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Omnivore, Vegetarian, Vegan, oh my! Advice?
I'm really confused on what to do with my new approach to food.
Should I be vegan or just vegetarian? Should I really not eat meat even if it's cage free chicken and grass-fed beef?
I can see the POV that consuming dairy products is not the best for our digestive system, but are humans really not meant to eat eggs? That's my biggest concern about going vegan.
I want to avoid unprocessed foods, but by going vegan and substituting a bunch of stuff, isn't that "stuff" processed? Like tofu?
How do you suggest I go about answering these questions for myself--any great books/research that you recommend when you face these decisions yourself?
Ultimately, I just want to be the healthiest I can be, and I know that eating habits are so crucial to that end. Any thoughts on your own journey or advice you would like to share would be greatly appreciated.
TIA ladies!!
Re: Omnivore, Vegetarian, Vegan, oh my! Advice?
I personally look at it from two viewpoints: my health, and environmental responsibility. I'm one of the people that gets sick faster if I cut out all meat, so I eat local, humanely raised beef and poultry that I get from my farmers market. I also eat fish about once a week, and I check it with seafoodwatch.org for sustainability requirements.
Going vegan or vegetarian should never include processed foods, imo. Those aren't good in anyone's diet. If you're not eating meat, great! But that doesn't mean you should run out and purchase soy dogs, morning star veggie burgers, and tofurkey for your lunchmeat sandwiches. Instead, make your own! Bean burgers are easy enough to make from scratch, and the nestie Branny has some awesome meat substitutes on her blog http://brannyboilsover.com. I've found that simply by buying high quality, hormone free, non-GMO fed meat locally, I appreciate it a lot more, so it's not a big deal that I'm not eating a hefty steak and potatoes meal daily, if that makes sense.
My newest deal is non-GMO. If you haven't yet, watch The Future of Food. You can netflix it, or you can watch the entire documentary online on the movie's website. Processed soy, other than being processed, is one of the big four GMO crops. I personally try to stay away from soy products. Instead of soymilk, make your own fresh almond milk! Or buy from a local Co-op or farmer in your area that you trust.
I haven't read them yet, but I've seen others recommend the Michael Pollan books. Omnivore's Dilemma comes to mind, it might help you try to sort out what approach you're going to take. I know it can be largely overwhelming, I felt the same way when I first started. Another thing I did, though time consuming, was sort this board to include all posts, and just started from the beginning. I read every post on the board and learned a LOT by doing it.
I'm in the "everything in moderation" camp. We eat meat that is locally and humanely raised, veggies, fruit--organic when possible, but not 100% of the time--ice cream (homemade now that we have a maker!), and everything in between within reason. We have some restrictions due to H's wheat allergy, but other than that I'm not going to put us into any specific dietary box. I don't eat a lot of meat, but I enjoy it when I do. I would miss eggs and milk. Clean eating is what we base the majority of our diet on, but even with that, we make some exceptions.
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I like the moderation approach for most things, but I have completely lost my taste for meat since I gave it up in November, so even if it's humanely raised, local etc., I have no interest.
I don't like using packaged food at all. I cook dried beans and grains that I buy in bulk, so pretty much the only packaged foods I buy are the occasional tempeh and tofu, yogurt, butter, and almond milk.
I still have a weakness for cheese and I like baking with real butter and eggs, so I consider myself a vegetarian that eats like a vegan about 75% of the time. I've felt MUCH better since I gave up meat and cows milk, but I know it's personal preference.
Ellie Jane - 9/12/11
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I can't really tell you what's the best option for you, but I can share my point of view as a vegetarian who eats very limited dairy and farm eggs.
I became vegetarian because I was never comfortable with the idea of eating animals. Exposure to movies, books, magazines etc. as well as my personal belief that animals feel with just as great of sensitivity as humans do led me down this path. In that regard, I also decided that if I were going to eat animalby-products I wanted to do so as humanely as possible. The limited amount of dairy products I purchase (mostly butter and milk for the occasional baking or goat cheese) comes from a local farmer, and our eggs are from cage free hens afriend keeps. If I weren't able to purchase dairy and eggs in a manner I was comfortable with I would go vegan.
We try to limit the amount of processed vegetarian foods we keep- really the only thing we buy is tofu and occasional gardenburgers. I'd say we eat tofu maybeonce a week and gardenburgers maybe once a month in the summer. I think that moderation is key with almost everything- I've seen lots of vegetarian and vegans who only eat noodles, or rice/beans which is not a well rounded diet.
Lastly, I choose to look for produce that is local and organic first. We're lucky tohave a pretty decent farmers market in the area and most of the famers either are organic or use minimal amounts of pesticides etc. when necessary. I trust my farmers, and it's ok to me if they are not certified organic.
