A few weeks ago I briefly alluded to a non-fiction book I was reading, The China Study. At the time I said it deserved its own post, and here it is.
Back story. Remember our summer vacation at family camp? Well, one thing I didn’t mention at the time (or did I?) is how positively revolting the food is up there. You’d think that because the place is located in the heart of rural northern Michigan, surrounded by farms and orchards and Great Lakes, that every meal would be a feast of locally-grown produce and fresh fish. Alas, no. Every cholesterol-laden bite came to us from Gordon’s Food Service. By the end of the week let’s just say I was feeling a little gross. And the word “vegan” kept popping, unbidden, into my mind.
Shortly after we got back I learned that my mother-in-law was reading The China Study and thinking about becoming vegan. And as we talked about it, I felt more and more convinced that this was the way to go. It was so strange. It was like something clicked in my mind, and I felt this burden of worry lift off of me. Worry about cholesterol, growth hormones, mad cow disease, and god knows what all else. Understand, I’ve been an enthusiastic meat eater all my life. Red meat, too, and bloody. And dairy? I live for sour cream. But for some reason the thought of just giving it all up felt perfectly right — not at all a hardship or deprivation.
So I bought a vegan cookbook and started experimenting.
Selling the idea to my family. This was the hard part. Even my dear hubby, who is always happy to eat whatever I cook, would say things like, “What? You mean we’re never having bacon again?” And the kids, well, you can imagine. So I said things like “Well, okay, maybe we could have Meat Day once a month,” hoping that it wouldn’t come to that. And I kept in reserve the strategy of a vegan friend of mine, who finally managed to persuade her husband by, um, well, this is a G-rated blog so I can’t tell you the juicy details. ;) And anyway, it didn’t ever come to that. The more I cooked, and the more I experimented with different brands of soy products (they are not all created equal, not by a long shot), the less I heard from Steve about bacon. And the kids have gotten somewhat more accepting, too, especially after I bombarded them with information about the horrors of factory farming and the health dangers of an animal-based diet. Also, I think it helps that I haven’t been super-strict about it. If Lena wants to have hot lunch pizza at school once a week, okay. For now, anyway.
Results. The results, I swear to god, have been nothing less than astonishing. I have significantly more energy than I used to (that is, I’m still a lazyass a bit indolent, but much less so). Pounds (five so far) are effortlessly melting away. Steve’s psoriasis is greatly improved. And I know what you’re wondering: yes, our innards have adjusted to the increase in fiber and the atmosphere here is back to normal. The most astonishing thing, though, is that I truly do not miss meat or dairy AT ALL. Or junk food, either. It’s not even part of the equation any more. Amazing. I NEVER would have predicted this.
Here are some things I’ve learned:
- Trader Joe’s soy milk is the best and the cheapest.
- Silk brand soy yogurt is soooooo good!
- Seitan does not make a good stroganoff.
- Nor does vegan sour cream.
- You can get kids to eat almost anything if you put it in a soup and puree it.
- Going vegan requires a significant financial commitment. Ouch!
A note on the terminology. I’m not really comfortable with the word vegan, to tell the truth. First, it sounds so radical. I’m not one of those weird crunchy granola hippie dippie types. I’m not! I’m really quite mainstream. Well, okay, I had a couple of home births, but my kids are all vaccinated, I swear. But more importantly, vegan doesn’t really describe our diet. After all, as the author of The China Study points out, McDonald’s fries and a Coke is technically a vegan meal. In the book they call it a “whole foods, plant-based diet,” which I like much better. Especially since the alternative is an “animal-based diet” which, when you say it that way, sounds pretty nasty.
10 Comments
(ahem) I’m sure the reason our dietary shifts were er, ‘negotiation-free’, is that we are already so ‘compatible’. (winking smiley face–however you do that)
Oh, and the health benefits were very persuasive–I’m sure that’s it.
But seriously…
At times, I grumbled and grouched about the change–and I’m ready to fall off the
veganwhole foods/plant-based ‘wagon’ at the drop of a hat–but between those times I’m enjoying the weight loss/psoriasis-improving aspects of things.But also this: this diet significantly frees us from a corporate-driven food scheme (please if there’s another layer of corporations behind soy-products, don’t tell me–yet). I actually used to look forward to Sunday supermarket sales circulars and enjoy strategically shopping for the week and to stock our pantry. I miss that, but also see more clearly that our–this society’s–food ’system’ is centered around centralized, industrial forms of production and distribution. Not very appetizing, is it?
Maybe I’m slipping into that ‘zone’ of zeal where reside the newly converted (converted to whatever). So, lest I rant further, I’ll just say, ’so far so good’.
But Julie, just out of curiosity, about that other couple? Let’s talk about that some time, eh?
