Over the course of about 5 years I hear from all types of people about what they eat. This mostly occurs if I'm wearing a vegan pin or a shirt, then I hear it. I have stopped wearing vegan pins and shirts. I am thinking of taking my shirts that I designed down at VeganofLight.com. They are pretty cool though.
I don't feel better after eating meat or eggs or dairy. So I'm not going to do it.
In the course of the last 5-6 years, I've heard from ex-vegans and ex-vegetarians who absolutely had to eat meat once in a while, some fish or something. My own mother actually used the words "foggy" three years ago when she went vegan. After a month she brought back in eggs and some fish.
About 5 years ago in FL, I had recently gone vegan and I met an ex-vegan. She was vegan for 7 years. She told me she has fish and/or turkey once a week and she feels so much better. You know what I said, "Well that's better than eating meat all the time." (Honestly, thank God for the Vegan Outreach balanced literature.) I figured that she was probably not eating ground flax or something to get her EFAs. Really, I'm not a nutrition "expert" which is fine since I feel that "experts" already know everything.
In the last month, I met five people who were ex-vegetarians or ex-vegans. One at the World Veg Fest in October. The others were in the grocery store across the street and one is a friend in my spiritual faith. Except for one who noticed no difference at all after eating meat again, and the one who I didn't ask, the others said they felt much better. Some also feel slightly guilty, but all invariably do their best to source meat and eggs from much better sources than factory farms and caged hens.
I'm actually sorry they feel guilty, really I am. Some day I really think we will all adapt and feel perfectly zippy on all plants, but right now we are transitioning genetically. That's my belief and I'm sticking to it ;-)
I am happy with all the books and the ex-vegans coming out. It encourages people to think. Thinking for yourself is good. John Robbins is one of my most favorite people in the world, nevertheless you should still think for yourself.
I believe that in order to live on this hot, small planet there will be a mixture of small farms, hunting, plant eaters, and people who have their own chickens for eggs or their flesh. I am more than willing to give up my share of meat, if there is such a thing, to people who are genetically predisposed to needing it or even think they need to eat it. I think they too will adapt to a plant based diet over time, but I don't have a big stick to make them. Do you?
