A Turn in the Road

One thing that stays the same is change (death and taxes being the other two). I haven't posted here in quite a while. A lot has changed. I not only have a different job, but I have changed my whole lifestyle by exploring the science behind plant-based nutrition. I even got a certificate from Cornell (eCornell, actually) that says I know a bit about the topic. These last few years have really been a turn in the road for me, especially that food thing ....

Giving up eating meat was way easier than I thought it would be. It wasn't long before I could really feel the difference, and knowing that every meal where I ate only whole plant-based foods, I was reducing not only my risk for "diseases of affluence," but I was reducing my carbon footprint, saving the lives of animals, and basically being a good eco-steward of the planet. Seems like a win-win to me.

I did this after reading up on the science of it. I saw Forks Over Knives, read the China Study, and started following up on the studies referenced in it. It was a rabbit hole for sure. There are literally thousands of studies out there by dozens of first-rate Universities that show the correlation between diet and disease. I am not kidding. Science-wise, this is a no-brainer.

The part I didn't expect was that I would wake up one day and think, "I am doing really well with this way of eating. I am THRIVING, not just getting by. Dang it, I feel healthier than I ever have. I have more energy. I am constantly getting comments about my glow. This is awesome." Okay, I kind of expected that part. THIS is the part I wasn't expecting, "Huh. So, that must mean that eating meat has been a choice all this time. I didn't need to let animals die for me to be healthy. We humans truly are not obligate carnivores."

WTF? Seriously? 

I don't want to be one of "those" people. I refuse to sit in judgment on the people around me that still eat meat. 

So, how do I process this? We choose to eat meat in our society. We make artificial distinctions between our beloved cat or dog and the cow in the pasture. They each have the same capacity for emotion, self-awareness, and suffering. If we call it murder when the crazy veterinarian shot a cat with a bow and arrow, how is it not murder when a cow or a sheep is led to the slaughter? If we don't actually need meat to thrive, how is it acceptable to kill a self-aware being to feast on their flesh? 

So, I am sitting here, chewing on this. I am excited about the science and what it has shown me with regard to my own personal health and well-being, and I am stunned at the thought that I have been part of a system that routinely rapes (artificial insemination), murders, and devours beings that have never done me any harm, and whose flesh I DO NOT NEED TO THRIVE. I chose this?!?!