Don’t You Miss Meat? Common Misconceptions of Plant-Based Living

Simple answers to help YOU make better eating choices

I humphed at their solution as I finished the article: There’s a problem; just throw it away.

Here’s the story:

Three months ago, Costco issued a recall for its Kirkland Signature Smoked Salmon. In January, it’s now upgraded to a Class 1 recall, meaning there is reasonable probability that the use of, or exposure to, this product will cause serious adverse health consequences or death.

It seems the food is contaminated with listeria monocytogenes, which can cause listeriosis. This can be a big problem in older adults, persons with weakened immune systems, and pregnant women and their newborns. It can cause fever, muscle aches, headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance, gastrointestinal symptoms, miscarriages, stillbirths, life-threatening infections, and death.

Not good.

This article is a warning, and it circulated throughout the media recently. With good reason.

The advice?

Take a look in your freezer; if you have these packages, throw them out.

Why not get to the root of the problem instead?

Hi! I’m looking to grow my followers this year. If you want to read more about plant-based living, I’m ready to share. I dip into all sides of plant-based, giving you recipes, sharing kitchen tips, providing nutritional education, and educating you on the food industry. I’d love it if you follow me, and I’d love to hear from you too!

Listeria Is In The News

There’s a long list of food product recalls due to listeria contamination. Dairy products in January. More than 7 million pounds of deli meats in the spring. Over 11 million pounds of ready-to-eat meat in October.

Why is this happening? A quick search leads in all directions.

It might be because we have a more complex global food supply chain, or that we’ve increased testing for contaminants. Maybe we’re testing more because of stricter food safety regulations, or the tests are better, which improves detection methods.

Okay. I do believe that’s all true.

But I also believe it’s deeper than that. And it’s time to ask different questions.

Asking The Question: Where Does My Food Come From?

I watched a Jamie Oliver show years ago, where he went into American schools to try and improve what kids ate. I remember being shocked that these kids had no idea what a tomato was, or where their hamburger came from.

That shock has morphed and changed a lot since then.

I’m no longer surprised when I see 30, 40, 50 year olds with little knowledge about nutrition. The system is built that way. It’s what keeps a VERY LARGE food system heavily funded and loaded for profit. Who worries about health with so much money to be made? Plus, the fact that there’s a VERY LARGE profit to be made when bad food damages health and you move into the other very profitable healthcare system.

And that’s got to change.

Because today, most calories come from junk food. Ultra-processed foods make up the greatest consumed foods. Monocropping produces inedible food, and worse, it’s poisoning our land. Factory farms are further destroying the foods we eat.

All of that, and more, has led me to ask deeper questions.

Like: What is the purpose of food? Seems simple enough. But digging deep, you start to realize that everything we are, everything we have to give the world, is because of what we put in. Human bodies are incredibly resilient. But imagine what we could do if we refine what we take in, and provide good energy in every way possible?

Or: What about the soil? Can you really grow in any condition? Doesn’t the soil matter when producing nutritious veggies and fruits? Yes, the soil does matter. It’s been losing nutrients rapidly over the past few decades because of monocropping, or our incessant desire for more and more meat.

I live in a beautiful area of the world. The Pacific Northwest might be known for its rain, but because of it, everywhere you look is green all winter long. And the summers ... gorgeous. Oregon wine country is growing by leaps and bounds. Oregon produces a huge amount of food for the US - pears, apples, and veggies galore.

I’ll never forget one of our outings when we first moved here. Gorgeous roads meandered through green rolling hills filled with fields of growing food. Those fields eventually turned into dairy farms.

I’m used to the smell of animal farms - both my parents were from Iowa, and I spent many summers there with my cousins while I was growing up. But this was different. And it looked different - something I’d never seen before. It looked like they were watering … with brown water.

It’s what they do now.

When you don’t know what to do with the waste product because there’s so much of it, it’s only natural to start spraying it over crops as a “fertilizer.” That’s when the problems with veggies began.

Yes, people tell me it’s not just the meat that has the potential to cause listeriosis. I agree. Not when you’ve combined factory farms’ output with growing fresh foods.

Don’t You Miss Meat?

Eating is a conscious effort. You choose what to eat, when to eat. Even if it sometimes feels like a very mindless activity.

It’s not.

You choose how to fill your pantry, what restaurants to visit when you’re hungry, what foods to buy at your market.

Yes, there is A LOT of confusion involved in the thousands upon thousands of options you have, but it’s still a choice.

I believe it’s very difficult to go plant-based overnight. You can’t switch from one belief system to another at rapid speed. Yes, there are occasionally stories of people who do, but they are rare. Instead - like my approach - it’s much easier to make one change at a time.

I was vegetarian for a very long time. I had no idea how to eliminate eggs from my baking, dairy from my cooking, especially cheese from just about every entree I prepared. But eventually, I figured it out.

Then I called myself vegan. For years, I avoided every animal product. Even today, I am what many consider to be vegan. There are no animal products in my kitchen.

But my focus has changed. Because vegan focuses more on the humanity of living animal-free, not on the nutrition of the food. It doesn’t put an equal belief in the quality of the food you do consume, and that’s why I’ve moved to plant-based living.

Whenever you read a news story about any of the big three - vegetarian, vegan, or plant-based - they talk about what people are missing. They CAN’T eat this, or they CAN’T eat that. And there’s a perception that it - vegetarian, vegan, or plant-based - can’t be very good if something is missing.

When you move to plant-based and truly understand it, you no longer think that way. I never think about what’s missing. I don’t think about replacing “traditional” food. Instead, I start from the viewpoint of: How can I create a Gorgeous meal today?

I don’t think: How can I replace the chicken in a chicken and vegetable meal? Instead, I’ll think about what I choose to create today.

Maybe it’s a cauliflower I found at the market. It’s gorgeous! Do I want to cook it whole as a roast? Do I want to chop it into florets and use it in a soup? Or maybe, create buffalo cauliflower bites and roll them up into spicy tacos? Mmm…

For me, it starts with a feeling. I’ve been given one body, and I choose foods for the energy they put in.

I watched my dad die from a massive heart attack at the age of 54. I watched my mom suffer a stroke at 54, and live for 30 more years with chronic conditions that eventually put her into assisted living for the last few years of her life. Food WAS an issue in both of their demise.

How do I live without meat?

I can’t imagine living any other way.

p.s. Did you like this message? It would mean a lot to me if you’d press the ❤️ below if you liked it, left a comment 💬, or shared it with a friend. I’m trying to grow this publication, and I depend on people like you to do so!

And if you’re new here, Welcome! 💐 I’d love to start sharing my message with you if you’re interested in all things plant-powered, proaging, or finding kitchen joy. Subscribe … and then explore my entire archive! Glad to share with you! 🙋🏼‍♀️