What do I eat? It seems like I exclude so many things that there just isn't anything left. Oh, but there is! But first, I think it makes sense to start with a quick (or not so quick) rundown of what I don't eat...and why.
Meeeeeat.
No animal meat or animal byproducts (to the extent that I am capable), this means all meat varieties including fish/seafood, dairy products, and eggs. Is there anything else I'm forgetting? Basically if you think it's meat, I don't eat it.
I'm slightly on the fence about honey. I sort of see it as a byproduct of a necessary process. No bees to pollinate = no plants to eat = hungry, cranky me. So why not use it? The rub is that naturally, bees don't produce honey year round. They can actually hibernate for up to 11 months. So honey production is forcing the bees to produce in unnatural conditions and quantities. So for the most part I eschew honey as well.
All that being said, I do not fully subscribe to a vegan lifestyle. I say "vegan" to help people understand that I also don't want meat broth in addition to not wanting meat; I don't want eggs in addition to not wanting bacon. But to describe my diet, I prefer the term "plant based nutrition", because to me it's the nutrition part that is more important than the lifestyle. But how do I say that? I'm a plant based nutritionalist? I have no clue. Ideas? Send 'em my way. Anyway, I still have leather boots, make up with more than likely animal derived ingredients, animal bristled paint brushes, etc. I believe that it is much more wasteful to not use what I already have. The deed's been done, throwing it away and purchasing an animal free replacement won't undo anything, it would only mean the animal really did die for nothing. I do however attempt to purchase animal free replacements as I run out of whatever item.
So, why no animal/animal by-product consumption?
The number one reason is my health. Animal product consumption will. Kill. You. Yes, I know none of us will make it out of life alive, but damn it, I want to go out as healthy as possible. There are studies proving the link between casein (the milk protein that give cheese it's stringy goodness) consumption and cancer production in human cells. And those tests also prove that stopping casein consumption STOPS cancer production. It can literally turn on and off cancer. So why, knowing that, would I chose to turn it on? I just can't ignore information like that. But don't take my word for it, research it. If you haven't watched Forks Over Knives, start there. It is an incredibly eye opening documentary and contains life saving information that I think the general public just doesn't know. Because our government (being puppeteer-ed by the meat-dairy-monsanto-drug company monsters), doesn't want us to know. Fooducate yourselves because they're not telling you the healthy truth. You're worth more to them sick than healthy.
Sustainability. Meat production is such a drain on our resources, it's really just ridiculous. Energy and land are wasted on feeding, raising, slaughtering, shipping, and producing animal products. Both of which we don't have in abundance to waste on an unnecessary industry. Then there is the environmental impact of the toxic waste created by the animals and animal processing. We're basically killing the planet while we kill ourselves. Great thinking, peeps, let's see how that turns out for us. I'd rather not.
I understand that there are still similar drains in producing plant based products, but it can't be ignored that the drain is greatly less. And that's something. I don't remember where I heard this, probably the internet, they can't put anything on the internet that isn't true ;) But a vegan who drives a Hummer creates less of a negative environmental impact compared to a meat eater driving a hybrid. Well it turns out that this isn't quite true. But meat consumption does account for more greenhouse gas production that all transportation, as in, planes, trains, and automobiles. Chew on that.
And of course, the animals. I was a vegan once before. I had just come from eating a low carb therefore high meat fad diet. I lost a bit of weight in a really unhealthy for me way. Who knows what my cholesterol levels were then! But anyway... I was on a road trip and two specific instances triggered my desire to not consume animals. While in California, we drove past a big truck carrying what I think were turkeys. It was night time and under the freeway lights I could see them. I could see them jam packed in crates with legs, wings poking out and feathers flying everywhere. It seemed like they were prisoners going to their execution. We also drove past CAFOs in Texas and other Midwestern states. CAFO stands for concentrated animal feeding operations; again, jam packing animals into a space that is more than likely inadequate for the amount of animals and produces great levels of pollution. To give an example, from the ol' Wiki: In 1966, it took one million farms to house 57 million pigs; by the
year 2001, it only took 80,000 farms to house the same number of pigs. This is not a good thing, people. Those two things galvanized me into deciding that I was going to stop eating meat. But I thought I'd stick with consuming animal byproducts; eggs, cheese, yogurt, etc. Being a vegetarian sounded much easier and less crazy than being a vegan.
But the animals that produce those byproducts versus those raised just for their meat, are not destined any better of a fate or demise, generally. Yes there are organic, ethical farms raising happy chickens that lay happy eggs. But do not fool yourselves, there are less of those than you think and that box that says "cage free" doesn't necessarily mean the freedom you hope it does. I am very empathetic, I can't help but immediately put myself in the painful reality of others. And that includes animals. I can't condone the unethical treatment of animals, I just can't. They feel, they suffer. Just because they can't verbally say so doesn't mean it isn't true. It's really just an asshole assumption that because we're at the top of the food chain, it's legit to make those below us suffer for our sake. Ri-dic. Ultimately, the general mistreatment of animals for byproduct production is
as unconscionable as for meat production and that is what lead me to
being a vegan.
