Animal vs vegetable protein

[Guest guest]

I would like to share some of my thoughts on this debate...having been both

vegetarian and also having eaten animals I have raised.

 

I have thought and prayed long and hard about all of these issues. I do have

some dear friends who are vegan and they are all way healthier than the average.

One is a friend who is a pastor. He developed thyroid cancer with recurrance and

mets and went through all kinds of horrendous mainline medical care. Then he had

a stroke!

 

Finally, he decided to ditch the doctors and he went on a two week juice fast.

After this he did cleanses. He went completely vegan. He did it right, with lots

of research and balancing of foods. Good high quality foods. Herbs and such, as

well. And he was completely healed. As a matter of fact, I saw him once after

his first thyroid surgery, and then again ten years later after he had been

vegan for about 7 years. He looked 15 years younger! He also was going to the

gym every day and running---he was in his sixties at this point and he looked

like forties. This is one of the factors that is influencing how I am handling

my personal health challenges.

 

My other vegan friend was my kids' music teacher. He is a worship leader at a

local church. His whole family is vegan, no vaxxing, etc. Extremely healthy and

athletic. His kids have never been sick a day in their lives! Good dispositions,

too.

 

So my personal exposure to vegan lifestyle has been very postive. Of course,

none of these people tried to guilt me into becoming vegan. They shared, of

course, but I also like to share my deeply held beliefs, hopefully in a

non-aggressive manner.

 

At this point, I am vegetarian, though not vegan. I have no cravings for meat at

this point, or for any of the junk and sweets I have ever eaten. I never was

really into junk but would eat it once in a while.

 

I do believe that it matters how an animal is raised and slaughtered. It is

greed that creates factory farm situations that are a sin and a crime against

Creation.

 

My daughter gave the Bible Study a few weeks ago at our Youth Group. Her topic

was that we are partners with the animals and that in the beginning, in the

Garden of Eden, and up to the time of the Flood, mankind ate only vegetation and

fruit and seeds. The next point she made was that at the appointed time, God

will bring restoration to Creation, to Human Beings, and to the Earth. She asked

the question, what can we do to partner with God in living a life that reflects

a longing for the restoration of the perfect world God had created? One of her

personal suggestions was to not eat animals. There was the rudest uproar at this

suggestion. Well, we live in a rural farm region. Most of us hunt, fish, and

raise our own meat.

 

And I must make the point that most of the animals we raise would never even

have been alive at all if they were not being raised for either milk, meat,

eggs, fiber, AND companionship and joy.

 

When you slaughter an animal, it does not have to be traumatic. I know many

people, who will put a dish of a wonderful treat before an animal and then one

shot in the back of the head while it is focused on the most important thing in

most animals' thoughts---food!---the animal never knows what happened. One of

ther reasons I am now vegetarian, besides scarcity of meat that has been raised

and slaughtered with care and kindness, and because of my health issues, is that

I could never kill an animal I have raised. I did eat a couple of goats I had

taken to be butchered. This really bothered me so much I could never do that

again. (Strangely, I had a " true " dream in which one of those goats visited me

and let me know it didn't matter that we had eaten her flesh---she was very

happy where she was!)

 

I do believe with Weston Price that properly raised and handled meat and other

animal products can be a healthy diet for human beings. I raise goats for their

milk and companionship and I believe that their raw milk and the cheese and

kefir I make with it have enhanced my family's health greatly.

 

As far as meat and eggs and milk from factory farm situations---I do believe

once you know the extreme and unspeakable cruelty is happening, you have a

responsibility not to participate in the situation, and to try to do something

to end it---even just educating others.

 

This " educating " should not be hostile or use guilt-manipulation. Frankly,

neither of these methods work, ever! If you really want to produce change in

people, don't use those methods. Just a thought. If you are passionate about

something, that is okay. Just don't get mean when someone doesn't immediately

say, " You're right! And I'll never eat meat again! "

 

Sorry this was so long. The references to my religious beliefs were not intended

as proselytization, and I did not intend to offend anyone of differing beliefs.

 

Blessings, Jill~