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Tell Health Canada it’s time to recognize the benefits of a plant-based diet

Food sources of complex carbohydrates, isolated on white background.

Your chance to stand up for a healthier, kinder and more sustainable diet for Canadians.

Health Canada is currently conducting a consultation on the Canada Food Guide, which makes important dietary recommendations for Canadians.  It only takes a few minutes to complete a brief questionnaire.

The questionnaire focuses on a number of questions related to health but also asks for general recommendations regarding diet (near the end of the survey).  Please stress the values and benefits of a plant-based diet.  Here are some suggested points:  

The Canada Food Guide should provide information on the specific benefits of a plant-based diet, which are well established by scientific evidence. These include: lower cholesterol, blood pressure and blood sugar; healthier weight and lower risk of cancer and diabetes. 

The Canada Food Guide should contain advice on how to transition to a plant-based diet, including specific information on how to replace animal protein with non-animal protein such as pulses.

The Canada Food Guide should provide information on the health, environmental and animal welfare implications of dietary choices. There is substantial scientific evidence showing that the overconsumption of meat is linked to poor health; that meat and livestock production causes environmental degradation, contributes to climate change and wastes resources; that intensive agriculture (factory farming) is inherently inhumane to animals.

Health Canada should actively promote the benefits of a plant-based diet and encourage its adoption by Canadians.  It should support concepts such as Meatless Monday, especially in schools, hospitals and workplaces, to familiarize Canadians with plant-based eating and its benefits.

Please click here to take part in the consultation, which runs until December 8, 2016.

Thank you for your support!

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Chartwells & Langara College Lead Lower Mainland Meatless Monday Effort

 

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It’s been over a year and a half since Vancouver’s Langara College became the first campus in Western Canada to join the globally popular Meatless Monday movement. The Vancouver Humane Society (VHS) first introduced the initiative in March 2015 to Langara’s Environmental Club and food service provider, Chartwells. Both groups eagerly supported bringing it to the school’s cafeteria after learning about the impact of our society’s overconsumption of meat on animal welfare, the environment and public health.

“We felt this was a great opportunity to take a small, but powerful, step by raising awareness of the impact of our food choices and offering options to reduce that impact,” said Rizwan Bandali of Chartwells/Compass Group.

And seize that opportunity is exactly what Chartwells and Langara College did, with the introduction of delicious meatless menu items! The cafeteria kicks off each week with a wide variety of options, from roasted veggie paninis and mouth-watering curries to meatless meatballs, veg lasagna and creative tofu dishes.

langara-blog-post7Meatless Monday specials have been paired with eye-catching, educational posters aimed at raising awareness and boosting participation in the initiative. Statistics outlining water use and greenhouse gas emissions from meat production are another way the campaign extends education into the cafeteria and inspires individual action.

Chartwells reports sales have been steadily increasing and feedback regarding the meatless items has been very positive. So much so that the cafeteria recently began offering an additional daily hot vegetarian bar, adding even more meatless options to the menu.

Langara’s campaign has effectively blazed a trail for other Lower Mainland schools interested in taking similar steps to help protect animals, our health, and the planet. To date, the British Columbia Institute of Technology, Eric Hamber Secondary and Winston Churchill Secondary have implemented similar initiatives and others are set to join as well.langara-blog-post1

“We’re thrilled to see Meatless Monday catching on here in the Lower Mainland and we commend Chartwells Langara for helping make that possible. Factory farming, climate change and public health are major issues facing us today. They can seem overwhelming from an individual perspective, but when we realize that we can have a significant impact simply by what we choose to put on our plate, we can take steps to support a kinder, cleaner and healthier world,” said VHS Program Coordinator, Emily Pickett.

Follow Chartwells Langara’s lead by taking our online Meatless Monday pledge. We’ll share a weekly recipe to help you keep your commitment! You can also support our effort to bring Meatless Monday to more classrooms, cafeterias and communities by making a donation today. Interested in bringing Meatless Monday to your school, workplace, business or community? Get in touch with Program Coordinator, Emily Pickett, to learn more!

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Factory farming: A problem with solutions

A farmer veterinary walks inside a poultry farm

Two recent news stories underscore why factory farming must end and how some powerful interests are working to make that happen.

Last week, A new study found compelling  and disturbing evidence that a novel form of the dangerous superbug Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) can spread to humans through consumption or handling of contaminated poultry.