There are so many great resources out there about different eating philosophies and I think your local library is a great resource to start with. I'm glad you're starting to examine your eating habits and I hope that you find the best optionfor you!
I gave up all meat but fish about 2 months ago (after reading Eating Animals). DH still eats meat but now we only buy organic, grassfed. No factory farming. My little brother is a vegan, and to me that is just too difficult. Being a vegetarian/pescaterian has been relatively easy, at home, restaurants, etc.
ETA: And all the eggs we eat are from local farms where the chickens are treated well.
You can look at all of it from different angles. For me, I still eat wild caught or organic meat once a month or so. For me it is "being the change I want to see". I have no problem with eggs. The chickens I buy my eggs from get to go outdoors and have adequate space, unlike the vast majority of chickens.
I agree, read Omnivores Dilemma. There is also a book called Food Rules by Michael Pollan which I have read some of.
In buying food there are so many options. Organic, fairtrade, vegetarian, vegan, free range, all are good, but stressing out over it can make you crazy. You're already doing the most important step, considering things. Most people don't think much about the food they buy. I also recommend taking a step at a time. Switch to all organic animal products, see what you want to give up from there.
I like the term conscious omnivore.
But overall, I'm not a big fan of labels. I was a strict vegetarian for about 10 years and then vegan for about 4 I think.
I rarely eat any meat/animal, but occassionally, I do have a burger or a steak (grass-fed, humanely raised). I eat more seafood/fish, but still that's just on average once a week or less.
I think if you just define your principles and what you support, it all works out in the end without having to confine to a strict label of what type of eater you are.
I like the term conscious omnivore.
But overall, I'm not a big fan of labels. I was a strict vegetarian for about 10 years and then vegan for about 4 I think.
I rarely eat any meat/animal, but occassionally, I do have a burger or a steak (grass-fed, humanely raised). I eat more seafood/fish, but still that's just on average once a week or less.
I think if you just define your principles and what you support, it all works out in the end without having to confine to a strict label of what type of eater you are.
Don't worry, changing something as fundamental as what fuels your body isn't easy. Just take it one step at a time. I know it seems like a lot of us on here do so much with food (grow it ourselves, shop the Farmer's Market, make things from scratch) but that all developed very slowly. Nobody does these things overnight. We started with one change, got good at that, then added another, and so on.
I agree with Alisha, I recommend determining what about food is important to you and then go from there, rather than trying to fit into a specific type of eater. Determine what is your food priority and then change your diet from there. You mentioned wanting to avoid processed foods, that's one priority. From your "Should I really not eat meat?" comment it doesn't sound like you think eating animals is fundametally wrong. You sound like you're having digestive problems with dairy, maybe lactose intolerance? Determine what are crucial issues to you and work from there.
In order to determine my "crucial food issues" I educated myself on how the conventional food system really works. The grocery store shelves is just the end product of a huge system of animal cruelty, shipping food from other continents, government subsidies, and growing food in monocultures. To learn how the whole system works, I watched Food Inc and The Future of Food. I read all of Michael Pollan's books; Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Babara Kingsolver, and am currently working on Silent Spring by Rachael Carson which started the modern environmentalist movement in the 1960s. I've also read countless blog postings, Mother Earth News magazine, and our county newspaper which, since we're an agriculture county, often discusses the changes in how Americans eat.
From that research, I determined my core food issue: the Environment. I eat local to support our local farmers, which preserves the environment of the county I live in, and reduces my food fossil fuel impact from transportation. The average grocery store item has traveled 1,500 miles, that's a lot of plane and truck fuel. I eat non-GMO since I believe GMOs will contaminate the environment and there will be no way to get rid of them. I eat meat from the Farmer's Market to prevent pollution (factory farms pollute more than all other factory sources combined) and because I was unhealthy after being veg for a year. We replaced all the heavily processed veg foods (veggie burgers, tofu, seitan) we had been eating with humane, local, pasture-raised meats.
I'm glad you want to be healthy, I think nothing is more important. If you have any questions about why I eat the way I do, please feel free to ask. I'm on this board daily.
I agree with figuring out what really matters to you and going from there. If health is one of your top concerns, many diets are healthy. There is no need to become a vegan or vegetarian strictly for health reasons; it's perfectly possible to be healthy and eat some meat, dairy, eggs, shellfish, etc. Health is about a balanced diet and not eating too much.
Don't feel you have to become perfect overnight, just pick one thing and change it. Start buying farm or free-range eggs, or cut back the number of meals you eat meat at. Increase the amount and types of vegetables you eat. Try to eat in season. "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" was a great book more about the ideals and less about the sensationalism. While I can't raise my own heirloom turkey, I still enjoyed the story.