This Blog is About:
My passage to veganism; I intend to chronicle the foods eaten (and not eaten). This blog will offer recipes, meal planning tips and information regarding the benefits of this way of eating. I will not get up on my soapbox regarding this lifestyle; however, I may serve a petite course of vegan/vegetarian philosophy every now and then. But don’t worry; I don’t dictate my individual preference to anyone (although I’m not above gentle persuasion) and I’m not a talkative person. I just hope I don’t bore you and that you enjoy reading my [first] blog.


Becoming Vegan
I have been a vegetarian for 28 years; I consume no meat, fish, or poultry, gelatin, honey, cheese with rennet; I eat eggs and milk only in the form of baked goods. For at least 15 of years I’ve been vegetarian, my eating habits have ping-ponged between vegetarian and vegan. It is my intention (during the course of this assignment), to give up all animal-related food products. It is generally believed that it takes 28 days to create a new habit, so please stay tuned.


Why Vegetarian?
I was eight years old the first time I met someone who didn’t consume meat - a neighbor who refrained for religious reasons. I asked her the one question I’m sure she’d heard many times before: Then what do you eat? She explained to me that there was plenty, and I became witness to this fact whenever I saw her prepare dinner for her husband. But it wasn’t until my senior year as an undergraduate that I began to consider giving up the beast, not for religious, ethical or even health reasons. Initially, I stopped eating meat out of curiosity; I simply wanted the experience. So, before starting, I read everything I could find on the subject. The research paid off in a big way by cementing my resolve to give up meat mainly for health and environmental reasons. Never once, during the 28 years I have been vegetarian, have I regretted my choice not to eat meat.


Why Vegan?
I would like to say that I intend to be vegan for ethical reasons. I spent many summers on the farm of my grandparents, who slaughtered their own meat. While I am aware of the truth about how eggs, milk, and that slab of ribs arrive at the local grocer-- the operation of mass production—I intend to become vegan for health reason. I have chronic pain in my shoulder (shoulder impingement syndrome) and relief from this pain only comes when I do not eat inflammation-causing foods. Dairy products are a major source of inflammation. So it is for health reasons that milk and eggs must exit my life; I shall say bye-bye to butter and cast out cheese, forever. After at least 28 days, I intend to say, “I am vegan.”