I’ve always been a veggie-eater, a bit more so in the past years of growing food from my yard. It’s fitting that my other blog is one about plants for food given that that’s just about all we eat. You can read my antics over there, at the original DirtNKids Blog.
Diane Rehm interviewed another fabulous guest, Jenny Brown of the Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary. Her compelling story called to me action. Got an hour? Listen to the piece that spurred me into farm animal activist mode. Who knew I even had it in me?
Well maybe, you already saw that one coming.
I have Jenny to thank for changing how I have genuinely felt about PETA and other activists I’ve met throughout the decades of my life. I no longer think of them as wackos, just people with a strong desire to do good – particularly for the billions upon billions of sentient beings who lack a collective voice.
My ears were open that day. My eyes are now too. I’m really looking forward to reading her book I just bought. Until then, time for some blog-building action and much needed sleep afterward.
But I really needed to get that off my chest first.
Greens for Good 
Thanks for letting me know about the new blog. I’m really looking forward to seeing how you explore the topic, and expand on your meat-loving vegetarian confessions. It’s amazing that we manage to collectively close our eyes to the incredible amount of suffering we impose on our fellow creatures (often in the name of such easily forgone delicacies as chicken nuggets) – yet when they’re our pets, or featured in films or youtube clips, we understand that animals are worthy of our empathy. If the comments on Jenny Brown’s site are any indication, suggesting that there might be a more responsible (consistent? honest?) approach is enough to set off strong emotions. Brace yourself.
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Yes. I’m expecting emotions on both sides which is why I’m stepping out slowly and methodically.
I’m so glad you stopped by. I would love your opinion on my approach. Click on the banner link, Why Greens? Why Good? There is useful information in the sub-pages there as well.
The natural next step for us is to eliminate all meat and meat-products from our diet. It’s not much (compared with others), but it will seal the deal for my heart. “Anything with a face” is the goal.
My kids and husband are fully on board. Wish us luck! I’ll be leaning on you for some of your recipes – perhaps re-blogging them.
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I haven’t explored all the links or videos yet (I will have bandwidth issues until I get back to LA), but you’ve put together a nice list of resources – and the tone invites reflection, not conflict.
Good luck in eliminating food with faces from your diet (having your family behind you helps). Cooking without meat can seem limiting to some, but it leads to a lot more creativity and variety than you get with a usual North American diet.
Feel free to reblog my recipes. If you want, I can share some of the recipes from the 222 app (which are a bit more swish). About 40% of the meals in the first collection are vegetarian (and a subset of those are vegan), and the next collection will be 100% vegetarian.
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Thank you as usual for your candor. You can bet I’ll be reblogging your recipes, so thanks so much for the pre-mission. It will be a work in progress, particularly separating out emotion from fact.
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So are fish and seafood out of the eating plan now too?
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Yes. And it all has to do with the brain and nervous system of the living thing. In short? The more complex the brain and stem, the more likely the being feels pain and terror.
I wouldn’t consider that a shrimp feels terror, but they’re off my list as well. Harvesting the ocean’s crustaceans may not be the answer for feeding billions of humans. The energy input required is one problem; upsetting the ocean’s food chain is another.
As for food chains, animals eat veggies, humans eat animals to get vitamins and minerals (they are what they eat, we are what we eat). Why not just go straight to the source?
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If we come visit again, I will have to pack us a cooler! 🙂
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Nonsense! There’s an HEB and Kroger right around the corner and they have plenty of non-vegan choices. Just don’t expect for me to be buying them for you. 🙂
I sure hope that means that you ARE planning a visit…that you’re not just teasing me. I promise not to push off our veganism on you. Too hard, anyway. LOL We need a girl fix!
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