Why I am not a vegan

[Monica]

Meat was easy for me to quit but cheese was hard. It was a comfort food. And it wasn't actually a dead animal so it was harder to really make the connection. It was Pablisimo telling me about the opioids in cheese that made me realize it was literally addictive. Not just emotionally but physiologically. He said that the body would lose its craving for the addictive substance if we can just stay off of it for 72 hours. It's a physical thing and works with drugs, alcohol, the opioids in cheese, whatever. He was right! It was also Pablisimo who turned me on to some really great vegan cheeses.

...

[Minyatur]

I never got the concept of addictions. I like to do things in excess, can pick up a habit quickly and stop it altogether one day randomly.

Regarding food, I do not remember that taste of what I have eaten (no sensory memory) so I can either not eat something ever again or eat the very same thing everyday. I do remember my level appreciations of things though, so I can know I'll prefer a meal over another despite not remembering any of the taste.

[Diana]

I finally got around to posting my critiques of Myoko's Kitchen Vegan Cheeses. I ordered 4 cheeses, which were delivered in 2 days Fed Ex (if ordered before 10am on Wednesday, otherwise they ship the next week to ensure freshness). and they were well packaged with ice. They are amazing!

1. Ale and Onion Crock Cheddar. This is a spreadable cheese that comes in a tub. It has a strong flavor of oniony cheddar, made with vegan beer. It's delicious. It was the first one I opened and my boyfriend and I were both amazed at how delicious it was and how like regular cheese it was.

2. Double Cream Chive. This comes in a wheel. It is my favorite so far—utterly creamy and fantastic. We've been putting it on sandwiches with raw veggies. It is awesome just sliced on crackers.

3. Mozzarella. This is fantastic and mimics regular mozzarella in both texture and taste. I have melted it on top of pasta and vegan burgers, and plan to make pizzas with it tonight. It's awesome.

4. Smoked Farmhouse. Another wheel of cheese. This was our least favorite, but it is still good. I personally don't like smoked flavor that much but if someone does, this smells like bacon and has the definitive smoked flavor. I ordered it in lieu of Farmhouse Cheddar, which has rave reviews, but it was sold out.

I highly recommend these vegan cheeses. I am going to try all of her other cheeses now. Here is the link again:

Myoko's Kitchen

[Monica]

Thanks for the review, Diana! I shall have to try those! Daiya is one of the better ones, but more and more are coming out now. Ah, so much better than in the early days, when vegan cheese was all nasty! Now there are lots of really good vegan cheeses to choose from.

---

We ARE making a difference!

400 MILLION FEWER ANIMALS WERE KILLED LAST YEAR DUE TO MORE PEOPLE OPTING FOR A PLANT BASED DIET

...

According to WHO, Processed Meats as Dangerous as Cigarettes and Asbestos

...

[indolering]

I haven't tried all the vegan cheese in my stores, but I didn't like the Daiya products too much.  The one I use now is by Follow Your Heart - I buy the sliced provolone which is convenient with good flavor and consistency.  Follow Your Heart is a health food store/cafe in the Los Angeles area where I used to live, and was good friends with the owner's son.  He used to let me take all the terrific organic foods destined for the trash because it was out of date.  I must have garnered many thousands of dollars worth of dynamite foods, juices, you name it....  They finally branched out into producing their own line of products.

[Jade]

I like Treeline, and Field Roast cheeses a lot, too.

[indolering]

I like Treeline, and Field Roast cheeses a lot, too.

I also like the Field Roast brand...I've only tried the 'Creamy Original' style, but I'm sure the others are good too.

[Diana]

I like Treeline, and Field Roast cheeses a lot, too.

I also like the Field Roast brand...I've only tried the 'Creamy Original' style, but I'm sure the others are good too.

Where does one get those cheeses? With so many delicious products out there, it sure has become easy to be vegan.

Does anyone know of a good vegan butter?

