DianneGardner's Journal, 14 Jul 16

I love all animals. and no, im not being a joker. But when it comes to food, I will eat what I have available. And I will not intentionally exclude a source because it MAY have FEELINGS. Im sorry, but I don't care how intelligent a thing is. Excluding human beings of course. If there is a choice to be made between myself and another living thing, I chose myself. I will not die because another thing of lesser mentality needs to live also. I refuse to live a certain way because someone ELSE says I need to. Its called survival of the fittest. It is the most basic law of life, second only to THOU SHAL LIVE!!! If I was truly starving, I would eat my own pet cat. And I love that one eyed little crap machine. If you want to restrict yourself to only vegetation, then so be it. But when things go south and all you have is dead grass and tree bark to eat, I will be eating rats and birds and damn near anything I can catch and kill. And No, im not sharing. Remember this when you are took weak to move. Because vegetation does not grow during the winter. But animals keep chugging along.  

If we at least become more conscientious and just eat LESS meat the difference will be huge : ) 

FloridaAngel, I agree wholeheartedly. It is crazy because it is ALL about world demand for meat, and again environmentally in the USA, it is a huge problem. One thing I saw was don't drink water near these huge meat facilities in Midwest, and Southern states. 

I've been on sales calls to slaughterhouses for cows, pigs, chickens, and turkeys. I've seen meat processed hundreds of ways. Those places can put you off eating meat altogether. 

I only eat Eggs and chicken and fish now. I don't eat much meat at all. Not because of any political or environmental reason though. Only because I don't digest protein well anymore. 

These are all personal decisions. It was right for me and my husband. Taking charge of our health too in terms of heart disease and other life style driven disease was important to me. My suggestion to any one is read Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease by Caldwell Esselstyn. Most Americans Wil die from stroke or heart disease and undergo appalling procedures because they do not know that a vegan diet is the answer to reversing these conditions. A vegan diet also stops or radically improves joint pain. Again....just my story. Hope it's useful to some one. And it's the easiest way to real and permanent thinness. Wish our community good luck. I struggled all my life with various for plans even as a "fishatarian" until my mom got sick with angina in 2010...and they told me she would die. I said to hell with that. Googled "unstable angina", found Esselstyn's book, talked to PhD hubby, Mike, who did post doc work at Harvard Medical school. He said, this sounds like good science to me and he despises " pop science" and fads. He, my mom and I embarked on the diet. his cholesterol is now 102, he runs 10 to 18 miles everyday. My cholesterol is around 150 which Esselstyn says puts you in a class where heart attack becomes unknowns and my mom, most importantly, is still alive 6 years later. The medical community has a huge vested interest in keeping us sick. Esselstyn was a child of one of the founders of the Cleveland Clinic and a surgeon there for decades. He is not some whacko...just a man who began to look at what happens to people after repeated cardiac procedures where no life style changes are made. I found his message and research very compelling and our blood work proves it. I did not want to die like most of my relatives. Strokes, heart attacks, debilitating arthritis. Rheumatoid arthritis. Virtually a conditions either cured or radically improved by a fat free vegan diet. And I want to be thin. Thin as in around 115 @ 5'7" and I love being able to walk a half marathon at almost 69. Thanks friends for even listening to this. I get it that most Wil not even try it. I really believe the meat and dairy industry have convinced us that we must have meat. Brain washing subsidized by our government. One of the cardiac interventional surgeons Dr Esselstyn tried to convince to do his plan said "to want me to counsel people to eat a vegan lifestyle?"..."I billed Medicare 6 million dollars last year"...when I read that I knew i had to try this..it's about the money...I want to take charge of my health. I want to stay out of the hands of interventional cardiac surgeons. We have had two family members die during cardiac Cath procedures. No thanks. I will stick with my vegan food plan.