Hi Curt. I agree with you about not wanting to eat something that has been injected with synthetic growth hormones or having added chemicals. I try to make sure that most of the foods I eat are non-GMO foods. I also try to avoid as much processed foods as possible due to all of the presevatives and what have you that are added. As far as protein, well, grains, vegetables, and legumes (love that word!) have plenty of protein that will fuel your muscles! I have seen photos of vegan male athletes and well, I can assure you that they are getting plenty of protein. :)

Wow! 34 years, that is awesome. I am one of the healthiest people I know too! Like you I rarely get sick, maybe the occassional sniffles and that's all. I weigh less than what I did in high school, however, my muscles could do with a bit of increased activity. I have been thinking about taking up yoga and Zumba fitness classes. Just out of curiousity, have you ever thought about or considered going vegan? I never thought I would and now I wonder why it took me 16 years.

I have a great deal of respect for people that can go without eating meat. You look great and like you said, your health is there. Maybe you can share your daily nutrition diet with the rest of the group? I would love some health dinners you make.

@ Holly Barnes: Thank you for the kind words! With each blog I post I plan on sharing a little recipe. A lot of what I eat is raw fruits (love red seedless grapes) and veggies. Breakfast is usually a nice warm bowl of oatmeal with raisins and/or fresh fruit with a little bit of vanilla extract and cinnamon (and maybe a bit of non-dairy milk). When it comes to lunch and dinner, well, it just depends upon how motivated I feel! I usually prepare two meals for dinner, one for my fiance (he eats meat) and one for myself, so sometimes I just keep my meals simple. I do have two cookbooks, "The Happy Herbivore" and "The Everyday Happy Herbivore" by Lindsay S. Nixon that I refer to often for meal ideas/recipes. I'll make sure that the recipe in my next blog is a recipe for dinner!

There was force? Where was the force? I chose to read this article/blog of my own free will. I'm sure you're free to go read other articles and not this one at all. Go in peace. Make compassionate choices. May the Force be with you. :-)

Perhaps you could tear your eyes away from the article and choose not to read it? Louis, maybe you should choose to ignore the post? Whether you agree with someone or not, if they state their views, it's up to you how you react to them. The title of her blog gives you an idea that she's vegetarian or vegan and the installment title is meant to stir up a civil debate. No one is forcing you to do anything.

Oh, and yes, I am a meat eater.

Ah, maybe I should have phrased that sentence differently. I do understand that it is not technically a "right." I do appreciate you permission though for me to "go right ahead" regarding my use of the word "right" to support my argument. To better convey the point I was trying to make I suppose I should have worded the sentence to say, "As consumers, seeing how our food is processed allows us to make a more informed decision in regards to what we will buy and ultimately consume." As far as my religious views, I really do not have any, but I was raised Catholic.

Energy comes from *calories* -- and it looks like most people are getting far too many of those in America.

Higher primates don't really "eat meat" -- they might INCIDENTALLY eat meat when fighting among different groups ['warring'] but they do not hunt or make any attempt to survive on meat (like lions, tigers, hyenas, etc.).

I realise, at this point in human development, we have evolved some tolerance for eating meat -- but not much -- certainly not three times a day. Colon cancer rates & heart attacks demonstrate that. Tolerance and THRIVING are two quite different nutritional notions.

And knowing the unspeakable suffering & horrors of "factory farms", why would you want to do that to your body or the animals?

It's funny you bring up cooking -- because I would say: If humans were meant to eat meat, we would have the drive to chase & catch prey ourselves with our [clawless] bare hands and eat the prey RAW with our [insufficient] teeth.

Given our out-of-control diets, spiralling healthcare issues and our dependence on the unnatural & deplorable existence of factory farms, I'd say we're failing to live up to our human potential and use our INTELLIGENCE!

Intelligence & mental health is correlated with proper & balanced NUTRITION -- not eating meat.