“We’ve known for several years that people working directly with livestock are at increased risk for MRSA infections, but this is one of the first studies providing compelling evidence that everyday consumers are also potentially at risk,” said one of the authors of the study.

Intensive farming practices, which often involve giving food animals low doses of antibiotics to encourage fast growth and compensate for overcrowding and unsanitary living conditions, has led to the spread of superbugs like MRSA.  Those same conditions, which billions of animals around the world must endure, are the reason animal advocates have called for an end to factory farming on animal welfare grounds.

Animal suffering and dangerous superbugs are, of course, not the only unwanted consequences of industrialized animal agriculture.  Intensive farming also degrades our environment, including contributing 14.5 per cent of all greenhouse gases to global climate change. It uses up huge amounts of land, water and energy.  And, not least, its end product is meat – the overconsumption of which can be damaging to human health.

The other related news story acknowledges these problems and offers solutions.  This week, a group of 40 investors managing $1.25 trillion in assets launched a campaign to encourage 16 global food companies to shift from selling meat to selling plant protein. “The world’s over reliance on factory farmed livestock to feed the growing global demand for protein is a recipe for a financial, social and environmental crisis,” said the investor leading the initiative.

The meat and livestock sector is no longer just the target of grassroots activists and animal advocates.  The world, including the world of finance, is waking up to just how unsustainable this industry is.

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A chance to speak up for farm animals

 

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The federal, provincial and territorial governments are asking for comments on plans for the future of agriculture in Canada, providing an opportunity to raise issues about the treatment of farm animals.

Phase 2 of the consultation is open until November 30 and includes options to fill in an online questionnaire, email your comments or write a letter. Please take the time to contribute your views about animal welfare and the future of animal agriculture.

The consultation refers to the government’s plan, called The Calgary Statement – the Next Policy Framework, which sets out several Priority Areas:

Markets and trade
Science, research and innovation
Risk management
Environmental sustainability and climate change
Value-added agriculture and agri-food processing
Public Trust

Following are some key points from our submission to the consultation (full submission here):

Markets and Trade

Canada should develop markets for plant-based protein instead of animal-based protein, which contributes to environmental degradation, is resource-intensive and is dependent on inhumane confinement systems.

Science, research and innovation

Canada should invest in research and development of plant-based protein, especially the production and processing of pulse crops.  In contrast to animal protein production, pulses have been shown to be environmentally beneficial (requiring relatively little water and fertilizer), healthy and sustainable.  A number of innovative plant-based industries have emerged in recent years, attracting investment and consumer interest.

Risk management

The livestock sector has a number of inherent risks, including:

– negative environmental impacts (e.g. greenhouse gas emissions)
– zoonotic disease outbreaks (e.g. avian flu, listeria, e. coli)
– consumer rejection of inhumane, intensive confinement systems (e.g. battery cages for laying hens) and other animal welfare concerns
– consumer health concerns over meat consumption (e.g. cancer risk of red and processed meats)
– rise of antbiotic resistance due to overuse of antibiotics in livestock

Environmental sustainability and climate change

Globally, the meat and livestock sector contributes 14.5% of all greenhouse gases, which is more than the transportation sector.  It is also resource-intensive – it is the world’s largest user of agricultural land, through grazing and the use of feed crops. The sector is also a major contributor to water pollution and loss of biodiversity.

Public Trust

Canadian consumers have many concerns about animal agriculture.

Currently, animal agriculture in Canada involves the confinement and suffering of millions of animals.  Animal welfare should be a top priority in the development of agricultural policy. Currently, there are no mandatory animal welfare standards in Canada, only voluntary Codes of Practice.  These should be replaced with mandatory standards enforced by independent, third-party inspections.

The meat and livestock sector is dependent on intensive confinement systems (factory farms) that compromise animal welfare and degrade the environment. In addition, the overconsumption of meat has been shown to be harmful to human health.  Consequently, this sector is unsustainable.  Consumers will lose faith in agriculture if these problems persist.

Resources should be shifted to the development of a plant-based protein sector, including more support for Canada’s production, processing and marketing of pulses (peas, beans, lentils). Plant-based diets should be promoted through public information programs and support for initiatives like Meatless Monday.

Such initiatives would earn public trust, as they benefit the environment, public health and animal welfare.

Your participation in this consultation will ensure that animals are not forgotten in the development of Canada’s agricultural policies.

