"But I Could Never Give Up Cheese"

If only I had a dollar for every time someone told me that.

Fellow humans, you absolutely can give up cheese. Like with anything else, you must first want to give it up.

"Give up?" I actually dislike that phrase intensely when it comes to transitioning to a vegan diet. Once you read books like Eat To Live and The China Study, you'll be running from cheese, trust me. Once you read about factory farming, you'll want absolutely nothing to do with the production, sales, and consumption of cheese (or milk, eggs, and meat, for that matter). Once you learn that so-called "organic" and "free range" farms do not actually translate to "cruelty free" farms, you'll know better than to put cheese anywhere near your mouth. You'll also know better than to trust the dairy industry, which thrives on America's cheese addiction.

Once you've stopped eating cheese for a while, and you feel more energetic, awake, and alive - not to mention, less bloated and less gassy - you'll become intoxicated with the way you feel when you don't eat this crap. You'll feel better about living in accordance with your beliefs, and that will be utterly empowering.

photo cred

Once you educate yourself about the truth, you'll realize there is nothing to "give up," but only more knowledge, wisdom, and empowerment to gain.

But don't take my word for it. Go, educate yourself. Learn. See. Experiment.

Mother's Day Re-Cap & The Saddest Sound In The World

Yesterday was Mother's Day. I sent my mother - who lives over 2,000 miles away from me - a card (in which I wrote things!) and a pair of earrings that I made myself. I was really happy to do this. I am really happy that my mom appreciated it so much.

Yesterday I also handed out free carnations to passersby in my neighborhood. I work, part-time, in a children's thrift & vintage shop a few blocks from my house. Anyone who came into our shop yesterday got free Mother's Day carnations. We are a store that loves to celebrate people that bring love and joy into others' lives. Often these people are the usual suspects - you know, like moms, dads, grandparents, teachers, nurses... Or they're the people who are struggling to "make it" in this town - local artists, musicians, writers, actors, puppeteers, one-man comedy shows. The store is like a platform from which its employees say, "Hey, all you out there, doing something good for society and being all awesome. You're valued and appreciated."  I love being a part of that process! I loved handing out flowers yesterday.  

Despite my joy, however, there was also a heaviness in my heart. Yes, the two can co-exist. Although I've been vegan for a long time, Mother's Day felt a little different to me this year. I couldn't stop thinking about the mothers that suffer on this day and year-round. These mothers are not celebrated but, rather, forgotten.

I'm talking about the mother cows. And the mother pigs. And the mother goats, and the hens, and the dogs, the tigresses, the dolphins, the seals, the salmons. Yeah, I said the salmons. They give birth, too, after all. And contrary to the many a belief, they also have nervous systems, which means they can feel pain.  

More often than most of us will ever know, the most horrible, terrible, abominable things happen to these gorgeous beings. A fellow Los Angeles-based vegan advocate, Gary Smith of The Thinking Vegan, wrote a Mother's Day post about a variety of these things yesterday. In this post, I'm mostly going to focus on our mother cows.

The mother cow I am referring to here is the cow who is used for her "product" - that is, her breast milk, which can be made into cheese, butter, cream, ice cream, yogurt, or just consumed in its original liquid "milk" form.

But did you know? Every single milk product you will ever encounter will have come from a mother whose baby was taken away from her prematurely. That may come as a surprise to you at first, but think of it this way: the breast milk is what we're after, right? So in order to reap as much of that milk as possible, we must eliminate our primary competitor: her baby. The calf. On the majority of farms, that calf is taken away from his or her mother immediately after being born.

Have you ever heard the saddest sound in the world? Well, that's probably it. That is, the sound of a mother and a child being immediately ripped away from each other at birth. Animals can and do cry, moan, and scream. 

Marc Bekoff, Ph.D. writes about the emotional lives of non-human animals. In one of his books, he discusses the theory that animals with what we as humans would consider a "lower" capacity for reasoning (basically, a lower "IQ"), are the animals that actually feel the most pain. Why would animals whose brains are not as sophisticated as ours suffer more than us? Because, Dr. Bekoff says, they have less ability to develop coping strategies to deal with painful situations. Thus, they face the pain head on.

Imagine if you would've gotten that root canal without Novocaine, or couldn't reassure yourself with "This too shall pass" after passing that kidney stone, for example. What if your cheek were to be suddenly pierced with a thick, needle-y piece of metal? Or what if you were suddenly denied access to breathing for an indefinite length of time? Any of these would utterly terrify and hurt you, right? Even if you used all of your very advanced brain's coping mechanisms to deal with these events, they would still be incredibly traumatic.

