Divine HealthIn pursuit of healthy living.

Viva! is an international animal rights organization. I found this film on their website and wanted you to see the piglets running around and playing. I think it’s a great demonstration of the behavior I discussed in my previous post about Daisy. The film was based in the UK but it is a well known fact that similar practices and factory farms also exist in the US. If you watch to the end you might think twice about the pork you are buying at the local grocery store.

If this short film is not enough to turn you off of pork all together then maybe you’ll consider buying it from farmers who raise their pigs humanely and without antibiotics or corn based diets. You can visit the Eat Well Guide and put in search criteria to find stores, farmers markets and even restaurants and other options to buy local, sustainable, organic, grass finished meats as well as fresh flowers, fruits and vegetables.

I think I might try out some “fakin” or whatever they call fake bacon….and I’ll report back the results.

My awareness of eating animals started back in high school but probably not the way one might imagine. Every day in history class this cute boy and his friend would try to talk to me. One week when we had a test coming up they asked me if I wanted to form a “study group” with them and of course I did! The cute one was a cowboy of sorts and eventually I started dating him and learned about his 4-H  involvement which included training guide dogs and raising pigs.

My cowboy had befriended a man that owned a large ranch about 25 minutes northeast of where we lived; the city we lived in bordered a lot of farm and vacant land. This rancher used to have dairy cows and horses but had since retired. A few people paid him money to board their horses there but it was mostly empty. Since he was raising the pigs for 4H (essentially a good cause) the man let him use the space he needed for free. That spring and summer I would go help him feed the pigs and create mud pits for them to cool off in. The County Fair is the culminating event; he would bring the pigs there to be on display for a few days and show them. There are awards for showmanship (how well the person does handling the animal) and awards for the animal (body composition). The better your animal does the more money you will make per pound for the animal at auction. That’s the hard part; you have to auction off your animal. That year I didn’t really think about what was happening, especially when he got a $600+ check! That’s a lot of money for a 17 year old!

By the time the next year rolled around we were still dating when it came time to enroll for the 4H swine program and naturally I signed up because I loved hanging out at the ranch. We went to an auction and picked out the piglets we wanted. I picked the one I thought was the cutest without any regard for any of the other qualities I was supposed to consider. As soon as we got our pigs back to the ranch I named my pig Daisy. I had an immediate connection with Daisy and naming her probably only solidified that bond. Most of the time Daisy was more like a dog than a pig. Sure she liked to roll around in the mud and make funny noises but she liked to be scratched and even play fetch! I played with Daisy every single day for the four months that I raised her. When the time came to show her I realized I hadn’t taught her how to walk with me in accordance with the criteria we would be judged on. I didn’t do well showing her but she looked great and took 2^nd place for her part of the competition. I was going through the motions and not thinking about the big picture or what was actually going to happen to my little Daisy. We went to auction and I was excited to hear I would receive $475 ($226 net) for Miss Daisy. As we walked out of the auction ring I was directed to a ramp that led into a semi-truck…that’s when it all hit me. She was literally walking straight to her death. I cried, I looked like the biggest baby and everyone thought I was crazy. This is why we raise them, they said, to make money and feed people. Ohhhh no no no, not Daisy I thought. But what would I have done with her? Keep her and let her continue to grow to 5-600+ pounds? I knew there was no alternative; there was nothing I could do to change her fate at that point. I decided then and there that I was not going to eat pork for a very, very long time. I needed to know that there was NO possible way I was eating my beautiful Daisy.

Prior to this horrible experience I didn’t have a big desire for pork; I never really liked it that much. After selling Daisy I didn’t eat any pork at all for about 6 or 7 years. In the time since then I’ve only eaten bacon and not very often. I have a hard time not thinking about the dog like behaviors Daisy displayed when I do eat pork, it’s really not dissimilar to eating a dog in my mind, which I would never ever do, not even if you paid me a million dollars! When I watch movies about factory farms and animal abuse I am a hundred times more affected watching the pigs and cows than I am watching the turkeys and chickens. However, the older I get and as my awareness increases I find myself becoming more sensitive to the birds. 

After watching Food, Inc, King Corn and reading several of Michael Pollan’s books along with watching a film by Dr. Weil about eating well I am starting to see the benefits of excluding meat from my diet far outweigh the enjoyment of eating it. Notice I didn’t say the benefits of actually eating meat; that’s because I don’t believe there are any. I suppose one could argue that the protein, iron or maybe certain other nutrients are good for us but overall I think the bad stuff in meat cancels out anything good. Once again, I’ll keep it real and say it the way I think it is; I believe people eat meat and don’t want to give it up simply because they like it. The way it tastes in different dishes and all of the ways one can get creative cooking it. I understand that but I am going to find out if I can get the same enjoyment from cooking only fruits, veggies, grains, nuts and other earth and body friendly foods.  I’m not here to preach or tell you that you should give up meat, although I do think everyone could benefit from eating less of it and I will promote that. My purpose here is to take in information from different sources and put it to use in my life. I’ve encountered a few vegetarians that seem to have a chip on their shoulder and they act like they know it all and they are better than their carnivore friends. I sincerely hope that I never act like that, I only want to share the knowledge I am taking in.

