Whole-Food, Plant-Based Day 12 and 13: Yesterday was a little busy, so here are two days packed into one.

Some may say, but isn’t being a vegetarian enough? Why do you have to give up dairy and eggs? Those animals don’t die. Here is why.

Research: Let’s start with dairy. Here is a quote from a New York Times article, “The typical dairy cow in the United States will spend its entire life inside a concrete-floored enclosure, and although they can live 20 years, most are sent to slaughter after four or five years when their milk production wanes.” The calf is typically taken from the mother within 24 hours. If it is male, it will most likely be sent off to become veal. Although the female cows won’t die right away…this is not a life. Not to mention, cows care for their offspring-they are sentient creatures. This is traumatic for both the mother and baby.

Now on to eggs. According to Vox, “Chickens suffer the most of all the animals, they’re in the worst conditions, and you kill more chickens in the typical American diet than you do beef cows or dairy cows, simply because those animals are so much larger.” I won’t go into the details about the living conditions or harm done to egg-laying chickens, but by buying eggs from the store, this behavior is condoned. I am not going back to eggs for health reasons, but I think buying eggs from a local farm would be a more ethical option for animals.

Resource: https://www.nytimes.com/…/dairy-farming-cows-milk.html and https://www.vox.com/…/eggs-chicken-effective-altruism

Food Tip: Going out to eat is a different experience now. Although there are an abundance of options available, I have found that looking at menus ahead of time and checking out the app, Happy Cow, is very helpful. Below you will see some vegan finds from my trip to Chicago yesterday.