[Jade]

I think Whole Foods is the best bet, as they have a huge selection. I was just at my local (tiny, mostly organic) grocery store today ("Natural Grocers" - an offshoot of Vitamin Cottage) and their vegan cheese selection has expanded!! They used to only have Daiya, and another "lactose free" cheese "substitute" that still has casein, then they brought in the Follow Your Heart (never tried, bought some today!) A few months ago they brought in the Treeline, which was $9 a pop almost but we bought a lot, and now they have slices of Chao (which is the Field Roast brand!!!) and a couple others I didn't recognize! I've been making a vegan alfredo sauce with cashews and tofu lately that I'm obsessed with, so that's been giving me my "cheese" fix, but once I'm over the alfredo I'll go on a cheese spree.

When I've needed vegan butter, I use the organic Earth Balance. Lately, though, I've been using coconut oil in "sweet" recipes/snacks that require "butter" - like toasted english muffins with coconut oil and jam!! Or baking, the coconut oil works too because it solidifies in the dough when chilled. But yeah, Earth Balance will definitely work if you want that buttery flavor for something.

[AnthroHeart]

We have Sun Harvest here, but they didn't have organic Lemons when I was trying to do the Master Cleanse, or the lemonade diet.

[Diana]

I think Whole Foods is the best bet, as they have a huge selection. I was just at my local (tiny, mostly organic) grocery store today ("Natural Grocers" - an offshoot of Vitamin Cottage) and their vegan cheese selection has expanded!! They used to only have Daiya, and another "lactose free" cheese "substitute" that still has casein, then they brought in the Follow Your Heart (never tried, bought some today!) A few months ago they brought in the Treeline, which was $9 a pop almost but we bought a lot, and now they have slices of Chao (which is the Field Roast brand!!!) and a couple others I didn't recognize! I've been making a vegan alfredo sauce with cashews and tofu lately that I'm obsessed with, so that's been giving me my "cheese" fix, but once I'm over the alfredo I'll go on a cheese spree.

When I've needed vegan butter, I use the organic Earth Balance. Lately, though, I've been using coconut oil in "sweet" recipes/snacks that require "butter" - like toasted english muffins with coconut oil and jam!! Or baking, the coconut oil works too because it solidifies in the dough when chilled. But yeah, Earth Balance will definitely work if you want that buttery flavor for something.

Thank you Jade.

Could you share your vegan alfredo sauce? This makes me think we at B4 should band together and make a vegan cookbook.

[Jade]

Absolutely! It's this recipe:

http://ohmyveggies.com/vegan-fettuccine-...ium=social

My differences are that I've eliminated the extra nut milk, and just add a bit more cashews and water to the blender to puree. If you soak the cashews, the texture is perfect! The "parmesan cheese" topping definitely makes it. I have used kale and broccoli. Also, I use ~half a lemon's worth of juice and not a whole lemon, that is of course to taste. I also don't bother with the vegetable broth, I just use a little of the starchy pasta water instead.

[indolering]

I like Treeline, and Field Roast cheeses a lot, too.

I also like the Field Roast brand...I've only tried the 'Creamy Original' style, but I'm sure the others are good too.

Where does one get those cheeses? With so many delicious products out there, it sure has become easy to be vegan.

Does anyone know of a good vegan butter?

Jade and I both live in Colorado and the main health food stores are, as Jade mentioned, Whole Foods and Vitamin Cottage.  But I imagine many health food stores carry the vegan cheeses.  Occasionally even the larger supermarkets will carry a brand or two.  Look around or call some of your local joints.

[Steppingfeet]

My wife and I just finished a documentary called Cowspiracy. (Cheesy name, I know, but, catches the attention and memory.)

Successfully makes the case linking diet with the destruction of the biosphere. (e.g.: ocean dead zones from nitrogen run-off, destruction of rain forest for cattle grazing, massive consumption of water to grow plants to feed animals, methane released into the atmosphere, etc.)

As I've heard mentioned here before, it seems that animal agriculture is one of the main if not biggest drivers of the ecological disaster facing the planet.

My meat consumption was already intentionally reduced a couple/few years ago thanks to being made aware through the forums of animal suffering through the factory farm system. I find that if I am to be a citizen of planet Earth with responsibility for my footprint and contribution to our collective situation, I need to take further steps to at least reduce meat and dairy, with focus on the latter especially.

