I have (or had) been a vegan for 4 years, felt great, love it.
Recently I started having liver and kidney problems, after going through many tests and doctors, because it just seemed very strange to me since not only was I following a vegan diet, but also I was eating mostly raw and natural home cooked food, no refined foods or things that contained preservatives.
I am told, and had also noticed myself, that I need to avoid soy products at least for a while and after that not consume them much because they have caused a hormonal imbalance amongst other things, which after doing research I have found out it has been proven that soy can cause some problems and it’s not as good as it is sold out to be. I for one love soy, soy cheese, ice cream and fake chicken, BUT I think that we shall at least give it the benefit of the doubt, since we are doing the same with products labeled as organic.

So I didn’t think it would be so much of a problem and I have actually seen improvement since I stopped eating soy products, but now I am really getting tired from getting my protein from beans and lentils, and since I live in Mexico city where people are not as familiar with veganism, somewhat vegetarianism but in the unhealthy side of it, meaning they cook vegetables to the point where they have probably no nutricional value, or put too much cream, salt or cheese on dishes so they taste better for people. It has come to the point of total annoyance and difficulty to get to eat something other than salads with no dressing when I eat out because of work or whatever, also I was told to eat mostly organic vegetables, since the pesticides in non organic ones are as bad or worse than eating refined foods or colorings, etc that make the liver work harder, needless to say in most restaurants they don’t have organic vegetables.

So there are many thoughts going through my mind, for one thing I feel bad even thinking about eating animal products, now it seems like a weird concept to eat something dead, but (I guess because I am not getting a lot of protein since they cut down of soy) my body craves eggs, I have bought organic ones and either way I feel weird. My doctor says there is a reason why the body craves things and I should maybe listen a bit more to it.
Also I like cereal a lot, the organic ones that also help wild life…I can’t remember the name, are really good and I also love oatmeal, but now that I can’t have soy milk (and there is no almond milk here, which either way I remember buying it in the US and it said it had some type of soy aspect in it) my diet has become extremely boring and let’s just say that oatmeal with water is no good.
I bought some local organic skim milk, it tastes so sweet, I didn’t remember the taste of milk, it took a while to get used to, although I did not get an upset stomach as I thought I would.
This had been going for about 3 weeks, now I am craving cheese, is so weird since I never had a craving in the 4 years I was vegan, so I bought Organic Valley cheese, it seems okay, just a bit heavy, but no stomachache. I am still worried about the animals and if organic dairy is better, I don’t know if to believe all that is said here or said anywhere, period. Since for example, organizations like PETA are extremely biased and I used to work for them and got quite disappointed to see that even if they were shown facts about anything, they would not listen. Which to me that said a lot about their intelligence.

I love animals and believe it’s worth to go the extra mile, whether money or effort, to help them and at the same time help ourselves, the earth and our health.
But I also believe life is to be enjoyed and I sure don’t enjoy it when I am out with friends or just by myself and I eat something I don’t quite enjoy or go without eating because there is nothing TOTALLY vegan, and I don’t enjoy being sick either.

My boyfriend eats meat, drinks milk (a lot of it) and doesn’t think much about what he puts in his mouth, and is actually healthy, not only thin, because that can be age or whatever, he is totally healthy.
Not that I think his way of life is the best, I don’t think I could eat meat or other non organic animal products, even if I were starving to death. So I would like not to discuss who is right or wrong but to hear if any of you has had this issues and if you could tell me the companies that I SHOULD buy from (I don’t care to hear about the bad ones) or maybe other substitutes for milk or if anyone can tell me if whole or skim is better, organic of course.
Anything that you think might help.

Let’s unite and give ourselves options, rather than fight about who is right and who is believing lies, is an idiot or whatever…

Much love and thank you.

Anyways, there’s no doubt about it, the dairy industry is flawed. Humans are the only mammal which even consider drinking milk as teens/adults…an odd concept to me. If you consume milk at all consider alternatives like soy, almond (though the decline of bees is a threat to the very existence of almonds), or rice milk (though its packed with carbohydrates). These are all viable alternatives if you must consume milk.

Look into vegan ice cream if you can’t break the ice cream habit, there are MANY options and recipes often utilizing soy or rice for a creamy, cold dessert.

Many of you have gotten off on all sorts of tangents, my comment to some of you in regards to organic farming, buy locally for sure. Corporations are evil, its as simple as that. They only feed the human tendency to pollute ourselves with greed and meaningless things; they drive an unethical approach to consumerism, which is merely obsessed with growth..MORE.

Anyways, if you do buy locally, another way to supplement your efforts, and an often cheaper way is consider growing your own produce, whether potted, in a backyard garden, or a community garden, its a very realistic alternative. To boost your efforts try composting, an activity that will greatly contribute to cutting down the amount of trash you spit out every week.

Back to corporations, not to spout pointlessly blind youthful idealism, some corporations are ethical and making conscious efforts to promote morality, but do your research…know where companies stand.

Peace.

at

http://www.TheTruthAbout.com

http://www.TheTruthAbout.com

Yes.

As simple as that.

The cow’s milk is meant for the baby, but in order for people to get use out of it, the baby has to be taken out of the picture. That means either using the baby for veal (if it’s male) or turning her into another dairy cow (if it’s a female).

I believe that smaller local farms can produce healthy and cruelty FREE foods - but as we know, survival can be hard for them.

I feel torn by all these issues. If we think back further as to WHY there are Factory Farms - it seems to be a direct response to OVER POPULATION !! Lets face it, there are TOO MANY PEOPLE. People reproducing without thought or sense of responsibility… or thought of the future of the offsrping, society, enviroment, planet etc. The insane demand for SO MUCH FOOD has created a monster.

Also, government,marketing and business encourages HUGE PORTIONS!!! With so many children and adults grossly overweight - it that not obvious that is part of the problem as well !!!

If people ate smaller / responsible amounts of eggs & dairy to supplement their mostly vegetarian diets and used more birth control and supported small ethical farms - PEOPLE AND ANIMALS would have a better opportunity to live gracefully together on this earth.

GREED and OVERPOPULATION need to be addressed.

Two things–first, carrots don’t have a central nervous system, so they cannot feel pain. That’s easy. If it turns out that they have an as yet completely discovered vehicle for feeling pain, then meat eaters are the first people who should be concerned. It takes 8 or 9 pounds of grain to make a pound of beef, a similar amount to produce a pound of pork, and 2.5 for a pound of chicken. Vegetarians and vegans consume far less plant-matter than meat-eaters.

Second: I agree with your conviction that we should let people live their lives, but only if they do so without causing unnecessary and excessive suffering to the world around them. I think it’s great (seriously) that you’re supporting small farmers and eating organic meat, but most people get their meat from factory farms and don’t realize it.