Remember those salmons?

Dr. Bekoff also emphasizes that not only do animals feel physical pain, but they experience emotions as well. In fact, they lead rather rich emotional inner lives, sharing many emotions in common with humans. There are documented occurrences of animals like elephants and magpies mourning their dead kin in a ritualistic, "funeral" style. These are just a few examples of many. And as Dr. Bekoff states in The Emotional Lives of Animals, there also is evidence that animals experience emotions that humans do not.

Back to the cows. What happens after mother and baby are separated? Well, if the baby is a girl, she goes through exactly what her mom endured. Most typically, the way she is impregnated is via artificial insemination. Usually there is force involved. And a cage-like thing to restrain her. 

She will then proceed to give birth, have her baby involuntarily taken from her, and have her teats squeezed by metal clamp devices. For those who use similar devices for pleasure, note that these devices are not removed for long periods of time, even after her teats become infected. By the way, infections = the development of pus, which gets into the milk. (Yes, really.) This "milking" process occurs over the course of one year, and then, literally sucked dry, she is impregnated again so that she produces more milk. Repeat, repeat, repeat, until she is too old to physically withstand this anymore. Probably about six times. She's then loaded onto a crowded truck, sent to a factory, and killed. Her death therefore occurs about 20 years earlier than it would've naturally.

Don't even get me started on how she is killed. I'll save that for another post.  

What happens to the male calves, who are obviously not capable of producing milk? Well, that's where veal comes from. After birth, the male calf is kept in a small, dark crate in which he barely has room to lay down and turn around. Sometimes he is also tethered within the crate, to further restrict his movement. All of this is so that he does not grow or develop, which would ruin the "tender" characteristic that his flesh ("veal") has. After about four months of this, he is slaughtered.

Guys, I know some of you buy "free range" or "humane" or "organic" milk and meat, but many of the same damn things happen. With "free range," the laws and regulations are pretty loose. And most typically, the mother and babies are sent away to the same slaughtering place. Read all about this and more at http://humanemyth.org/, an entire website devoted to revealing the little-known facts of the "humane" variety of the meat and dairy industry. I especially encourage you to watch the slide shows. Please, you owe it to yourself to know the truth, and (in my opinion), you owe it to the animals to at least have an understanding of what really happens. Do not fall for marketing and advertising techniques that use the words "humane" or "free range." Business is business, and these techniques were specifically designed to increase profits, not educate you.

Now that you've read what I've written (which is awesome, by the way - and not for my benefit, but because you have hopefully learned a lot!), I have some questions about you. I hope you will consider each of them.

1.  Are you a mother?

I can claim no children myself, but I cannot imagine the agony of having my newborn literally taken away from me. The pain must be unbearable.

2.  Have you ever lost someone you loved? 

If you have ever felt the pain of loss, a loss of any kind, then you can probably relate to cruel and unfair separation of these mother cows and their calves. You don't have to have gone through the exact same experience as someone to relate to their pain. Emotions are emotions, even if we cannot fully "get" precisely what someone went through and how it felt to them.

3.  Have you ever felt physical pain?

Unless you are among the few who suffer from the rare congenital analgesia, then I know you have.

   And what about emotional pain?

Unless you are among the estimated 1% that go through life with a marked inability to feel genuine empathy, then surely you have.

4.  Are you a feminist?

If so, how do you fit this knowledge about female dairy cows into your feminist ideology? 

5.  Do you believe in equal rights for all?

If so, do you limit that equality to humans only? If yes, what are your reasons? If you believe in equal rights for all sentient beings, then how do you find this knowledge about the dairy industry?

6.  Are you one of those people who believe in the adage, "everything in moderation"?

If so, can you fit the goings-on of dairy farming into that schema? If yes, how so?

7.  Do you live with any animals that you consider "pets"? 

If so, how do you reconcile the vast differences in how you treat your pets versus how you treat cows?

8.  Do you consume dairy products and still feel that you are not contributing to the atrocious treatment of dairy cows?

If so, how do you reconcile that feeling with the knowledge that the money you pay for dairy products goes toward these practices? How do you feel about the quote, said by the late Martin Luther King, Jr., "In the end, we will not remember the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends"?

---
My article may have irritated you or even made you quite mad. But you can hardly complain. 'Cause you know who's probably the most pissed right now?

Those mother cows.


