Category Archives: vegansim

Berlin, Cooking, Education, health care, new writer, plant-based lifestyle, vegansim

Choose vegan: Update #2

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Mixed salad with tempeh drizzled in sesame dressing

Here’s another quick update on my new life as a plant-based eater, grouped under the headings of the questions you’ve been asking.

  1. Do I still feel healthier for becoming vegan?

Definitely. And on so many levels, even if some are subjective and I can’t actually prove them. For example, I still feel psychologically much happier in myself to know that nothing I consume is the result of any animal suffering. Once you know the truth about animal suffering, you can do nothing else. Yesterday on the subway I saw a guy wearing a t-shirt sporting the text: “STOP asking me why I am a vegan and START asking yourself why you’re not.” Nice.

Furthermore, my stomach feels lighter, I am coping with the heat better, I am sleeping better and I am losing weight.

2. Do I believe that eating meat is one of the main causes of global warming?

To be really honest here, I’m not sure anyone can know with absolute certainty what is causing global warming. The earth has gone through many weather cycles in its long history, so this could just be another one, but deep down I personally do believe that the current global warming can be attributed to our abuse of the planet. And if this is true, then eating meat is doing even more damage than flying by plane. To prove it, please watch this short video based on a recent study by the University of Oxford.

 

3. Why don’t you at least eat fish?

Well, long before I knew the truth about the origin of meat and dairy produce, I did think it was strange that some vegetarians would eat fish. This was based on my logic that one dead cow can feed many, but one dead good-sized fish can only feed one person. Now I am of the opinion that fish are not somehow lesser animals than dogs, cats, rabbits or frogs.

Sadly, the U.S. fishing industry alone slaughters more than 6 billion fish each year, and sport fishing and angling kill another 245 million animals annually. Without any legal protection from cruel treatment, these intelligent, complex animals are impaled, crushed, suffocated, or sliced open and gutted, all while they’re fully conscious.

Regardless of the method used to catch them, if the fish are still alive at the end of their terrifying journey to the surface, most have their gills cut and bled out or are tossed onto ice to slowly freeze or suffocate to death—a horribly cruel and painful death for cold-blooded animals, who can take a very long time to freeze or suffocate to death. Scientists estimate that fish endure up to 15 minutes of excruciating pain before they lose consciousness.
Click here for more information about the fish industry.

Or watch this surprising 4 minute film with Ewan McGregor.

4. Have I experienced any other positive or negative experiences since writing my vegan update #1?

I still find it hard to believe, after all these years of being a carnivore,  that I don’t miss or crave meat. The only exception to this happened last night when I went to IKEA with my daughter and she ordered Köttbullar! For me, eating Köttbullar was a ritual. I always ate them when we went shopping in IKEA. My daughter left two on her plate. While we chatted for half an hour after we had finished eating, it was as if the Köttbullar were staring up at me and shouting, “Go on, eat us! We will only go to waste and then the cows and pigs have died in vain.” It was tough, but I managed to refrain. This morning I reflected on the fact that “Kot” in German means faeces. Not too far from the truth, then …

The other two issues concern my kitchen. On the plus side, it has been so much easier to keep the kitchen clean now that there is no more animal fat splattered all over the cooker. Cutlery and crockery are easier to wash (a soya-based yoghurt bowl can be cleaned much more easily than  a dairy yoghurt bowl) and so your sink stays cleaner for longer too.

On the downside, the abundance of fresh fruit and vegetables in the apartment has led to a minor plague of fruit flies! Which leads me to your final question …

5. Is it okay as a vegan to kill flies, wasps and bugs? And is it okay to buy leather goods, wool pullovers and down pillows?

The answer to these questions will form part of Choose Vegan Update #3.

“Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it’s time to pause and reflect.” – Mark Twain

 

Berlin, Cooking, Education, health care, plant-based lifestyle, politics, society, vegansim, vision

Choose vegan: Update #1

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A few readers have asked me whether I have managed to maintain a plant-based diet since I started just over three weeks ago. Answer: yes.

So I thought I’d give you a quick update as to the pros and cons. I’ll begin with the pros.

Pros

  1. It feels good to know that no animal has undergone unnecessary suffering in order to produce my meal.

I receive a weekly e-mail from challenge22@anonymous.org.il that provides me with recipes, encouragement and information. This week’s newsletter included news about what happens to chickens, in particular in free-range situations. The males are still killed at birth because they can neither produce eggs nor grow fast enough to be raised for meat production. The dairy industry really is as cruel as the meat industry.

2. Weight loss and a general feeling of well-being

Without changing my sport/exercise regime, I have already lost 2 kilos in weight. More importantly, my stomach feels lighter somehow, I am sleeping better and I generally feel healthier, although I know this is entirely subjective.

3. Not craving meat of dairy

This has taken me by surprise. Even though I still cook meat for three out of my four children, I so far haven’t caught myself wishing I could be eating what they are eating. On the contrary, especially when I have to scrape away congealed fat off their dinner plates!

4. Adventure and experimentation

Inevitably, I’ve had to become more creative with my cuisine, at home and when eating out. I’ve now discovered, for example, almond milk, soya yogurt, tempeh, saitan and tofu and my culinary experimentation has undergone a revolution. What’s more, my fridge looks less like a morgue and more like a garden. And talking of fridges, you may need a larger one in order to store all your fresh fruit and vegetables! On a personal note, I have also so far discovered that I prefer to eat dishes just with vegetables rather than with meat substitutes.

5. Most meals do take more time

I was about to put this in the negative section, but then realised that it doesn’t have to be negative if your food preparation takes longer. If you become a vegan, you will need to take more time learning about your new options and reading labels. You will need more time when you go shopping on account of trying to find new shops and new ingredients. And you will need more time for food preparation. For example, making a breakfast from muesli, soya yogurt and fresh fruit will take you a bit longer than jam on toast. Yet being forced to slow down your pace of life a little and savouring your food can surely never be a bad thing.

Cons

1. It’s a pain cooking two family meals instead of one

So far, the only real negative I can think of is that I often have to cook two meals per meal: one vegan and one non-vegan. If you don’t really enjoy cooking, then this is a little annoying, but it won’t go on forever since most children eventually leave home. Or else they might even follow your example and become vegan. Children do what you do and not what you say.

Conclusion: Some of you have also asked me how much thought, preparation and research I had put into become vegan before I got going. The honest answer is, almost none. Having watched a few videos about the meat and dairy industry, I just switched from one day to the next. For me, that was the best way, otherwise I would have made endless excuses about all the things I needed to do before I one day became a vegan. Now I am learning everything as I go along. I guess you have to decide what’s best for you.

Resources: “You will never look at your life the same way again.” and “A life-changing speech.”

“If you think that being vegan is difficult, imagine being a factory farmed animal.”   Davegan Raza