My Soap Box....Please

VEGAN and VEGETARIANISM-these ‘scary’ and ‘liberal’ words have been a topic of conversation around my adoptive house hold lately. Maybe it’s because I made an excellent (in my biased words) VEGAN chocolate cake. And so the conversation started “Why are you a Vegetarian? What is a Vegan? Are you going to be Vegan?

For those of you who don’t know what VEGAN means here is a definition:

VEGAN:
i. A person who resides in Vegas (I am a Las Vegan)
ii. A vegetarian who eats no animal products or animal by-products (dairy, eggs, cheese.)

Now unfortunately I am not a VEGAN (yet ). The main reason is that I am still a transitioning vegetarian. But regardless I would like to share with you the enlightenment that I have received from becoming Vegetarian. So, without debate or preaching, let me explain:

I became a vegetarian because of health reasons. I’m not a stranger to illness and I wanted to live a healthy “preventative” life. I knew that studies had shown that a vegetarian diet improved health. The ADA has stated that vegetarians can live a healthy life obtaining all the vitamins and minerals they need for survival. After reading the book The New Four Food Groups by Dr. Neal Barnard, my life was forever changed. I was worried however that somehow I was breaking the commandments or not using the resources God had given me. I turned to D&C 89:12-15:

12 Yea, flesh also of beast and of the fowls of the air, I, the Lord, have ordained for the use of man with thanksgiving; [AND THIS IS WHERE EVERYONE STOPS READING…SAYING THE LORD HAS ORDAINED EATING MEAT] Nevertheless they are to be used sparingly;

13 And it is pleasing unto me that they should not be used, only in times of winter, or of cold, or famine.

14 All grain is ordained for the use of man and of beasts, to be the staff of life, not only for man but for the beasts of the field, and the fowls of heaven, and all wild animals that run or creep on the earth;

15 And these hath God made for the use of man only in time of famine and excess of hunger.

It struck me like a blot of lightning, is this a time of famine or of excess hunger? Of course not, I live in one of the most developed and industrialized countries in the world, that is full of excess. There is no reason to chow down on an animal when I can sustain my life in other ways. We live in a society which technology has liberated us from the need to use animals for food, clothing and other items that could have been obtained no other way in the past.

Of course at this point not only was my interest sparked by Vegetarianism but I was feeling really healthy. I had given up all animal flesh, and most dairy products, including milk; and I felt great. I began to read more about vegetarianism and I started to listen to a podcast that I STRONGLY suggest listening to. It is called Vegetarian Food for Thought and you can get it for free at www.compassionatecooks.com.

Through my research not only have I been made aware of the multiple health benefits of being vegetarian, but I realized the huge impact that vegetarianism has on animals, economic issues, and world hunger. Finally I was lifted out of the ignorant carnivorous state I was in and I could not only see the horrible lives that these animals live, just so they can be eaten, but how horrible our lives can become if we do eat them. For example according to Science News, 2002:

Scientists believe about two-thirds of American cattle raised in for slaughter today are injected with hormones to make them grow faster and America’s dairy cows are given a genetically-engineered hormone called rBGH to increase milk production. These measures mean higher profits for the beef and dairy industries, but what does it mean for consumers? Although the USDA and FDA claim these hormones are safe, there is growing concern that hormone residues in meat and milk might be harmful to human health and the environment.

“Got (genetically altered cholesterol laden) milk?"-I’ll pass.

Since becoming a vegetarian and seeing life through compassionate eyes, my heart has opened to God’s creation and his creatures. In my heart I do not think it was God’s intention for a dairy cow to live in a cramped stall, to be pumped full of hormones and antibiotics, just to give birth to a calf that would be sent to slaughter, (the veal industry) never to roam free and eat grass-and for what? So we can have a glass of milk? Or a slab of steak?

I will end my rant (because I could talk about this forever) with a quote from

Is God a Vegetarian? Written by Richard Alan Young:

“What potentially makes meat eating wrong is gluttony, lust, callousness, arrogance, and the like. Virtues express themselves in wrong and base conduct. Christians have every right to protest against cruel, insensitive, and barbaric slaughter of animals, for it grotesquely reflects the vices of a fallen race that has lost its way. It reflects a disrespect for God and a lack of love and compassion for God’s creation.

If consumers personally had to raise animals with the torturous methods of intensive animal farming and then personally slaughter the animals they ate, very few would continue to eat meat. They would recognize that abusive treatment of animals is morally wrong and would have no part in it. Yet unwittingly they are abetting one of the most hideous industries humanity has ever devised.”

Good Quotes:

"Be kind to animals-don’t eat them"-Colleen Patrick-Goudreau

"The greatness of a nation and it's moral progress can be judged by the way it's animals are treated"-Ghandi

“Kindness to the whole animal creation and especially to all domestic animals is not only a virtue that should be developed, but is the absolute duty of mankind. … It is an unrighteous thing to treat any creature cruelly. … It will be a blessed day when mankind shall accept and abide by the Christ-like sentiment expressed by one of the poets in the following words: ‘Take not away the life you cannot give, For all things have an equal right to live.' "- Joseph F. Smith