The documentary is available on Netflix.


Their website: http://www.cowspiracy.com/

[isis]

happy world vegan day.

[indolering]

happy world vegan day.

Thank you.  I'm hardly the poster boy for veganism as it seems I cheat at least once a day.  

But I know how important it is, both for myself and for our planet.  So I stumble along and keep trying my best and keep that compassion in my heart and a smile on my face.

[Monica]

My wife and I just finished a documentary called Cowspiracy.

  Vegan 4 hours.jpg (Size: 98.83 KB / Downloads: 15)

[Minyatur]

Why I am not a vegan : Because I do not believe I should feel guilt nor shame about it. Because if the essence of my being had thought it was not good, then I would have programmed myself to have a repulsion of it, which I did not. Because I have faith that ultimately all of my actions are emerging from Love and Light and that all I do will always be guided toward what is best.

I have rationalized this faith into words at different occassions, but that was unnecessary to myself.

[indolering]

Why I am not a vegan : Because I do not believe I should feel guilt nor shame about it. Because if the essence of my being had thought it was not good, then I would have programmed myself to have a repulsion of it, which I did not. Because I have faith that ultimately all of my actions are emerging from Love and Light and that all I do will always be guided toward what is best.

I have rationalized this faith into words at different occassions, but that was unnecessary to myself.

If you feel no guilt or shame, I suspect that you lack a proper amount of empathy and that you have not delved into the process of animal slaughter in any deep fashion.

The essence of your being does not think - it knows.  Only the mind thinks.  And it is precisely the mind which needs purification the most in order for us to develop our spiritual awareness.

I suspect that you have programmed yourself very little  - most of our programming comes from without, consciously or unconsciously.

Your faith in your actions as emerging from Love and Light is misplaced, and again I would say that you have but little researched the subject and your empathy has been stunted.

I'm sure you'll disagree with my diagnosis, but aside from my training in psychology, I have gone through what all of us must in order to realize that all life is sacred, and that the Love/Light which I call the Creator has provided us with all things which precludes the necessity to perpetuate animal cruelty.  Many people have rationalized that plants are living creatures also - very true.  But the plant phylum has the unique function of providing nourishment for animals besides its many other important functions.

I'm not judging you.  We all have to go through these things at one time or another.  I'm sure that you too will ultimately see the truth of my words.



Moody Blues - How Is It We Are Here




How is it we are here, on this path we walk,

In this world of pointless fear, filled with empty talk,
Descending from the apes as scientist-priests all think,
Will they save us in the end, we're trembling on the brink.

Men's mighty mine-machines digging in the ground,
Stealing rare minerals where they can be found.
Concrete caves with iron doors, bury it again,
While a starving frightened world fills the sea with grain.

Her love is like a fire burning inside,
Her love is so much higher it can't be denied,
She sends us her glory, it's always been there,
Her love's all around us, it's there for you and me to share.

Men's mighty mine-machines digging in the ground,
Stealing rare minerals where they can be found.
Concrete caves with iron doors, bury it again,
While a starving frightened world fills the sea with grain.

How is it we are here
How is it we are here
How is it we are here

[Minyatur]

Why I am not a vegan : Because I do not believe I should feel guilt nor shame about it. Because if the essence of my being had thought it was not good, then I would have programmed myself to have a repulsion of it, which I did not. Because I have faith that ultimately all of my actions are emerging from Love and Light and that all I do will always be guided toward what is best.

I have rationalized this faith into words at different occassions, but that was unnecessary to myself.

If you feel no guilt or shame, I suspect that you lack a proper amount of empathy and that you have not delved into the process of animal slaughter in any deep fashion.

You are right that I have in a general sense a low-medium degree of empathy and do use means to keep it that way for the time it is needed as part of my experience, although I've experienced at various occasions a much higher level of empathy in which I was easily disturbed by many things. But the feelings were processed through wisdom and distilled in an understanding of the love behind what had disturbed me.

Yet if the earth was populated by the version of myself that I am, then this would be a vegetarian world. Well initially I guess, hard to know what many versions of myself would do together. Just like our current mutual experience, which is akin to that, is full of surprises.