More info:

CBC News story

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Vancouver’s Eric Hamber Secondary Embraces Meatless Monday

Diverse high school students eating lunch in the cafeteria

School is back in session, which means so is Meatless Monday! Vancouver’s Eric Hamber Secondary is kicking off the school year with a re-launch of their highly successful Meatless Monday initiative. Last year, the school’s Environmental Club worked with VHS, school administrators and their food service provider, Canuel Caterers, to introduce delicious meatless meals every Monday!

Eric Hamber’s Environmental Club was keen to bring the humane, sustainable and healthy-eating campaign to their cafeteria after learning about the impact of meat consumption on animal welfare, the environment and our health. Mouth-watering menu items, including hummus wraps, chickpea curry rice bowls, mushroom burgers and a salad bar, made Mondays something to look forward to. Students and staff have embraced the initiative, with Mondays seeing an increase in sales and customer count by 15 percent and 10 percent respectively.

This year, the Environmental Club is ready to share the Meatless Monday message again with fellow students and teachers, utilizing posters, prizes, social media and school announcements to raise awareness and participation.

“We’re excited to bring back Meatless Monday for a second year! In an effort to reduce our environmental footprint, we’ll be encouraging students to cut back on meat, which requires many resources to produce and transport, and to choose a tasty and healthy salad instead,” said the Environmental Club’s Program Coordinator.

You can follow Eric Hamber’s lead by taking our Meatless Monday pledge – we’ll send you a weekly recipe! You can also make a donation in support of our effort to bring the initiative to more classrooms, cafeterias and communities this year.

Interested in introducing Meatless Monday to your school, workplace, business or community? Learn more and get in touch with us!

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Vancouver Food Policy Council Endorses Meatless Monday

 

VHS-MM-Buttons-2015-WEBMeatless Monday in Vancouver just got an important boost! The influential Vancouver Food Policy Council (VFPC) has unanimously passed a motion that “endorses the concept of Meatless Mondays and encourages Vancouver citizens to choose plant-based meals on Mondays.”

The council is an important and respected voice in food policy in the city and the motion is a major step in advancing the Meatless Monday movement locally, which is being spearheaded by VHS.  With concerns growing about the impact of meat consumption on animal welfare, climate change and human health, Meatless Monday has steadily grown into a popular global initiative.

VHS has been working with the VFPC on the motion and is thrilled with the council’s support. “We’re extremely pleased the Vancouver Food Policy Council is endorsing the Meatless Monday concept,” said VHS Program Coordinator, Emily Pickett. “The issues that we face as a society – factory farming, preventable health conditions and climate change – can be daunting and leave one feeling helpless at times. But Meatless Monday is a meaningful way for individuals to be a part of the solution.”

The VFPC is an advisory group to Vancouver City Council and functions as a bridge between citizens and civic officials, coming together to work on food policy initiatives that benefit all Vancouverites. VHS pitched the Meatless Monday concept to the VFPC late last year, in the hopes that its members would endorse the humane, healthy and sustainable-eating campaign and help it reach a wider audience throughout Vancouver.

Below is a copy of the VFPC’s motion endorsing Meatless Monday:

WHEREAS the Vancouver Food Charter commits the City of Vancouver to

  • Supporting a food system that “contributes to the environmental stability and well-being of our local, regional, and global communities”,
  • Encouraging the “humane treatment of animals raised for food”, and
  • Increasing “the health of all members of our city”; and,

WHEREAS contemporary animal agriculture has negative environmental impacts including greenhouse gas emissions and water pollution and often does not confer humane treatment of animals; and,

WHEREAS scientific evidence links excess meat consumption with heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, obesity, certain cancers, and earlier death; and,

WHEREAS “Meatless Monday” is a global movement endorsed in global cities such as New York, Portland, and San Francisco that uses a simple message (“once a week, cut the meat”) to raise awareness that reducing intake of meat and animal products, particularly from industrial sources, can help protect human, animal, and environmental health;

BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Vancouver Food Policy Council endorses the concept of Meatless Mondays and encourages Vancouver citizens to choose plant-based meals on Mondays.

