becoming more vegan

[Jeanine owen]

I have been becoming more vegan gradually, will try to get there all the way in 2010.

I feel improvements, not just physically but spiritually as well. Have noticed more though how annoying meat eaters are sometimes..so convinced and oblivious!

Glad you have this new place to gather,
Jeanine

[Jeanine owen]

Cara I'm bad too & also eat chips and cookies...this is what I find a bit intimidating about going vegan...dynastygal, is it huge & difficult being vegan? do you need to check on ingredients & shop in the "healthfood" stores ?

I think this is why I've stayed vegetarian, because it's seems hard to do...but maybe it won't be so bad.
I don't see an alternative as much anymore..in becoming more aware of animals suffering.

does anyone else feel like your in a sci-fi movie when you pass the meat sections in groceries?

[Cara Ann Barrier]

Carolyn, I had a BIG round several years ago with some friends on myspace - it was before we'd really "figured out" facebook (HA!) - and I simply deleted them - then they were all upset because I'd hurt their feelings. I finally said "Look, you had the nerve to complain about something that is a fundamental part of WHO I AM... Get over it" - it's tough. My sister is vegetarian, like myself, wanting to do better and eventually move toward Veganism. She tried to be Vegan a few years ago, but found it extremely difficult - I think with the two of us working together we will fare better - it's times like this that I wish I lived out West - they just seem "healthier" and more "with it" in regards to Vegetarians/Vegans. The East Coast, except maybe NYC, seems to me, to be a bit backwards. There are NO Vegan options at most of our restaurants... I've got LOTS of research in my future!! HA!!

About what you were saying, before I got off on my tangent, there is a quote that I love (and do not properly remember), but something to the effect of "to ignore another's suffering, does NOT make it go away"...

[Brenda Trerice]

A sci-fi movie? No Jeanine, I experience it as a horror movie. It is rare when I shop in a grocery store & when I pass the meat & dairy sections, sometimes my body shudders. Then my mind fills with the sights and sounds of suffering. I do my food shopping at a health food store and a bulk food store which happens to sell only a minimal amount of meat.
It is a little over 4 1/2 years since I began following a plant-based diet & that was after being a vegetarian for 3 months. It was a quick transition relatively speaking, from consuming animals and all that held me back in the last leg of the journey was the taste of butter [i.e. my palate].

Here is an analogy to get one over the hump. Visualize my home during those 3 months. All the rooms except one are violence-free. In this one room, I had a line of cows standing on cement for long months on end, with iron stantions around their necks. They were regularly raped to impregnate them; their babies were removed immediately after delivery. The babies and the moms called out for each other yet I was deaf because of my taste for butter.

So is it hard? Not really, once you learn how to dismantle your glitches be it substituting analogies taken from real lives for your tastes or thinking of it as an awesome journey with peace and freedom as your partners. Who knows? maybe, the sentient beings you spare will follow you out of this maze. Excuse me! I was learning about physics [gravity & anti-gravity] online last evening.

As for apathy and ignorance. Apathy, I do not know how to make people empathize. Being an example [walking ones talk] I think is more effective than getting into one on one verbal wrangles with people. Also, IMHO, labeling people is counter-effective. Labeling is a form of social control. The 'other' person is intellectually aware [regardless of whether they can articulate this or not] that another is trying to control them and the topic becomes secondary in importance to this, meaning the 'other' has stopped listening. I learned this during my verbal combat days with regards to racism and sexism.

As for ignorance, education is the key and there are multiple ways to educate. I recently watched The Witness. You can watch it on line on www.tribeofheart.org Eddy Lama, an ordinary citizen, outfitted a van with a TV screen, parked it on a city street & ran tapes on the abuse of fur-bearing animals. In this simple, non-confrontational yet effective manner, he educated untold numbers of people, making them aware of the reality behind fur coats and fur trims.

I don't know why I feel hopeful that humanity one day will realize the horrendous [and avoidable] suffering of other sentient beings is a cul de sac [dead end] on the inclusive path to enlightenment in this dimension yet I do. I see glimpses of it daily, an increment at a time, and they are adding up.

One aspect that is not discussed frequently is the unseen. We all send out vibrations/waves. We do not end at our skin. Possibly being a nurse for many years has aided my understanding/acceptance of this easily. Hence, being an example is not just about what we are doing, i.e. what can be easily observed, it is much more than this. And it is another reason why I feel hopeful that this red tide will turn, go back out to sea, and dissipate forever.

Thank you for listening. My apology for the rather long read...and this is the condensed version~~

[Cara Ann Barrier]

Brenda, I have sort of a dumb question... do you have any resources (book, website, whatever) that will help me learn more about the switch to being a Vegan (I need the Veganism for Dummies book - do they make one?!?). I know that, for me, it is NOT going to be that quick of a change... but I am committed to making the change...