The essence of your being does not think - it knows.  Only the mind thinks.  And it is precisely the mind which needs purification the most in order for us to develop our spiritual awareness.

I suspect that you have programmed yourself very little  - most of our programming comes from without, consciously or unconsciously.

Oh trust me, I have programmed myself quite a maze to be within. I correct what I have said to use your way of terming things, the essence of my soul knows.

Your faith in your actions as emerging from Love and Light is misplaced, and again I would say that you have but little researched the subject and your empathy has been stunted.

I can only tell you that your lack of faith in this Creation is misplaced, and again I would say that you have but little researched the love behind it all.

I'm sure you'll disagree with my diagnosis, but aside from my training in psychology, I have gone through what all of us must in order to realize that all life is sacred, and that the Love/Light which I call the Creator has provided us with all things which precludes the necessity to perpetuate animal cruelty.  Many people have rationalized that plants are living creatures also - very true.  But the plant phylum has the unique function of providing nourishment for animals besides its many other important functions.

I'm not judging you.  We all have to go through these things at one time or another.  I'm sure that you too will ultimately see the truth of my words.

I also am sure that you too will ultimately see the truth of my words, as in the end all things can only be seen as always have been unity when all the paradoxes we expose ourselves to will have been solved in our awareness.

I do agree that life is sacred, but I would bring that even further and say that all experiences are sacred. Yeah.. even those you disagree with.

[The_Tired_Philosopher]

Somehow someway I both agree and disagree with you both on these last two posts.

None of us know anything.  Lets be nice to each other, we don't know if we're right or wrong.  We just have thoughts that infer we are.

I think all things are sacred, but still disagree with the state of genocide against 2D.  As a human, with an ego, I try to unify everything as sacred for myself, obviously the ego tilts and skews the game board but hey, its sacred too.

I think you both are right/wrong in action.  A very depthful meeting of Wills.

Oh and Min.  The Earth IS populated by yourself.  AND MYSELF and them, n DEM, and a few many more.
I highly doubt there are 8billion perfectly unique people, in a sense of not being similar at all.  Oh, wait.  Yer human.  I'm human.

AHHHHHHhh

We ARREE Onnneee!!!!

[indolering]

None of us know anything.  Lets be nice to each other, we don't know if we're right or wrong.  We just have thoughts that infer we are.

Socrates said "Wisdom is knowing how little we know."  Yes, but not that we don't know anything. 
 
We are being nice - we could be at each other's throat but we've both been quite civilized about this provocative subject.

[indolering]

Why I am not a vegan : Because I do not believe I should feel guilt nor shame about it. Because if the essence of my being had thought it was not good, then I would have programmed myself to have a repulsion of it, which I did not. Because I have faith that ultimately all of my actions are emerging from Love and Light and that all I do will always be guided toward what is best.

I have rationalized this faith into words at different occassions, but that was unnecessary to myself.

If you feel no guilt or shame, I suspect that you lack a proper amount of empathy and that you have not delved into the process of animal slaughter in any deep fashion.

You are right that I have in a general sense a low-medium degree of empathy and do use means to keep it that way for the time it is needed as part of my experience, although I've experienced at various occasions a much higher level of empathy in which I was easily disturbed by many things. But the feelings were processed through wisdom and distilled in an understanding of the love behind what had disturbed me.

Yet if the earth was populated by the version of myself that I am, then this would be a vegetarian world. Well initially I guess, hard to know what many versions of myself would do together. Just like our current mutual experience, which is akin to that, is full of surprises.

The essence of your being does not think - it knows.  Only the mind thinks.  And it is precisely the mind which needs purification the most in order for us to develop our spiritual awareness.

I suspect that you have programmed yourself very little  - most of our programming comes from without, consciously or unconsciously.

Oh trust me, I have programmed myself quite a maze to be within. I correct what I have said to use your way of terming things, the essence of my soul knows.

Your faith in your actions as emerging from Love and Light is misplaced, and again I would say that you have but little researched the subject and your empathy has been stunted.

I can only tell you that your lack of faith in this Creation is misplaced, and again I would say that you have but little researched the love behind it all.