Thanks for listening. Not attacking you -- just bantering & sharing information.

You are quite mistaken. Primates actually use tools to acquire meat. There are many different forms of meat. You are thinking of meat as a cow or pig. Insects and rodents are also meat. Just because we do not run fast does not mean we are not hunters. Your ancestors survived gathering nuts, roots and berries but they also ate those insects and rodents. We developed tools such as the spear that allowed us to hunt larger animals like bison and the mammoth. Eating meat does not preclude someone from being over weight. Inactivity is the largest factor in weight gain. Sure people eat a lot of meat and that is their preference, I am not saying go out and eat the whole pig at a pig roast, I am just relaying facts of nature here. Man has eaten meat since he started walking on two legs. I'm sorry you feel differently but biology, history and archaeology all say the exact opposite.

"Man has eaten meat since he started walking on two legs. I'm sorry you feel differently but biology, history and archaeology all say the exact opposite."

BIOLOGY: Health & wellness is correlated with proper & balanced NUTRITION -- not eating meat. That can be achieved without meat (and certainly without dairy). As I am prone to say, "a corpse doesn't balance your diet".

As for history and archaeology, I would say: just because we can & have doesn't mean we SHOULD or that it is for the best -- slavery, smoking cigarettes, etc.

Given what I know, I cannot eat meat. I cannot un-know what I know about factory farming, slaughter, dairy cows & veal, chicken egg production, the remarkable intelligence of pigs, etc. So I stopped eating meat & dairy for ethical reasons -- and I'm healthier than I've ever been. Frankly, I eat *well*. Yes, there is some new stuff to learn but it's really not hard -- just different.

Actually, Man started out eating plants. Man only started eating meat when he developed the tools to kill animals. And Man teeth and digestive system are clearly those of an herbivore. And appendicitis never occurs in herbivore humans. And the list goes on.

“Most of us believe that eating meat is natural because humans have hunted and consumed animals for millennia. And it is true that we have been eating meat as part of an omnivorous diet for at least two million years (though for the majority of this time our diet was still primarily vegetarian). But to be fair, we must acknowledge that infanticide, murder, rape, and cannibalism are at least as old as meat eating, and are therefore arguably as 'natural'--and yet we don't invoke the history of these acts as justification for them. As with other acts of violence, when it comes to eating meat, we must differentiate between natural and justifiable.”

― Melanie Joy, Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows: An Introduction to Carnism: The Belief System That Enables Us to Eat Some Animals and Not Others

Your ancestors didn't have options. They had to absolutely saturate meat in salt just for it to keep because they didn't have fridges. They had to eat vegetables that were in season because there was no way they could produce stuff in other seasons. They had to kill the animal themselves and skin it and cut all the meat off themselves.
You are not the man you think you are. You are a by-product of the human race, a watered down version of the caveman. You may not have evolved but animals have and that is what we are. We are animals and cows, sheep, pigs and chicken deserve the same rights as us.

Hmm ... "Nature always sticks with what works and eating meat is directly correlated to intelligence."
Nikola Tesla, Albert Einstein, Pythagoras, Leonardo Da Vinci, Socrates, Darwin, Plato, Sir Isaac Newton, Ben Franklin, Thomas Edison, Confucius ... my understanding is that all of these individuals were vegetarians. Yep, eating meat is directly correlated to intelligence. I would very much like to read the academic journal in which this study was published. If would you be so kind as to provide me with the link. Unless of course that statement was just your opinion.
* I do not read the New York Times. This question was born out of a conversation that I had with several friends.

Ummm.. hello we have FLAT grinding teeth if we were supposed to eat meat we would have PINTED sharp teeth like animals that DO eat meat for survival, our teeth suggest what we are meant to consume, we are a herbivore that is quite obvious, just like cows and sheep. If you still don't believe this then think simply, we require a knife to cut our meat because at best our teeth are incapable of doing so to any but the softest meats..... If this is still to hard to comprehend then i have no idea where you get your logic from.

