Ellen sends in Kathy Freston to "Veganize" a Family.

I was delighted to see this clip of Kathy Freston on the Ellen show. Of course Ellen is one of our favorite "Daily Vegans". Thankfully she doesn't shy away from having vegan cooking segments on her show & she is really doing a lot to educate the general population about "veganizing" their life. And our friend Kathy.....Here, There, and Everywhere. Of course she had her big Oprah show appearance where she had to share the stage with "Poopy Pants Pollan" and she has been making the rounds since then. Just last night there was a decent segment on "Extra" TV!! She's amazing because she is appealing to all of our senses. Losing weight, saving the planet, getting healthier. And since she kind of made her initial appearance doing the 3 week cleanse on Oprah, she has been able to expand her scope beyond "cleansing" and touch a little more on the animal aspect of it. I believe she is primarily vegan for ethical reasons, but we take awhile to break into that vibe in the States. If it doesn't fix us, our bodies, or we don't see the correlation with our health, we don't pay much attention. I know she got criticized for a lot of packaged foods on her Oprah segment. However, she did make it clear that you can eat very basic vegan foods like rice & beans (think Anupy's Indian Slow Cooker Book), whole grains, and veggies. Or you can use a "transition" diet that does include "Tofurkey", Daiya cheese, and the likes. This is easier for a lot of people because they can use substitutes for the foods they are used to eating. And even if Daiya cheese or vegan chicken wings are not as healthy as brown rice, broccoli, or bok choy, they still contain NO cholesterol so they are way better for your heart.

Note:  You do  not need packaged food to be vegan.  My folks were eating pretty close to vegan when I was little because of books like "Diet for a Small Planet" and meat was expensive.  I grew up with rice & bean pie (always brown rice!), homemade whole wheat bread, and swiss chard. So if you aren't into "Gardein" or "Daiya" (you really want to try Daiya!), then no worries.  You can still be vegan!  Kathy and Tal are both in Oprah's circle, so these are the peeps that are getting lots of coverage.  And they went into a home that is used to eating meat daily.  So for this family, to just try to ease into eating less meat, then I believe these products can be helpful.  It isn't really representative of what I eat on a daily basis (although my hubby would be fine with Amy's Vegan Pizzas and Grilled Daiya daily), but it is an avenue for change.  

In a country where nearly 75% of people are overweight, I am just THRILLED that Veganism is getting some press. And I am not mentioning the "overweight" part because I think people should be concerned with their "looks". It is far more serious than that. We are losing our Mothers, our Fathers, our Sisters, and our Brothers to obesity. To preventable diseases. This reason alone is enough to try something different. And maybe somewhere in all of this process, people will realize that a pig is no different than a dog. The pig is actually smarter. It is always funny, in a strange way, that Americans are completely outraged by cultures or people who abuse or would eat dogs yet they eat pigs, chickens, and cows. To us vegans, it's kind of like EVERYONE is eating dogs. But it's comical sometimes to see someone really get quite excited about something that happened to a dog and then they eat steak......or bacon......Just a disconnect somewhere. You can't really condemn a culture that eats animals we call pets while we eat animals other cultures call sacred. What is the difference to an American between a dog and a pig? Between a Sacred Cow and a Pig? Between a Pig and a Chicken? 

What is the difference to you guys between different animals? Are you guys offended by people who would eat dogs? If you don't eat meat or dairy anymore, what was the book, thought, movie that motivated you to quit?