I'm sure you'll disagree with my diagnosis, but aside from my training in psychology, I have gone through what all of us must in order to realize that all life is sacred, and that the Love/Light which I call the Creator has provided us with all things which precludes the necessity to perpetuate animal cruelty.  Many people have rationalized that plants are living creatures also - very true.  But the plant phylum has the unique function of providing nourishment for animals besides its many other important functions.

I'm not judging you.  We all have to go through these things at one time or another.  I'm sure that you too will ultimately see the truth of my words.

I also am sure that you too will ultimately see the truth of my words, as in the end all things can only be seen as always have been unity when all the paradoxes we expose ourselves to will have been solved in our awareness.

I do agree that life is sacred, but I would bring that even further and say that all experiences are sacred. Yeah.. even those you disagree with.

I won't take the time and energy to comment on your entire post, but I'll say this about your final statement:

All experiences are not sacred - some may be divinely inspired, and some are necessary for one's understanding.

[The_Tired_Philosopher]

How...now I'm confused.

Are you operating off of Ra/Q'uo Material or?

How is everything not sacred?

Socrates isn't here now, so I look forward to your sayings and less another's. (And I am currently furious at other things so I'm sorry if my tone is tense, its been a rough week.)

[Minyatur]

I do agree that life is sacred, but I would bring that even further and say that all experiences are sacred. Yeah.. even those you disagree with.

I won't take the time and energy to comment on your entire post, but I'll say this about your final statement:

All experiences are not sacred - some may be divinely inspired, and some are necessary for one's understanding.

Well I disagree that all experiences are not sacred. I also do not quite see how you able are to judge what is necessary and useful to other entities than yourself or even to yourself as most experiences are not fully distilled within one's lifetime.

In my view your conception of how life is sacred seems off, life is sacred as an experience and that includes any kind of sub-experiences. It is but a very small illusionary experience of us timeless beings, as a mean to grow and learn about ourselves. All experiences are useful, are desired and are the experiences of One.

Like it was said in another post to someone else, I guess you do not adhere to the idea that each create all of our reality. As such you view the actions of others that you disagree with, as separate from yourself and not as a mirror unto yourself of your own making. As such you escape your own responsibility of having needed this mirror as part of your growth and make little use of the catalyst you attracted to yourself.

My faith lies in that every entity will accept and love every aspect of it's path and fate, this was the result of my own endless struggle with my own fate. One day everything will be understood as having been desired and attracted, that others were agents, driven by their own fate, who can only create complementary experiences with others, just like it was the sole thing we could do.

[Minyatur]

I think all things are sacred, but still disagree with the state of genocide against 2D.  As a human, with an ego, I try to unify everything as sacred for myself, obviously the ego tilts and skews the game board but hey, its sacred too.

Mankind is a specie that is at war with itself, it would make litttle to no sense for it to treat lesser beings otherwise than it does.

Oh and Min.  The Earth IS populated by yourself.  AND MYSELF and them, n DEM, and a few many more.
I highly doubt there are 8billion perfectly unique people, in a sense of not being similar at all.  Oh, wait.  Yer human.  I'm human.

AHHHHHHhh

We ARREE Onnneee!!!!

I meant with my own current luggage of experience.

[Monica]

Are you operating off of Ra/Q'uo Material or?

The Ra Material is full of seeming paradox. Ra said that they were here to show the resolution of paradox.

How is everything not sacred?

It depends on perspective. At first glance, it may seem paradoxical to say that not all is sacred, when all is One. But what does sacred mean? I'd say it's that which propels one to one's highest calling, and that which manifests as a result of resonance with one's highest calling.

Here's what Ra had to say about choices in regards to resonance.

14.20 Questioner: And you ready yourselves for harvest through [the] best service you can provide. Is this correct?
Ra: This is correct. We offer the Law of One, the solving of paradoxes, the balancing of love/light and light/love.

67.11 Questioner: Then how could we solve this paradox?
Ra: I am Ra. Consider, if you will, that you have no ability not to serve the Creator since all is the Creator. In your individual growth patterns appear the basic third-density choice. Further, there are overlaid memories of the positive polarizations of your home density. Thus your particular orientation is strongly polarized towards service to others and has attained wisdom as well as compassion.

