VEGETARIANISM

 definitions

vegetarian: a person who eats no animal flesh, eggs, or dairy products

lacto-ovo vegetarian: someone who eats eggs and dairy, but no flesh

vegan: this person abstains from all flesh and animal products, including honey, and usually refrains from using non-food animal products as well, such as down, leather, and charcoal briquettes.

fruitarian: a vegetarian who eats only "fruits"of plants, not the roots or leaves, therefore preserving the life of the plant to bear fruit again.




After years of contemplation, desiring, and hoping, I eventually chose to "manifest." I modified my diet to lacto-ovo vegetarianism. To me, this is a great thing, because for most of the years of my life, I had not been able to eat animals with a clear conscience, having a tenderness for them in my heart that won't quit.

Since making the decision to abstain from flesh-eating, I have been exposed also to the massively research-backed facts regarding the destructiveness of animal products to human health. My taste buds and appetite still want to have dairy yogurt and cheese and to cook with egg whites, but my intelligence tells me otherwise. Therefore I have been backing away from consuming even non-flesh animal products. My immediate goal is to treat non-flesh animal products as one might treat any other occasional indulgence, like say a candy bar: a once-in-a-while thing, but definitely not part of my daily intake. Chances are that one day I will go completely vegan.

An awareness of present-day factory farming practices has intensified my concerns. The realization that a diet with heavy emphasis on meat and other animal products is unhealthy for human bodies and ecologically unsound, coupled with the difficulty in finding "clean" meat (free from chemicals, hormones, drugs, and disease) has greatly increased my longing to find alternatives to flesh-eating. If you would like to learn more about these issues and make an informed decision regarding eating animal products, I cannot recommend highly enough the educational, well-researched, and easy reading of John Robbins' Diet for a New America. This book should be required learning for everyone. This book should be required reading for everyone. I don't think it's intended to be an instrument to manipulate you into vegetarianism, but rather it is an expos� of a tragic and sickening industry, written to vegan, vegetarian, and omnivorous audiences alike; it's about distinguishing right from wrong, fact from fiction, truth from a lie; it's about refusing to hide in denial a minute more, it's about making responsible choices and realizing that what you spend your money on you also agree with and vote for. There is a story behind the food on your plate, one that average "consumers" are increasingly distanced from. I dare you to read it. You will not be the same. Nor will you be ignorant and deceived any longer, unlike the masses who most definitely are.

In spite of my own vegetarian eating habits, the stance of this website and my own personal view is going to remain one of great tolerance for the omnnivorous lifestyle. Although I would be pleased that everyone convert to vegetarianism, I believe it is completely an individual choice,and, furthermore, that meat-eating is allowed by God. My authority is the Holy Bible, and for reasons I do not fully understand, God has permitted flesh eating since the time of Noah's flood. People and animals began as vegetarians, and I believe that the redeemed will return to a peaceful state in which there will be no more shedding of blood. But in the meantime, God has said people can eat meat if they want to, and some animals are going to eat other animals whether we like it or not. In the book of Romans, God says what and how a person eats is to be a matter between the individual and God, and that we are not to judge each other. What we eat, we should eat with a clear conscience, and if we can't eat something with a clear conscience, then we shouldn't eat it, because for us it is sin. This is the case with me. Also to be noted is the point that we should not a one be deceived into thinking that what we eat or don't eat somehow makes us more spiritual, for spirituality has nothing to do with eating or drinking. God is only interested in our hearts.

Still, for those of us who love and serve God, we are not our own, and we have a responsibility to eat as well as we can so that for as long as possible our bodies may remain strong and vibrant, that we may serve our families, our friends, our communities, our neighbors, and all people, and therefore God.

People have all kinds of different reasons for eating vegetarian or for choosing to consume meat. The health arena is large enough to encompass most all. If you're going to ingest meat and other animal products, my strongest concern and admonition is that you get the true story behind how the food got to your plate and what is in it, so that you are making a conscientious decision about what you will and will not allow to go into your body and what you will and will not participate in with regards to the production of your food.

Please choose clean foods! Please do not support cold-hearted, vicious farming practices with your mouth and pocketbook! Remember, farmers and agribusiness want only to make money. What you demand, they will supply. If you don't demand it, they won't supply it. If they can "steer" you in a direction that will yield a greater profit for them, they will do it, even at the expense of morality and your health.

