Shift of Consciousness

I love being vegan. Being vegan makes me happy for reasons that are hard to explain. It almost feels as if a weight has been lifted off of my shoulders. A weight has been lifted....I no longer have to carry around the guilt that comes with eating the flesh and secretions of another being. My body feels free, healthy and alive. And in fact it is more alive, being nourished by healthy plant based foods and not nourished by suffering and death.

But, being vegan means more than just dietary changes. Veganism is an entire lifestyle of rejecting anything that creates suffering to another being. It is a lifestyle of compassion. It is a lifestyle that has changed my life.

Being vegan has really brought me to a higher level of consciousness. I've suspected for quite sometime that being vegan has changed me in some way, but it was never quite evident what that way was until recently. My first "a-ha" moment was earlier this year during Kentucky Derby time. The Derby has always been an event that I have loved (not so much for the racing, but simply for the fact that it indicates the start of summer around here), and like so many others around here I loved checking out the racing form and placing my bet. Even last year, at the start of my shift to veganism, I still placed a bet on the race. This year things were different. I had absolutely no interest in the Derby, and was even able to turn down an invitation to attend the race the day before and spend time with some out of town friends. It just didn't feel right anymore. Exploiting those animals for my entertainment just felt fundamentally wrong. Granted, those horses are often treated phenomenally well, they are worth millions after all, it wasn't mistreatment that turned me off. It was the sheer fact that they were being exploited. I am sure many human beings that are exploited are treated well, but that doesn't make human exploitation right, any more than it makes animal exploitation right. My days of a Louisvillian living for Derby are over.

The Derby episode was one of the first major shifts in consciousness that I became aware of. But, what really solidified the shift was this weeks visit to the zoo. It started with an uneasy feeling that something just wasn't quite right about going to the zoo, but I convinced myself that it was fine. The kids love it, the animals are treated well, they are safe from predators and what not, and it is after all, educational. It didn't take long to realize that all of the convincing I had done was based on a lie. My first glimpse of an animal in cage brought heartbreak. I felt a piece of myself sitting behind that glass, longing to be free, longing to succumb to my instincts. I couldn't bear to look at the orangutans or the gorillas without nearly feeling sick. Why do we as humans feel that we are the superior species? What has conditioned us to believe that it is ok to imprison innocent animals so that we can drag our kids around to look at them? Why doesn't this seem wrong to anyone else???

Needless to say, I will not be renewing my zoo membership this year.

It's no wonder......

It's no wonder that America is fat, that our children are hyperactive and food allergic. It's no wonder that we are dying from cancer and heart disease, suffering from diabetes and high blood pressure. It's no wonder. Have you ever taken a look at what's in the food America is eating?

For years I've been shopping at Whole Foods Market, Wild Oats, and our local HFS, Rainbow Blossom. I have the luxury of knowing that my food does not contain additives* and other unnatural ingredients, and therefore, aside from checking for allergens, I don't spend much time reading labels.

This past weekend we had a lot of errands to run and needed to get our groceries. We were near Meijer, and since they've started to add a lot of organics we decided just to get our groceries there this week.

Because I don't know which brands at Meijer are allergen free I had to read labels a bit more closely. What I am about to say may sound naive and ignorant, but I was shocked. I was absolutely in shock over the amount of "junk" that is in foods that are marketed as (and should be) healthy.

Now, if you've never been to a Meijer, it's similar to a Super Wal-Mart in size......you know, one of those stores that has an aisle of no less than 200 brands of cereal to choose from, and probably 500 choices of "snacks" for your children (i.e. fruit snacks, cereal bars, crackers and the like). So, those of you familiar with the size of health food stores know that it is a bit overwhelming to have so many choices. And really, do we need that many? Do we need 200 varieties of cereal? And worse, do we need 200 varieties of cereal listing sugar and artificial color as their top ingredients? Do our children need "fruit" snacks in all shapes and sizes? Do our kids need "fruit" snacks at all? Why can't they just eat fruit?

I digress, so let me get back to the point........wouldn't you think that in a store filled with such an abundance that it would be easy to find food to feed your family? I thought so, but apparently I was wrong. I estimate that only about 10% of the stuff in that store would ever be purchased by me. Unfortunately, the rest of America doesn't feel this way, they don't read labels, and they blindly snag packages from the shelves. Most of us are fooled by the "health" claims on the packages (marketing is powerful stuff). Brown and/or green packaging does not equal health food.....READ THE LABELS!!

I think it's about time America wake up. Read food labels. Learn what you are putting into your bodies, and if you don't care what goes in your body, at least learn what you are putting into your children's bodies. Food should nourish us. Food should be healthy, be natural, and give us life (not cancer, heart disease, allergies, and death!!).

*Note: If you are not vegan, and you are feeding your kiddos cheese crackers (such as Cheez-It's, including organic versions), they contain yeast extract, which is a natural ingredient, but is actually MSG in disguise. Yeast extract is also found in a lot of canned soups and other processed goods. So, you will find some "unhealthy" ingredients in your HFS's as well, just watch out.

Just a few articles to get you started:

Hidden Dangers in Food

Danger to Children from Food and Drink Additives

Hidden Dangers of Food Additives