Someone grab a 6th grade science book. I feel like I must apologize for you local school system which has failed you people but I cannot since you live in the age of information. Humans are omnivores. They have been since long before homo habilis. Stick your finger in your mouth feel your incisors, feel your canine teeth, they are for tearing. Stick your finger farther in your mouth, feel your molars, they are for grinding. I want everyone to go here, http://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/human-fossils/species/human-family-tree, everything you need is there. The life and times of everyone in your family tree is explained. All of this information has been known for years. I am not sure why it was not disseminated to you. Here's an experiment for you. Next time you are at a family function or simply out to eat watch people eat. You cannot do this yourself because you know and you are now biased. When someone eats they bite meat in a tearing motion with their front teeth and then move it to the back for further processing. When someone eats veggies they immediately place it in the back of their mouth for grinding. Everyone's frame of reference is jaded by modern tools. All it takes is a little bit of research to become a well informed person. But alas it's too late for any of you to listen to facts that are contrary to what you claim to be facts. Everyone says our ancestors didn't eat meat. I can find you one who ate rust. Want some Veteran's Memorial Bridge?

aside from the other points already made...if we're "meant" to eat meat, then why are we the *only* species that must cook it to avoid sickness/death from consuming it?

and it's total BS that we need meat for the vast amount of energy our brain/body requires. you just need calories. calories = energy (yes, it's that simple). i've been vegetarian for 18+ years, including 8 years of college/grad school getting degrees in computer science and 6+ years of working in my field. obviously, the lack of meat hasn't held me back.

Joe, I'm sorry you and everyone else who responded to my post misunderstood. I am not speaking from a personal perspective. I am speaking from an evolutionary perspective. First our ancestors did not cook meat to make it safe to eat. If that was that case we are giving cavemen far too little credit. Some how, some way, most likely by accident or trial and error they discovered that cooking meat made their tummies feel better. Eating meat gave early man a stable food source with high caloric intake. You cannot compare modern humans who have benefited from all those years of evolution with those that did not. The size of your brain and your ability to assimilate knowledge is built on all those evolutionary steps and I'm sorry to say but it would be scientifically dishonest to say eating meat did not benefit mankind. I am not, nor have I ever knocked anyone for cutting meat from their diet. It a choice they want to make. I posted from an historical perspective backed with scientific fact. One thing that can be known for sure when you do read through this thread is that there is one basic theme. Most of the people who are posting here against a diet of meat are not actually against eating meat they are against the process of acquiring the meat. Even meat eaters can get behind that and most do. But some are so far out there that they reference infanticide and cannibalism and some literally chase posts down to belittle "meaters". These people I can safely ignore.

I did not have enough room in my last post to include this but you may find it helpful in illustrating my point. I am not positive but I would have to say this chart is based on serving size but again not positive. Considering the source I have to believe the data. You will see the large jump in foods such as meat and those with high sugar content. http://www.ntwrks.com/~mikev/chart1.html

(post continued. by the way, the tolstoy message when you type too much is brilliant!)

tim - i understand you were speaking from a historical perspective, and that's fine. but i'm just trying to make the point that our bodies cannot process raw meat naturally, without us getting sick. has it been that way since humans first started consuming it? well my understanding is that our tolerance for meat has only improved over time; so likely, yes.

also a point worth mentioning is that it's far easier for the human body to break down fruits, vegetables, legumes, etc to get nutrients from them than it is for us to do the same from meat. we just process it more efficiently to get what we need. does it mean that's all we should eat? no. does it mean we get what we need more efficiently eating such things? yes.

tim - well, i agree with you that people get too bent out of shape over this. rachel asked a legit question (although i guess a potentially volatile one) and people from both sides maybe took it too far. which does nothing to further their points nor respect between each other. really, a person's diet is not worth so much bickering. i personally have no problem with anyone eating meat; i think people make far bigger mistakes with their diet and you can be healthy and eat healthy with or without meat. i think it's more important that people consider their diet as a whole than to just look at meat; there's more factors to consider. what's in the food you're eating (have you ever looked)? where does it come from? is it organic? is it local? do you need the calories its providing? do you need the nutrients? your body's a machine and you should provide it energy as such; getting people to think about what that means is more important than just "don't eat meat."