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Every year, over 700 million animals are raised and killed for food in Canada, nearly all of whom are confined to unnatural and cruel factory farms. Our over-consumption of meat is not only bad for the animals, but studies have connected red and processed meat consumption with an increased risk of certain types of cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity. Animal agriculture is also responsible for more greenhouse gas emissions than the entire transportation sector, making the industry a major contributor to climate change, pollution, water use, deforestation and biodiversity decline. As the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization has framed it, “livestock’s contribution to environmental problems is on a massive scale and its potential contribution to their solution is equally large.” That there is so much impact in what we choose to put on our plate means there is just as much potential for change and Meatless Monday is a great place to start.

The VFPC’s support for Meatless Monday is also in line with the actions of several Metro Vancouver schools, who have joined the local movement within the last year. VHS has helped Langara College, British Columbia Institute of Technology, Eric Hamber Secondary and Winston Churchill Secondary implement Meatless Monday in their cafeterias – promoting delicious plant-based menu items as a healthy, humane and sustainable choice for students and staff. The impact has been very positive, with multiple schools reporting an increase in cafeteria sales already. VHS is working with several other schools interested in bringing the initiative to their cafeterias once school resumes in the fall.

The council’s endorsement adds an important voice to the call for a more ethical and sustainable food system and it will certainly help expand the reach of the “once a week, cut the meat” message in and around Vancouver. Learn more and join the local movement today by taking the Meatless Monday pledge today!

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Meatless Monday Goes Global With International Cookbook

canada recipeThe Vancouver Humane Society recently joined forces with other Canadian Meatless Monday advocates, including EarthSave Canada, to contribute to an exciting new online cookbook. “Meat-Free Monday Everywhere” brings together leaders in the Meatless Monday movement from around the globe, with each country submitting a meatless recipe representative of their corner of the world.

With no shortage of cruelty-free recipes out there, the process of narrowing it down to THE Canadian dish was no easy feat. In the end, it was Vancouver writer Eleanor Boyle’s personal recipe, a Potato and Carrot Salad with Garlic-Mustard Dressing, which would represent Canadian meatless cuisine on the international scene. The ingredients in this salad are all from hardy plants that grow well in our temperate climate. Canada produces significant quantities of mustard, potatoes, carrots, kale, lentils and the other ingredients found in this salad. The recipe contains familiar and nutritious ingredients, plus a delicious vinaigrette that includes a touch of Canadian maple syrup.

The Meat-Free Monday Everywhere cookbook showcases not only the delicious variety of meatless meal options to choose from, but also the impressive growth of the Meatless Monday movement. Active in over 30 countries, the movement is raising awareness of the impact that reducing/eliminating meat consumption has on animal welfare, our health and the environment.

Over 700 million animals are killed for food every year in Canada, and our over-consumption of cheap meat has forced nearly all of them into factory farms, where they endure conditions and practices that most Canadians find appalling. Reducing and eliminating meat consumption and incorporating more plant-based proteins in our diet has health benefits, including protecting against heart disease, stroke, and cancer, reducing our risk for diabetes, curbing obesity and improving the nutritional quality of diet.

If all of these benefits weren’t enough, plant-based eating is also much kinder to the planet. Animal agriculture is a major contributor not only to climate change, but to air and water pollution, water use, land degradation and deforestation, biodiversity decline, and ocean degradation. In fact, animal agriculture is responsible for more greenhouse gas emissions than the entire transportation sector. It takes far more resources to farm living animals who eat plants than it does to simply eat plant-based ourselves.

With all of this in mind, we encourage you to join us in standing up for animals every time you sit down to eat! Check out the online cookbook online cookbook for some delicious recipes and don’t forget to take the Meatless Monday pledge for a free weekly recipe to help you in your commitment to protecting animals, your health and the planet.

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Canadian Meatless Monday advocates – Vancouver writer, Eleanor Boyle, EarthSave President, David Steele and Vancouver Humane Society Program Coordinator, Emily Pickett
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Help the world go veg with our amazing bumper stickers!

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VHS executive director Debra Probert LOVES our new bumper stickers!

We’ve got two great bumper stickers you can use to support our efforts to promote a plant-based diet.

The stickers, which can be ordered on our merchandise page, promote our Meatless Monday and Go Veg campaigns. They cost $1.50 each, or $2.00 each with a magnet.