Quick aside, I support those who chose to ethically hunt / raise / butcher their own meat products. IF you're going to do it, do it right. I do not support those whose hunts equate to a fast food drive-thru or store bought steak and eggs. Ya heard?
I became a vegan and ended up moving to the Midwest, not your typical vegan locale. Especially the part I ended up in. They had this dish, it had tater tots, a shit ton of processed cheese, and maybe a pig's worth of bacon. And probably some cream of meat soup, I don't know. It was like a heart attack wrapped in cancer. I was determined to stay a vegan in those surroundings and it wasn't until I moved back to Alaska that I stopped being a vegan. I somehow was able to push the truths I knew out of my head and went back to full on animal consumption.
It wasn't until about two, three years ago when I started to get sick, that becoming a vegan again sounded like a good idea. I don't know what was or is wrong with me. When it started I was sick all the time. My stomach would feel upset after eating anything and I was usually nauseous in the really early mornings, like when I was supposed to be sleeping, damn it. It was horrible, I used all the sick days I had and ones I didn't. I went to the doctor and they of course, prescribed me useless drugs. Like stupid name brand shit for heartburn. I knew it wasn't heartburn, I've had heartburn and this was so much worse. It was like my entire insides were burning. Like I could feel pain in my organs that I shouldn't be able to notice even exist, if that makes any sense. Finally they did find what was wrong, at least partially. I had H. Pylori, which is a bacterium that is linked to ulcers and stomach cancer and which 50% of the world has, but 80% who have it are asymptomatic; which means I was one of the lucky few experiencing horrific pain from their habitation. Awesome. The cure of course, was as bad as the ailment. A super regimen of a cocktail of antibiotics that had the same painful side effects as what I was already experiencing. But after it was done I did start to feel a bit better. But not completely.
They did test me to see if I had Celiac disease and the results were that I didn't. An awesome friend who happens to be a chiropractic doctor told me that I could still be gluten intolerant because there are different levels to test for and generally they don't test for all of them. I was willing to try anything to feel better so I decided to take the plunge and become...
Gluten free.
Dun, dun, duuuuun. It seems even crazier than being a vegan. Even to me. I don't understand how you could be allergic to wheat. How is it not a basic part of human nutrition? But it turns out that in our desire to have more delicious, rather than nutritious foods, we have altered wheat. And it is not the same gentle grain it once was.
As I searched out gluten free information, many of the recipes were meat centered. It seemed, according to most gluten free recipes or products, that to replace wheat I would have to consume more meat and cheese. And while I was consuming them at that time, consuming more just seemed counterproductive to my quest for better health. So thoughts of becoming a vegan once again filled my brain...and it was only a matter of time before I completed my metamorphosis into my current, incredibly stereotypical persona: a vegan, gluten-free, lesbian. Seriously, I feel like a cliche. But you know what? I'm the motherfucking healthiest cliche walking. Because removing gluten from my diet was like a magic trick. I wasn't sick anymore. It was AMAZING. It was such a humungous relief to just feel better.
Unfortunately, it's not 100% better. I still feel sick sometimes and I'm not sure what it is. I've given up on doctors. One, because the pain generally isn't that bad. And two, because I've never had any faith in them anyway. They don't want to cure you, they want to prescribe you. So it's now the "What the fuck else could I be allergic to or intolerant of" game? Currently the consensus (that is, my wife says so, so I listen) is that I'm also allergic to potatoes. Talk about a sad, pathetic sap. No potatoes? Are you kidding me!? But yes, when I eat potatoes or even something with potato flour in it, I don't feel well. So the tubers were nixed as well as wheat. And that has gotten me as close to 100% awesome as possible.
And removing gluten and potatoes has greatly reduced my consumption of prepackaged, processed products and led to me making practically everything I eat. And that, along with no longer consuming all the negative crap in meat products, has led to me losing a shit ton of weight. Like ah lot. I went from about 210-220lbs at my heaviest to currently around 139-142lbs. Oh and for those of you who don't know me in teh real world, I'm short, like not even quite 5'4". I had NO business ever weighing that much.
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| I didn't even have the excuse of having created life; this is my nephew and me at one of the higher weight points. |
Yeaaah. No thanks. If ever I'm so frustrated by the difficulties of my expansively restrictive diet that I want to go back to being an omnivore, I think of this picture. I am a self centered human. I can force myself to forget about the animals, the environment, but I will not allow myself to forget what impact eating meat has on myself.
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| *No, NOT legally, thank you, fucking Alaska and the federal government for still viewing and treating us as second class citizens. |
My giant weight loss also awesomely coincided with my wedding. Win fucking win. In the above picture I'm at about 144lbs and over the top excited to have just married* the love of all my lives, my soul mate.
So that about sums up what I don't eat and why. Tune in next time, kiddos, for what I do eat and how!
