Series Taboos and me - veganism

The "Taboos and I" series addresses contradictory points in our society, seen from the point of view of a lay person (me) and people already living these points or debate the issue. Many complex issues will be addressed here. I ask respect to the opinions exposed here.

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Any day of September 2015, 16:30 pm.

I was no lunch, I had no time. With a natural sandwich in the bag, from the Tropical Banana store, where I had to take the turkey breast, and a red fruit juice, I go to my class of Mad Cow Disease. Family matter, because I had read a lot about years before. Photos of mad cow. Bovine brains. And other things very unpleasant. The worst part was yet to come. "These pigs rescued in the Rodoanel in São Paulo will die under its own weight. They ceased to be pigs it is time. We manipulated to be food, to die early. They serve us and over." And it was at this time that I left the classroom, disgusted.

Girl questioning from meat consumption, but did not think much about it. I am gaucho family; BBQ is a family tradition. In college, with some difficulty, I had contact with vegetarians and vegans. It turns out they were very violent and extreme and ended up scaring me. Only Carol H. (kisses lindona sister!) Made me believe that not eating meat was possible without going crazy with this (coupled with the fact that her mother, a wonderful person, be very creative in the kitchen and have them very well in veganism) .

Still in college, I had to stay six months without consuming meat, milk, chocolate and caffeine, and a little sugar, for nutritional testing. The reason: suspected ulcerative colitis. Not confirmed, but I had the experience of what was not consume anything from animals only boiled egg, gelatin and yogurt were permitted. I lost 20 kilos and I was anemic, even with nutritionist helping. Completion of work is that my body does not absorb food like a normal human, so I need to eat more of certain things. This includes B vitamins, calcium and protein. So I went back to eating meat. Decrease a lot, and I kept reading about.

Many years passed, and I again reviewing the power. Gluten becomes a villain. Cut it too. But we had an interesting aside: I started to read about diets for celiac and began to contemplate the lacto-ovo vegetarianism (consuming milk and eggs). It could be a start. But the habits of my family are strong and every meal has meat. He avoided the most, but ended up relapsing. In my father's church, many are vegetarians and exchanged an idea with them, but overall was rather complex, not always worked.

Then I decided to research more about veganism. The vegetarian does not eat animal products, depending on the slope below. But the vegan does not consume anything. Or use. For a vegan, another living calls for respect as a human being. "There is a wide range of vegetarian diets for products that are either not consumed. The most popular form of vegetarianism is ovo-lacto vegetarianism, which excludes all kinds of meat, but includes eggs, milk and dairy products. There is also the lactovegetarianismo that .. excludes all types of meat and also the egg But milk is consumed and its derivatives Another form of vegetarian diet is strict vegetarianism:. this are excluded all animal products such as eggs, dairy products and honey Vegetarianism strict is often confused with veganism (Source: Wikipedia). ".

Before a lot of information, a lot of doubts and a lot of desire, I decided to stop eating meat. I been three weeks without it, because it put more gluten in the diet without getting sick. And it was at this time that I discovered that veganism is taboo. The amount of inflamed discussions on the Internet has left me amazed. Only here and here was enough. People asking me: why? Calling me ecochata, hippie, extremist. The life of a vegetarian is not easy. A vegan is almost impossible. Vegan celiac ... well, I leave to you.

XX that day was one of the days when I felt the skin. I had not found anything vegetarian all day. Only a sandwich that had removed the flesh. Vegan? No. I had ricotta. And so it was everywhere: Meat, meat, meat. And when he was not present, they were eggs and milk: cream, sauces, pasta, fillings. No sacrifice was cut meat or eggs. The ingredients hidden animals and milk were the worst: butter, clear, cheese ... These, if I did not turn a blind eye, would have starved. To make matters worse, I'm addicted to milk. As a child, I take almost a liter per day. And the dairy milks were not doing well (I took a base of almonds that made me talk all profanity possible discomfort size). Veganism at this time would be impossible.

I researched a lot for months. Vegetarian NEED study on nutrition, but gets sick very quickly. I ate at several vegetarian restaurants here in Curitiba, all very tasty but not viable to go all day ($$$). I researched organic, home solutions, supplementary feeding data. The world was vast. And full of shades of gray. Extremists for meat defending the right to eat meat, since animals do not reason and are no longer wild. Extremists for veganism, accusing the other of eating corpses and torture chickens and cows. And many varied opinions in between. As a further? How much to eat? The vegetarian food pyramid works?

A no consensus among nutritionists, the vegan pyramid.

As a biologist, I get to walk a tightrope. I do not support animal testing, but I know who use drugs metabolism depend on the tests. I know that B vitamins are often restricted to animal products, but the meat slaughter is often cruel (humane slaughter in Brazil is poorly monitored). The production of milk and eggs is also very complicated, with the caging system. But their replacement is often difficult and expensive for those who do not understand the subject.

For whom it was created on site, I get confused and guilty often. I remember to feed the chicks and chickens, which were set loose. The pigs and cows as well. The same bugs that would eat later. That depresses me. But remember of dairy cows and goats worship us: we gave affection, bathroom, doused in cold. And they give us milk, licking our hands, let us play with the puppies. Laying hens came into our laps (my grandmother who raises chickens, always takes pictures with them a hug touching and funny). It was therefore wrong to eat eggs and drink milk? For I child, it was not. But a vegan would say we would be exploring the animals. A slender thread of balance. And every glass of milk I take makes me full of doubt.

I do not want to eat meat because they can not stand the idea of ​​the animal suffer. "Ah, but if I had an organic meat and zero humane slaughter pain, would you eat?". Good question. Throw stones if you want but eat. The reasons for not eating meat are varied: not like, do not digest, do not accept the death of another being, concern for the planet and the implications of agribusiness (which is my case), and religious. These want to make an observation: Spiritualists argue that we should not eat meat. Since Kardec: "It will be worthwhile refrain man from animal feed, and other means for atonement? Yes, if you practice this deprivation for the benefit of others "(question 724 of the Spirits' Book - LE)." Here's a little about I read several books about Wicca that having respect for the living being can eat. it does, because in the beginning we were also food. No greed, with respect. Christians abstain from meat during Lent, the Jews do not eat pork, Muslims ask for special slaughter (if you read about it, maybe be horrified), the Hindus do not want to know meat. That is, people interested in not eating meat has in spades.

Nonjudgmental. Only personal considerations. So why do so many people defending the meat with so much violence and aggression?

Continued ...

 Carpe diem, carpe noctem, finis est initium.