Vegucated: Thoughts & Ramblings
I’ve still been battling a pretty nasty cold, so much of the weekend was spent at home, on the couch. In an attempt to be somewhat productive, Alex and I watched Vegucated, a documentary about veganism which had been in my Netflix queue for awhile. Knowing that Shannon had recently watched it found it interesting, I figured it was worth a shot.
Overall, the documentary was mostly what you would expect. Similar to Forks Over Knives and Food Inc., it talked a lot about the health benefits of veganism, as well as animal rights. They took 3 meat-eating New Yorkers and put them on a vegan diet for 6 weeks, while educating them on the health benefits, and showing them footage of slaughterhouses.
The documentary was interesting. I’ve done a lot of research on veganism, since my 6 month vegan experiment, and I totally agree that a mostly plant based diet is generally better for your health, and better for the environment. I think my only problem with it was the focus on “veganism” as if it’s an all or nothing kind of approach.
Do I think everyone should be a vegan? No. Not necessarily. I’ve already said that I don’t think vegetarian is for everyone. I think food is a personal choice. (Read my thoughts on vegetarianism here.) However, I do think that everyone could benefit from more plants and less meat & dairy. Often I think people get intimidated by the ‘vegan’ label, and think “that would never work for me” rather than learning about the benefits of a plant based diet. I love Sarah’s vegan-with-benefits approach. I found that I liked most aspects of a vegan diet, but sometimes it really was too limiting for me. I found I was able to eat healthier if I incorporated some eggs and dairy back into my diet.
I was going to post a new recipe for some gluten free protein donuts today, but in the spirit of veganism, maybe you should just check out these vegan donuts instead. (Don’t worry, if you don’t have a donut maker, you can use a mini muffin pan!)
Click the photo for a vegan cinnamon sugar doughnut recipe!
I was literally JUST thinking about this movie today. I watched it a while ago, and while I disagreed with some of it, I thought it made some valid points. Yes, I believe everyone could benefit from less meat and dairy, and I’ve also noticed that since I’ve been rarely buying meat, I’ve actually been saving a lot of money on groceries, and I’ve been eating healthier. My boyfriend is a hunter, so we always have venison in the fridge (I can’t honestly tell you the last time I bought beef), and I actually like venison a lot more than beef, plus I know EXACTLY where the meat comes from). Also, I think a point that was overlooked was the fact that just because it’s “vegan” doesn’t mean it’s healthy. For instance: oreos are vegan, but should we really have them as an everyday part of our diet? Is a highly processed vegan product better than a non-vegan dish made with whole, real ingredients? I don’t really know, but I feel that just in general, the documentary forgave processed foods if they were vegan.
i need to add this to the queue – sounds informative! and i def like to base my meals around veggies, although you know i eat meat/dairy/etc too, veggies have always been a super important part of my meals thanks to Sharon teaching me some great habits early on! π
I tried to watch Vegucated this weekend, actually, but for some reason couldn’t get into it. And I couldn’t agree with you more about *general* society needing more veggies and fruits and less meat and dairy!
I think there are some great vegan recipes that everyone can enjoy! I like that meat free pushes me out of my cooking comfort zone but in our house we eat meat too. I love the Forks over Knives cookbook and I need to add that movie to my que.
I had no idea there was a forks over knives cookbook! I’ll have to look for it!
I checked out that donut recipe— sounds awesome. I dont know where I would get vegan bisquick- maybe whole foods? Id have to make a trip π I need to go there or TJ’s soon anyway!
Actually, Bisquick’s Original Baking Mix is vegan! π
Here is my take-away from Vegucated…a majority of the animals that we use for food source whether it be for meat or diary or eggs live in a stressful environment. I want to reduce my stress as well as my consumption of stress. Will I be vegan forever? Probably not. Will I never eat a cupcake again as long as I live? Highly unlikely. Will I try to reduce the amount of stressful products that I put in and on my body? Yes!
Veganism is not for everyone, and might not be for me for forever, but at this moment it has struck a cord and I am feeling much better physically and emotionally since I have been more conscious of what goes in.
I think that is SO awesome! And seeing the environment that those animals live in has definitely made me think twice about eating eggs…
I totally hear you on being able to eat healthier if you give yourself some wiggle room with dairy and eggs. I find this is especially true for people who would otherwise use super processed replacements (like fake cheese) or when dining out. I don’t live in a big city so I *might* be able to find one vegan option at any given restaurant. If you widen that to vegetarian, there’s still only two options but at least I can choose the healthier of the two and it’s a little easier to customize my food without it being spit in if I have just a couple fewer questions to ask π
I’ve been meaning to watch that documentary, I think I might just need to make a date with Netflix tonight π I love hearing your thoughts on the whole vegan/vegetarian debate. I’m giving up meat for Lent just because I want to see what a completely vegetarian lifestyle feels like.
P.S. I have been going through your blog just to get meal ideas because I think you do an awesome job as being a balanced vegetarian!
Aw, thank you so much! You are too sweet π If you haven’t seen Food Inc or Forks Over Knives yet, I’d recommend starting with those π
I have not seen Vegucated yet, but I really want to. I really enjoyed Forks Over Knives and am always interested in documentaries regarding food, vegetarianisnm, and veganism.
In regards to the idea of going fully vegan or not, I agree that the all or nothing approach can get a bit tricky. This may make some people feel too limited and could result in someone completely discarding the entire idea of veganism. Any attempts to limit animal products in our diets should be celebrated, as opposed to being “not good enough,” or “not vegan enough.” I have found that a vegetarian diet, with 3-4 days of a vegan diet incorporated in, has worked very well for me. I do not feel bad about not being “vegan enough,” but I can certainly see how this might be a problem for some people.
I did watch Veducated . . . and thought it was alright. There are other documentaries that I prefer over this one though. But I feel like there haven’t been any good releases on the foodie documentary front lately! My queue has run dry!
I totally agree! I’m ready for some new ones π If you find any, let me know!