If You Love Animals, Don't Eat Them

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What Is the Best Thing You Can Do for Animals?

When I was younger, my Mom had a pair of rabbit fur slippers. I asked her how she could wear slippers made out of the skins of murdered rabbits and she said to me, "What about the dead chickens and cows on your plate?" (We keep kosher, so those are the most common animals I ate -- and I never liked fish.) I had never thought of things in quite that way before. I decided she was right and I should stop eating animals. That was about 33 years ago.

About 12 years later, I read that it takes a lot less land to grow food for a vegan than it does for an omnivore (one who eats meat and vegetation) but it takes less land to grow food for a vegan than it does even for a vegetarian. I decided right then and there to go vegan.

I still think the best thing people can do for themselves (I've lost close to 100 pounds since my omnivorous days), the animals and the earth.

Vegetarian? Vegan?

Vegetarianism is popularly defined as eating "nothing with a face". That means that vegetarians (also known as "lacto-ovo" or "ovo-lacto" vegetarian -- though, in popular parlance the "lacto-ovo" or "ovo-lacto" is usually dropped and only "vegetarian" is used) eat no meat, poultry of seafood. They do eat eggs and/or dairy.

Veganism is usually defined as eating no animal foods. Many vegetarians and vegans use non-animal source cosmetics, clothing (as in no leather or fur, and for vegans, no wool or silk, etc.) and other items.

I have other blog entries with advice on how to get started:

Why Be Vegetarian
Thinking of going Veg? Start Here
Want to go Veg? Here's how
Quick Vegan Cooking
Creating new recipes from old

This blog also has many recipes (and I add recipes to this blog on a semi-regular basis).