Here’s what they look like up close:

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You can also order our FREE veg booklet and Meatless Monday brochure by emailing Emily at emily@vancouverhumanesociety.bc.ca

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Where To Eat Vegan In Vancouver

VHS volunteer and blogger Patricia Charis is a huge lover of nature and animals, which ultimately led her to embrace a vegan lifestyle in an effort to protect animals, the planet and her health. She wrote this fantastic blog post, Where To Eat Vegan In Vancouver, about her cruelty-free adventures around the city and we just had to share it:


Since going vegan around 8 months ago (on September 1, 2015) it has been one food adventure after another. I have to say I am extremely blessed to be living in a city like Vancouver where vegan options abound, with a ton of vegetarian/vegan restaurants all over the city, and even non-veg places have been including more and more vegetarian/vegan options on their menus. And we aren’t even in the Happy Cow list of top 5 vegan-friendly cities in the world!

Today I would like to share with you some of these aforementioned food adventures, and some of my favourite places to eat Vegan in Vancouver! Enjoy:)

1. MeeT on Main (& MeeT in Gastown)

Safe to say that MeeT on Main and MeeT in Gastown have become two of my absolute favourite vegan places in Vancouver! In the past their menu included both vegetarian and vegan food, but recently they have updated (or shall I say, upgraded) their menu so that all of their items default to vegan (they do still carry dairy cheese, but it has to be specifically requested by a customer to be substituted in their meal, and even this is being phased out I believe). I am very impressed by this business for making such positive changes. Not to mention their Taco Tuesday ‘Ish Tacos (pictured below) are pretty friggin fantastic!

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2. Heirloom Vegetarian

Another amazing restaurant, located on 12th and Granville, is Heirloom Vegetarian. The atmosphere at this restaurant is the perfect combination of casual and classy, and the food is just the right mixture of delicious and super healthy (as long as you order from the vegan half of their menu). This picture here is of the very first meal I had in 2016 and it did not disappoint. I absolutely LOVE avocado toast, and this dish was elegant and delicious and I have been dreaming about it ever since. I have to say that so far Heirloom has been my favourite place for vegan brunch in Vancouver.

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3. The Naam

The Naam, on 4th and Stephens St., is a favourite for vegans, vegetarians and meat-eaters alike. I have taken several non-vegan friends to this restaurant and it hasn’t disappointed anyone I know thus far. They are opened 24/7 and are often packed full with a line going out the door. Their Thai Noodles, pictured below, is my all-time favourite of their dishes, followed by the California Burger, as well as their Blueberry Soy Shake. The portion sizes at the Naam are quite large as you can see and I always leave super full and satisfied!

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4. Tera V Burger

My favourite place for vegan burgers in Vancouver? Tera V on West Broadway, hands down. The Smokey No Bull Burger with Daiya Cheese is SO legit, I can’t even tell you, you have to try it yourself. The burger patty is not like many veggie burgers I’ve encountered which, although still very yummy, tend to be a bit mushy and fall apart easily. The No Bull Burger patty has the perfect texture, and when covered in smokey BBQ sauce, it is just heavenly. Add to that a side of yam fries and I am a very happy vegan.

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6. Vegan Pizza House 

Think that vegans can’t eat pizza? Think again. We like our junk food too, and I can’t explain my delight when I found Vegan Pizza House, a cute little pizza place on Kingsway and Victoria. This place has been my absolute go-to when in need of an easy, convenient, and affordable meal to bring to parties or to just pig out on at home. There are 15 different pizza options, and I haven’t tried them all, but this picture is of the Mediterranean Special which is topped with artichoke, olives, eggplant, peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms and onions, and covered in daiya cheese. When my mother first tried this pizza she didn’t even believe it was vegan and has asked for it on several occasions since!

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6. Fairy Cakes 

I have a bit of a sentimental attachment to this little cafe on Fraser Street because my first experience with it was when I had vegan cupcakes sent to me on Valentine’s Day from my now fiancé (then long-distance boyfriend) two Valentine’s Days ago in 2015. I was vegetarian at the time but I was getting more and more into veganism, and was happily surprised with a delivery of a dozen super cute and delicious cupcakes (pretty much my favourite thing ever) on Valentine’s morning. Now that we are getting married in a few months we have ended up ordering our cupcake cake from Fairy Cakes as well. In addition to cupcakes, Fairy Cakes also makes cookies, cakes, cheesecakes, etc. They are 100% vegan, with gluten free options! Basically heaven on earth.

