Why I am a Vegan

[Sabou]

Well looks like I will have to stick to whatever I can find in my local stores, turns out miyoko's kitchen does not deliver to Canada. That makes sense, shipping food items internationally seems a bit of a stretch lol. 

That is ok though, I am not too picky and not too hard to please so I am sure I can find something local that I enjoy. All I have ever eaten is soy based cheeses, though I really want to try nut cheeses and all the pictures on miyoko's website look so amazing, wow! 

I think my store carries earth island cheese, which apparently is the same company as follow your heart, so maybe I will see how that goes too.

[Diana]

Miyoko started her business online after she wrote a book about how to make the cheeses. So another option is to get her book.

[Nía]

[Nía]

As he was talking about pressure cookers (I don't even have one): Two-Ingredient Fluffy Vegan Pressure Cooker Mashed Potatoes

[Pablísimo]

Well looks like I will have to stick to whatever I can find in my local stores, turns out miyoko's kitchen does not deliver to Canada. That makes sense, shipping food items internationally seems a bit of a stretch lol. 

That is ok though, I am not too picky and not too hard to please so I am sure I can find something local that I enjoy. All I have ever eaten is soy based cheeses, though I really want to try nut cheeses and all the pictures on miyoko's website look so amazing, wow! 

I think my store carries earth island cheese, which apparently is the same company as follow your heart, so maybe I will see how that goes too.

Hi Sabou,

If you are interested in a fantastic vegan sliced cheese, I can wholeheartedly recommend Chao vegan cheese from Field Roast.  It''s coconut and tofu-based using Greek techniques.  I have transitioned to a mostly whole foods diet, and so don't eat very much of it these days, but once a week I like to have a tempeh burger and melt a slice of this cheese on it.  It's also great for grilled 'cheese' and whatever else you might use a sliced cheese for.  It's even good enough right out of the package.  Having tried many vegan cheeses over the years that were gross or at least underwhelming, this stands out as excellent.

I am in the States and get it at Whole Foods, but they apparently sell it in Canada.  Here's a link with more info, specifically about Canada.

https://fieldroast.com/canadian-chao-products/

P.S. Personally, I think the creamy original is the only one that is outstanding.  The others they offer, to me, are just OK.

Love to all

[xise]

Interesting Psychoanalysis of Eating: her summary why the reason people eat cows but not dogs, for example - an invisible belief cultural conditioning system that she calls "carnism." According to her, it is based on denial and invisibility of the victims. She also goes over the sentience of animals, pigs have the intelligence of 3-year-old humans; cows being able to cry for weeks when separated from their loved ones; chickens being able to identify over a hundred different chicken faces. Paraphrasing her, but she has an interesting way of juxtaposition: For example, people would consider it inhumane and cruel to kill a happy, healthy golden retriever just because you like the taste of its legs, yet this is what we do to cows, pigs and millions of animals every day. She also compares carnism to cultural beliefs of sexuality and other ingrained social structures. 

Her conclusion is that is awareness - not just of the facts on the ground of the animal abuse - but the belief system behind the choice to eat meat. Interesting analysis, as most vegans/vegetarian concentrate more on the awareness of the animal abuse, but she implies that the awareness must extend to all the built-in defense mechanisms of the cultural belief of carnism must be illuminated before one can really challenge their dietary paradigm.

Overall, great production values and interesting analysis.

[Nía]

10 Modern Day Vegan Body Builders That Are Changing The Way People View Protein

[Nía]

[Patrick]

Well, even with potatoes you get enough protein.

[Nía]

Just because I just stumbled upon this: Gordon Ramsay Brings You 6 Vegan BBQ Recipes Everyone Will Love

[YinYang]

I am on a mission to marry veganism and barbeque, I'm not losing my fires! Nice to see Ramsay has a soft side, we watched a show once where he would go into American restaurants that were struggling, and turn them into profitable enterprises, but it was so uncomfortable to watch at times, when he lost his temper. I wouldn't rub that guy the wrong way! I also lost count of how many times in an episode he would scream the F-word... he has successfully turned the word into an adjective.