Nothing says "family fun" like the charred corpse of a tortured animal!

NOTE: By "tortured", I mean that animal (unless part of a tiny minority) grew up in a cramped & filthy factory farm, suffered its entire life and was then dragged out & murdered. Is that animal's misery what you savour with each bite?

Storytelling is also a family tradition -- share the animal's WHOLE STORY with your kids! -- not just the steak. Your 'steak' had a mother ... it had a face ... it had a heartbeat ... it did not want to die.

Like your dog? Your cat? Your children? Yup -- all meat.

Besides, what kind of god would create animals-to-eat and then give them the ability to suffer so much pain, fear & misery? WHY?

Plants don't feel pain, think, miss their mothers, fear or suffer -- so eat up! <-- It really is that simple. And, thankfully, scientists & nutritionists concur.

Well Richard, that seems a silly opinion. Many people believe that animals do not feel pain the way humans do. Now you are telling us that plants do not feel pain? How do you know? You have not been a plant so your statement is based on what you wish to believe and not proof.

I eat meat because I enjoy the smell of a well cooked chunk of corpse. I eat meat because I enjoy the flavor of said corpse. I eat meat because I can. Yes, I wish we treated the animals better during their lives. Yes, I wish that they would die painlessly so that I could fill my tummy with no thought about it.

Do you realize that your 'better than thou' atitude is just the type of thing that turns people off your message? Try to win the argument without being a pompus ass.

Oh, and until you have eaten cat, or dog, or horse (all quite nice when cooked properly) then leave off. And do us all a favor Richard, leave the cannibalism comments off. They just show your inability to discuss in a decent manner.

B-12 derives from bacteria -- not meat. It is produced by bacteria *on* meat. B-12 does not "come from" meat. It is prevalent in poop. How does ... oh, never mind ... you don't want to know! Bacteria feasts & spreads on corpses (meat) -- thus, B12 is on meat (not *in* meat).

B-12 was once on vegetables & fruits, too. It still is on those not mass-produced and drenched in pesticides. B-12 is in the soil -- well, soil that isn't damaged by irresponsible farming, pesticides & abuse.

Most people (meat-eater, vegan & other) benefit from taking a multivitamin. Nothing to be ashamed of! Consider it insurance for getting your B-12. Small price to pay for eating less poop & dirt! :-)

I currently do not take B12, however, I have been looking into purchasing some B12 (in liquid form - I detest taking pills). When it comes to B12 I would like to error on the side of caution and make sure that I am getting the necessary amounts.
...

According to the Physicians Commitee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), "... 80 percent of antibiotics used in the United States are administered to animals on farms." - AND - "Two million people contract antibiotic-resistant infections annually, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."
I agree with you that this practice is a "reckless usage of antibiotics." It's scary what is deemed acceptable practices when it comes to our food - the antibiotics, the hormones, the GM foods, etc. The best we can do as consumers is to take proactive measures in educating ourselves about what is in our food.

* Here is the link for the full article:
http://pcrm.org/media/online/oct2011/salmonella-mrsa-e-coli-danger-antibiotic

"Everything suffers when it dies." -- That is a lie. Vegetables do not suffer. Fruit does not suffer. Grains do not suffer. If science ever proves otherwise, I will re-evaluate my stance.

Secondly, every animal in a factory farm suffers when/as it LIVES as well. And then it is killed. For you. And none of it is necessary.

"Call me when you aren't eating anything that ever lived. " -- Are you equating a pig with broccoli? A cow with a head of lettuce? Plucking an apple from a tree with plucking a veal calf from its mother so you can steal its milk?

