Friends! I was so inspired this morning by an interview with yoga teacher Bryan Kest about his journey from extreme veganism to Paleo-inspired meat-eating.
I really resonated with his story as I made the decision in early 2012 to start eating fish almost 12 years of vegetarianism (with a few years of veganism scattered in there too).
As many of you know, this was a very difficult spiritual and emotional decision for me to make and took many, many months of introspection for me to feel comfortable with eating fish.
But I couldn’t be happier with my decision. Why? Because I feel that it was the most responsible decision I could have made as a human and as a teacher. My decision, ultimately, was in line with my commitment to ahimsa, the yogic principle of non-violence and non-harm.
The reality of my body is that I need fish and animal protein to survive. After studying Ayurveda and witnessing the change in my body, I know that this is the right choice. And I’m very glad to see Bryan and other super-smart and inspiring people coming out to say that it is possible to lead a life of compassion and non-harm and still eat some animal products.
One of my all-time favorite writers, speakers, heroes… MY MAN Michael Pollan sees it this way:
The healthiest and most ethical food system—for humans, the planet, and even the animals themselves—is not one where we refrain from eating animals, but one in which their deaths are transparent and humane, and our consumption of their flesh respectful.
(for those of you who have even the slightest interested in the sociology, politics, ecology, and cultural implications of food, stop reading this blog immediately and get your tushie on over to Pollan’s website).
Because if we’re upholding the principles of ahimsa, we have to include ourselves in the equation. If not eating certain foods is harming us (the same way extremely restricted or disordered eating would harm us), and if we are denying our bodies of essential nutrients…how can we ever fulfill the purpose of our spirits that are meant to be carried out while we are living in our bodies now here on Earth?
The trick, as always, is to care for ourselves while causing the least amount of harm to others. That means doing your research about where your food is coming from (regardless of whether it is meat or not). That means only eating as much as you need (regardless of whether it is meat or not). That means honoring and expressing your gratitude and compassion to everyone and everything involved in making your food (regardless of whether it is meant or not).
So, my loves, I’d love to hear your stories.
Have you “come back” from being vegan or vegetarian? How has your diet changed over the years?
I leave you with this Buddhist prayer that I’ve held with me as I continue this exploration of how to care for my body and care for all other creatures, great and small:
Earth, water, fire, air, and space
combine to make this food.
Numberless beings gave their lives and labor that we may eat.
May we be nourished that we may nourish life.
{ sat nam + namaste }
xo
g
After more than 15 years of vegetarianism, I was diagnosed with a milk protein allergy at the age of 24. Asios, brie cheese. see ya’round campus, pizza. Wish you were here, ice cream sundaes. I stopped eating meat when I was in elementary school because it dawned on me that I probably shouldn’t be eating something if I wasn’t okay with the idea of killing it, myself. So, on top of thousands of dollars of medical bills [it took two weeks of poking and prodding for someone to connect the dots], I suddenly had to change my entire way of life. My two greatest allies during the transition were beer and dried papaya. Papaya to calm my GI system post-consumption, beer to calm my nerves pre-consumption. Yes, I had to be drunk to eat a hamburger. On several occasions. But, much like you, I came to realize that my purpose on this planet is to make the world a greener, safer place, and that I cannot do that if I don’t keep my body moving…so, enter meet, Stage Left.
It’s been a weird three and a half years — I now follow a Paleo-compatible diet [I think my body got tired of all of the soy-based shenanigans I was shoving down] — but I am finally at peace with eating animals again; I express gratitude as often as possible.
I had a very similar history and experience to the one expressed by Bryan Kest; raised in Chicago on standard American fare, went vegetarian, went off to follow Body Ecology for a couple of years and never felt better, then the guilt got me and I went vegan, then raw vegan – THAT was a struggle.
Whichever version I tried, and I tried them ALL, it never felt right long term. I bought into the whole “it’s detox” b.s. when I’d wonder why I was feeling lethargic, bloated and not myself. I ate more calories, as folks insisted I was under eating (never been accused of that before, lol).
I did low-fat high-fruit, high-fat -low-sugar, green juices, enormous salads, equal amounts of fat/greens/fruit, and honestly every permutation. I gave it a fair shot; 7 years to be exact, letting each new path take me on a journey for a long time before I’d say “this isn’t the one.”
Today, I’m back to eating meat, scaling back sugar, dairy and wheat, and my fiance and I feel like we’re finally healing and rebuilding from our years of raw veganism. He lost so much muscle tone, and my metabolism just went to sleep. It seemed to help us short term, but with two diametrically opposed blood types (he’s an O, I’m an A), neither of us thrived as either cooked or raw vegans, no matter what advice we followed. In the end, our own intuitions led is to what our bodies need. It’s still a challenge to get over the thought process of eating animals we love, so I get that it’s unthinkable for folks really mired in the culture and ego of veganism, well-meaning though it is. But at the end of the day we can’t be our best selves and offer something to the world if we’re not thriving.
It’s great to see and hear so many folks coming out of the meat closet with such similar stories, lol. I applaud anyone who follows their body wisdom, in whatever direction that takes them.