You do not have merely two opposite requests for service. You will find an infinite array of contradictory requests for information or lack of information from this source if you listen carefully to those whose voices you may hear. This is all one voice to which you resonate upon a certain frequency. This frequency determines your choice of service to the One Creator. As it happens this group’s vibratory patterns and those of Ra are compatible and enable us to speak through this instrument with your support. This is a function of free will.

A portion, seemingly, of the Creator rejoices at your choice to question us regarding the evolution of spirit. A seemingly separate portion would wish for multitudinous answers to a great range of queries of a specific nature. Another seemingly separate group of your peoples would wish this correspondence through this instrument to cease, feeling it to be of a negative nature. Upon the many other planes of existence there are those whose every fiber rejoices at your service and those such as the entity of whom you have been speaking which wish only to terminate the life upon the third-density plane of this instrument. All are the Creator. There is one vast panoply of biases and distortions, colors and hues, in an unending pattern. In the case of those with whom you, as entities and as a group, are not in resonance, you wish them love, light, peace, joy, and bid them well. No more than this can you do for your portion of the Creator is as it is and your experience and offering of experience, to be valuable, needs be more and more a perfect representation of who you truly are. Could you, then, serve a negative entity by offering the instrument’s life? It is unlikely that you would find this a true service. Thus you may see in many cases the loving balance being achieved, the love being offered, light being sent, and the service of the service-to-self oriented entity gratefully acknowledged while being rejected as not being useful in your journey at this time. Thus you serve One Creator without paradox.

The idea that All is One, and All is ultimately sacred, doesn't preclude rejection of that which isn't in resonance.

...

[Monica]

I guess you do not adhere to the idea that each create all of our reality. As such you view the actions of others that you disagree with, as separate from yourself and not as a mirror unto yourself of your own making. As such you escape your own responsibility of having needed this mirror as part of your growth and make little use of the catalyst you attracted to yourself.

My faith lies in that every entity will accept and love every aspect of it's path and fate, this was the result of my own endless struggle with my own fate. One day everything will be understood as having been desired and attracted, that others were agents, driven by their own fate, who can only create complementary experiences with others, just like it was the sole thing we could do.

You seem to be confusing accepting other-selves as mirrors with accepting their offers for service even if they're not in resonance. You're completely leaving out resonance and the appropriateness of rejecting the service offered by those not in resonance, which is entirely acceptable and sometimes even necessary, while still balancing paradox and acting without paradox, according to Ra. The above quote from Ra addresses this directly.

...

[Minyatur]

I guess you do not adhere to the idea that each create all of our reality. As such you view the actions of others that you disagree with, as separate from yourself and not as a mirror unto yourself of your own making. As such you escape your own responsibility of having needed this mirror as part of your growth and make little use of the catalyst you attracted to yourself.

My faith lies in that every entity will accept and love every aspect of it's path and fate, this was the result of my own endless struggle with my own fate. One day everything will be understood as having been desired and attracted, that others were agents, driven by their own fate, who can only create complementary experiences with others, just like it was the sole thing we could do.

You seem to be confusing accepting other-selves as mirrors with accepting their offers for service even if they're not in resonance.  You're completely leaving out resonance and the appropriateness of rejecting the service offered by those not in resonance, which is entirely acceptable and sometimes even necessary, while still balancing paradox and acting without paradox, according to Ra. The above quote from Ra addresses this directly.

...

I do not in any way disagree with what you said other than when you are trying to do this for others in their stead. Each has to find what is consonant or not with their own distortions. These distortions being the result of one's own set of experience which allows love and wisdom to be unique to each.

I am not saying that anyone should be a meat eater or a vegan, I talked about myself. The mirror I tend to offer is to accept others as they are, you can then receive or reject the service that each offers to what feels right for yourself in awareness that it is true only to your subjective-awareness of this reality.

[Monica]

I do not in any way disagree with what you said other than when you are trying to do this for others in their stead.

No one is doing that here.

...