None of this is about being smug or holy -- just shining a light on the ugly side of "meat" <-- It's really is just a bit of a corpse of an animal that suffered.

Visit a factory farm. See a slaughter house with your own eyes. Tour a modern dairy. Hell, visit a "free-range egg" SHED. I dare you.

Morally? Nah... I originally went vegan for health reasons, purely. Then I saw From Farm to Fridge, Earthlings, and a bunch of others and I could never go back to eating animals, but it was at first a health based decision. Physically? Perhaps. You should see my lab results! Fact is vegans simply do not get heart disease, cholesterol problems or high blood pressure. That's a fact. And, while some vegans don't eat the best diet (as long as it's plant based, they eat it, but nutrients don't really factor in), the vegans that are nutrition conscious have better internal health, circulation and energy than non vegans. We don't get osteoporosis, gall bladder and/or kidney stones, or anemia like meat and dairy eaters do. We age better, sleep better, we never get constipated, we don't get food coma after a meal, we don't get heartburn, we don't get arthritis, and when we do get colds, we get over them faster than omnivores. We recover faster from injuries, we also have faster recovery time from workouts. And the list goes on and on. So are we physically superior to meat eaters? YES, I believe we are. Along with not wanting to hurt animals (which is the number 1 reason to go vegan for many), the physical bonanza is a huge motivator.

My dad worked in an abattoir and believe me, if you have ever smelt a dead cow you wouldn't like steak any more.

@ emily_b: Your dad worked in an abattoir? I couldn't imagine all the things he must have seen. Do you think working in that type of environment affected you dad in any way? Definitely not the type of place one would take their kid for "Take Your Child to Work Day" (at least in my opinion). How did you feel about your dad working at an abattoir? I have yet to come across someone who either works in or knows someone who works/worked in an abattoir. Sorry, for all of the questions - I guess I'm curious.

Well, if that is true and 100% of the meat you eat comes from such a place, that is one small step forward.

Beware of phrases like "humanely raised" -- it RARELY means what you hope it means.

Plants/picking/pain ... perhaps! Maybe. We'll see, I guess. Plants don't have nervous systems or brains though ... but maybe they'll evolve.

But why not focus on what we *do* know for certain right now and make ethical choices based on reality -- Animals suffer horribly in factory farms and they do NOT want to die.

That does not need to happen.

We do not NEED to eat meat -- we *want* to eat meat. And it's not doing any wonders for our health either.

Or the planet.

Furthermore, we could feed all the starving people on Earth if everyone ate meat just THREE LESS DAYS PER WEEK. All that land & water & soya & grain that goes to cows & other intensely farmed animals prevents that from happening.

I guess it all comes down to what you value ...

As my profile says: Be the change you want to see in the world.

@Richard. You mention making ethical choices, but of course you are using your ethics to determine what is ethical. I believe eating meat is ethical so I have made the ethical choice.

Just one thought that you may have missed. If meat eating and drinking milk no longer occurred then cows would soon no longer exist in this country except in zoos because there would be no one willing to pay the cost of raising something so worthless.

Douglas, I do not think you are a bad person for having different ethics & eating meat.

Yes, I said it. Re-read that.

If you choose to eat meat from a factory farm (ie, most meat) then I judge you and your ethics harshly. I do not excuse factory farms or anyone's choice to endorse & support them. It is reprehensible and I hope one day you truly know the full story of what a factory farm is & what it entails from beginning to end -- not the cellophane-wrapped lie you purchase at your local grocery store.

As for milk & need for the cows, the cows are so grossly overbred and overpopulated that their farts are destroying the ozone layer! <--(If this is news to you, please use Google. I know it sounds fantastical but it's too complicated to explain in a comment).

Cow numbers need to come WAY down and they would naturally. Remember, we're mechanically raping & impregnating them -- they are mostly NOT breeding on their own.

