These are my personal reasons:
1) I grew up mostly in Taiwan the first 6 yrs of my life ... dairy is not a big staple of asian diets. I loved tea eggs and I had a fondness for "Fruit Milk" (a bright yellow, fruit flavored milk) and Yakult (yes, that yogurty drink that is very popular now) but other than that I didn't really grow up with a lot of dairy. That is until I moved back to the US. I went from hardly any dairy to scrambled eggs with Cheez Whiz for breakfast everyday ... or fluffy white pancakes ... or sugary cereal with whole milk. It was a whole new world ... ice cream, ding-dongs, cheese slices, butter, egg salad sandwiches, milk chocolate candy bars, cookies ... you name it! You know, all that stuff that's really good for you! So although I loved all those delicious dairy-filled goodies, I never liked just a glass of milk ... gross, no thank you! Now that I'm vegan I can still have all those delicious treats ... they are just not made with dairy milk ... and they are just as delicious. Trust me!
2) Milk is weird. Really, really weird. Think about it. It comes out of a cow's udder. It was a hot, frothy liquid stewing inside the gigantic boob of a cow. I mean ... c'mon! That is gross! Just thinking about it makes me nauseous.
3) We are the only animal on the planet that drinks the milk of another species. If you don't think that's a little odd ... just think about it some more! Just like our mother's milk is designed to grow us into healthy little humans, cow's milk is designed to grow a baby calf into a huge, mooing cow! We are naturally weaned off breast milk ... just like the cows wean their young ... the milk has done it's job ... we've grown, the thermometer has popped, timer has gone off ... ding! All done! If we needed milk so badly why don't we just keep drinking our mom's? Ya, how gross of a thought is that? But we keep drinking cow milk? Again ... it's just weird. A cow doesn't even keep drinking it's own mother's milk. Common sense.
4) I don't believe the propaganda that milk is essential to a healthy body. I very highly doubt that of all the species this Earth/God/The Universe/Life has created ... we just happen to be the only ones that "need" milk to survive after being weaned. Calcium is found in many, many plants & grains. If you are eating a well-rounded, plant based diet ... you are getting plenty of calcium. The key word is well-rounded.
5) The dairy industry is cruel.
6) I don't want to drink a liquid filled with antibiotics & hormones.
7) Eggs ... well, they are tasty for sure ... but again, just the weirdness of it ... it popped out the girly parts of a laying hen, it could have been a chicken and the cruelty to chickens is just ridiculous.
8) I feel A-M-A-Z-I-N-G since I've cut out dairy & eggs. I've lost weight, my skin has cleared up, my energy level has gone way up and my overall mood has lightened. Those 4 things alone are worth more to me than the few moments of pleasure that dairy provides.
9) There are sooooo many options out there now ... soy, rice, almond, hemp ... it is very, very easy to replace dairy milk!
Those are pretty much my reasons in a nutshell. If you are thinking about giving up dairy I really encourage you to do some research ... there is a lot of information out there.
Strawberries from the Farmer's Market.
Quinoa Loaf & Salad
Mmmmmm ... dessert.
Breakfast: LARABAR (pistachio)
Snack: Strawberries
Snack: Pomelo
Dinner: Quinoa Loaf & salad
Dessert: Rice Dream's Mint Carob Chip
I think that being a Vegan has many benefits. I have seen a few in myself since you started this, and I am not even all vegan all the time! lol..
ReplyDeleteI have lost weight (like you said in the previous post), I feel less bloated, and I notice that I do not get as hungry throughout the day.
I think that the old food pyrimid that we were all taught is long overdo for a "makeover". It was made to help out the farmers, which is not bad, but with the mass farming it is way bad. I wish we would get back to the local farmers growing (in a healhy way) for the local area. It would be good for the farmers and great for us. I suppose that is why we go to the farmer's market!
Good job babe! I love what you write!
After working on farms as a child I can agree with what you wrote. I think that the poor pigs have it the worst! However, I can say that the old style of farming (local farming for your community and not mass farming)is much better!
ReplyDeleteThe quinoa loaf looks amazing I can't wait to try it!!!
ReplyDelete