To become part of the solution:
Starter Guide to Becoming Vegan
Go See This Movie That's Out Now
And Rent This One
Eat At Vegan Restaurants Near You
Read Some of Marc Bekoff's Books
Help Rescued Cows (and other farm animals, too!) In The LA Area
Help Rescued Cows In Other Areas (scroll to bottom)
Want more? I'm happy to help.

C'mon, if not now, when? Really, I'm happy to help you. Send any questions my way!

Male calf ("Cowboy" is his name!) at Animal Acres. Cows can live up to 25 years. Cowboy now has a chance. (photocred.)

If you haven't yet, you should do yourself a favor and meet a cow. Trust me. Their presence is at once majestic and gentle, and they are even more beautiful than they are in photos.

Go See Bold Native NOW

A few weeks ago, I had the luck of meeting Casey Suchan at a friend's birthday event. She told me about her new movie and said it'd be screening that following Saturday. I told her it was my birthday that day, and so I'd probably be doing something celebratory. This seemed to produce excitement rather than disappointment, which confused me at first, as I was basically telling her I wouldn't be able to make it. Her response?

"It's my birthday, too!"

As a wishful believer in the zodiac, I simply can't say no to someone that shares my birthday. This is what ultimately convinced me to go see the LA screening of Bold Native last weekend, and I'm so glad I did. Even though I've been vegan for over five years now, I felt transformed after leaving the theater that night. It's the kind of movie that leaves an imprint on your visual cortex and lingers in your moral conscience. It's also the kind of movie that leaves a small mark on your partner's hand, from squeezing it so hard.

I urge you, go see this movie. No matter who you are, it will challenge you. And it could change your life.

You know it's good when I buy the shirt.

If you happen to live near Brown University, you can see it today, for FREE, with FREE vegan Indian food. This is a wonderful opportunity!

If you don't see your city or university on the list, email them to request a screening.

Doooo it nowwww!

It's Thanksgiving But It's Not All "Happy."

I can't muster up the same kind of energy I've had throughout the last 13 MoFo posts. I just can't.

To quote the current Facebook status of a friend, Lisa Goetz,

 

"Over two thousand birds have suffered and died this year because of the BP oil spill. 45 million birds suffer and die every year for Thanksgiving."

 

And another, the Facebook status of my friend, R,  

 

"['As long as people will shed the blood of innocent creatures there can be no peace, no liberty, no harmony between people. Slaughter and justice cannot dwell together.'] Happy Thanksgiving"

 

I'm just not in the mood for celebrating, you know? And who could, when you really stop to think about it. I know I'm "supposed" to blog about vegan food and carry on this month's Vegan MoFo spirit, I do. I mean, after all, the whole point of Vegan MoFo is to make veganism a reality. It just so happens that food is the way through which MoFo works toward this - food, a topic that, for me, usually means joy. 

 

Right now, to me, "Thanksgiving" feels like some sort of antithesis to joy. And I'm not just talking about the turkeys. I'm talking about the perpetuation of violence, I'm talking about turning a blind eye to mass murder. And the sick sense of apathy, or entitlement, or defeat, or all of these. Right now, "Thanksgiving" feels to me like nothing but the stubborn adherence to a tradition built on deceit and inequality. This land is your land, this land is my land. This land belongs to you and me!

 

So it feels like sugarcoating to write about something joyful (food) on such a day. For me, at least. 

 

I'm not going to post photos in some cosmic sense of optimism that I simply do not feel right now. I'm not going to "channel my energy into something productive" in this instance here. That is not always the best solution, in my opinion. 

 

On this day, I will be with loved ones, and I will enjoy the delicious cruelty-free food I've prepared for myself and whoever else is willing to try it. I will laugh and feel glad for the things I always feel glad for. But I will not deny these other feelings I'm having. They exist for good reason. 

 

People always tell each other, "best to not make waves." I couldn't disagree more. Often, it is making waves that changes the course of history. World, I'm mad. And you should be, too. This isn't about me, and this isn't about you. It's bigger than that. It's about us. It's about the animals, the trees and the oceans and the people who get left out in the cold, ostracised, forgotten about or violated, abused, bullied. I won't accept this. Not on my watch. We, as humans, can do better than this. "Blame" is irrelevant here. It is crucial to accept this as everyone's responsibility. Every single one of us can be an agent of change if we choose to be. 

 

“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” - Gandhi

Every step counts.

Animal Lovers Unite: Ask Obama To Save The Turkeys!

