1.) What do you do (Professionally)?
I am a clerk in a very busy Emergency Room.
2.) Are health-related New Year’s resolutions a good stepping stone or just Holiday Remorse?
I think they can be a great stepping stone, especially with diet changes, since most of us have probably overindulged in ways we're not proud of during the holidays. However, veganism is not a fad diet, entered into solely to lose weight. You can begin a vegan diet for that reason, but I don't think you'll be able to stick to it, as a true lifestyle change, without having a deeper philosophical, ethical and/or health-related conception of it over the long haul, however you might personally define that. The beginning of a new year though, when most of us in the northern U.S. are a bit more hermetic or introspective and have some time on our hands, would be an excellent time to begin.
Learn to cook and, if you can, to garden, just like most of our grandparents, great grandparents, and their parents before them did. And, if you don't think you have space to garden just see the internet for all of the flower-pot & roof-top garden options. In other words, eat as little processed, refined and commercially preserved food as possible. And of course exercise-just walking is great- anything to move, it seems to me.
4.) You were a vegan for years; what made you decide to go vegan?
A friend and I had both been vegetarians for years and then we started to hear more & more about the unhealthy conditions factory-farm animals were being raised in, plus all of the steroids & hormones used, not to mention the fairly unregulated, much more egregious, and extremely dangerous conditions that slaughter house workers have to endure, and we decided to go just one step further, into veganism. This was during the time that books & movies like Fast Food Nation & the locally produced movie King Corn were coming out, and our minds were set. Even if you're not into animal rights activism (and you might be surprised to know that myself & some of my vegan friends are completely fine with hunting, because it has nothing to do with factory farming), we must be concerned about the quality and safety of the meat, dairy and eggs we consume. I don't mean to sound too self-righteous or heavy-handed in all of this- too each his own- but I really do believe that our health, individually & communally, both short & long-term, as well as our local economies, our lakes and rivers, and our air-quality are detrimentally effected by such practices. For those who don't want to give up meat or dairy, I know some physicians here in Iowa who advocate eating organic or pasture-raised/free range meat, dairy and eggs as much as possible, as those animals are usually raised under safer, more sanitary conditions & without steroids/hormones. They state that we either pay the higher prices for eating healthy now, or we pay much higher ones later, usually at the onset of middle-age, for decades-worth of medical bills & pharmaceuticals.
5.) What is the hardest thing about veganism?
Well, the most disheartening thing is definitely eating out at restaurants, especially now that our only local vegan restaurant has closed due to apartment developers buying the downtown building they were housed in. The hardest thing though would just be having to read the fine print of every food label of every store-bought food item, and actually finding store-bought food items that are vegan.
6.) A common “cheat” for vegans is candy. Is it just me, or does that seem counter-intuitive?
Again, I guess it depends on why you’re a vegan- as I’ve gotten older I’ve become something of a health food advocate, while still sticking to my ethical conceptions, but I know many vegans & vegetarians, and I was definitely one when younger, who are ‘junk-food vegetarians/vegans’, and, what I call, non-meat eating ‘carboterians’, all of which you can pull off when younger but I do think it will catch up with you, just like any ‘junk food’ diet, as you age. A grain-based diet when supplemented w/ lots of chips, fries, vegan desserts, etc., can be just as fattening as a meat-based one. Also, as some environmental advocates have pointed out regarding the "market," both the brick & mortar grocery store and the virtual for-profit niche market of ‘health food’ diets, is that they are being inundated with processed, preserved & packaged vegetarian & vegan meal options. Unlike just a few years ago, I can now eat a 100% vegan diet by eating frozen dinners every lunch & dinner, though they’re pricier. The market has filled that niche & is making a pretty penny off of it. The point is that in terms of the environmental impact of the packaging as trash, the pollution in manufacturing and transporting pre-packaged food, etc., a “convenience” vegetarian or vegan diet is as problematic as any other on multiple levels.
7.) Veganism is an extreme form of vegetarianism. Do you think that vegans look down on those that aren’t?
Some might, especially the young, who are very passionate & ideological about animal cruelty and factory farms. As I’ve gotten older I’ve come to realize that there are myriad ways of addressing & combating such issues, and to not get too self-righteous about it.
8.) Healthy options are more accessible than ever; why is the US getting fatter?
Well, I do think that most of us want to eat a healthy diet but I'm beginning to think that much of it comes down to convenience & time. Our fast-paced lifestyles really do not bode well for cooking & eating health-conscience meals. Going through a drive-thru on the way home from long day at work is so much easier than cooking your dinner when you get home. But it absolutely can be done, and with only very moderate lifestyle changes. It just takes a bit of weekly planning ahead, cooking in large amounts for multiple meals and, in a family setting, everyone pitching in. If you have family members who love to cook, then even better. I was just joking with my sister, who has 5 kids of all ages in her family, about getting my teenage niece or nephew to pre-cook some meals weekly for a significant boost in their allowance, which isn't a bad idea actually. They would be learning to cook too.
9. Training myself to live healthily, and I think 'training' is probably an appropriate word for it, has taken most of my adult life. It wasn't until I hit my early 40's that I really started to have to think about diet & lifestyle in ways that weren't just ethically, environmentally or politically motivated. Crohn's disease and colon cancer run in my family, and I felt I had to start concerning myself with my diet for my health's sake as well. Getting older and wanting to stay healthy for friends & family, are all great motivators, and I was eating way too much junk food and desserts, even as a vegan. So I began paying attention to some local physicians here in Iowa, who are doing wonderful work themselves, as well as advocating for cutting-edge work being done scientists throughout the U.S. & in Europe, who say that a Raw Vegan diet, as well as a "Paleo" or "Caveman" diet are 2 of the healthiest diets one can begin today. Obviously the Paleo diet is not a vegan diet but it's advocates & creators are part of a current movement urging meat-eaters to consume ONLY all-natural, preferably organic, hormone & antibiotic free meat and dairy that has been healthily and humanely raised. So there really are healthy options for everyone.
Well, I just feel better, which is a huge motivator. In the last few years I've lost 30 pounds, am at a very healthy weight, and can easily run again, at 48, though I usually just do a sort of race walk on a tread-mill, as well as lots of hiking in decent weather. I'm also going to start biking and swimming again. Just having more energy and less achy joints is wonderful. I would just urge anyone, obviously, especially people getting older, to attempt diet &/or exercise changes slowly and incrementally, and with ineffable amounts of patience, as well as to consult their Dr first of course. Certain diets and health regimes don't work for everyone and are not healthy for everyone, but thanks for the chance to pass on what's worked for me, and to throw some vegan & humane eating notions out there as well!
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