Tuesday, February 17, 2009

on why i am no longer vegan

I am about to punch blogger in the nose because it ate my post!! So now you are getting the short, short version of why I am no longer vegan.

First, to address the anonymous comment on, "liking me with some meat on my bones". Don't comment anonymously. I thought you were my husband. I had to ask him if he likes me meaty. It turns out he likes me just fine the way I am.

Let me just say i think the state of food in the country is currently a mess. Go to the food store and most of the food doesn't even look like food. I don't even go down the aisles and it is still confusing. Companies lie, labels lie, food that looks like food might be GMO. It is all really very appetising.

and now the jumbled reasons I why I am no longer vegan-in bullet format. but before I list them I do want to say I did not come to this decision lightly. I am not 100% happy now just as i wasn't always 100% happy as a vegan.

  • Leg pain. I started getting horrible leg cramps at night. I was up many nights walking around, stretching and trying to relieve my pain. I did a little research and found it was probably from a deficiency.
  • Pregnancy. Yes! It is safe to have a vegan pregnancy. However, i did not feel equipped to have a vegan pregnancy. I didn't feel knowledgeable enough and confident in my ability to make sure I was getting everything I needed. It also would have involved me eating unfermented soy-which i don't do. More on that below.
  • Short Order Cook. Pete and Eliza are not vegan. So, I was often cooking for them and cooking for me. Guess whose nutritional needs would come in third? Amy's frozen bean burrito anyone? I can't cook two dinners every night. No time. no Money.
  • The Great Soy Debate. When it comes to soy I am AGAINST eating unfermented soy. I don't think soy is a healthy- it is certainly not a health food. Unfortunately, it is making its way into lost and lost of food.

So all these jumbled up reasons ended with me adding meat and dairy back into my diet. Am I completely happy? No. I had a choice between soy protein and animal protein and I chose animal. I don't like eating animals. I try to not to eat meat too often. I don't want to eat beef from cows that have lived miserable lives in feces covered pens, being forced to eat corn all the while being pumped full of antibiotics. I won't even get into pigs and chickens. Or farm raised salmon that are now being being fed corn. Fish eating corn. Really? Really? Are we serious? I truly feel like I am in between a rock and a hard place. It would be easy to be ignorant and choose to not care where my food came from or even if it was healthy.

I can only hope the tide is turning. I pray people are educating themselves and choosing healthy options because complacency leads us to a dangerous place. A place where cows and fish are being forced to eat corn. A place where it doesn't matter how our food gets to our plate as long as we have lots of it and we have it fast. When we let other people make decisions about our food they make decisions that benefit themselves and their pocketbooks. They certainly don't care about your family. They definitely don't care about our environment.

So here I am. I am trying to make good decisions, to stay informed and do what is best for my family.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

It's OK. Really. DS & I are vegan and DH is at home (save his coffee cream), but for a variety of reasons that may or may not be OK long-term. I admire you for thinking through food, its origins and the effects our choices have in the world. So few people do.

Lori said...

sounds like valid reasons to me. and the fact that you are choosing what you feel is right for you and your family is the best reason to choose anything you choose

Andrea said...

Thanks for sharing that! :)

PletcherFamily said...

Well said. My SIL was vegan until she became pregnant too. It was hard for her and she got the same leg cramps as you. But I agree - our food is crap. I do wish healthy eating was easier and there was less confusion.

Anonymous said...

I am glad you made the right choice for you. Yes it can be confusing in grocery stores, reading labels and I have trouble planning meals for one let alone two!

I don't know if this helps, but buying meat from local farms really helps me. The free range chickens, as well as the large fields for cows, pigs and other animals to graze. Though I live in the middle of no where and they have VERY good lives compared to many. My family and I actually used to raise our own animals.....then I went vegan - but it didn't last. Was terrible when you get attached to your own animals and you know its name!

Pam said...

Since I am taking this wellness class, I am learning a lot right now. But, mostly, I think that you have to make the decision that works for you and your family. I am leaning toward a middle of the road approach. I'm not ready to give up my meat completely- there are some dishes I just really like. But I am also willing to make adjustments and choose healthier options and add more veggies and things to our plates. I'm not a big fan of soy either- I have read a lot of negative side effects of soy and that scares me. I think you are doing a great job and you will make the best decision for you and your family!

Anonymous said...

lol at asking Pete if he likes you meaty! I think you look adorable either way! and thank you for making me obsessed with this whole corn thing now. I am definitely going to see if the library has that book.

Marcy said...

I remember reading Fast Food Nation and being utterly disgusted by the way meat packing plants work. Horrifying. I almost gave up eat right then and there. I didn't, haven't, but I hardly ever eat red meat and when I buy chicken I try to go for free range.

It's tough, though. I definitely feel bad for the animals that live in such horrible conditions. At the same time, the biggest reason for my horror about the meat stuff was the way the PEOPLE working at those plants are treated, and how dangerous they are. There are so many people all over the world, and even still within our borders, who live such horrid lives that I also wonder if we should be focusing more on them than on animals...

As for soy, I read once in a mag that soy was a good option for postmenopausal women who didn't want to take hormones, b/c of the natural estrogen in it. Made me wonder, if that is true, what it does to the rest of us who don't need that.

Anonymous said...

We should all go back to having a lower standard of living and short, brutish lives. Grow all you own grains and vegetables. Raise your own livestock in beautiful meadows and kiss them sweetly before you slaughter them to feed your family.

Christy said...

To each his own. Do what is right for you and your family. However, I hope you go vegetarian again after the baby comes:)

I don't do it as much for health reasons, as I do for animal cruelty. I don't want to support factory farms.

Jesus Ranchero said...

You should really read a book called In Defense of Food by Michael Pollen. It is quite good.

Anonymous said...

I was a vegetarian for 8 years, but once I was preggers, I wasn't so sure that I'd be giving my little girl enough vitamins and ect. So, I crossed over to the dark side...I now enjoy chicken mcnuggets at McDonalds, and haven't looked back.