@bella – Eating meat is inevitable? No. It’s POSSIBLE, that’s for sure. I am a hormonal freakshow, so I won’t pretend to know what pregnancy would do to me. I might decide I need a steak covered in applesauce and pickles for lunch every day when I’m pregnant. I have no idea. Also, Antonio could order me to eat meat again, and I would. I might get sick, but I would if he said so.

But this is not something I’m doing that I don’t want to do, and then I’ll ‘cave’ and eat a dead animal. I find the idea repulsive. I can eat meat all I want. I simply don’t WANT to.

And humans are not designed to eat ANYTHING specifically. An omnivore mearly has adapted to be ABLE to derive nutrition from lots of sources. Humans are designed to be ABLE to meet their nutritional requirements a VARIETY of ways. This is so that those with different tastes, allergies, likes and dislikes can ALL thrive wonderfully.

And we ARE designed with a broad range of nutritional needs, that’s for sure. We need certain vitamins and minerals. We need fiber to help our digestive system. Adults need the eight essential amino acids, yes. Our bodies are not designed to synthesize them. Anything containing the eight essentials is considered a “complete protein” because it has ALL the proteins (amino acids) humans cannot synthesize. However, WHERE we get them is entirely up to the human being. For instance, soy milk is a complete protein. Rice and beans is a complete protein. Hummus and pita bread is a complete protein. Toast with peanut butter is a complete protein. The list goes one.

Meat and animal products are useful to say, a close relative of ours – chimpanzees. They have a digestive system very close to ours. They obtain most of their nutrients through plant-based sources. They eat fruits, veggies, grains. And sometimes, they stick a twig in an anthill and chow some termites. But it’s a relatively small percentage of their diet. And it’s necessary because they do not have another option.

As a human, I have similar digestive and nutritional needs. In the wild, as a primitive human, I would need lots of fruits and veggies and maybe an occasional piece of meat or some insects to supplement. HOWEVER, as a modern human? I “hunt” in my grocery store. There is ZERO need for my life and lifestyle to revolve around the death of my fellow Earthlings. It is, without a doubt unnecessary in this day and age. I choose this life, a more compassionate life, because it makes me MUCH happier. I have not had a moment of craving, or a desire to eat animal flesh at all. I do not view it as an appropriate food source anymore.

And, for the record? I’ve never even once been to an Arby’s. The only place you can “drive-thru” in my town is the bank!

And if I felt deprived for even a minute, I don’t think I could do it either. If it weren’t a choice based entirely on ethics, I would probably still feel a “need” for animal products. I was shocked as HELL, actually, that I don’t. I dunno why, just scared of “failing” I guess. But once the decision was made based on ethics, I simply do not want to participate in that any more. I had tried being vegan once before. It didn’t stick, and I definitely felt deprived, because my reasons weren’t the same.

@Kris – I’ll shoot you an email soon.

@Amber Part II – Typos rock. Don’t let anyone tell you different. They’re all the rage. All the cool kids are doing it.

@DK – Heh. Filthy meat-eater, hey? Well, I think you’re adorable. As I said to Amber, if I felt deprived for even one minute, I don’t think I could do it either. But even after only just a week, I’m kind of repulsed by the idea of eating flesh. If someone had told me that a month ago? I’d have laughed. But it’s become true. I don’t see animals or their byproducts as food anymore. That’s why it doesn’t feel like deprivation.

AND… I think I should go tell Antonio that cum is off the table (and piss too). Just to see what he says. My GOD can you imagine the look on his face if I said “Sorry, Sir, no more cum for me. Or piss for that matter. And let’s not kiss, saliva is a byproduct!”

Excuse me while I dissolve into fits of giggles…

OMG LOL.

Whew. Anyway, nah, I can still consume cum, urine, saliva – and basically anything else of his he wants to stick in my mouth.

If being vegan excluded the consented use/exchange of human-to-human byproducts, I’d have to be against donating blood, donating organs, volunteering for scientific studies, etc.

It’s all about consent. We, as humans, have a common language to communicate our feelings and desires in intricate enough detail that we are able to create entire systems (like blood donation) surrounding the use and exchange of each other’s byproducts. There is a large-scale mutualism within our species. It’s not exploitation, because there is a mutual benefit we have all agreed on.

I realize you were asking in jest, but still. Yep, cum is fine for drinking. As is urine, sweat, blood, tears, fingernails, hair, feces, etc. Though, I swear to God, if he ever tries to get me to drink a whole bunch of his blood, or he sits around crying so I can lick the tears, OR he thinks I should eat a bunch of fingernails, hair and poop… I’m pretty sure you’ll hear me scrambling for some kind of argument that makes those things HIGHLY unethical and I just can’t do them, omg, no matter what, or I’ll DIE OMG.

@subtle – Yeah… I’m a new vegan, so the only people I’ve told have been family – Antonio, Mom, Dad, Harrison, and Patrick. The Man, the parents, and the brothers. They have all been exceedingly cool about it. And that surprised me a little, since Antonio, Dad, Harrison, and Patrick are HUGE meat eaters. I mean, they teased a little at first, just because that’s how we interact… But they all seemed genuinely interested and seemed to think it was a cool choice. And Harrison did the cutest thing. He pulled a wishbone out of a chicken and said “Well, guess I gotta do this one by myself since you’re vegan now. At least I know I’ll win.”

You know what’s funny? The person I’m MOST terrified to tell is my dear friend Anne. She’s a l/o-vegetarian, and has been for years. And I realized, I just always accepted her l/o-veg lifestyle and the most we’d really talk about it was I’d make sure anywhere we went to eat had vegetarian options. But I’ve never dived into the ethics of it with her, not really… I got the feeling she just didn’t like meat, then didn’t like the idea of killing animals, so eliminated things that directly killed them like meat, rennet, gelatin, etc. But never eliminated the things that indirectly kill them, like dairy. I’m sort off terrified for that discussion, because… I’m afraid anything I say about why I am vegan will come off sounding like “I’m awesum and ur doin’ it wrong.” Time will tell…

Jesus Christ, I need to get comments fixed…

Personally, I couldn’t do the vegan thing. I love dairy and eggs too much (not to mention fish and chicken), but you go girl!

It’s your life, your body teehee

I suck.

Still not ready to give up my steak, though.

Good for you for being vegan! I tried it a couple of years ago for similar reasons for a few months and I just couldn’t stick with it. I felt too deprived.