Former Vegans with Sensible Perspectives

Michelle is immediately committed to eschewing all forms of animal products for life. The commitment does not come so easily to me. I do want choose well not only to support my own good health, but to support a sustainable, cruelty free environment. After reading the same books Michelle posted about below, and watching influential documentaries like Food Inc, it abhors me to live in a country so full of mindless gluttony where people are deliberately proud of their ignorance.  Willfully avoiding change in the face of powerful, persuasive information is not even an option, but neither is rushing headlong into a self-righteous feel-good fest. 

It makes good common sense that eating a mostly plant-based diet consisting of fresh vegetables, fresh fruits, and whole foods, like a lot of whole grains, beans, and nuts is the best, healthiest way to eat. It's pretty obvious that subsisting on fatty, processed foods is terrible for people's health. 

However, there are some former vegans with common sense perspectives and good rationale for incorporating limited animal based products into their diets. 

This is one article worth reading:

Strict Vegan Diets May Be Dangerous

The author, Chet Day, was a vegan until he started experiencing health problems and in his research discovered that after a few years many former vegans add back a little cheese or meat to balance their health. He proposes that there are essential nutrients in animal foods, and that long-term vegans are so successful because they are not strict adherents to a vegan diet. 

That may or may not be true, but is it justifiable to incorporate animal products into a balanced diet? Mr. Day consumes no more than 5 to 10% in his own diet. He seeks out organic, humanely raised, pasture fed cow cheese and yogurt. He avoids milk and all supermarket dairy. His wife eats grass fed beef. Are these humane responsible choices even though in some cases animals died to provide the food?

To me, Day's approach that when the intake is limited, the food is selected responsibly, and eaten for the purpose of acquiring essential nutrients for good health, it is justifiable.

I am in the early stages of exploring a vegan way of life, and have barely stepped onto the path of healthy living with the weight loss I am working toward. My first satisfying lesson is that good food is more abundant and inexpensive than I expected. My second valuable lesson is that learning how to cook the food is vital, because it tastes fabulous and is incredibly fulfilling. 

As I learn more I expect my perspectives and decisions to shift regarding veganixm and animal products. One thing does seem abundantly clear -- the current American way of life sustains neither a healthy planet or healthy bodies. The more people learn about organic food, shopping local, cooking well at home, finding out where their food comes from, and choosing to act responsibly the better off we'll all be.