Wow! Has it really been that long since last I blogged? Guess so. Time sure flies when you’re busy turning your life upside down.
In the last little while, I’ve changed quite a lot about my life, all for the better. Where to begin? Well first, I left my job at the call centre that I held for almost eight years. It was a job that was stifling my creativity and leaving me no room whatsoever for personal growth, so it was time to say good bye. I’ll miss a lot of the people there, but certainly not the company.
Next, I’ve devoted a wee bit of time to my writing. I’m due to have my first magazine article published in a few weeks, and my cookbook has been chosen for listing on Amazon.com. I’m so tickled! I worked hard at it and I think it has a lot to offer those folks who are new to the vegetarian lifestyle.

In other news, I passed my course! For those of you out of the loop, I’ve been taking a course in Natural Nutrition for almost two years now, and I finally finished and wrote my exam. I passed with a 90% It feels so good to be finished, and now I get can started following a very different career path. Watch for my business to start up in September.

I will also be heading off to CFB Gagetown again with the Army Cadets for the summer. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, the cadet movement is the absolute best program for youth that this country has to offer. If your child will 12-13 years old this fall, I highly recommend that they check it out. Everything is free, (and that includes the summer camp.)

Finally, I had a question addressed to me quite some time ago by “Mother of Two.” I’m sorry I didn’t see it earlier but I haven’t logged in for quite a while. The question was this:

“I have a question that perhaps you can answer. As a vegan or vegetarian you have made a choice not to not eat animal products or meat respectively. The reasons may vary from health resons to political or environmental. My question is, if you have choosen this lifestyle then why do you want to eat food that looks like meat products? It seems very strange to me that someone who does not want to eat meat wants to consume things that are made to resemble meat. ”

Why, that’s an easy one. The decision to give up meat was for exactly the reasons you mention, particularly a matter of ethics. Once we realized the incredible suffering being caused to animals on account of our appetites, (not to mention the environment) the choice not to contribute to that suffering was a no-brainer. (For more info, please watch the documentary “Earthlings” on Google Video.
The choice was not, however, a culinary one. I ate a meat-centric diet for 36 years. Tastes simply do not change overnight, and it would be disingenuous of me to pretend that they did. To this day, I still find the smell of fried chicken intoxicating. Having seen first hand how those chickens are raised, however, makes eating it out of the question. So the occasional meatless substitute fills in the gaps. Better a meatless chicken breast that the real thing. At least the meatless one caused no suffering.
Not only that, but we frequently host friends and family members for dinner, and I think they find it comforting to see something on the plate that at least looks familiar.
Just because something is tasty is not enough reason to keep eating it. My neighbour’s cat might be delicious, but I think we’d all agree that ethics would make that unthinkable. I just happen to want to extend that regard to all animals, not just the cute and fluffy ones.
Hope that answers your question. Peace!