Last night Mike and I watched Vegucated on Netflix. It’s an eye opening movie, and not for the weak stomach. Vegucated follows 3 New Yorkers as they experiment with a vegan diet. Not only does it focus on the health benefits, but also the impact the demand for meat and dairy has on animals and the environment.
Most of the movie is pretty censored, but there are some pretty awful parts… like when they show male chicks being ground alive, simply because they are male and won’t produce eggs. Pretty disturbing how animals are treated on today’s farms in order to keep up with American consumption and the impact these animals have on our environment.
I always thought veganism was for the crazy hippie lady, but now I have a different view.
I don’t think I will ever be fully vegan, I love cheeses, eggs, meat and fish. And there’s nothing like a gooey cheesy pizza or bacon and eggs. But, I do think there are ways to make more responsible choices. Knowing where my food comes from, how the animals treated and simply by consuming less. I plan on adding much more fruits and vegetables to my diet, and researching more ethical meat and dairy sources.
This may be a controversial topic, as we do live in a huge fishing community. And this isn’t the first vegan GMG post, but I am interested in your thoughts. Are you vegan? Have you seen the movie or other similar movies? What restaurants in the area offer vegan menu options? Where do you shop for vegan foods?
Restaurants/Stores feel free to post a link to your vegan options. Local farms tell us what you do differently…
~Alicia
Good Morning Gloucester 
I can’t imagine being vegan, or even vegetarian. I’m fully am onmivore. That said, I make sure to buy ethically raised animal products. To me, their worth the extra money. And there are a lot of options for humane products, I’ve found that Market Basket has the best variety of humanely raised meats. If you balk at the price tag, remember to look for “humanely raised” and not necessarily “organic.” Organic will raise the price even more, and to be honest, when it comes down to it I’m more concerned with the way the animals are raised and killed rather than what they’re fed. I mean, ideally I’d be fully hippy, but I can’t afford that.
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Thanks. I agree, and just because it’s organic doesn’t mean it’s humanely raised. Especially with poultry!
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“Forks over knives” is an excellent documentary about the health benefits of being vegan. I had never even considered the idea of being vegan before watching it, now I am giving it some thought. At the very least I am trying to eat less meat and more plants. Reading your post of what happens to live male chicks has me thinking again about my food choices.
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I don’t think it’s unethical to eat animals – that’s just part of the way the natural world works – but I do think they should certainly be treated humanely. Being cruel and cavalier about the suffering of animals is bad enough in itself, but it also can desensitize us to cruelty towards human beings. Also, some things I’ve read suggest that animals that live under better conditions and are treated better, also make for healthier and better-tasting meat (I don’t know for sure if that’s true). Further, we should weigh the health and environmental impacts of the kind and quantity of meat consumed. Michael Pollan’s book “Food Rules” offers some interesting reflections on healthy eating, including the idea that meat should be used as a “flavoring or a special occasion food”.
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Also here’s a website that a Facebook Fan shared: http://www.meatlessmonday.com/
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Fr Matthew, it is true! Do a little experiment with eggs. Go get a regular old package of eggs from the store. The regular, battery raised kind. Now grab a package of the humanely raised, free running eggs, or some locally raised pastured eggs (not quite the right season, though…) Now the fun part – crack ’em and cook’em. Right away you’ll see the humanely raised egg has an awesome yolk, so yellow it’s orange. Compare it to the regular egg, with it’s sad sorta pale yellow yolk. It’ll be the same with the taste, and you won’t go back.
As far as meats, I think there’s a difference. Chicken seems a bit more flavorful, and they say that grass fed beef has a different flavor than grain fed. I think the old adage that happy and healthy animals make for better food is entirely true.
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I definitely have to agree with Brooke Michelle! Omnivore all the way! If I had the space – I would raise livestock myself for my family.
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I grew up in Glosta, class of 76, been veg and or vegan off and on since high school. I currently am what I call a Flexitarian , I eat some fish and chicken, organic and free range but mainly a plant based diet. My girl and I also started the Sunshine Burger company, we make a seed and grain based line of veggie burgers.
Sunshine Burger makes veggie burgers which taste great! We use only non GMO whole food ingredients. We start with raw sunflower kernels for hearty flavor and Lundberg Farms brown rice for body. Then we add a variety of whole food ingredients to make five USDA certified organic flavors. Everything we make is gluten, soy free and vegan. Sunshine Burgers are baked and browned then frozen; they can be reheated in minutes.
Find us on facebook or at http://www.sunshineburger.com
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Awesome, I’ll have to try them. It looks like Common Crow carries them. I have a friend who owns a gluten free shop in CT. You should contact her to carry your products: http://www.harvestmoonfoodsgf.com/
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I work hard to shop on the outsides of the grocery store, been thinking of going wheat free has anyone tried it yet?
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Thr outsides are def where it’s at.
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I have been vegetarian forever, and vegan for 6 months now. I feel sooo much better now that I know I am making a very conscious decision to support compassion and health. Market Basket has some vegan/vegetarian, Common Crow and Shaws on Eastern ave have some good choices. If you can make it to a Whole Foods, it is heaven. There is a new video with the Jackass star, Steve-O who is vegan. Whatcamebefore.com highlights the abuse in factory farms. At the very least people can try Meatless Mondays and be healthier while saving animals from suffering.
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