After the Ellen deGeneres show, we need information for moving towards vegetarian food, a vegan diet, cruelty-free diet, or low meat diet?

Interesting and timely question. I read several interesting reviews of Foer's book before answering this question (look for the link to his Amazon page in the sources below). In February I answered a question about the pro-environmental aspects of hunting and eating the meat you hunt, so I won't dwell on that, I'll just post a link.

mahalo.com/answers/belief-and-thought/do... I'll address the question of eating less meat, and eating better quality (organic and more humanely raised) animal products. Last fall I had a wakeup call when I read a story in the New York Times about a woman who had gone into a coma, and upon waking, learned that her nervous system was so badly damaged that she could no longer walk. It turns out she had an illness caused by E.

Coli, traced back to hamburger from a weekend barbecue at her mother's home. Research into the source of the ground meat showed horrible yet standard practices by the meat packing industry. nytimes.com/2009/10/04/health/04meat.html After that I resolved to immediately do a couple of simple things: cook the existing ground meat in my freezer thoroughly, and after it was used up, not to buy any more ground meat.

I now buy chuck roasts on sale and use those to grind my own hamburger (I use a Kitchenaid stand mixer with a grinder attachment). If you dice the somewhat frozen meat it grinds very easily. And first, I spray a little vinegar over the surface of the raw meat and then rinse it, because vinegar is one good way to kill E.Coli.(Actually, vinegar is good for many things.

Check this nurse's site with lots of tips: nursesnotebook.com/vinegar_health_benefi...)

I also resolved to look for healthier meat, poultry, and fish. And because healthier meat is more expensive, I am eating less, in smaller portions. I haven't given up meat, but I try to find meat, chicken, and fish that is not adulterated or raised in a way that contributes to poor health.In the long run, this effort will bring more business to those growers who produce meat in a healthier way.

To start with, I can buy these things at a local high-end grocery store. In my city, there is a Central Market (http://www.centralmarket.com/ - I am a foodie!), and in the city where I work there is a Whole Foods Market (http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/). Both of those carry organic and humanely raised meats.

I'm not sure how far that meat travels to get here, though.

For local meat sources I found a couple of web sites for searching any community (by zip code or name). I am only beginning to use it, but it looks promising: http://www.eatwellguide.org/i.php?pd=Home The Eat Well Guide helps you find stores, businesses, restaurants, and growers that are local, sustainable, and organic.

I've found a butcher shop in the town where I work, that I'll try next time I'm over there (Sendero Brothers in Arlington, Texas). Another site I've found that offers a state-by-state directory is called "Eatwild" (mahalo.com/answers/belief-and-thought/do...0) and offers alternatives such as bison (buffalo) meat, rabbit, deer, elk, etc.I would have to compare prices and learn more about some of these meats. Here in Texas it is illegal to sell wild meat that you have obtained by hunting with a state permit for that game.

I have the good luck of living next door to a generous neighbor whose son hunts. I love his venison sausage for seasoning some of my bean recipes. I am glad to learn of a place that makes these wild meats available, but I would have to see if farm-raised venison has the same great flavor and lean consistency as wild.

If I want more venison, I'll have to go through these vendors or start hunting myself. mahalo.com/answers/belief-and-thought/do...0 Eatwild also offers links to milk, eggs, honey, nuts, and other products that may be of specific interests to vegetarians of different levels, and some purely vegan products. This site also offers producer listings outside of the U.S. Finally, I love fish, and I grew up in the Pacific Northwest in a family that fished both fresh and salt water.

I detest farm-raised salmon because it has no flavor. Neither does the farmed trout. These fish, many of them anadromous (live in both fresh and salt water during their lifetimes) eat a variety of wild foods that contribute to their flavor and meat color.

Farm-raised salmon and trout fish have a diet of ground up wild fish (herring and other perfectly good small edible fish) and have color added to make them look right to consumers. People can (my daughter does) have allergies to the red dye used to color the fish. That said, there _are_ farm-raised fish that taste more like wild and don't have the polluting impact on the environment, like salmon farming can.

Catfish is one; it's a bottom feeder, it has a different diet, and it doesn't cause the same kind of water pollution or strain on other fish populations.So we eat farm-raised catfish more often and buy the wild salmon when they are in season and the budget allows. More on fish farming: mahalo.com/answers/belief-and-thought/do...1 Catfish and tilapia (another successful farmed fish) don't have the omega-3 oils of salmon, but they're great for protein. http://www.cleveland.com/healthfit/index.ssf/2009/05/farmraised_catfish_flavorful_i.html

I am answering this question for those who want to eat healthy and don't want to cut out meat from their diets.

