I've been a vegetarian for many years. I can remember when I was about 10 that I told my mom that I didn't want to eat meat anymore. She was very unhappy with that statement and said no (but then anything I did that was different even if slightly so felt like betrayal to mom). I pretty much skipped meat when I could, then when I went to college, I stopped eating meat. When I got pregnant with Chris I did crave beef heart and pickles and did indulge. Over the years, there have been some bad eating habits that developed, some that lingered way too long. No need to rehash why the bad habits came about, or to beat myself up for being influenced. At any rate, at this juncture I'm much better with the quality of my food and I'm happy about that. I am working on becoming more vegan, and it's quite a challenge. This letter from Thich Nhat Hanh explains why. While our society makes it tough, I'm through with blaming myself for the limits placed on me. I really get frustrated with people who sneer at vegetarians and vegans who they claim are being "holier than thou" through their choices, make being successful at veganism nearly impossible, then criticizing the "failures". It's also about being puzzeled and pained to know that so many people have no compassion for the animals they eat. It's really quite remarkable the level of ignorance. This article from Tigers and Strawberries is very good, very thought provoking, and profoundly sad. I'll write more about this later...