Conscious Eating and the
Futility of Labeling Oneself

Animals on factory farms do not have the legal protection against animal abuse that our family pets do. If we call ourselves animal lovers, we should become more conscious of how the food we eat is raised.

"Every factory-farmed animal is, as a practice, treated in ways that would be illegal if it were a dog or a cat." (from article Against Meat: The Fruits of Family Trees)

“If anyone wants to save the planet, all they have to do is just stop eating meat. That’s the single most important thing you could do. It’s staggering when you think about it. Vegetarianism takes care of so many things in one shot: ecology, famine, cruelty.”
—Sir Paul McCartney

Also see my links page.

Beginning in college, I stopped eating red meat and poultry, but still ate seafood, dairy, and eggs. This was the era of the Moosewood Cookbooks and Diet for a Small Planet, and I always found a multitude of things to cook, which didn't include meat. I considered myself a semi-vegetarian for 30 years.

Then I read about the direct connection between dairy products and the meat industry. I was truly shocked to realize that cows must go through cycles of pregnancy and birth for most of their lives, in order to produce milk for humans. They are typically considered "spent" after a few years, then slaughtered for meat. Their calves (if male) are usually taken away right after birth, and raised for veal. Since consuming dairy products meant taking part in this industry, I stopped.

I used to eat free-range eggs, since they are not from hens living in battery cages, until I found out that even chickens who are not confined in a battery cage are still likely to have their beaks seared off, to be fed a hormone-laced diet until they're so heavy they can barely walk, to rarely see daylight, to not be able to spread their wings, and to live in filthy, inhumane conditions. And male chicks regularly get ground up alive. The poultry industry is the worst in terms of inhumane conditions.

I'm not a 100% certified vegan, because I sometimes eat seafood, eggs, and honey. I still own shoes made from leather. But that is where my heart and my intentions are. Kathy Freston would call me a veganist.

There is a continuum of conscious awareness that more and more people are exploring (although many many simply don't care). This includes concerns about where our food comes from (how both plants and animals are raised), how animals AND HUMANS in animal production are treated, the environmental impact of our food choices, and the health choices of what we eat.

I believe that what I eat and drink makes a difference, not only to my own health, but to the health and welfare of animals, the environment, world hunger, climate change, and the future of creation.

I said I didn't want to preach, but I truly believe that what and how we eat is an ethical choice we all make, each day, at every meal, either consciously or not. Being vegetarian or vegan is indisputably a gentler way to eat, for the sake of animals and the environment. I encourage you to at least cut back on the amount of animal products you consume, and look for ways to buy from farmers who have provided some dignity to the animals.

I found this 20-minute video of New York Times food writer Mark Bittman very profound and balanced. Bittman "weighs in on what's wrong with the way we eat now (too much meat, too few plants; too much fast food, too little home cooking), and why it's putting the entire planet at risk."

Here are some films about the animal industry from meat.org. I suggest that if you can't watch it, you shouldn't be eating what that industry is producing. If you'd like less visuals, you can read The Humane Society's Guide to Vegetarian Eating.