And 'worthless'? Seriously, dude ... it's not all about you. Or all about humans!

"The animals of the world exist for their own reasons. They were not made for humans any more than black people were made for white, or women created for men." - Alice Walker

When did anyone claim they are better than someone else on here? I certainly didn't. Not sure about any of the others. Please don't confuse the facts I shared with how they made you feel.

I don't preach -- I'm an atheist. I might share some knowledge or debate -- but I don't preach.

"I don't care ..." -- That is more or less the problem.

Lions & crocodiles don't operate factory farms.

@Zee, this is not a vegan blog you twit. The question at the beginning clearly asks why we eat meat. Some of us try to explain it and then run into crap from you. If you want a vegan blog go start one called 'no meat eataerrs allowed'.

@ Douglas: You are incorrect in your statement, "...this is not a vegan blog..." This IS a VEGAN blog.

@Rachel, I stand corrected. This is a vegan blog. However, since you asked why we eat meat then telling someone off for answering is silly. And that is why I felt the need to come down on Zee.

Yay! At least that's not a comment/question I get too often. Kudos for that!

Venus Fly Traps utilise electro-chemical responses to stimuli -- no brain or consciousness required -- and collapsing convex/concave supports that are tripped by an flittering fly (like a mouse trap).

Bizarre bit of evolution!

And again - Venus fly traps don't operate factory farms either.

Furthermore, I aim to have better morals & more evolved ethics than a plant ... or a lion or a crocodile for that matter.

"if it cant reason or serve some other purpose" -- Well, I guess you and I wake up each day with entirely different perspectives on life as a whole. I do not think the animals exist for me ... any more than I think women exist for men ... or that blacks exist for whites -- to paraphrase Alice Walker.

Does this rationale apply to eating your dog or cat, too? Pigs are smarter than dogs -- but I bet you eat "pork" and not dog.

"In general eat what makes you happy." -- Yup. Consequences, suffering and ethics be damned! I hope this logic does not apply to people or your dating life or anything else in life you want that 'makes you happy'.

How many obese American meat eaters despise Koreans for supposedly eating dog meat? Or South Asian countries for eating snake meat? All the meat you eat comes from animals. Why do people differeniate between species? Because they don't want to think about the fact they may have been discriminating between their pet and their food.
What is our purpose? To cause pollution and create cities and kill other animals? If we have any purpose on earth then it is to be eaten by bears, lions and other carnivores but we aren't because we kill them instead.

If you look up to the FDA for nutritional guidance, you're going to die very young of some very unpleasant disease.

yep Zee, the FDA standards are horrid. I am disgusted at the things they allow to be put into food. As soon as a stopped buying processed foods, switched to most organic ( what I am able to afford) and began making condiments, breads and sauces from scratch I noticed my skin allergies got better and my asthma let up a bit.

Let's just say for now that humans & animals are not "the same" -- we are still all made of muscle groups termed "meat" in some species and not in others. It is arbitrary and there is no great difference between your thigh and a "ham". I'm hardly advocating cannibalism -- but I think you know that. You've reached the point of desperation & name-calling and are now just simplifying my stance & then calling *ME* simple.

This is not the 10th grade debate team and that tactic will fail.

Your bacon -- it had a mom.

Thank you, Morgaine. I do try! I was once a hot-head with a temper and an obnoxious vegetarian (a decade ago). This is Rational Me just sharing information and TRYING to get people to *see* (even if they disagree -- just see!).

Since going vegan, I *swear* I'm calmer and more patient. Maybe I was allergic to milk protein & it made me bitchy. Who can say !?!

:-)

"Meat eating through factory farming is not sustainable. Simple FACT. You are choosing which side of history you are going to be on."

All factory farms (pigs, cattle, milk, etc) should be closed immediately.

Frankly, I think bird flu, mad cow, swine flu, etc, was just nature's warning shot over the bow -- something worse WILL happen and it WILL be caused by intensive factory farming.

