Where do you get your protein? Trust me. I spend less time looking around for protein than I do answering this question. Joke. I don't mind answering this question, because if there is something people don't know about being a veg head, than I'm happy to answer. Let's compare 100 calories of steak to 100 calories of broccoli. Steak wins with protein at around 13 g, and broccoli has about 6.5. However in that 100 calories of broccoli I get 9g of fiber, 114mg of calcium, a butt load of other minerals and a decent amount of B complex vitamins. In the 100 calories of steak I'd get over 4 g of fat, 40 grams of cholesterol and an overall sad profile of vitamins/minerals. So I will always eat 200 calories worth of broccoli before touching steak. Quinoa is a complete protein. Black beans, mushrooms, almonds, almond milk, chia seeds.....See where I'm going with this?
Do you miss meat? Sometimes. Thats my honest answer. When I'm really stressed out, when everyone around me is eating steak and chicken fajitas and it smells ok. The answer is sometimes. Sometimes I cheat. Yes...I am a flawed, flawed human being and a flawed vegetarian. Now this will open me up for criticism. I don't care. My path is my own. I make my decisions and I know they make a difference. Someone who is a mass consumer of meat will use this paragraph to try and thwart vegetarians and vegans. Stop it. Ask your self what you have done for the one earth you have to live one? Only then can you judge me. In the 18 months since I have been a vegetarian I have prevented water from being wasted and animals from being slaughtered. I know it's a difficult concept. But one person really DOES HAVE AN IMPACT. My daily choices to not consume meat, and to reduce the amount of animal products in my life do much more for my health and my environment than your mockery ever will.
Why did you become a vegetarian? Here is the bottom line. The earth is my mother. Her animals are my friends. I am her keeper. In more detail my reasons are two fold. I cannot ethically claim to be a lover of animals and tell people I have their best interest in mind while slamming their dead flesh in my face. I honestly believe if people took the time to research and connect with where their food is coming from, more people would make this decision. If you had an adorable baby chick sitting in your blender, would you turn on the blender? (Some of my friends are going to say yes...I worry about you) I literally don't know a single human being who would willingly torture a baby bird in a blender. Thankfully. Yet mass production of meat creates that every day and MUCH WORSE. I also cannot claim to love my mother earth if I continue to pay into the things that destroy her the most. The amount of water and food it takes to feed...your food...is consuming the earth. Deforestation. Desertification. You may not see it here. Big agra is ruining the earth. In India it's estimated a farmer takes his life every 30 minutes. Big western agriculture companies sell them tractors so they can create more crops. They still aren't able to produce enough food to pay out their debt. So big agri comes in and buys their land, leaving them still in debt and without hope. This is ONE example of an entire earth of inhabitants, human and animal, suffering from the effects of current agricultural practices. If people stopped eating irresponsibly raised meat, there would be enough food for the world over. We could give earth back some of her space.
Do you hate or do you mind if I eat meat? I hope you've read until this point. I know this is a topic of endless arguments. Everything I've said will be negated by somebody I'm sure. However, NO I DO NOT HATE OR JUDGE MEAT EATERS. If anything, the carnivores of the world for some reason feel compelled to judge/devalue vegetarians and vegans. My thoughts on eating meat are this. That is your path. I cannot force you to bloom before you are ready. If I can inspire, educate or plant an idea that is enough for me. I also don't have a problem with responsibly and humanely raised livestock. This will be a point of contention among other vegetarians and vegans. Guys, I just want you to be nice. We have a consciousness that demands us to be responsible and compassionate. Please stop turning a blind eye to what is going on around you.
Do you miss meat? Sometimes. Thats my honest answer. When I'm really stressed out, when everyone around me is eating steak and chicken fajitas and it smells ok. The answer is sometimes. Sometimes I cheat. Yes...I am a flawed, flawed human being and a flawed vegetarian. Now this will open me up for criticism. I don't care. My path is my own. I make my decisions and I know they make a difference. Someone who is a mass consumer of meat will use this paragraph to try and thwart vegetarians and vegans. Stop it. Ask your self what you have done for the one earth you have to live one? Only then can you judge me. In the 18 months since I have been a vegetarian I have prevented water from being wasted and animals from being slaughtered. I know it's a difficult concept. But one person really DOES HAVE AN IMPACT. My daily choices to not consume meat, and to reduce the amount of animal products in my life do much more for my health and my environment than your mockery ever will.
Why did you become a vegetarian? Here is the bottom line. The earth is my mother. Her animals are my friends. I am her keeper. In more detail my reasons are two fold. I cannot ethically claim to be a lover of animals and tell people I have their best interest in mind while slamming their dead flesh in my face. I honestly believe if people took the time to research and connect with where their food is coming from, more people would make this decision. If you had an adorable baby chick sitting in your blender, would you turn on the blender? (Some of my friends are going to say yes...I worry about you) I literally don't know a single human being who would willingly torture a baby bird in a blender. Thankfully. Yet mass production of meat creates that every day and MUCH WORSE. I also cannot claim to love my mother earth if I continue to pay into the things that destroy her the most. The amount of water and food it takes to feed...your food...is consuming the earth. Deforestation. Desertification. You may not see it here. Big agra is ruining the earth. In India it's estimated a farmer takes his life every 30 minutes. Big western agriculture companies sell them tractors so they can create more crops. They still aren't able to produce enough food to pay out their debt. So big agri comes in and buys their land, leaving them still in debt and without hope. This is ONE example of an entire earth of inhabitants, human and animal, suffering from the effects of current agricultural practices. If people stopped eating irresponsibly raised meat, there would be enough food for the world over. We could give earth back some of her space.
Do you hate or do you mind if I eat meat? I hope you've read until this point. I know this is a topic of endless arguments. Everything I've said will be negated by somebody I'm sure. However, NO I DO NOT HATE OR JUDGE MEAT EATERS. If anything, the carnivores of the world for some reason feel compelled to judge/devalue vegetarians and vegans. My thoughts on eating meat are this. That is your path. I cannot force you to bloom before you are ready. If I can inspire, educate or plant an idea that is enough for me. I also don't have a problem with responsibly and humanely raised livestock. This will be a point of contention among other vegetarians and vegans. Guys, I just want you to be nice. We have a consciousness that demands us to be responsible and compassionate. Please stop turning a blind eye to what is going on around you.