You know, I admire you for doing this. Though, I do have a couple of caveats to the whole factory-farmed animal thing. 1) We have some good friends who tried to raise their kids vegetarian. They found, after a bit, that their kids were lacking the iron they needed. Keep an eye out for that. 2) I don’t think eating meat is inherently bad (why else are cows on this earth?), but eating factory farmed meat is. If you find a local farmer, who raises their beef/chicken/eggs/pork on an organic diet without hormones, and eat it sensibly, I think it’s perfectly fine.
I do need help with the junk food thing, though. I love to bake TOO much. :)
I too admire. We are not big meat eaters anyway, but I am not stringent about where I buy the food and who grows it, as I know I ought to be. The financial thing is a bigger issue for me–it’s one of life’s unfairnesses that the cheapest foods are the unhealthiest. I paused by the tofu at the store yesterday and pondered. But I don’t know which to buy, or really how to use it, and so I put it off, again. Maybe a cookbook is in order around here.
Sorry, had to comment again…
“I miss that, but also see more clearly that our–this society’s–food ’system’ is centered around centralized, industrial forms of production and distribution. Not very appetizing, is it?”
Back to my local farm thing… and to burst your bubble… buying organic from Trader Joes or from Silk isn’t a whole lot more decentralized than buying from Meijers. It might be better for you, yes, but it’s still putting money in the pockets of big corporations. (The person to read here is Michael Pollan, but there are plenty of others who have done the research too. Basically, if your organic diet is dependent upon the organic food section of a major supermarket chain, then that food may have been grown according to various specifications, but it has still been planted and harvested by machines, treated to survive cross-country transportation, etc.)
The best thing (ha, here I go again) is to buy from local farmers. That way you can know exactly what is going into the food you’re eating. And, most likely, it’ll be organic. A lot of CSAs (community-supported agriculture) and food co-ops are both organic and local, which is the best of both worlds.
Still expensive, though.
Another thing to add to the list of things we have in common! (and I’m sure time will bring you around to Jane Austen… mwa ha ha!)
Melissa, I agree with everything you said. We have belonged to organic co-ops & CSA groups in the past and will continue to do so. However:
1. For me, it’s easier just to not eat meat than to do all the research and worrying about where the meat came from.
2. And frankly, I’m more concerned about “diseases of affluence” (heart disease, cancer, diabetes, etc.) than I am about the factory farming situation. Not that factory farming isn’t an issue, but for me it’s not the main thing. Though it was very helpful in convincing the kids. :)
And Ink, I’ve been very happy with the vegan cookbook I linked to in the post. Except for the seitan stroganoff.
And Syl, why am I not surprised? But don’t hold your breath on Austen. ;)
I’ve been vegetarian for years and years, and our son has never eaten meat. I just love animals, and I can’t bear the thought that they are killed so I can eat them, especially since I don’t need to eat them to live. So that’s the main reason for me.
More recently I’ve read some of Pollan’s work, and read/heard about factory farming even in the mainstream media, so that’s only convinced me to remain meat-free. I was always a bit intimidated by the idea of running a vegan household, but after reading your post, I’m realizing our house is essentially there. Somehow we’re just not eating dairy and eggs with any frequency anymore. Somewhere back there I started buying soy milk and yogurt, and I’m pretty sure the eggs in our fridge are eons past expiration. I guess changing dietary habits is an ongoing process.
I would love to not support big corporations with my food dollar, but since my family objects if I don’t buy food, I’d rather my bucks were going to Whole Foods or Stonybrook than A&P and Kraft. We try to buy from local farmers as much as possible, so I assuage my guilt that way ;-)
I applaud your plant-based diet, and just know that you are not the only mainstream household making these kind of choices.
What? Liesl? You love animals? I had no idea [grin]. It does sound like you’re practically there, though. Your comment (”I was always a bit intimidated by the idea of running a vegan household”) reminds me of something else I meant to say in the post, which was that the biggest hurdle for me has been the idea of telling people. I mean, it’s one thing to eat vegan but it’s another thing entirely to say “I’m vegan,” especially if all your life you’ve been happily carnivorous. I just know my parents are thinking “who are you and what have you done with my child.” :)
Ah, well, the one universal truth of parenting is that kids never stay in one phase forever. So, you could try telling your parents that carnivorism (is that a word?) was just a phase ;-)
But yeah, I’ve gotten some googly eyes from folks who are convinced that a plant-based diet inevitably leads to malnutrition, especially in youngsters. People are way to focused on protein intake, ime, when excessive protein intake and its related health issues are bigger problems in this country. I guess you could tell people you’ve modified your diet for health reasons.
Here’s a vegan blog you may enjoy.
http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/