[Jeanine owen]

Hi again,

Brenda, I was hoping that some of you that are able to write and communicate well would chime in. I appreciate everything you said and believe in those intuitive vibrations. I hadn't thought of the butter that way yet..but thank you.

I think deep down some of us can't take it all in at once..so gradually we become more and more aware.

I'll watch this thread and join Cara in needing a veganism for dummies book. Today I was picking up some vegetables for a soup and I'm feeling great with just the veggi/plant based diet.

[Brenda Trerice]

I recommend this book: 'Becoming Vegan' The Complete Guide To Adopting A Healthy Plant-Based Diet' by Brenda Davis, RD & Vesanto Melina, MS, RD [both authors are registered dietitians]. The book starts off very nicely with a background of historical & present data that catapults the reader into very a nice company of individuals. I bought my copy & very recently from www.amazon.ca www.amazon.com probably carries it as well. It's a well rounded book & will get you on your way safely and at your own pace.

Many recipes/meals/baked goods can be reconfigured with meat & dairy substitutes.
http://www.pcrm.org Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine and
http://www.veganoutreach.org both have recipes and nutritional information.

When I began my journey, I had no preparation, no books such as the above, no itinerary, no web sites; I only knew where I didn't want to be. A beginning such as this, I do not recommend.
I do not know how much to share as I do not want you or another to compare your self to me. We are all unique and so are our life stories and experiences. I will say that although I was somewhat aware of the misery of animals lives, it wasn't until I had read Animal Liberation then immediately began reading the 1st chapter of Dominion that I grasped the magnitude of it all, that I was a part of it, and that was that. I wish you all the best Cara.
ps I think it was Ben Franklin who said that the only stupid question is the one that is not asked!!

[Brenda Trerice]

Jeanine!

There is such a variety of plants, for sustenance and medicine. Boggles my mind at what I had been missing. I put lentils and apple cider vinegar [unpasteurized] into my soups.

Egg substitutes: 2 1/2 tbsp ground flax seeds mixed with 3 tbsp water = 1 egg
: 1/4 cup apple sauce with 1/2 tsp baking powder = 1 egg
: 1/4 cup mashed bananas with 1/2 tsp baking powder = 1 egg
: 1/4 cup Soft Tofu with 1/2 tsp baking powder = 1 egg

Do you or anyone else reading this have a Vita-Mix Blender? If so, could you comment on it [maybe in another thread]? Am considering purchasing one with the wet & dry blades.

Happy cooking Jeanine,
Brenda

[Jeanine owen]

yay, thanks for all the good new info. My mother was asking me yesterday for a good vegan cookbook..she's ready to vegan too. Will look at these books, and pass this on also.

Brenda Trerice said,
"Do you or anyone else reading this have a Vita-Mix Blender? If so, could you comment on it [maybe in another thread]? Am considering purchasing one with the wet & dry blades".

Don't know, but it sounds interesting, I'm going to look it up.

& that does help me reducing it down to those simple basics..also the substitute for an egg.

[Jeanine owen]

Hi Ward,

will you let me know why honey is on the list? I'm sure I'll feel stupid.,,

thanks,
J

[Jeanine owen]

oh..I see..thank you for this enlightenment..since I do love honey bees. I miss seeing the large amount I used to see as a kid on the clover.

I did just happen to purchase a bottle of agave nectar and was wondering about it's benefits..so now I know and will use it definately in place of honey.

Ward Chanley said,
When profit motive enters the picture, the question of "kind treatment" for the animals being used tends to fall by the wayside.

omg..isn't this the awful truth...money or love of money is truly the root of evil sometimes. It ruins so many things we do..

Thanks,
J

[Carolyn Bailey]

Hey Cara

Have you had a look at The World Peace Diet ?

There are a few good books in the book section in here, in AR Zone too.

Good luck !!

[Brenda Trerice]

Your comment,"I think deep down some of us can't take it all in at once..so gradually we become more and more aware" keeps playing across my mind.

Maybe that is the key. change your 'can't' to can. Instead of twiddling along, watch Earthlings with your Mom. I have only one regret & that is that I did not become vegan much earlier. I am trying to spare you this regret and am sure you will understand this when you bear witness to, allow yourself to take in the rest of this horrendous aspect of shared reality in one mighty jolt. Earthlings will quicken and strengthen your resolve.
Once we know something there is no going back. In other words, the movement becomes forward. That is a good thing Jeanine, for all beings. ps don't get hung up on the word, twiddling.. It's just a gentle nudge.