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please help... i'm so lost

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Krysten Kruger said #1 Sep 16, 2010 at 2:59pm

so what started as a happy little inspired journey into vegetarianism last January has turned into a chronic back and forth, keeping me up at night, overwhelming THING that is just consuming me. i dont know what to do. The more I read, the more informed i get, the more confused i am. The closer it gets to the fall/winter, the more i want to cook all my meaty favorites. I watched Food Inc. I've reread the kind diet a thousand times. ive been to some vegetarian rallies that i loved. I'm still really involved. But there's this part of me that seems to growing everyday that just wants to buy some meat from whole foods, maybe a couple times a month, to make her favorites. that wants to cook and eat all her old favorite comfort foods with her husband (who is very supportive but not veg)


when i say i'm up at night about this im not lying. l go from being appalled to the idea of killing something just to TASTE it, when i know i dont need it to survive. on the other hand i think its good that there are places out there, little family farms, who do take the time/effort/money and work to keep sustainable farms. i know that we as a people ate meat for a very very long time, and i dont have a problem with that. what i seem to struggle with more is how much that has changed and been industrialized, and how much suffering and damage has to come animals, the planet, and us because of it. so then i think that maybe we as a people are getting more enlightened, and realizing that animals are more like us than we thought, and deserve better, and that we dont have to eat them to survive, so why eat them? maybe there's a natural process thats happening there too?


i dont know. i just know that this is consuming me. i watch and read and listen, hoping that i'll hve some grand epiphany, and instead i end up just more informed and more confused. help help help!

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Stephany Garbett said #2 Sep 16, 2010 at 5:09pm

I became a vegan in April after reading The Kind Life, and I was a vegetarian for 11 years prior. The one thing I have learned throughout this journey is that it always has to be a decision that fits and works in your heart and with your life. It is all about readiness. I was never ready to be a vegan until I read the Kind Diet and finally realized that this choice was about me, my life, my body, my decisions. And being vegan before you are ready for that can be really difficult.

Give yourself time. Either way you go- people are going to question you and disagree. So you have to make the decision you are ready to make. It is not closing the door on what you can do in the future.

Hope my rambling makes sense :) Best wishes for what ever decision you make.

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kittyTNRchick said #3 Sep 16, 2010 at 10:47pm

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catconsrv said #4 Sep 17, 2010 at 4:02am

Krysten, most of your post leans towards not eating animals so that is a good thing. You mention small family farms, but what you don't realize is that if you go buy meat at a grocery store, you are not supporting those small family farms. Most of those farms probably sell at farmer's markets, etc. The bottom line is that they are still slaughtering animals, regardless of how they are treated beforehand. Also, they are probably still pulling babies away from their moms to keep up production, even though it is far less than a factory farm. They are still in it for the business.


As for your meaty recipes that you love in the winter, can you substitute Gardein and other things to make it vegan? I think once you play around or search on the internet you can find almost anything can be veganized! I hope you find your inspiration, good luck!

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Charrissa Wright said #5 Sep 17, 2010 at 10:24am

I am in transition right now and my biggest worry is my baby daughter...I am confused about what will be best for her nutritoin wise....I understand your craving and wanting....don't beat yourself up about it...I loved what KittyTNRchick said...everyone's journey is different....you may just be "flirting right now"....reducing your meat consumption is better than ignoring all the issues with meat & dairy. You are aware...be kind to yourself! Accept your mental needs and as you educate yourself more, you can make better decisions...just breathe through this... :)

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kittyTNRchick said #6 Sep 17, 2010 at 10:39am

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kittyTNRchick said #7 Sep 17, 2010 at 10:59am

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Krysten Kruger said #8 Sep 17, 2010 at 6:58pm

hey guys! thanks for all the advice. KittyTNRchick- i just got you rmessage today! i didnt even know i had one, lol. you're so sweet for writing. i really appreciate everything you've had to say. i WISH i could bond with gardein- i just cant! i know everyone raves about it but i think it has just the worst weird aftertaste. ive bought SO MANY of their products thinking maybe it was just a certain kind i dont like, but no. its all of them! i wish i liked them!!!!!!!!! so much! they LOOK so great, and like such a good way to have comfort food!


right now im obsessed with the whole foods vegan black pepper steaks, ive been having them with some mashed potatoes and they're great comfort food. i use a lot of morningstar products as replacement stuff (like in shephards pie)



i still feel totlly lost, but im reading The Omnivore's Dilemma right now and hopefully that will give me some more knowledge and help a little. i went so far as to contact a little family farm about an hour away last night. i found it online last night. they only sell grass fed beef from their cows that graze outside all day. i e mailed them to ask about the slaughtering process and thy have like ZERO informartion as to where they go or how its done. um, great? way to not care about the cows as much as you claim to. siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh.



thanks so much for all your support everyone...

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