I'm not a vegan (*gasp*)

I have been so lazy about updating this thing that I'm sure anyone who would have potentially followed me has given up on me. Don't give up yet! I'll be better for you, I promise! I think the problem is I have a million things to write about but then I think, "no, that isn't relevant to the theme of your blog, Kelin. You can't do that". But you know what? It's my blog so I CAN do that.

So I was thinking before I post a blog one day with a picture of me eating bacon-wrapped pork rinds (that sounds disgusting, I don't really eat that) and cause one of my vegan friends to pass out, I should probably just let the cat out of the bag: I'm not vegan, and I haven't  been for a long time (about a year and a half, now). I have nothing but respect for those who are, and I still believe if it's done right (no grains or legumes) it's a wonderful thing for the body. So what made me change? 

The beginning of the end was when I read Denise Minger's blog tearing apart the holy grail of veganism, The China Study. Once I read her posts (they are long but fascinating) I realized veganism didn't really have much ground to stand on, nutritionally, because all the purported nutritional benefits are based on that study (and the nutritional side was probably the biggest factor for me). On top of that, working offshore forced me to eat a very, very non-ideal vegan diet. I was eating loads of grains, legumes, and vegetables cooked in oils so I think it goes without saying I was not my healthiest...my complexion was dull and usually breaking out, my hair was so unhealthy it actually lost its vibrancy and started turning strawberry blonde, and 8 hours sleep was never enough to refresh me. So when I read about the fallacies in The China Study it was definitely time to make a change. At first I just started re-introducing free-range farm eggs because I couldn't get over the ethical dilemma of eating animal products and I figured that was as ethical as it gets. Once I started reading more, I accepted that so long as an animal has been treated ethically its entire life (either by living in the wild, or being allowed to roam freely to its heart's content foraging for its natural diet) and dies as humanely and with as much dignity as we would want for a beloved pet being put down, it doesn't have to be unethical to eat animal products. 

Little by little, I started eating more animal products. After sourcing the eggs, I began eating wild salmon and tuna, then wild game from local hunters I had interrogated and trusted, and finally free-range meats from a farm in the north of England. In this farm, the animals all forage for their natural diets outdoors on ample land without pesticides or herbicides, are not given routine doses of antibiotics (they don't need it when they're living in those conditions, anyway!), and are slaughtered by the same family. These days, Loic and I eat loads and loads of organic veggies from local farmers, a bit of fruit and nuts, lots of happy chicken eggs, wild seafood and free-range meats (including organs). I feel good about how I am feeding my family and the decisions I've made, as hard as they were at first. And physically, I feel amazing.

Now if you'll excuse me...I am going to go cook some grass-fed beef liver, nature's multivitamin!