Oprah, Martha, Ellen?

It's true. Many major players on the tube are now either vegan (Ellen) or leaning towards veganism (Oprah and Martha.) Why is this movement becoming so huge all of a sudden? Ah. Where to start ... So many reasons, but a big one is taste. There are a plethora of products out there that taste exactly like meat, but are plant-based. This makes the transition to a plant-based diet more appealing to those who really enjoy the taste of meat.

One big name out there you may have heard of is Kathy Freston, who recently wrote Veganist. She's  been a guest with Oprah, Martha, and Ellen. Below is an excerpt of her wowing the hosts of Good Morning America with tasty treats. What I really like about her style is her idea of leaning, as she puts it,  into this new way of eating by tweaking some of your favorite recipes. (I did this a while back with tacos and found the new version to be much tastier than the old!) She's gotten some flack from some folks for promoting processed foods that taste like meat as opposed to an all whole foods diet. While the latter is the ideal, I think Kathy really bridges the divide that, until recently, felt uncrossable for those who grew up enjoying the taste of meat but who felt bad about having animals killed for their own tastebuds. If we're being respectful to animals (and getting healthier!), I honestly don't see what the big deal is.

And here she is on The Talk...

In addition to taste, another reason plant-based food has become big is the health benefits. In July 2009, the American Dietetic Association  claimed the following about vegetarianism:

An evidence-based review showed that vegetarian diets can be nutritionally adequate in pregnancy and result in positive maternal and infant health outcomes. The results of an evidence-based review showed that a vegetarian diet is associated with a lower risk of death from ischemic heart disease. Vegetarians also appear to have lower low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, lower blood pressure, and lower rates of hypertension and type 2 diabetes than nonvegetarians. Furthermore, vegetarians tend to have a lower body mass index and lower overall cancer rates. Features of a vegetarian diet that may reduce risk of chronic disease include lower intakes of saturated fat and cholesterol and higher intakes of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, soy products, fiber, and phytochemicals.

 

So I brought up the Oprah-Martha-Ellen star factor not so that we can emulate what Hollywood says or does, but because it shows how mainstream veganism is becoming. It also helps to nix the stereotype of the hippy-vegan when you see pretty-pretty plant-eating people who look amazing!

I'll be posting some amazing recipes soon that made me swoon. I swear I wasn't trying to rhyme that.

The Delightful Lightness of Being

So I've been eating a plant-based diet for about a month and a half now and I'm quite taken aback at how good I feel. Lighter is definitely a good word. No more "backups." I never feel that "lordy-I-ate-too-much"-ouch, but have a very pleasant satiated feeling and never get those low-blood sugar MUST-EAT! attacks anymore. The best part, though, aside from how good food tastes and that lightness, is feeling whole. I always felt in my gut I was a hypocrite, and therefore only part of who I was capable of being. I loved animals and felt very protective of their welfare, but I was consuming them from an industry that, deep down, I knew wasn't treating them well. But like so many I said, "Don't tell me about it. I don't want to know!"

With each passing year of shopping at the supermarket, though, I'd feel "wrong" standing at the deli counter ordering a few slices of Virginia ham and Swiss cheese. Not wrong enough to forgo buying and consuming the meat, of course. But it always seemed like it was that moment when I had a choice and I walked through the door of denial. I'd peruse the chicken sausage and try to push away that unnameable dishonest feeling, like I was wearing clothes that were way too small. Hindsight is 20/20, of course. I was knee-deep in denial, convincing myself that I bought organic "humanely raised" meat. "Yes, it's terrible that an animal had to die, but at least it was quick."

Reality knocked those assumptions out the window. It is not quick. It is not kind. Humane? I'm not sure what that word means any more if it describes what I've seen in my search for the truth of what happened behind those closed doors. (Paul McCartney said, "If slaughterhouses had glass walls, everyone would be vegetarian.")

So what made me want to know the truth? It was really the sum of many factors. I had always loved Ellen DeGeneres and was curious about her conversion to veganism, especially since she had always been vocal about loving her hamburgers. I could see cutting meat, but what was wrong with eggs and milk? Who could give up cheese, for crying out loud?? I started exploring vegan blogs, just to see what was there. I certainly wasn't going to commit to it, but I was admittedly curious. On one of of those blogs, however, were ten minutes total of scenes from the documentary Earthlings (along with deleted scenes) and I watched it. What I saw simply horrified me. There's no other word for it. And, in an instant, I was done. No more meat, no more eggs, no more dairy. (If you're wondering why not dairy or eggs, I'll get into that at a later date, but suffice to say that they are some of the worst offenders. And all the animals end up slaughtered in the end.) When I later smelled a whiff of bacon cooking and tmy initial thought was "yum!" I simply had to think back to some of those scenes, and the smell instantly stopped enticing me. 

Interview of Ellen DeGeneres

I told my husband that night that I had seen these images and I couldn't be a part of that cruelty any more. Much to my surprise, he said he'd try out the diet with me for one month. I was pretty floored, as he has always loved his meat. (I had already been wondering, "How are we going to do this? Do we make two separate dinners each night?" So he set my fears to rest.)

I ultimately did watch Earthlings, though I had been dreading it. I decided one day I was home sick to just watch it in 5-minute increments; 5 minutes one day, 5 minutes the next, and so on. After the first 5 minutes, though, I couldn't tear myself away, even with my finger on the pause button, ready to strike. I felt I owed it to the animals I had eaten and who were being slaughtered every day to simply watch it, as they were the ones who actually had to endure it. The trailer, which is not heavy but quite beautiful, is below. (The whole movie was made available for free on youtube. The producers want as many people as possible to see it.)

Trailer (no gore here) of the documentary Earthlings

So that's the beginning of the story.

I tend to love researching a topic, so I've been reading up a ton. Much much more to follow ...

Peaceful Eating!

~Katrina