The name of the game is to conscientiously and consistently move toward health-improvement, in body, soul, and spirit, something we can all agree is necessary and in which we can earnestly encourage one another. We can be an effective light for change when we set a good example for others, particularly in the home where there are children. If we can teach the young ones how to live better than perhaps we did as kids, we'll have given a gift that will continue to give even after we're gone.



AUTHOR'S NOTE:  As of September 2002, I reintroduced some meat back into my diet and so am not currently practicing a vegetarian eating style.  It's a long story, but a cyber-acquaintance confronted me with a barrage of anti-vegetarian information that left me stunned and confused.  I was experiencing some health problems and had very dark circles under my eyes at the time (never mind that I was also under a great deal of stress, sleep deprived, and had a toddler to contend with).  No one was able to tell me what was wrong with me, so I decided maybe I should rule out my diet as the culprit. 

I am currently eating poultry and seafood, but avoiding other kinds of meat.  I eat meat most days, but not every day, and rarely more than once in a day.  I also try to eat only small amounts at a time.

I can tell you that after reintroducing meat in 2002, I still looked and felt like crap for many months.  Only when I began sleeping better and got a handle on the stressful situations in my life, did the dark circles go away.  I have come to the conclusion that stress was the main problem, not my eating habits.  I can also tell you that over the long term I cannot tell any difference in my weight or appearance eating meat or not eating meat.  Of course I can't see my arteries or other inner tissues!  But I am leaning more and more toward the attitude that there are many ways to eat "healthy." 

Science has documented again and again that eating a lot of meat and animal products is NOT healthy, but also that eating a little or in moderation is rarely implicated in poor health outcomes.  Eating vegetarian-style with the inclusion of a variety of nutrient-dense foods continues to be a path to vibrant health.  The real dietary keys seem to be commitment to eating predominantly whole, natural God-given foods, disciplining yourself to pay attention to your body's natural signals of hunger and fullness, and eating with purpose.

Sooner or later I will be vegetarian again, because of my own convictions of the heart.  Everyone must choose to eat according to knowledge and conscience, as well as with awareness of the uniqueness of his or her own body.

 



VEGWEB--The Hottest Vegetarian Site on the WWW.

Choose to eat meat and dairy? Please visit the Humane Farming Association site to learn about supporting humane farming practices.

The truth hurts!   FactoryFarming.com

Don't miss EarthSave, a site committed to educating people how their food-choices impact human life and health, other creatures, and the planet.

REMEMBER YOU CAST YOUR VOTE WITH YOUR DOLLAR





Ann Wigmore's Recipes for Longer Life (paperback)
Customer Review (rating=*****): "Learn the miracle of sprouted and fermented foods. Transform seeds, nuts and grains into nutritious and delicious sauces, cheeses and loafs. Excellent charts and how-to sections. Beautifully illustrated with upbeat language. A tremendous asset to my kitchen skills."

Becoming Vegetarian: The Complete Guide to Adopting a Healthy Vegetarian Diet--Vesanto, Davis, Harrison, V
Customer Comment (rating=*****): Excellent resource for beginners to pro's. The best book I have found yet on becoming vegetarian or just nutrition in general. The book gives examples of omnivore to near vegetarian and vegan menus and looks at the protien, calcium and other important nutrients. Easy to understand. There are some good recipes in the back too.
Diet for a Gentle World : Eating With Conscience--Inglis
Synopsis: A look at how animal-based food consumption is truly hazardous to our health and at the insensitivity of our factory farm system to the animals it processes. It offers many practical, inexpensive, and simple solutions that everyone and anyone can follow.
Diet for a New America: How Your Food Choices Affect Your Health, Happiness and the Future of Life on Earth--Robbins
Synopsis: A revolutionary document of truth and exposure. John Robbins, in a selfless quest to discover the extensive repercussions of our eating habits and choices, exposes and tenaciously documents hidden facts. This work will singlehandedly convince even the most stubborn anti-vegetarians to take a serious look at the effects of their choices. A must have for anyone who seeks lasting commitment to a more kinder and healthier life.

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