Vegan.
It can be a frustrating, daunting, confusing, stereo-typed, word from the start. What makes one decide to leave conventional thinking and branch off into something that has so many labels and reservations? Maybe you like the idea but have no clue where to start. Perhaps you need more of the "why's" answered. I am hoping that this blog will answer a lot of those questions as well as spark new ideas in you, and in me!
First let's get one of the "why's" out of the way. Why do I do it, you may ask? Simple. My health. That was the major reason I even began this journey. If you have read my bio in the Our Journey link you'll know I was raised predominantly this way. However, we still ate meat. A lot of the time it was something my dad or brother hunted; but that wasn't always the main source. It wasn't until I was an adult, and really seeing and hearing all the reports of the inhumane factory farming, (and the terrible effect it has on your health) that my views on meat drastically changed. We are animal lovers by nature. We really rather no life suffer. No matter what how small, what color, what species. All life is important...all life matters to us.
One day my husband & I were talking and really throwing out some questions. "Why do we believe this is right?" , "Where does this core belief stem from?" and " What steps will we take to achieve it?". These were some of the things we talked about. We concluded that the basis of our core belief, our solid-unwavering belief, definitely came from the Bible.
Aside from there being plenty of modern-day evidence to support a whole food plant-based lifestyle is the healthiest, we felt there was a bit more than that. For us, it was a moral issue too. It goes back to the earliest telling's.... I'll give a few examples:
1) In Genesis (2:15-17) Then the L-RD G-d took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it. 16The LORD G-d commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; 17but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.”
G-d told Adam to cultivate (to prepare and use (land) for crops or gardening) the land and to keep it. So he was meant to grow vegetables and to eat them. G-d also said that they could eat from any tree (except the forbidden one, of course). This says any tree! No where does it say to kill animals. Nor does it say that animals were killing each other.
(and we could talk about how Daniel only ate vegetation for an a certain amount of days and how healthy he was, but I'll cover that latter) Now all the aforementioned was all before the fall of Man. When they sinned they brought death onto themselves and everything else. THAT is when flesh started to be consumed. Now, this brings us to another thought. Killing.
2) When Moses was given the 10 Commandments one of them just happens to say,(quoting a literal translation from Hebrew to English)
"You Will Not Kill".
We've all heard them from childhood to adulthood and nowhere in the "Thou Shall Not Kill" script was it only specific to human beings. Some will argue that G-d wanted lamb sacrifices and so on. I would argue that it is also that only BECAUSE of the fall of man that there was any killing to begin with. Had they remained in the Garden of Eden they would have remained vegan/vegetarian- when they were perfectly created. Now, in my mind, if that was G-d's idea of a "perfect human" then why on earth would I want to do anything but...? Again, these are my reasons and what we feel called to do as a family. These are part of our moral convictions.
There is also the inhumane treatment of factory farmed animals to consider, as well. On the rare case you have no clue what I'm talking about I would urge you to spend some time on Netflix and check out their documentary section. There are a slew of films on the reasons to end factory farming. A few of our favorites are : Forks Over Knives, Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead, Cowspiracy, Vegucated, Food Inc., and Farm to Fridge.
***WARNING***
Several of the one's I suggested are not easy to watch. Especially if you have any empathy towards the suffering of a living being.
But these in a nutshell are our reasons. Are we perfect... no, not even close. We have just started on a semi-FULLY vegan lifestyle. Again, if you've read my bio you will see where we consume eggs (rarely) and honey. It's not an easy transition.... but its a necessary one. Food can heal your body or hurt your body. This earth was meant to be our home, our apothecary , our livelihood. It had/has everything we've ever needed to be healthy, happy, long-living, human beings. G-d designed it to be perfect. Mankind has ruined a large portion of a very good thing. We continue to deplete our natural resources and glutinously consume way more than we ever needed to. For our children, we need to change.
So many think they can't change; but you can. You can and will do what's important to you. If you feel something is important you will find a way to achieve it, whatever it is. It's human nature. No amount of me telling you will change your mind. It's got to be a choice within you. You have to feel the severity of the situation before a change can happen. Our world, our health, our children, our peace of mind, ending needless suffering... these things need to be important enough for us to change.
In the following weeks I will be sharing things that I find encouraging, enlightening, and useful knowledge. I'll touch on homesteading (both urban and rural ), vegan whole food plant based meal planning, eco-friendly projects, rural outings, and tidbits of a natural lifestyle. Let's bring back wholesome simplicity.
Let's .....
"Come roll in all the riches all around you and for once never wondered what they're worth"- Disney's Pocahontas
I look forward to sharing and learning with you!
Be Blessed, Be Well
Shalom