And by that time, even our antibiotics won't work -- also because of factory farms abuse of those.

To put it bluntly: MEAT -- it's just not worth it!

So Richard, when Kristen L. mentioned her religion and you jumped all over it you weren't being hot headed? When you ask people if they would eat their children that isn't hot headed? Maybe you should be honest and tell everyone that you are militant. Not militant about vegetarianism but militant about factory farms. And I would say you should remove all your comments from this blog since you are in violation of the Patch's terms of service by not using your real name. I'm just saying you cannot be taken as an honest person when you contradict yourself and do not honor the agreements you make.

Wow, Tim ... you are just having a temper tantrum now.

Taking everything I say out of context & twisting it isn't big and it isn't clever.

I don't think "I do hope you're following all of the other rules in that book about your god, too" can be construed as jumping all over anyone or even being disrespectful. There are a lot of rules & admonitions in the bible -- I'm forever curious how one can pick & choose -- how does one know which ones to ignore?

I am not explaining muscle tissue versus "meat" a third (fourth?) time now -- or wading into a non-existent debate about cannibalism. Re-read all the comments, I guess. That's all I can offer you at this hour.

My real name is Richard -- I don't owe you or the public on this site my surname -- particularly as you seem increasingly unstable.

This last attempt to 'win' by sullying my character & questioning my "honesty" on a website is just sad -- particularly as I'm just not that invested and can't imagine why I should argue with you.

'Smacks of desperation' for the win!

Do you even know what militant means? "Active, determined and often willing to use force". *I* am debating animal welfare & philosophy on a community website.

In short, calm down, dear! I am not a threat to you or your "meat".

I didn't win anything. I didn't know there was a prize. If there is I hope it's a vacation I could use one.

If I win the lottery ... vegan detox in Thailand it is then! :-)

Well, detox with cocktails. Gotta live a little.

Thank you for the invite John, however, I must decline! Just like how you would not be offended by my ordering something with peanut butter (I prefer the taste of organic), I would not be offended if you ordered something off the meat menu. My fiance eats animals, eggs, dairy products etc. and we are able to have civil meals together. I have yet to blurt out "Corpse Muncher" while he nibbles on the dead flesh of an animal! Again, thank you for the invite. :)

www.vintagenationalbeef.com/ www.smartchicken.com/ available at heinens,so juicy and tender

That story sure is getting a lot of press! I'm only surprised because there are so many other products out there that contain cochineal beetle.

Check your labels! :-) It goes by many names: carmine, Crimson Lake, Cochineal, Natural Red 4, C.I. 75470, or E120.

Do not confuse it with Red #40 (that's chemical-based). The bug is Red #4.

It is in A LOT of makeup and, oddly, drinks! Also many candies & frozen treats -- not sure about food.

Check your bottles of V8 juice drinks, Snapple, etc. Anything pink or red -- certainly if it's a vibrant colour.

my rabbi sent me this link, because we Yidden LOVE our coffee shops...lol...and we cant have any food that has any part forbidden animal as a part of its ingredients...even the production of standards of all processed and packaged foods have to be different! probem: kosher food at the store is more expensive on account of the strict standards, so that is why i make everything from scratch. problem solved.

fortunately i keep kosher, so no beetle shells allowed in my food :o)

i wondered how the plants distress signals are changed when fruit is picked? it seemed to me that there was a natural mechanism that causes the fruit to drop on its own. i dont know. it is just FASCINATING to me that everything from plant, animal, mineral, bacteria, viruses, even the freakin air and sunrays have a consiousness! then from there, contemplating the wheel of suffering of which all of existence is a part is very humbing....