There was one episode which completely turned me off him, when he went into a French restaurant. (the English and the French have an old rivalry). After watching that clash, I never watched any of his shows again... he crossed a line. That the episode was even aired is beyond me, that's not entertainment...

[YinYang]

I think we just live in the age of rage, I have cancelled our DSTV subscription. Best decision I ever made... I need peace at home. Fortunately I don't suffer from fomo, ignorance is bliss!

[isis]

that clash

"It's your fucking kitchen, clean it you lazy cunt!"
"NO!"

lol

[Eddie]

Marmite has b12. Also, nutritional yeast has b12. B12 is synthesized through bacteria in the soil, so eating unwashed veggies freshly harvested will get you b12 too.

Aahh, Marmite.  

Nutritious it might be, but my first (and only) taste of it was one of the most shocking and unpleasant experiences of my life (why don't we have an emoticon for "horror" in that panel on the left?).  I thought I would choke before I could get enough water into my mouth to wash it out.  (This happened at a homestay in New Zealand, and our Kiwi hostess seemed quite amused at my reaction.....apparently, most Americans react this way to Marmite.)

[Pablísimo]

 
I always thought Vegemite was a natural vegan source of B12, but I just discovered that it is not.  Are there any natural vegan sources of B12 without supplementation?
 

Marmite has b12. Also, nutritional yeast has b12. B12 is synthesized through bacteria in the soil, so eating unwashed veggies freshly harvested will get you b12 too.

There is some debate about this on the internet and you can find articles pro and con.  However, my personal opinion is this is an extremely dangerous myth.  Having personally had B12 deficiency symptoms while eating plenty of yeast, and having done a huge amount of research on this topic including reading peer-reviewed papers and consulting with nutritionists, I personally do not believe it's possible to obtain adequate B12 on a vegan diet without supplementation.  My understanding is that the "B12" in nutritional yeast, seaweed, and Vegemite/Marmite is a B12 analogue...meaning that it will show up positively on B12 blood tests but not actually perform the vital, needed bodily functions.  There is even some evidence that eating large amounts of these foods increases your need for B12 due to this analogue phenomenon.  I am not infallible and could certainly be wrong, of course, but in this case I strongly recommend that anyone who is a long-term vegan take a B12 supplement, preferably in sublingual methylcobalamin form.

One study that comes to mind involved vegans from India who did not take B12 when they migrated to the UK.  They had no need for this in India, but starting have B12 deficiency symptoms after some time in the UK.  It was hypothesized that the vegetables were not adequately washed in India and the comparatively sterile vegetables in the UK thus didn't have B12.  Additional experimentation with a control group, B12 tests for produce in both countries, and longer-term observation of this population eventually revealed that the problem wasn't the external washing.  It was actually that the Indian vegans had been obtaining their B12 from very small insects that were infesting the produce and these insects (and their dead bodies) were not present in the UK produce.  Of course, you can twist any study to mean various things, and no doubt if you search you can find counter-arguments, but I personally found these findings quite logical and convincing.

Please understand that I only offer these thoughts in a compassionate spirit.  I want to see people thrive as vegans in the LONG-TERM.  Vegan myths such as eating dirty vegetables or yeast for B12 (and many others, such as calcium needs being lower for vegans), only hurt the cause in the long term.  Unfortunately, one of the first signs of inadequate B12 is mental and emotional instability, and I cannot help but wonder if some of the more outlandish advocacy that one hears on Youtube and message forums stems from simple nutritional causes, most of which are very easily corrected.  This reminds me of some advice I often give new vegans who ask me:  Be very careful about heeding nutritional advice from vegans who have been vegan for less than 4 years, as it takes some time for certain problems to manifest.

