Amanda Strombom - Say No To Meat

2011 Amanda Strombom and Stewart Rose

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced by any means whatsoever, except for brief quotations in reviews, without written permission from the publisher.

Cover and interior design: Jim Scattaregia

Illustrations: Casey McDonald, Jessica Dadds and Edwina Cusolito

Healthy Living Publications, an imprint of Book Publishing Company

P.O. Box 99

Summertown, TN 38483

888-260-8458

www.bookpubco.com

ISBN: 978-1-57067-265-1

Printed in Canada

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The information in this book is for educational purposes only. The information is not intended as a substitute for a physicians diagnosis and care. The authors urge everyone, including those with medical problems or symptoms, to consult a licensed physician before undertaking any lifestyle or medical changes.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Strombom, Amanda.

Say no to meat! : the 411 on ditching meat and going veg /

Amanda Strombom and Stewart Rose.

p. cm.

Includes index.

ISBN 978-1-57067-265-1

1. Vegetarianism. I. Rose, Stewart D., 1956- II. Title.

RM236.S77 2011

613.262--dc22

2011005772

Printed on recycled paper

Book Publishing Company is a member of Green Press Initiative. We chose to print this title on paper with 100% post consumer recycled content, processed without chlorine, which saved the following natural resources:

For more information on Green Press Initiative, visit www.greenpressinitiative.org . Environmental impact estimates were made using the Environmental Defense Fund Paper Calculator. For more information visit www.edf.org/papercalculator .

For Matthew and Emma Strombom, Talia Helman,
and a new generation of young vegetarians.

A big thank you! Thanks to our publisher, Healthy Living Publications, for all their help and guidance. You guys really rock! We also thank Jo Stepaniak and Cheryl Redmond for a great job on the copy editing, and Jim Scattaregia for the fantastic cover design and interior layout. Thanks also to Edwina Cusolito, Casey McDonald, and Jessica Dadds for the cool illustrations. Most of all we thank Doug and Susan for their love and support. Finally, we wish to thank the members and supporters of Vegetarians of Washington, and all the young vegetarians who inspired us to write this book by asking so many questions!

Ill bet you have at least one friend, or youve met at least one person, who says he or she is a vegetarian. Becoming a vegetarian is not only way cool, its also a very smart move.

It seems like more and more people are curious to learn what being a vegetarian is all about. We call these people the veg-curious. Whether youre veg-curious, or youre already a vegetarian but want to learn more about it, this book is for you.

Becoming a vegetarian is easier than you think. While there are a few things you should know, becoming a vegetarian is not rocket science. This book will tell you everything you need to know to get started, and well give it to you straight. Youll learn about the many advantages of being a vegetarian, and well explain how to go totally vegetarian. Youll also find advice on how to handle friends, parents, teachers, and ministers. Youll get some great starter recipes for dishes that taste outrageously good.

Theres an old Chinese proverb that says that every journey starts with but a single step. For many of you, this book will be the first step on your journey to becoming a vegetarian. Few people become vegetarians overnight. Its a step-by-step process. Every time you make a vegetarian food choice, you are one step closer to improving your health, saving the animals, and sustaining the environment. OK, lets get started.

A vegetarian is someone who eats no meat, poultry, or fish products. There are several subsets of this:

A lacto-ovo vegetarian eats dairy and egg products, but avoids all meat, poultry, and fish.

A lacto-vegetarian eats dairy but avoids egg products as well as meat, poultry, and fish.

An ovo-vegetarian eats eggs but avoids dairy products as well as meat, poultry, and fish.

A vegan or total vegetarian eats no animal productsno meat, poultry, fish, dairy, or eggs. Many vegans also avoid eating honey.

Sorry, we cant bend the rules. A person who still eats fish is really a pesco-vegetarian or a pescatarian. A person who mostly eats plant foods, but will still eat a little meat occasionally, is usually called a flexitarian. While both pescatarians and flexitarians have taken a big step in the right direction, they still have to go the whole nine yards if they want to call themselves vegetarians.

If you become a vegetarian youll be in good company. A 2008 poll conducted for the magazine Vegetarian Times showed that 3.2 percent of U.S. adults, or 7.3 million Americans, are vegetarians, and an additional 10 percent, or 22.8 million, eat a mostly vegetarian diet.

Remember that although there have been vegetarians throughout history, many people are only now discovering the benefits of a vegetarian diet, and are starting to make changes in what they eat. Some estimates put the number of people who have tried vegetarian foods, such as veggie burgers, from time to time to be as high as 40 percent of the population.

There are plenty of vegetarians around the world. The countries where following a vegetarian diet is even more popular than it is here include India, where 30 percent of the population follows a vegetarian diet; Israel, where 10 percent are vegetarian; Great Britain, with 5 percent; and the Netherlands, with 4.4 percent.

In most cities, youll be amazed at how easy it is to be vegetarian today. Almost all major grocery stores, and many of the smaller ones, carry veggie burgers and other meat alternatives, tofu, and soymilk, along with all the fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts, seeds, and grains that make up a wholesome vegetarian diet. If you like to eat out, youll find veggie options in most restaurants, so theres no need to fear that youll be left with nothing to eat. If you live in a small town, there may be fewer veggie choices available on the menu, but remember you can always ask the chef to make you something special, or just hold the meat. Its so worth it!

Dont be lead astray by political stereotypes about vegetarians. Vegetarianism is definitely bipartisan. You dont have to change your politics to become a vegetarian. You can belong to any political party (or no political party); you can be ultraconservative or super liberal. In fact, vegetarians are well represented among both Democrats and Republicans. For instance, Matthew Scully, who was President George W. Bushs chief speechwriter, is a vegetarian and author of an important animal rights book,