Go vegan! (it’s great, really!)

[Anonymous]

I just wanted to say, while it’s a small, but personal step, I think going vegan made me feel like I was doing what I could about the environment. It’s not everything, but it’s a huge statement of values. Honestly, I want to tell people, as someone who was a skeptic at first, I really love living this way. I don’t miss anything I used to eat all that much and I feel so healthy. If you’re curious about it, ask me anything. I swear I will be honest.

[Anonymous]

Every time I have tried to go vegetarian, let alone vegan, I have ended up severely anemic. I wish I could avoid that, but I can't.

[Anonymous]

Getting used to eating a diet without meat takes time, practice, and help. That doesn’t mean you can’t try again if you want to. Kidney beans. Lentils. So many good recipes. Check out vegan Richa’s blog or a million others. Just saying, it might not be your time right now, but it doesn’t preclude you from trying again.

[Anonymous]

I was vegan for two years (vegetarian for more than 10) and felt terrible. Turns out I have a ton of food allergies and a tofu and seitan heavy diet was just about the worst thing for me. Beans tore up my stomach. Veganism also is associated with a higher risk of depression. I now eat sustainably raised meat and feel a ton better.

So it's great that veganism works for some people, but it's definitely not for everyone - and I don't think that people should be encouraged to "try again" or otherwise ill if they have ended up severely anemic on a vegetarian or vegan diet.

[Anonymous]

You know what holds me back from vegan eating? All of my vegan friends eat so much heavily processed and fake food! And so much soy which has complications if you don't want extra estrogen in your body.

I think my household has a pretty healthy and varied diet based around our CSA veggies, organic whole meats (not lunchmeat, sausage, etc.), vegetarian dinners roughly 2-3 nights a week, and making many things from scratch (like all desserts, homemade bread, grind our own meat if we have burgers, fresh pasta, make our own stock for soups, etc.). To me that seems like a good compromise.

I use vegan recipes here and there, but not if they include fake "cheese", fake "meat", and the like.

[Anonymous]

I was vegan for a whole year and felt weak for two years. I now prefer to consume meat every other week.

[Anonymous]

So much farting... just so much

[Anonymous]

I don’t want to bring anyone down, but there’s still a huge environmental toll with “sustainably raised meat.” They still kill the animal. Beans, if cooked properly, don’t make you have more gas than anything else.

The point is, it’s one thing people can do to make a difference. But like anything else, it takes a commitment to change. You have to enjoy cooking, but I already do.

I wanted to be a voice to say to people, if you’re curious, it’s worth it. You will get pushback from people who still want to eat meat and dairy, but I don’t think that should stop you. If anything, it makes me realize it touches a nerve.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You know what holds me back from vegan eating? All of my vegan friends eat so much heavily processed and fake food! And so much soy which has complications if you don't want extra estrogen in your body.

I think my household has a pretty healthy and varied diet based around our CSA veggies, organic whole meats (not lunchmeat, sausage, etc.), vegetarian dinners roughly 2-3 nights a week, and making many things from scratch (like all desserts, homemade bread, grind our own meat if we have burgers, fresh pasta, make our own stock for soups, etc.). To me that seems like a good compromise.

I use vegan recipes here and there, but not if they include fake "cheese", fake "meat", and the like.

[/quote
I mean, you don’t have to though, right? My non vegan friends eat a ahi& ton of processed foods - lunch meats and sausage and all kinds of crap. Grinding your own meat doesn’t make it magically healthy. It’s still bad for you. Who cares what it ate or whatever. It’s meat.

[Anonymous]

There’s so many things you can eat. I never eat fake meats eggs or cheese. I eat oatmeal, fruits, veggies, salads, beans, rice, tofu, pasta, veggie noodles, veggie and rice bowls, so much variety. It’s not hard.

[Anonymous]

If your concern is environmental, it would be much more effective to advocate for people to eat less meat/dairy, not to go Vegan. 1,000 people who go meatless M-F is much more effective than 50 vegans.

[Anonymous]

Not vegan. But I am (mostly) vegetarian. I’ll eat meat if we have dinner with friends, for example. Vegan just requires so much substitution, and those substitutes aren’t great for you.

My compromise - We eat a plant based diet. I buy eggs directly from a friend with backyard chickens who are treated like pets. I get milk from a cruelty free dairy farm. I just could not continue eating meat knowing what I now know about how the animals are treated. I felt like I was ingesting their suffering.

[Anonymous]

All the steps to reduce meat consumption are great. It’s not either/or. I think all of this is amazing. Being vegan now reminds me of being vegetarian in the 90s. A lot of resistance, but ultimately, it made a difference.


And importantly, it’s getting easier to do now. So many great meatless options, at all levels of fancy or casual.

[Anonymous]

Beans, if cooked properly, don’t make you have more gas than anything else.

That is absolutely not true for some people - people with IBS or other digestive issues, for example. Look, a vegan diet just isn't right for many people. I am all for protecting the environment, but it needs to be done in a way to recognizes the actual human diet (omnivorous). You are just not going to sell large numbers of people on eliminating meat, and saying that it is "so easy" comes across as entitled and preachy.

[Anonymous]

I wish I could even be just vegetarian, but I have gastroparesis, IBS, and get SIBO bouts. Carb only meals make me ill very quickly, or any bean entrée.