Veganism is a Slam-Dunk

Compassion for animals and concern for the environment should trump taste buds and profit margins but rarely does. Although more and more people are becoming vegans, most still consume animal products. Vegans do not eat meat, fish, fowl, animal milk and dairy products, eggs, honey, and any other foods of animal origin. They also eschew wearing fur, wool, leather, and silk. Happily, an increasing number of animal alternatives cater to an animal cruelty-free vegan market.

When I began my excellent adventure in ethical veganism, I was as zealous as a new religious convert. I would bite the head off (metaphorically speaking) anyone who so much as suggested that veganism was not natural, mostly because I wanted it to be. So now, seven years later, what do I think about veganism? Is it natural? The jury is still out on that, but most research suggests that humans were designed to eat mostly vegetal matter along with a tiny bit of animal matter (and by "tiny bit", I mean no more than 10% of your diet).

But what's natural about the standard American diet of fast food chicken "nuggets", grease ball pizza, or monster burgers? Are the cooked corpses, eggs, and glandular secretions (i.e., milk) of grain-fed, biogenetically engineered, factory-farmed animals or chemically compromised fish natural? If I have to choose the best unnatural diet out there, I'll go with veganism any day. With a little education in vegan nutrition to ensure that you're getting enough nutrients, veganism is a slam-dunk for your health, the environment, and the animals. As for those who claim that eating so-called humanely raised and slaughtered "organic" animals or free-range eggs is the way to go, it's really the same old same old. Still bad for the environment, still bad for the animals, and still ultimately bad for your health.

Back in my pre-vegan days I would have cravings for whatever I wasn't allowed to eat within three weeks of beginning any kind of diet. What has worked for me, and quite beautifully, is ethics-based eating. I've been pleasantly surprised at just how easy it is. It's not a sacrifice at all. Actually, I believe that I eat better-tasting food, and certainly more of a variety of foods, than the typical meat eater. And the bonus is that I've maintained my weight and enjoyed good health.

I hate to admit that I was reluctant to take the vegan plunge for a long time because I was an ice cream junkie, convinced I'd go mad if I had to forgo my favorite dessert. But here I am, in good mental health, without a lick of the sweet stuff in seven years. My secret? I discovered Rice Dream (made of rice milk), Soy Delicious, Soy Dream, and Tofutti brand frozen soy products. My other major oral passion-dark chocolate-fortunately doesn't contain animal ingredients anyway, except for brands like Hershey's and Cadbury's (I check the label before I buy, just in case).

For those of you who are tempted to try this at home-and I hope you are-I should warn you that it's quite impossible to be totally vegan. Animal ingredients lurk in everything from cars to bicycles to drugs, glue, antifreeze, hydraulic brake fluid, perfume, videotape, photographic film, tennis rackets, and musical instruments. They're used in bricks, plaster, cement, and insulation, and in the manufacture of steel, rubber, vinyl, and plastics. That may change someday, but for now, that's the way it is and you just have to do the best you can. And yes, inevitably you'll step on bugs, inhale microscopic creatures, drink water with microbes in it, etc. Even if you can't be 100% pure vegan, that's no reason not to do it anyway. And if you think you'd never survive without the taste of meat or cheese, all health food markets and most supermarkets carry "faux" meat and cheese products, and surprise, surprise, they're authentic tasting. You can even plan a fabulous Thanksgiving dinner around Tofurky (tofu turkey) with its accompanying stuffing and gravy. As for dining out, you can find vegan entrees in most restaurants nowadays.

I hope I've convinced you that vegans aren't those stereotyped hollow-eyed, humorless sprouts- and tofu-noshing zombies many people believe they are. There's a whole lot more to choose from in the plant kingdom than tofu and sprouts. If you do it right, you'll be healthy, happy, and most important, you'll be helping our severely abused planet and all its animals recover from the damage humans have done to them. You can make veganism your natural way of eating and do so much good for so many with so little effort. It's the ultimate 21^st century political statement.