Animal Acres' own Turkey Lurky.

This post is somewhat of a follow-up to the previous post, in which I talked about animals' poor living conditions and ill fates in the zoo system. 

If learning about what orca whales go through at Sea World made you angry, or inspired you to reach out and make a difference, or both, then here's your chance. There's this relatively new Thanksgiving tradition at the White House in which the President "pardons" two turkeys; instead of allowing them to be slaughtered for a Thanksgiving dinner feast, he sends them to Disneyland. Okay, so what's the problem, right?

Here's the thing. While the President is effectively saving two turkeys from instant death each Thanksgiving, their futures are still pretty bleak: at Disneyland, turkeys still typically die within one year of their arrival. So why doesn't the President somehow ensure that the turkeys live long, happy, healthy lives? Well, here's where you and Obama come in.

This year, Farm Sanctuary is sending a (very polite, respectful) petition to President Obama, asking him to send this year's two turkeys to their safe farm in Watkins Glen, NY. There, the turkeys will spend the rest of their years playing and, well, doing whatever turkeys like to do (I can only say that I know what Turkey Lurky likes to do, which is follow volunteers around and "talk" to them). What's certain, though, is that at Farm Sanctuary, the turkeys will be given the kindest care, and they'll never, ever be used for human dinner. But we only have until November 15th to get this petition signed, sealed, and delivered, so please, if you want to spread some gratitude and love this Thanksgiving season, sign the petition now.

I mean, really, all they need is a newly-freed turkey up in there and it'd be the best frickin' photo ever. photocredit.

And hey, if you want, you can sponsor a turkey, too! The estimable Ellen DeGeneres, the vegan celebrity spokesperson for this year's Adopt-A-Turkey Project, is telling folks "Save a life this Thanksgiving, and join me in starting a new tradition by adopting a turkey instead of eating one through Farm Sanctuary's Adopt-A-Turkey Project." Check them out. Kima is pretty adorable.

Not convinced? Read this.

And if you really wanna go all out this Thanksgiving...   

photocredit.

Try some Tofurky! It's 100% vegan, which makes it a compassionate alternative to the actual bird. Oh, and it's quite delicious, I must say.

To give you an idea of what Tofurkey looks like when prepared. photocredit.

If you're serious about getting a Tofurkey product for Thanksgiving, then allow me to highly recommend going for the Tofurkey "feast," which comes with dumplings. Believe me when I tell you that my omnivorous family members were practically fighting me over who got the last dumpling! That's how good it is. :)

Thanks for reading!

Zoos: Like Being Thrown in Jail Simply for Being Born?

PETA recently tweeted about a baby orca whale who was born nine days ago at Sea World in Orlando, FL.

This article broke my heart and brought me to tears. The following quotes were particularly wrenching to me:

"As Katina approached the birth of her seventh child, she watched her first-born's [dead] body lifted from the tiny pool that is their home." (credit)

"Katina is used to replenish the performing stock for Sea World, as female dogs do in puppy mills, while Tillikum, captured from Iceland and once kept in Oak Bay, is isolated in a back pool as a living sperm bank." (credit)

"Katina's baby will have a life of limitation and boredom, knowing there must be more and never to feel the ocean in a storm, the slide of kelp over skin while playing "kelping" with friends and siblings, the taste of fat chinook salmon fresh caught after a chase or see the bright anemones in sunlit water. This baby's home will be a barren concrete tank." (credit)

How often do you yearn for the salty ocean air, or the freedom to travel to a new or distant place? More applicably, how often do you feel like you just want to go home? 

What if you never could?

It's like being thrown in jail for life simply for being born. Imagining this terrifies me, this lifetime of solitude from the world one knows. Perhaps equally chilling is the constant exploitation of reproductive systems, the separation of mother and child, and the perpetual motion of this entire process. After all, zoos have been around for ages.

Zoos are intended to provide entertainment and sometimes, education, to the general public (who are paying for this, either in the form of a ticket or, I assume, through taxes). But when we really stop to think about it, zoos are more similar to haunted houses than anything else, only nothing is fake.