Given the enormous and rabid opposition to veganism among the general public, the instinct to argue the diet is perfect and minimize or ignore its pitfalls is totally understandable.  I believe that is where ideas like this originate.  In the push to do something about the wholesale slaughter and torture of millions of sentient beings, the tendency to exaggerate the ease or naturalness of the diet is understandable.  However, we do neither ourselves nor the animals any favors by glossing over nutritional issues.  Mental gymnastics, false plant/animal equivalency, bizarre spiritual backflips and other weird justifications aside, vegans have already won the moral argument, but we are a long, long way from winning the good health argument.  In my view, coming to grips with the pitfalls and devising positive, vegan, solutions to them as a community is a far better path.  I can think of no better advocacy than demonstrating how a person can live a healthy, vital, compassionate and happy life as a vegan.  In this case, it just means taking a supplement that is cheap, safe, and easy...and ironically, a huge percentage of the meat-eating population, particularly those over 50, should be taking it anyway.  Even with supplementation, eating vegan can be far, far more natural and healthy than the average meat-based diet in modern society, and is usually a far more compassionate choice  To me, that is well worth the inconvenience of a supplmenet..

I am sorry to go on in such a long post.  This topic is just near and dear to my heart.

tldr:
My advice to all vegans is just take a sublingual methylcobalamin B12 supplement.  It's good for your brain and body!   


love to all

[YinYang]

My advice to all vegans is just take a sublingual methylcobalamin B12 supplement.  It's good for your brain and body!   

We do that, Solgar is the best!

[xise]

A body with a full store of B12 can go without B12 for years before there is any deficiency. It's something to definitely keep in mind, but it's probably a bit overhyped as you only really need to take B12 one month in a year or so.

Mayo Clinic Vitamin B12

The human body stores several years' worth of vitamin B12 in the liver, so low levels in the body are rare.

[Nía]

[Diana]

Beautiful video above, Nia. Thank you.

[xise]

Beautiful video above, Nia. Thank you.

Yeah, the author of that video just got a new subscriber 

Thanks Nia.

[Nía]

Compassionate Eating for Empaths and Highly Sensitive People

[Nía]

Just because they sound and look really yummy (sadly, I couldn't even afford the ingredients):

“Raw Cacao & Coconut Energy Balls” and the importance of making food from the heart

Many more Recipes for Conscious Eating

[xise]

New Zealand Now Recognizes ALL Animals As Sentient Beings

[Nía]

Vitamin B12: Understanding Deficiency and Supplementation

How to Make Vegan Bone Broth That Rivals the Paleo Version

[Diana]

I have no desire to engage in the vegan discussion anymore. I have said all I could. I wasn't out to change anyone, or bend anyone to my will. I was only advocating to people who are concerned with compassion that our brothers and sisters in the animal kingdom need that compassion, due to the way humanity has treated them.

It boggles my mind that anyone could care more about their personal free will (to choose torture and death) over compassion. Though—that is your choice of course. I don't want to persuade you. I was just trying to shine some light on an area of human life that continues to exist in darkness. And please, no metaphors about embracing the shadow. I'm done with those intellectual gymnastics. 

So I will leave you with the words of others, who have embraced a kinder, more compassionate way of life. 

[Diana]

[Diana]

[Nicholas]

It boggles my mind that anyone could care more about their personal free will (to choose torture and death) over compassion.

You have created a confusing dichotomy in this statement, Diana, because compassion begins with the self, and what you and I consume to sustain our bodies is a personal affair. Of all the meme's that you have shared here, they share a common theme. And that theme is personal experience The reason people care more about their own choices than the consequences of them is not beyond your intellectual grasp. In fact it is a good thing that they care at all as it's a step in the right direction. Mike Tyson apparently said that he wished he was born a vegan, and yet, if you studied how he arrived at such a thought, your mind would not boggle at all at why anyone would care more about personal agendas.

Look, personal free will is paramount because in the longer term it is the ONLY way in which to teach. If a decision is made under any group or cultural coercion, then it is almost impossible to claim responsibility for such a choice. It is no choice at all. This is why humans perpetually engage in criminality, and why we need to keep locking people up, because we fail to see the correlations between their personal experience and the choices that they accordingly make. Why, after thousands of years of repetition, are we still locking humans away for behaviours that share a current motive? The motive to survive?