In case you are wondering, the cowboy turned out to be a real jerk. The only thing I can thank him for is making me aware of eating animals.

Playing with Daisy on the ranch

Daisy and I at the County Fair

I love everything about food; cooking, smelling, looking at and especially eating it. Over the last two to three years I started getting serious about cooking. Every weekend I plan the upcoming week’s menu and go shopping for everything I’ll need. I try to find recipes that have fresh ingredients in common like parsley or cilantro so that I can use the entire bunch before it goes bad. I’ve been working on cooking “light” and trying to get healthier. I use whole wheat, whole grains, brown rice and try not to use too much processed food. Recently I’ve started learning more about factory farms (more on that to come) and corn*, oh that evil corn! I have been trying to change our weekly menu not to include these and other unhealthy items.

My awareness of eating animals began in high school and at times was more on a conscience level than others. I’ve seen a few PETA videos that really disturbed me. However, it was never enough to make me give up meat completely. I find it interesting how I watch those videos and it does make me want to give up meat for a short while but then I forget about it and move on with my life. I really don’t think I am alone in this thought process. I believe there are a lot of people out there who are affected by the things they see and hear when it comes to animal welfare but they still don’t feel inclined to make any changes. Is that because of the love of the taste and maybe even an addiction to the meat? Is it because we think eliminating meat and figuring out what’s for dinner would be too challenging? Maybe it’s the common misconception that we won’t get enough protein if we eliminate meat? I’m sure there are lots of reasons and I know mine are included in a few of the above. I have reduced my meat consumption over the last few years  as has my husband. I’m thankful for that because it would be challenging to have differing meal desires. I still feel like we could probably eat even less meat so I’m trying to figure out how to do that.

Part of my journey is giving up one thing at a time or doing trials on eliminating certain foods. I read on Go Veg  that they recommend pledging to go 30 days without meat. That time period is probably based on evidence that it would only take 30 days to change your life style and you wouldn’t go back to eating it again (that’s a total and complete assumption on my part). I decided that was too difficult and I am only going to do it for 7 days. I’ll be honest, I know this probably won’t have a life changing impact on me but it is a small step in the right direction. If I try it for 30 days I think I’ll probably fail, especially if I’m out to dinner or at a party. However, for 7 days it will be easier to remain strong and I know I can succeed. I may not feel a major impact on my body but I hope it’s enough to know whether eating meat makes me feel any different or not. It will also give me the opportunity to try some new recipes. I’ll post my successes and failures after the week is over. Until then, wish me luck.

*Corn is evil, you ask? I’m not talking about corn on the cob as you might imagine. I’m talking about what factories and food manufacturers DO with the corn they grow and how it gets into almost everything in an unhealthy manner. I’ll do a whole post on corn in the future. In the meantime if you want to read more right now I suggest reading about high fructose corn syrup here and be sure to read the comments below the article, there is a lot of great insight there.

I have a lot of respect and admiration for vegans. As an average consumer I used to hear about vegans and thought it was an extreme lifestyle and probably hard to attain. I’m starting to learn that isn’t really the case. If you aren’t familiar with veganism you can learn more by clicking here.

People are vegans (and vegetarians) for various reasons and I can identify with most of them. First there is the health and well being issue. We are learning more about how animals are not good for our bodies; we weren’t designed to digest the meat and flesh. There are also issues with saturated fats, cholesterol and other health concerns related to eating animals. One reason I think vegans are sometimes  considered “over the top” is the animal welfare issue. Many believe farm animals deserve the life that our common household pets live and cite evidence of chickens, pigs and other farm animals showing signs of intelligence. Personally, I think about what these animals go through in the slaughter houses and it horrifies me; it makes me want to throw out all of the meat in my fridge and never touch it again. I also realize there aren’t any health benefits to eating meat and that makes me want to give it up as well. Why not only put things are 100% healthy into my body? I’ll tell you why, because if I am being honest, I enjoy a grilled chicken breast every now and then. Or maybe a beef sausage link at the county fair once a year. I am not the average meat consumer, I mostly only eat chicken breast and ground turkey breast. The only other meat I consume is the occasional bacon, maybe once every few months and a steak about once or twice a year. I suppose that probably makes the goal of going vegetarian (or vegan) easier for me. If I ate a lot of meat I probably couldn’t even fathom how great it would be to live without it.

The journey I am about to embark on is a way for me to become more aware of what is in the food I eat and becoming healthier while keeping the furry friends in mind. I plan to learn more about processed foods and will be trying to replace them with whole foods. I may never to get to a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle but that’s okay as long as I learn something and feel like an aware, healthier person at the end. I’m an open minded individual and I am ready to absorb as much information on these topics as possible. I will not judge others for feeling different, indifferent or otherwise. Maybe you’ll learn something along the way that you’ll want to apply to your life or maybe you won’t. Either way, thank you for riding along with me. I will always value people that listen to my thoughts and ideas and have real conversations with me. I promise to listen to you and if you want to argue any of my points please feel free to do so, it will only make both of us smarter.