You see, any level of modification to your meat-based (omnivorous) diet will benefit your health, the planet, and all of its inhabitants.
If you're struggling with making the switch from meat to plants, try a slower transition: be a part-time vegetarian. Commit to an all vegetarian diet one-three days a week. If you do this every week for the next year, you've already saved somewhere in the ballpark of 12oo showers-worth of water, countless animals, and your heart, while also significantly reducing your carbon footprint!
If you're already a vegetarian and trying to transition to vegan, here are some suggestions. First, eliminate and note all of the animal by-products in your diet that you can easily and willingly do without. For instance, if you don't like milk, cut it out completely (this means anything made with milk, like ice cream and yogurt), and replace it with soy, rice, or almond milk (if you just have to have ice cream and yogurt). If you don't eat eggs, then DON'T EAT EGGS, period (cookies, cakes, brownies, pancakes, etc. all have eggs in them and vegan versions do exist!). Eggs and milk were easy for me; my stumbling block was cheese. Unfortunately, there are no alternatives to my favorites, because I like stinky soft cheeses (bleu, brie) and fancy cheeses (Manchego, Drunken Goat), and all you can find by way of vegan cheeses are the standards: American, Mozzarella, Cheddar, Pepperjack, Swiss, Provolone. So the challenge, for me (as well as many of you) was to go cold turkey (or cold cheesy). It takes approximately 3 weeks to overcome your physical and psychological cravings for (or addictions to) food. Weaning yourself, in this case, won't work. Just give yourself 3 weeks, you can do it! After 3 weeks without cheese, I decided to indulge my taste buds with a plat du fromage and was sorely disappointed. All of my favorite fancy stinky cheeses left an icky sour milk taste in my mouth. I predict you will experience a similar triumph if you get off the cow juice (or bird babies!).
So, you're already vegan and want to get naked? GREAT! But...the thought of raw broccoli makes you dry heave? I know! Me too! Well, it used to...
This is simply a matter of training your taste (and texture) buds. When I adopted a vegetarian diet 16 years ago, I hated vegetables. After some coaxing, I developed a strong affinity for cooked vegetables smothered in butter and/or cheese. As my taste buds matured (and my health became paramount), I opted for plain cooked veggies...then steamed. But steamed broccoli was still a struggle for me, unless it was in a calzone or on a baked potato. I just forced myself to keep eating it. Maybe carrots are your hurdle. They're so yummy when they're soft and warm and glazed with butter and brown sugar...but raw? Blech!
Eat 'em anyway.
Yep, that's it, my simple wisdom. Just do it. Eventually, you'll like it. How do I know?
Well, because when I first went raw, there were very few veggies that I enjoyed raw. But I'd throw them on my salad anyway, or choke them down with vegan ranch dressing. After about 6 weeks of force-feeding myself, I decided to indulge in some sauteed squash. YUCK! Mashed potatoes. EW! Stir fried vegetables. GROSS! Every single thing I ate tasted oily, salty, mushy, bland, and devoid of life. Now I LOVE LOVE LOVE raw veggies (prefer them, actually)! I still don't like broccoli. But I eat it anyway.
So what's my point? It's not all or nothing here. Omnivore, Vegetarian, Vegan, Raw Foodist, whatever your preference, eat your veggies and make sure some of them are uncooked.
A "High Raw" diet consists of 85% raw foods. This can even include raw meat (sushi anyone?). You don't have to be a vegan to be raw, and you don't have to give up your glazed carrots. Just do your best!
Namaste!
This was my lunch today. A HUGE salad with a slice of rosemary boule, potato-chive cakes over arugula with southwestern corn and mint salsa, roasted beets, candied squash, tomato-cucumber salad, and tofu stirfry.
