when i was in college i got to read a lot of personal finance blogs and they kept insisting that eating vegetarian is cheaper – to me it turned out false – when my income decreased by one third, i found out that i no longer afford to be a vegetarian because i couldn’t get all my nutrients in a cheap way – so i got to eat a lot of eggs, to make my own products out of raw milk and to eat organ meats that are much cheaper than getting my proteins from soy, lentils and rice

I know many people from India who have lived long lives b/c they cook well and eat fresh, every meal is either rice or chapattis, some kind of lentils, some vegetable dishes with spices, and perhaps a sweet, and then some buttermilk to aid digestion. and if can’t eat fresh, they eat fruits.

I’m happy to read that the author doesn’t like factory farms, but the truth of the matter is that a huge portion of the population either doesn’t want to spend the $ on “free range” or they don’t even know it exists.

My last point is, that vegetarians seem to age slower and look better.

Just wanted to send you a quick thank you for your comment.  Posts about vegetarianism, meat-eating and grain avoidance always tend to cause a stir, so it’s nice to hear from someone who can really appreciate the value of traditional foods.

- Jenny

Don’t you see that the author is not so far from your own ideology? She is not out to make everyone eat meat necessarily, but to show that it’s industrial farming that is the “enemy”- not meat in itself. You said it yourself:

“One has to wonder why INUIT society is void of cardiovascular disease and diabetes¦maybe because they don’t eat hormone and antibiotic injected foods? Or maybe because the people in developed countries that DO eat meat also eat meat from fast food joints and a large cola.”

Those inuits were eating local, non industrial meat. They were healthy. That’s something to be celebrated! She wants to show that the answer to the food problem in America (industrial farming- something that vegetarians and omnivores agree with) doesn’t have to be vegetarianism, but could be local, sustainable farming (When cows eat grass, they don’t take any food from poor people- so grass-fed is important too).

If you researched this more (I recommend “The Omnivore’s Dilemma”), you would realize that this is a more reachable goal than getting the whole planet to go vegetarian. It’s not so unhealthy- in fact it can be very healthy- but if you find meat does cause health problems for you or you find the act of eating it morally reprehensible, then you don’t have to eat it! She is not trying to stir up debate about the morality of eating animals though, so don’t make it about that here (you can start another blog for that).

In the mean time, you should check to make sure you are eating locally grown fruits and veggies and non-genetically modified grains (it is virtually impossible to find corn or soy products that have been sustainably grown in an environmentally sound way). I’m sure you’ve done plenty of research to make sure you are getting all your nutrients, but industrial farming goes both ways, and it’s not just the big meat farmers who do horrible things to the planet. I’m not just talking about pre-packaged things here.

Please check out Omnivore’s Dilemma- it talks about a lot of this. Some of it may be hard to read because he does look at industrial farming, but he also talks a lot about sustainable farming as well as the grain and vegetable production in America.

Thank you for standing up for Veganism! Its absolutely heartbreaking when someone publishes something so ignorant and then immediately has a following. People need to start researching and thinking for themselves!!