Convince Me to Become a Vegetarian

One thing I wanted to point out is that the chicken eggs you buy at the store do not have embryos in them. They are unfertilized and the white stuff you see attached to the yolk is the ovum, which is an unfertilized egg. If the chicken mates with a rooster, then the embryo is formed and later the fetus. So you're not really eating chicken embryos when you eat eggs, because they aren't fertilized. (That doesn't change the fact that the chickens are raised in inhumane conditions. I always buy free-range or cage-free eggs.)

Dear J., go to www.goveg.com or www.peta.org. I am not a vegetarian, but I ONLY purchase products that are not tested on animals, that are not made of animal by-products, and that are organic. I do not purchase any products from manufacturer's or companies that mistreat their animals or supply funds for animal testing. Both of those websites will give you the names of all cruelty free companies.

When it comes to eating meat, I tell my daughter she is eating "poultry" rather than chicken or turkey. And I just say "beef" or "pork" and not mention the animal. Animals were placed on this earth by God for our consumption - however, He did not intend for them to be abused. I only purchase meat from companies that do not crate their animals, and use NO hormones or antibiotics. Free range, cage free animals ONLY. Those two websites are both operated by PETA, and will give you all of the information you need.

However, just a warning that you will learn A LOT more than you imagined by reading who provides funding for cruel animal testing. Some of our country's leading manufacturer's and suppliers fund or promote animal violence. It is a complete lifestyle change; not just changing a few brands, but changing stores, changing everything, and it will be a very expensvie change. If you need help or have questions, please let me know. Good luck!

J.:
Good for you to start to educate yourself and your family. Yes, it is an eye opening experience about where "grocery" store food comes from. Did you ever think about your personal care products as well? Yes, dead animal parts are brought to rendering plants and sold to major distributors. Do you know what is in your shampoo, makeup, body lotions and washes? Yes, this is a big concern and it is so true about what we eat AND put on our bodies as well. If you would like to learn about products that are NOT tested on animals and don't have animal by products, please email me and I can let you in on the secret that the personal skin care industry doesn't want you to know.

K.
Wellness Consultant

I was a veg for about ten years. now i eat meat about once a week or 2, and i choose it carefully. i try and buy local when possible - direct from farmers if i can. I ask about the animal's treatment. all things in moderation. but it's easy to be veggie and get enough protein etc. pick up some key cookbooks like The Moosewood cookbook, Veetarian Cooking For Everyone, and the Horn of the Moon coookbook. These three have fabulous recipes and more than anything, they show you HOW to eat vegetarian. I have never been much of a "fake meat" eater - if i wanted meat i'd just eat it. there are many reasons to cut back or stop eating meat completely.

If you are willing to spend a little more, you can by free range poultry and local cow's milk that is milked by hand. Also as you mentioned free range eggs too. I found this website that has delivery and is mostly all local, humane, organic food. I'm reading Vegetable, Mineral, Miracle right now and it's giving me a new outlook on what we eat. I love my meat but would like to start buying more local stuff and won't feel as bad eating chicken that had a good life right up to the end.

http://www.freshpicks.com/cms/?pid=0

Check it out and good luck with your decision.

Hi J.,

I just gave a talk at our industry conference last week about Current Trends in Nutrition and one of the sections was "Eating Clean and Green" Yes, I discussed the hormone and antibiotics used in our animals, talked how they are treated and the Oprah show couldn't have come at a more perfect time for me. However, I've been considering going Raw, because they are so many benefits of soaking and sprouting your seeds, grains, legumes and nuts and how it can enhance the protein content up to 500%! Wow! I have a Master's in Public Health and have access to journals that most do not read or the media does not expose. It is scary what the gov't does not release to us...there are a lot of loopholes in our system...European Union does not allow any treated meats to be imported over there, in fact they have ban the importation of meats from the US, they only allows up to 1% of pesticide levels in their produce, the USDA allows up to 10% and the EPA allows up to 5%...so what is going on between the 5-10%? I plan on doing this talk locally, hopefully! My husband won't jump on my bandwagon either (his father owned a butcher shop in middle of Ohio and he too use to be a butcher) but I follow a gluten-free, soy-free and dairy-free diet for health reasons. Rice or Almond milk are wonderful options and I too only buy cage-free, vegetarian-fed eggs and it is a very good source of protein, Vitamin A and D. Karyn's on 1901 N. Halsted is having an info seminar on eating Raw this Saturday at 4pm and plan on going for myself and to enhance my talk. But will probably wait until after the holidays so I don't have to explain anything to my family. However, there are great benefits to eating grass-fed, free-range beef, which is different from the hormone and antibiotic-free meats, but it is the lesser of the two evils if you had to choose between rBHG-free or treated meats. Please feel free to reply back if you want more info.

J. W. MPH
Wellness Educator/Lifestyle and Wellness Consultant

I agree with Maria. I personally don't buy any meat, dairy or eggs that the animal was not humanely raised. There are options out there, I would love to be vegetarian but haven't put forth the effort to completely eliminate all meat. You don't have to buy just any product. Look at a package of chicken next time and look for "Certified Humane" on it or "chickens free to roam." I love Whole Foods, they have such a great selection. It's a little more expensive but the cost doesn't matter so much to us, we just sacrifice a little in other areas. We also buy a lot of our food from TCF Organics. They deliver and are very well priced (www.tcforganics.net).

My 8yo has been a vegetarian since he was 5 and decided he couldn't eat animals anymore. We pretty much eat vegetarian to accommodate him (sometimes there's meat on the table if my husband grills, but we basically cook vegetarian, which is fine with me.) If you haven't already read it, you would probably enjoy The Omnivore's Dilemma - a really excellent book that gives thoughtful consideration to the question of the consequences of factory farming (in terms of health and environmental impact, as well as the treatment of animals.)

Anyway, it helps if your kids like legumes and beans, and my kids will also eat broccoli and spinach. I don't think it's difficult to get the RDA of protein - iron, I'm not sure about, but you can get Flintstone vitamins with iron.

I'll start by saying that I eat meat and will not be changing my diet anytime soon.

However, as someone who is nutritionally conscious I will readily admit that a vegetarian diet is clearly superior to that of a diet that includes animal products. If a vegetarian diet means eating food sources as close as possible to their natural source/origin, your chances of getting vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and a wealth of other 'good stuff' is extremely high.

Given the breadth and depth of your post, you seem like someone who would be willing to take the time to research a properly balanced vegetarian nutrition plan. Quite honestly, it's not that difficult to insure you're receiving all of your essential amino acids from non-meat sources.

You might enjoy reading "Skinny Bitch" and "Skinny Bitch in the Kitch". While some of their findings are based upon faulty logic and thinking, there's no disputing that the authors clearly are sensitive about the care and treatment of animals AND they also offer several food lists, stores, and recipes for vegan living.