A few weeks ago vegan author, Kathy Freston posted two extremely well written articles on the Huffington Post. "Vegetarian is the New Prius" and "A Few More 'Inconvenient Truths" . The Prius one makes a persuasive case that meat production is harming the environment and contibuting to global warming. The Truths article addresses common objections to going vegetarian or vegan. They both generated a lot of attention. The Prius article was re-posted on AlterNet where it received 422 comments!
   For her latest article, One Bite at a Time: A Beginner's Guide to Conscious Eating, Freston offers suggestions for die-hard meat-eaters who want make the transition to a vegetarian (or mostly vegetarian) diet. "Let's face it: If you've been eating meat all your life, this sort of a change can be daunting even just to think about, let alone act on,"  she writes.
   Her suggestions include: Give up the little animals first; If you can't give up one particular animal product, give up all the other ones; Don't sweat the small stuff.

Give up the little animals first

"Although many people tend to stop eating red meat before they give up chicken, turkey, or fish, from a humane standpoint, this is backwards. Birds are arguably the most abused animals on the planet, and birds and fish yield less flesh than cows or pigs, so farmers and fishers kill more of them to satisfy North America's meat habit."

Addressing fish she writes, "The recent studies on fish are even scarier than the studies on beef or any other food. The three-part front page series in the Chicago Tribune about brain damage and other health problems caused by mercury, PCBs, and the other toxins found in fish and the front page piece in the Wall Street Journal about the teen whose fish consumption put him in remedial classes should be enough to turn anyone off fish consumption. For omega-3 fatty acids, go with flax seeds, walnuts, and leafy greens."

If you can't give up one particular animal product, give up all the other ones

Freston encourages people not to use one favourite animal food as an excuse to do nothing. "Some of my friends can't give up ice cream or cream in their coffee or whatever ― so [ I tell them to ] give up everything but that. That's a huge step forward, and I suspect that after eating mostly vegetarian for awhile, you'll decide that those burgers or that ice cream aren't so tasty anymore."

Don't sweat the small stuff

What may be controversial to some established vegetarians, Freston encourages people to not be too concerned about ingredients that make up less than 2 percent of their meal. "It doesn't really matter if there's a modicum of butter or whey or other animal product in the bun that your veggie burger is served on. You won't stop animal suffering by avoiding such minuscule amounts of animal ingredients. ... Vegetarianism is not a personal purity test -- our positive and reasonable influence on others is just as important as our own commitment to a conscious and compassionate diet."

From the comments

Here are a few highlights from among the more than 40 comments:

"The 'western' diet is the only one with the focus on MEAT."

"I could not agree more about not sweating the small stuff. I've been a vegan for almost 20 years, and I now strongly feel that my earlier almost "fundamentalist" veganism was counter-productive. I felt great about my 'purity,' but others just thought I was a nut. So, as Kathy notes, I was hurting animals."

"If you don't care about the 'modicum of butter or whey or other animal product in the bun that your veggie burger is served on' you are not being considerate to restaurant staff and friends – you are saying, "I am ok with a little bit of animal cruelty, and I am not a consistent person".

"I agree that chickens are the most abused animal...but I personally wish that meat-eaters give up eating cows and pigs first...there is something so heartbreaking about the crying (bellowing) of a mother cow and her calf who lovingly bond at birth and who are usually separated on the 1st or 2nd day after birth...cows are pregnant for nine long months, just like women...and pigs are as smart and friendly and loving as dogs...they even wag their little tails...they are so terrified at the slaughterhouse they have heart attacks...and all animals are so young (still babies/toddlers) when they die...i still care deeply for sweet chickens...God refers to the love of a mother hen for her chicks in the bible...and in today's factory farms, hens never ever even SEE their chicks ... there is something ungodly about it all. I am so glad i stopped eating all meat 2 years ago and don't have to decide which animal doesn't deserve life...and it was easier than i ever dreamed...and i feel like a new woman!"

Several people left comments like: "If God didn't want us to eat animals he would not have made them taste so good." So, one person wrote:

"Friends...friends!!!
No need to squabble over religious and political issues involving meat-eating!
It's as simple as this:
Meat is filthy. It is dead tissue. It has little pieces of animal shit on it. It has colonies of microbes building little cities on it. It is actually the corpse of another creature. It's like walking up to a casket with a knife and fork...and you...want to chew on that and eat it?"

Read the full article: One Bite at a Time: A Beginner's Guide to Conscious Eating.

At veg.ca

What to Eat
This Veggie Challenge page has meal suggestions and tips for those just starting out such as: eating out, ordering in, and adjusting the meals you currently make.