We are omnivores, and getting the right vegetarian food combinations to produce healthy protein is important or a vegetarian diet can lead to some dietary deficiencies. But I do think I should eat less meat, and make it as healthy as possible. By supporting local businesses, I can help sustain and encourage the production of healthier meat.

I have riddled this answer with links, because for every statement, there is going to be the thought "I wish I knew more," or perhaps "where does that come from. " It is primarily an accumulation of information from being a reader and listener to environmental news, but I've looked for lots of good links for more information. Bon appétit!

A year or so ago, my wife read the book, "Skinny Bitch," by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin. She had ideas that she wanted to implement, but knew I would be against it. I read the book as well and my outlook completely changed.

This bestselling book is not about just getting skinny; they wrote it like that so more people would read it. Rory and Kim are pretty extreme in what they consider to be the ideal diet--vegan, no coffee, no alcohol, no processed foods, no chemical additives, etc. They give many tips for the average person to get started if they want to change their diet. They even give options if you don't want to take it as far as they did (as in, still eating meat, but making them be free ranging animals).

"Skinny Bitch" is very important because it warns you how your body will chance once you start eating healthy. Your average person will not believe it, but if you follow their diet, you do hear, taste, see, smell better, sleep better, have a higher sex drive, and have more energy. But before these benefits, your body will detox and you will feel like garbage.

Most people mistake this as a sign that their new diet isn't "nutritious enough" and will abandon it. Reading the book prepares you for it and makes the transition easier. Next, I would have that person consult some movies and documentaries, all of which reinforce the information in "Skinny Bitch.

" The first is "Food Inc. ," which I warn contains some guilt concerning animals. Next is "The Gerson Miracle" and "The Beautiful Truth," which takes the importance of nutrition to a level you'd never expect.

Companies in the US that cater to healthy food and lifestyle is "Whole Foods, Inc. " They are nationwide. Kroger Foods Inc.

, Food Lion Inc. Also have organic/natural food aisles. Even Wal-Mart is jumping on the organic/natural bandwagon and has some places to buy such foods.

But for produce, local growers are the best to buy from. You can find these in your local grocery store, but, more likely, you can find them at your local farmer's market. Some of these growers will be organic and some will not; just ask them if it's not listed.

Please remember to take B-12 supplements if you go vegan. I didn't and did start to develop some symptoms of psychosis, lethargy, mental fatigue, and mania.My wife developed some of those symptoms too. If you're close to being vegan, B-12 supplements are still a good idea, because most people are low in B-12 anyway (even on a low diet).

There are millions of nutrition books. Some will tell you that it's bad not to eat meat, or even to reduce meat. Beware--many of these authors are in bed with the FDA, USDA or food manufacturers.

Even "experts" are suspect when it comes to nutrition. There is a fundamental debate on what life even is (or if it contains a special, vital energy). This fundamental debate spills into nutrition.

For example, the organic, vegan, nutritionists say it's best to eat raw, organic fruits and vegetables because they contain the most of this vital life energy. Some have even demonstrated this via experiment/photo. Such photos are called Kirlian photography and an example showing the relative energy densities between cooked and uncooked tomatoes can be seen below.

Even armed with all of this information, it is still exceptionally difficult to identify if some food ingredients as "good" or not. This is because food manufacturers are allowed to use different chemical names for the same products. In the US, the Truth in Labeling Acts are complicated monsters, indeed.

For this reason, it's important to trust the company you are buying from. We found Morningstar, Boca, Kashi, Stoneyfield, Mom's Best, Lightlife, EnviroKidz, Nature's Path, Amy's, Newman's Own, Back to Nature, Nature's Harmony and many more. I'm sure there's regional/local brands that are around your neck of the woods that I haven't heard of.

If you still want to eat meat, that's fine. Just look for "free range labels," but be careful, the definition of "free range" may just be marginally better than "kept in chicken coop. " If you want to go vegetarian but would miss the taste of meat, there are plenty of meat alternatives available made by some of the companies I listed above.

They do not taste bad. The one exception is soy milk. It's a lot different than cow's milk and I could never quite get into it.

ONE FINAL MOST IMPORTANT POINT Any of the diet variations mentioned above cost quite a bit more than a traditional diet. This is just the way it is now, especially in the US. You can counter the cost by not eating as much (on these diets, you won't, because the food is more efficient nutritionally; the calories go to where they are needed) and by not eating out as much (you won't want to after you change your diet).

Even with these counteractions, you will still be spending more money on food than you were before. After all, a $4.00 value meal from McDonald's is pretty cheap and easy to obtain. Whether or not you feel the extra cost is worth it is completely up to you.

Unfortunately, the full vegan/vegetarian diet that my family was on had to be cut back to a more half traditional/half organic diet because it was too cost prohibitive. We'll eventually get back to the more healthy diet though. Good luck!

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.