'humbling' i meant to type*

ANOTHER queestion I have: why in the world are sooo many trees being cut down in Kent?? i thought this was 'tree city'? the only reason i could think of, is if they were diseased. But that didnt seem likely to me, and I remember the one by Scribbles had lush foliage last year. Trees have a right to exist amongst all this renovation. They help make the air cool and cleaner, plus they are just so pretty to look at, and a good friend when you need one!

please do not misunderstand, the dietary laws are a part of a MUCH bigger framework, and connect to many other mitzvot (commandments), and there are volumes upon volumes of Rabbinic exegesis of what these laws mean, how they apply and to whom they apply.

Well, isn't THAT convenient? What else does your god say that conveniently matches what you want to do? If he/she has any thoughts on the modern holocaust of factory farming, I'd like to hear them.

As for vegan muscles ... I refer you not only to gorillas and bulls ... but also to the swathe of vegan body builders & athletes who are champions and at the top of their game.

http://www.bestveganguide.com/vegan-athletes.html

http://www.cok.net/blog/2012/01/want-eat-look-and-feel-pro-athlete-go-vegan

God intended us to eat meat, plain and simple? I don't think so. He intended us to be fruitful. That means being full of fruit. He didn't say "be meatful". He also didn't say be cruel, merciless and kill innocents. Oh wait, checking my Bible, he actually did say that was okay. Not unto animals, but unto other people. And He also committed these acts upon humans. There is nothing plain and simple about it. We must awaken and use our superior intellect and compassion. There is nothing wrong with showing compassion to others.

I think I'm developing a crush on Mark T ... (-:

Zee said she was a vegan for health reasons initially -- I am the opposite. I went vegan for ethical reasons. Once I knew, I couldn't un-know. I don't know how people do it. Then again, I was a vegetarian for a decade thinking that was this huge ethical leap when really it was a tiny step.

I gave up leather immediately when I became vegetarian in 2000. I don't think most do -- but it seemed logical to me. I thought it hypocritical to keep wearing their skins. There is NOTHING leather or suede in my wardrobe. There might be some wool somewhere that hasn't worn out yet -- but I won't buy anything else/new made of animal products.

Being vegan is not about being perfect -- it's about doing the best you can. I'm sure I have made and will make mistakes and if you searched long enough, you'd FIND something I've missed, not thought about or possibly don't know about yet as an issue.

I'm a Mac guy ... so I'm sure my MacMini and iPod were made in China at least in part with questionable labour. I don't have any beautiful answer for that quandary, I'm afraid -- without my Mac, I couldn't do the work that I do for the animals.

... continuing on ...

As I said -- I'm not perfect. No vegan is. I just do the best I can and make the most compassionate choices possible with the information available.

Many would say I make "great sacrifices" ... but I don't feel that way at all. Knowing what I know, they are the only choices I can make. Maybe I'm missing the denial gene! :-) I dunno. I often joke I can't "turn my brain off" -- and, as I said before, I cannot un-know what I know. I am, in all seriousness, a very happy vegan. I don't think I could be at peace and NOT be vegan. I feel embarrassed that I didn't go vegan sooner.

Hi Terry! I appreciate your interest in trying out some vegan recipes. I will see what I can come up with in regards to a weekly menu! I think there is a misconception that being vegan means eating nothing but grass clippings and foods devoid of flavor! I think that may have been part of the reason it took me so long to go vegan - vegetarian no problem, that was doable! I must say that since going vegan I have tried foods and spices that I would not have tried otherwise. And as odd as it might sound after about 2 weeks without any dairy products (wasn't really a big fan of dairy to begin with) I no longer had the cravings for cheese, or sour cream, etc. Granted, if you are a hardcore consumer of dairy products it might take a bit longer to reduce/elimate those cravings. My sister is a pescatarian (still eats fish, eggs, and dairy) and she told me that she could not give up her cheese! She also told me prior to becoming a vegetarian that she could never be a vegetarian. Never say never I guess! Here is a link to a video discussing the addictive nature of chocolate, cheese, meat and sugar. I found it to be very interesting.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VWi6dXCT7I