You are completely missing the point of your own argument. The problem is not the consumption of other selves, because that is built into the fabric of our illusion (imagine, for example that you had your top ten males join you on a desert island, and yet not one of them found you desirable?). The problem is the commodification of other selves.

You are concerning yourself with the harmful details of commodification and charging the consumer for their "free will" choices, when in fact, the consumers of such commodities are not free at all!

I don't want to persuade you.

Diana you are smarter than that. Of course you want to pursuade others. You would not have wasted your time sharing memes if you didn't.

[Jade]

Wait Nick - you're saying that consumers don't have free will with what they purchase to consume? I mean, I understand on one level that advertising subverts free will... but every day I think about where my money is being spent and what energies it is contributing to. It's not possible to be ENTIRELY ethical with consumption of commodities, but it's possible to be much, much more ethical with consumption of commodities than all of us are currently being, and I think we all should make this effort as an exercise with the Transformation of the Mind.

99.8 Questioner: Thank you. Card Number Six I see as the Transformation of the Mind, the male’s crossed arms representing transformation, transformation being possible either toward the left- or the right-hand path, the right-hand path being beckoned or led by the female, the Potentiator. The one on the right having the serpent of wisdom at the brow and being fully clothed, the one on the left having less clothing and indicating that the Matrix or Potentiator would be more concerned and attracted to the physical illusion as the left-hand path is chosen and more concerned and attracted to the mental as the right-hand path is chosen.

The creature above points an arrow at the left-hand path indicating that if this path is chosen the chips, shall we say, will fall where they may, the path being unprotected as far as the random activity of catalyst. And the intellectual abilities of the chooser of that path would be the main guardian rather than a designed or built-in protection by the Logos for the right-hand path. The entity firing the arrow being what seems to be a second density entity would indicate that this catalyst could be produced by a lesser-evolved source, you might say. Would Ra comment on these observations of Card Six, the Transformation of the Mind?

Ra: I am Ra. We shall speak upon several aspects seriatim. Firstly, let us examine the crossed arms of the male who is to be transformed. What, O student, do you make of the crossing? What see you in this tangle? There is a creative point to be found in this element which was not discussed overmuch by the questioner.

Let us now observe the evaluation of the two females. The observation that to the left-hand path moves the roughly physical and to the right-hand path the mental has a shallow correctness. There are deeper observations to be made concerning the relationship of the great sea of the unconscious mind to the conscious mind which may fruitfully be pursued. Remember, O student, that these images are not literal. They haunt rather than explicate.

Many use the trunk and roots of mind as if that portion of mind were a badly used, prostituted entity. Then this entity gains from this great storehouse that which is rough, prostituted, and without great virtue. Those who turn to the deep mind, seeing it in the guise of the maiden, go forth to court it. The courtship has nothing of plunder in its semblance and may be protracted, yet the treasure gained by such careful courtship is great. The right-hand and left-hand transformations of the mind may be seen to differ by the attitude of the conscious mind towards its own resources as well as the resources of other-selves.

We now speak of that genie, or elemental, or mythic figure, culturally determined, which sends the arrow to the left-hand transformation. This arrow is not the arrow which kills but rather that which, in its own way, protects. Those who choose separation, that being the quality most indicative of the left-hand path, are protected from other-selves by a strength and sharpness equivalent to the degree of transformation which the mind has experienced in the negative sense. Those upon the right-hand path have no such protection against other-selves for upon that path the doughty seeker shall find many mirrors for reflection in each other-self it encounters.

Yes, it is built into the fabric of our illusion, specifically for the purpose of letting go our participation in the exploitation of others to move to higher planes of existence. And I'm not just talking about animals - but also about all the things that we buy that are made with the labor of others. The value of certain labor is weighted higher than the value of others' labor, and that creates exploitation and essentially slavery. Slaves make the majority of the goods that we consume. We have to recognize that we do have the free will to stop unconsciously participating in enslavement of others.

[xise]

NBA players explain why they are going vegan and vegetarian