buying meat and eggs. My understanding is these farms raise animals the "old-fashioned" way, with pastures and room to roam. I'd forgo vegan and eat dairy and even chicken/turkey (red meat just no longer appeals to me) if we bought from them.

Still thinking things through. I'd like to read Skinny Bitch and some nutrition books and do more research before committing to anything. But giving up meat has really not been difficult and soy-meat products are MUCH tastier now then they used to be and I would assume they will continue to improve. So stay tuned...