Here's a thought: DID YOU KNOW THAT HUMAN BEINGS USED TO BE DISPLAYED IN SOME ZOOS**!??? That's right. In both America and western Europe, people who were considered "different," namely those of non-European descent, were kept in small areas for the paying public to watch. Many of the people displayed in these zoos were short in stature and of African descent (commonly referred to as "Pygmy" peoples). Around 1904, a white, American anthropologist named William McGee thought he'd "discovered" that whites were "superior to all other races," and to "prove" this to the public, he set out to Africa, conned a group of Pygmies to come back with him, then put them on display at the 1904 St. Louis World Fair. Even though he never accomplished his goal of finding scientific proof that the Pygmy peoples were "less evolved" versions of human beings, he set the tone for racism in America and abroad. One of McGee's prized prisoners, Ota Benga, was later said to have shot himself in the head ten years after being put in this terrible anthropologist's "scientific" show. All things considered, it's not that surprising.
 
Human zoos. "Ethnic shows." Absolutely ludicrous, degrading, and disgusting, right? Totally and completely abominable, right?

It's like being thrown in jail for life, simply for being born.

I know that for most people, the horror of human zoos is far more terrifying and compelling than that of animals, but I bring it up to illustrate the dark similarities.

Now you might say, but animals cannot suffer like humans can, so it's not the same thing to keep them in zoos. 

Do they have to be exactly the same? Sure, there are differences between human animals and other animals, but the number of similarities is far greater. And they sure can suffer. Animals can feel pleasure, pain, and a variety of emotions. They communicate via a common language. Orca whales, as an example, live to be as old as humans and have tight family bonds.

But many species are kept from becoming extinct, thanks to the help of zoos, so zoos can't be that bad! 

To which I say, yes, while zoos can serve this important function, they also do a lot of harm to a lot of other species. Why not simply have wildlife preservations and sanctuaries for the animals who would benefit, and leave the rest to exist in their natural habitats? Why not use all the money that goes into zoos and put it toward said preservations and sanctuaries?

But what about the children? 

Educate them. Explain what happens to animals at zoos. Chances are, they'll catch on to these concepts rather quickly. Maybe they'll denounce zoos, maybe they won't, but my bet is that most kids won't be too keen on the idea of visiting a zoo once they understand. To quote the article, "Children are sensitive to injustice."

"Cowboy," a happy calf fella, makes his home at Animal Acres, a sanctuary in Acton, Ca. Here, he never has to worry about being used for veal.

What do you think about zoos? How does your dietary/lifestyle preference influence your opinion? I'd love to hear others' thoughts on this matter.

**I encourage you to watch the three-part documentary. It's eye-opening. 

Interviews: Muckford: "I Never Changed My Mind, I Just Stopped Thinking About It"

CYoFC:  For how long have you been vegan?

Muckford:  Roughly ten years, but not uninterrupted. I backslid into vegetarianism for a little while, as I tried to make the adjustment to dating/living with an omnivore... then I met another vegan, which helped motivate me to get back on track again. Like anything else, it's easier to keep up with it when you've got a support system. (I was spoiled early on by a wonderful husband who'd been vegan for many years, and was able to accomplish all kinds of delicious culinary feats.)

CYoFC:  What prompted you to become vegan?

Muckford:  Well, I guess there was both a gradual process, and a more immediate catalyst.

From the time I was an infant, I loved animals of all kinds. At age 4, when I first learned that hamburgers were made from cows, I remember bursting into tears and refusing to eat them. My mother told me that while in her house, I'd eat whatever she fed me -- but when I turned 18, I could eat whatever I wanted!

Throughout most of the rest of my childhood, I somehow got gradually desensitized again. Eating meat was just something that everybody did, as a part of "normal" everyday living. That made it easy for the moral objections I had as even a youngster to slip into the back of my unconscious. I never really /changed my mind/... I just stopped thinking about it.

As a teenager, I began to think a little more. Philosophically, I agreed with the idea that other animals have as much right to be here as we do, and that we should avoid causing them pain. Inexplicably, however, my abstract philosophical leanings didn't actually translate into a concrete lifestyle change until I met my husband (now ex).

Prior to meeting him, I don't think I'd ever /heard/ the word vegan before. He explained what it meant, and his reasons for choosing the vegan lifestyle. Once I was enlightened as to the horrible way that factory farms operate, and the cruel and unnatural conditions the animals are often kept in (cages so crowded they can't move, deprivation of fresh air and natural sunlight, debeakings, etc), I felt I couldn't in good conscience do /nothing./

CYoCF:  Were there any challenges to becoming vegan? What about current challenges?