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7. Nice Vice Creamery

Last but not least on this list of favourite vegan food spots in Vancouver is Nice Vice Creamery in Yaletown! This little ice cream shop opened up just this year and I have already been there on multiple occasions for their deliciously cruelty free ice cream. All of their ice creams are dairy, soy and gluten free, made with organic ingredients and are sooo good. Now you can enjoy your ice cream completely guilt free knowing that it is not only way healthier for you, but far kinder to the animals and the planet as well. The picture below is of the matcha avocado ice cream and was taken by my fiancé (stolen off of his Instagram account @echan037😛 ).

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So there you go, some of my favourite places to eat vegan food in Vancouver! A couple of honourable mentions which are also pretty fantastic:

3G Vegetarian on Cambie St. (super legit vegan Chinese food)

Chau Veggie Express on Victoria Dr. (Vietnamese pho and vermicelli, need I say more?)

Panz Veggie on Victoria Dr. (vegan hot pot!!)

Zend Conscious Lounge in Yaletown (amazing food, 100% of profits go to charity!)

Lotus Seed Vegetarian on Kingsway (sushi, burgers, burritos, pasta, curry, smoothies !!!)

Eternal Abundance on Commercial Dr. (super healthy raw & cooked vegan food)

Dharma Kitchen on West Broadway (Asian inspired burgers and curry bowls)

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Erin Ireland’s plant-based journey

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Erin Ireland is a food journalist, blogger, entrepeneur and animal-lover who has been on a personal journey to discover and understand the principles and practices involved in ethical eating. In a recent blog post (reprinted below with her kind permission) she describes her transition to a plant-based diet.  

 

It’s Sunday morning and I’m sitting here on the couch in pyjamas drinking an almond milk latte. I’m crying after re-reading some of the 831 comments on Jillian Harris’ blog post, “How This Alberta Meatatarian Became so Vegan-ish”, in which she opens up about her transition to a plant-based diet.

In the days following her post, I texted Jillian to say how impressed I was by her written words—how I envied her ability to get thoughts ‘on paper’ so effortlessly. What she wrote would have taken me months. She has drawn me to my computer today to share the unedited story of my own journey. I usually stick to sharing my ‘plant-based messages’ on social channels because they are short and easy to write. I definitely prefer talking over writing, which is why I gave this speech. But Jillian’s post (which broke jillianharris.com website traffic records) inspired me to go deeper and share some of the factors the inspired my personal decision to go vegan.

Like Jillian, I used to be a ‘meatatarian’. I was proud of it. As a college athlete training twice a day, I was the type to order double meat at Subway. I thought eating nothing but ‘lean animal protein’ would help me achieve a healthier, more fit, muscular body. I often said that I was “just not the type who would ever become a vegetarian”.

Wow, how things have changed…

 

WHAT DOES “VEGAN” MEAN?

My introduction to the word vegan came when I asked my parents what the term meant. My memory is a bit fuzzy, but I believe they alluded to the fact that veganism was some super-extremist lifestyle that was more-or-less unachievable and mainly adopted by ‘extreme hippies’. I never thought twice about learning more.

Looking back, I don’t blame my parents. 25 years ago things were different. Factory farming wasn’t in the media spotlight like it is today. Baby-Boomers were raised in a time when meat and dairy was fully embraced. National meat and dairy councils were (and still are) supplying nutritional information to schools in North America. Despite the conflict of interest, teachers believed what they were teaching and young, impressionable students ate it up, literally.

THE FIRST ANIMAL PRODUCT I REMOVED FROM MY DIET

My first step towards cutting animal products out of my life came during sophomore year of university. For most of my life, I’d felt a little bit stuffed up, as if I had a constant cold. My dad suffered the same symptoms and told me that cutting milk out of his diet seemed to alleviate the stuffiness. I switched to soy milk. Immediately my sinuses felt better and I never went back to milk (note: this isn’t a professional opinion and I’m not saying this can work for you, just that it worked for me). I’ll admit, I still ate cheese and chocolate from time to time …how could I resist? I thought it was worth a bit of congestion.

The other reason I cut milk out of my life was acne. My skin issues began around the age of 19. I often got blemishes after big doses of dairy. Cutting milk out of my diet helped, but it was also a hormonal thing for me—going on the pill was the only thing that finally resolved my skin problems completely. Ironically, at the time my reasons for cutting dairy out had nothing to do with environmental or animal welfare issues. I didn’t know the truth about the lives of so many dairy cows. Today, in my heart, our planet and the animals are the main reasons I am passionate to seek dairy alternatives.

