Vegan? Not Vegan?

...or why I decided not to be vegan anymore.

I had been vegetarian and then vegan for about 3 years. When I went to China we decided that we were going to do the best we could at keeping our diet the same. However, being in a smaller city in China, not knowing the language, and eating with other people made it extremely difficult to eat vegetarian and impossible to eat vegan.

When I got back from China the first time, it was around Thanksgiving and I decided to eat the traditional food, turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy. By the time Christmas rolled around, I was so weighed down by animal products that I was fully ready to be vegan again, and consequently had a delicious vegan Christmas.

This time around, I was in Shanghai, a much larger city
with many international influences. I was easily able to eat many different types of food, and many of which were vegetarian and even sometimes vegan. I did still eat meat, but not at every meal and not very often. Because of this, I didn't get as overrun with animal products and instead found a renewed love for eggs and acceptance of dairy.

Eggs

It seems that the experts can't agree whether or not eggs are a healthy source of protein or killing us with cholesterol. I have decided, through my own independent research, that eggs are fine to eat. Like any other food they should be eaten in moderation, not 5 egg omelets everyday for breakfast. Also, cooking them in ways other than just frying, obviously, makes them a healthier and more appealing option.

Once you've decided to eat eggs, the next debate is over whole eggs or egg whites. I have found that the chart below from Fitsugar.com best expresses a healthy way to consume eggs.

	Two large eggs	Three egg whites	One large egg plus two egg whites
Calories	142	51	105
Fat	10 g	.2 g	5.1 g
Sat. Fat	4 g	0 g	2 g
Cholesterol	422 mg	0 mg	211 mg
Sodium	140 mg	164 mg	180 mg
Protein	12 g	10.8 g	13.2 g
Riboflavin (B2)	.4 mg	.3 mg	.4 mcg
Vitamin B12	1.2 mcg	0 mcg	.6 mcg
Vitamin D	35 IU	0 IU	17.5 IU
Iron	1.8 mg	0 mg	.9 mg
			Courtesy of Fitsugar.com

The only problem I have with the idea of not consuming whole eggs is what to do with the leftovers? While in Shanghai, the breakfast buffet had an egg station. When I would tell the cook I wanted egg whites, he would take my two yolks and put them in the bowl of whisked eggs used for omelets. This made me never want to order a regular omelet for fear that I would be eating one consisting almost entirely of egg yolks. But saving egg yolks for things like baking recipes seems like a reasonable idea. It is one thing to consume an entire extra egg yolk yourself, but spreading it out over a whole loaf of banana nut bread isn't nearly as bad. The frugal part of me is satisfied by this alternative.

While I have decided that eggs are healthy to eat at their core, this still comes with the caveat that they must not be conventional. Though it has been debated, I believe conventional eggs grown in factory farms are in themselves not as healthy as non-factory eggs. Studies report higher levels of Omega 3 and Vitamins A and E, and lower levels of total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, and Omega 6 in free range eggs¹. This is not even to mention the appalling conditions of laying hens, the inhumane disposal of male chicks or the environmental destruction of conventional factory farms. If you are interested in learning more about any of those topics, here is a great starter to that conversation. The East End Food Co-op is where I buy my eggs, or have since we got back. They have a nice selection of local, organic and free range eggs. I personally bought the ones from Nu Way Farm in Fredonia, PA. Nu Way is run by the Yoder family, a mom, a dad and 7 children, not workers who have to wear face masks just to enter the "barn" complex.

Dairy

I am still having a bit of a problem feeling okay about eating dairy. My biggest issue with dairy production, no matter how humane the animals are treated on the farm, is that a calf, kid or lamb has to be born each year. The only way that a milk producing animal will produce that milk, is by making its body think that there is a baby it must support with that milk. Therefore, every year there must be a birth and then there is a baby that must be dealt with. Mostly these offspring are sold at auction and then immediately killed for meat or raised and killed later. This, of course, makes me uncomfortable, because, unlike eggs which hens will lay regardless of fertilization, there is a by-product to my delicious yogurt and it is a living creature. Right now I am chalking this up to being efficient and using every part of a system, but I am still struggling with it a bit. If only goat yogurt wasn't so delicious! :(

Milk has my same caveat of buying local, non-factory farmed dairy, as they have similar issues to factory eggs. (More on that here.) Again the co-op has a great selection, this week I purchased Seven Stars Farm low-fat plain yogurt. It is okay, but I much prefer goat to cow's milk. My favorite local goat farm is Paradise Gardens and Farm in Reynoldsville, PA. I had a great e-mail exchange with Lucinda, one of the owners, and even considered doing one of their apprenticeships.

I am hoping that this is a good decision. It is one that I have thought over and debated over. What I choose to put in my body is a question that I constantly wrestle with. It is one for which I am continually looking for new information and hungry(harhar) to learn new knowledge about. I hope that this has been helpful and you too would look at what you eat thoughtfully.

Please leave comments and opinions, even if they are conflicting. I always enjoy hearing what others think about these issues, especially in the current culture of organic trendiness.