Muckford:  There were some foods I really missed at first -- cheese and crackers used to be one of my all-time favorite snacks. But a short moment of gratification isn't worth supporting a corrupt industry and causing innocent creatures to suffer. I do my best to remind myself of that fact. Other people probably would have thought I was a somewhat unlikely candidate for vegetarianism, as I've never been a particular fan of vegetables. And it's true that at first, I was kind of a junk-food vegan. I subsisted largely off of peanut butter sandwiches, pasta with marinara sauce, and vegan doughnuts... but over time, I gradually exposed myself to new foods and tastes, and discovered some absolutely /marvelous/ additions to my dietary repertoire.. including hummus (which I may never have tried if not for my veganity!) and cous-cous (mmmm, give me some of that five-spice moroccan cous-cous salad...). In time, I even began incorporating more vegetables (spinach is great if you saute it with vegan margarine and garlic... kale is great steamed, as a leafy bed for some "shells and chreese", a Nature's End mac'n'cheese substitute).

But probably the biggest challenge to becoming vegan, and maintaining the lifestyle, are social pressures... a lack of understanding from friends and family about what veganism is, why it's important to me. Friends sometimes feel inconvenienced by having to choose restaurants that serve veggie dishes, or feel awkward or embarrassed as I rattle off a list of questions concerning ingredients to the waiter. Then there are the occasions like office birthday parties... when well-intentioned folks have purchased or prepared a cake for me, and I can't eat it. Those can be a very delicate situation to navigate. Each person handles it in his or her own way. I think the key to remember is that it's most awkward at FIRST -- if you inform the people you meet about your veganism, and explain to them what it means, they won't be taken by surprise, and thus won't be as likely to be irked or offended. Some friends have actually really enjoyed taking up the challenge of making vegan dishes and desserts for me. Others, I simply reassure that they don't have to worry about me when hosting parties at their house and such -- as I'll bring some dishes of my own, or will "bring my own baggie." It's perfectly possible to handle the socially awkward moments, especially with experience, but I do still think it's probably the most difficult thing about maintaining a vegan lifestyle. You may also face strong criticism from some, especially at first. Often, those we are closest to (who liked us perfectly fine the way we were BEFORE) resent even the smallest sign of change. My mother called me a "fanatic" when first she heard about my veganism. Nevertheless, she gradually adjusted to the idea, and nowadays there's always a tub of hummus and a carton of soymilk waiting for me in the fridge when I drop by to visit!

CYoFC:  Why should other people go vegan?

Muckford:  Well, in addition to the animal welfare-related ethical concerns, there are environmental reasons... and health ones. High cholesterol runs in my family, and has been a problem for me (along with my weight) since I was a child. A combination of vegan diet and regular exercise brought my blood pressure, cholesterol, and triglycerides in line for the first time in my life. From studies I've read, a vegan diet seems to reduce the rates of all of the most common causes of death in wealthy nations: obesity, heart disease, come cancers. I think it closely approximates a Mediterranean diet, which is touted by many health professionals as a model diet to follow in terms of its health benefits.

CYoCF:  Do you have any tips or advice for new vegans?

Muckford:  Take it one day at a time, and don't get upset with yourself if you make the occasional slip-up or mistake. There are lots of foods and other products with hidden animal ingredients. You just do the best you can and learn as you go. There are many great vegan resources on the web, and you can always try seeking out some local vegan groups on meetup.com or a similar social networking site.

CYoCF:  One last question.  Are you getting enough protein?

Muckford:  Some days I get more than the recommended daily value, and some days less. I sometimes track what I eat on livestrong.com, and that helps to give me an idea of how I'm doing. "Smart dogs" (the tofu version of hot dogs!) and veggieburgers are a good way of giving myself a mega-boost in a day when I'm falling short, and I loooove Bolthouse Vanilla Chai Protein Shakes! I haven't had any problems.... but I do take a vegan multi-vitamin to be on the safe side (I had problems with anemia even in my pre-vegan days, so I try to be particularly careful to get enough iron). When you buy vitamins, don't forget to check if they have fish-derived or gelatin ingredients. (I've accidentally bought brands that do on several occasions.)

CYoFC:  Sounds like you know how to get your protein just fine. You might also like to try incorporating more beans into your daily diet - any kind will do: lima, pinto, garbanzo, white, black, black-eyed peas, navy...


Thanks, Muckford!


Muckford is currently completing a psychology internship in the NYC area, and, thus far, has specialized in working with adults with chronic severe mental illnesses and the homeless population. He also enjoys hiking, reading fantasy and sci-fi books, and other "ultra-geeky" pursuits (such as playing Atari-2600, and joining the occasional Dungeons & Dragons game).