MEAT OBSESSION DURING MY VOLLEYBALL YEARS

As an NCAA Div. 1 volleyball player, I thought I needed a ton of protein. I thought I needed a meat heavy diet. Not a single girl on my volleyball team ate vegetarian—if any teammate, classmate or teacher raised the topic of vegetarianism during my four years of school, I don’t remember it. At my peak, I weighed 155 lbs and was the second strongest female in my athletic department.  Always looking to take things a notch further, I wanted to gain more muscle and I thought eating meat would help. Sometimes for dinner, I’d eat a whole rotisserie chicken. Nothing else. Even worse, my teammates and I would go to the Golden Corral buffet (which my mom nicknamed, ‘the pig trough’) for all-you-can-eat steak.

My small university town in South Carolina revolved around the one Walmart, and I loved going there to buy their cheapest lean ham. Another regular purchase was extra lean ground beef that for Hamburger helper that my roommate and I used to love to make. We thought we were making healthy choices. My mom would sometimes ask if I knew where this meat was coming from. I always dismissed her questions thinking she was being a paranoid mom. I remember telling her that the FDA / governing bodies wouldn’t allow unsafe food on the shelves…was I ever wrong. My mom had been right to question.

THE DOCUMENTARIES THAT GOT ME THINKING

My transition to a plant-based diet slowly started with the documentary, ‘Forks Over Knives’. The movie presented facts that a vegan diet not only stops disease from forming in the body, but actually reverses it. The evidence was convincing to say the least. I started to realize the impact animal-based foods were having on our health. I couldn’t believe this was the first time I was hearing such important information. The more I learned, the fewer animal products I ate.

Earthlings was another documentary that had a huge impact on me. It introduced me to the term, speciesism: the prejudice or bias in favour of the interests of members of one’s own species and against those of members of other species. The documentary is graphic, filled with undercover footage shot inside factory farms and the odd slaughterhouse. I shut my eyes and cried through much of it, but I felt strongly that I needed to know what was going on behind closed doors. How could I make decisions about my food choices unless I knew the consequences of my actions? Now, I had seen those consequences and I simply couldn’t have anything to do with it. Farming is not what it was 100 years ago and the vast majority of the time, animals are not leading the happy lives, as depicted on food labels.

At this point in my life, I was still eating cage-free organic eggs from time to time, and if I was in a dining situation where the only option was seafood, I’d take it. But gradually, as I continued to read and watch, I lost all appetite for anything animal-based, including leather.

WHERE I AM TODAY

Three years into my plant-based journey, there are a couple recurring questions friends and family often ask. The first is which animal product I miss the most? The answer is: none. Since learning the true impact of animal agriculture, my cravings for animal products has completely disappeared. Anyone who knows me can vouch for the fact that I love GOOD food, and today, my plant-based options leave me dreaming about my next meal every single day.

The second question is whether my energy or training has suffered since quitting animal protein. Today, I’m more energetic and satiated than I ever was in university. I’m up at 5:30am for a 10K run about five days a week. I can’t imagine having the energy to do this back in the day — I remember always feeling hungry and tired during my school years. Another important driver for me was learning that the fear of not getting enough protein from plants…is a myth. As long as we consume our daily recommended intake of calories (from whole foods), it’s nearly guaranteed we will also get our daily recommended dose of protein. Our bodies can’t even process extra protein (just like vitamins) so they are eliminated from our systems, into the sewage system.

The last thing I’m often asked, is whether veganism requires more work. Ironically, I find it requires less (less stress too!). It’s really the little things that start to add up: no more racing home to get groceries refrigerated. No more obsessive washing of the cutting board for fear of e-coli or salmonella. No more finicky fat trimming. No more stressing over timing and temperature for the perfect steak, roast, or chicken. No more fear of meaty leftovers going bad if I forget to refrigerate right away.

Remember there’s always a learning curve when transitioning to any new diet. If the thought of vegan meal planning is daunting, know that, unlike generations before us, we are spoiled by the amount of amazing resources out there. For starters…

Before hitting publish I reread the post that inspired this note. Jillian received 831 comments on her blog and Instagram post—almost all filled with love, encouragement and acceptance. They bring tears of happiness to my face when I read them. What’s even more heartening are the actions of her following that I’m certain will be inspired from the conversation she has just begun.

Thanks to leaders like Jillian, a word I associated with ‘extreme hippies’ 25 years ago, is now well on it’s way to becoming a mainstream movement. This gives me so much hope.