January 4, 2014 at 7:08 pm , by Nick Shell

3 years, 1 month.

Dear Jack,

What you didn’t hear me talk about in the first half of this letter was animal rights.

A true vegan, from what I understand, would be more fixated on that factor of it. If I was a vegan by the classic definition of the term, I wouldn’t wear leather or take you to the zoo.

That’s because I’m what is being referenced to as a “new wave vegan,” a phrase I learned from Mike Thelin, the co–founder of Feast Portland, when he spoke to Forbes:

 “The new wave of veganism is more about health than animal welfare. For better or worse, this is why it will have more staying power.”

I jumped on board (with the help of documentaries on Netflix and YouTube including Forks Over Knives, Hungry For Change, Vegucated, The Beautiful Truth, Dying To Have Known, Supersize Me, and Food, Inc.) for health reasons alone, not animal rights.

Another way of labeling me is to say I eat a plant-based diet.

However, I don’t like the word “diet” because it could be construed that I am trying to lose weight or get other people to.

Weight loss is a natural side effect of being a new wave vegan, but by no means has it ever been my motivation.

Granted, I did lose over 35 pounds (from 178 to around 142) and 3 pants sizes (from 34 to 31). Actually, that part of it for me was sort of annoying and expensive because I had to buy a new wardrobe.

Another thing I do differently than a traditional vegan is that I’m not simply not eating animal products; I’m also not eating non-food products, as well.

One example is cellulose, which is actually wood pulp that is non-digestble by human beings. It can be found in bread, cheese, powdered drinks, spice mixes, and maple syrup, and a lot of fast food items; just to name a few sources.

And of course, there are artificial food dyes like Yellow 5 and Red 40, which are made from petroleum (when they’re not made from parasitic bugs, like Crimson Lake) which I run from too.

In other words, I eat nutritious plants from the earth, “the Big 6” (vegetables, fruits, grains, beans, nuts, and seeds), but not petroleum or sand or trees. I don’t know if an “animal rights vegan” would care so much about those things, like I do.

That helps explain why new wave vegans, especially, are so passionate about avoiding GMOs. If a food is genetically modified, in my eyes, it’s not real food and therefore, I don’t trust it.

Kudos to General Mills this week for announcing they’ve stopped using GMOs in their Original Cheerios. That’s pretty cool of them, actually.

And if food is not organic, either, I’m led to believe it contains traces and effects of pesticides, which are not plant-based food sources either.

I think something else that sets apart a true vegan from a person who is plant-based (or a new wave vegan, like me) is that while I am happy to explain my lifestyle to those who curiously ask about it, I have no desire to convert the free world.

By no means do I think I’m better than anyone else because of what I do or do not eat. Therefore, I’m very deliberate in attempting to not sound condescending when I talk about this.

Honestly, I don’t think a person like me could get the approval of PETA. I mean, sure I care about animals’ rights, but I care more about human rights.

I care about humans having the right to know the truth about avoiding cancer and disease, but only if they ask me about it or are curious to read an entire article I write about it.

Or at least watch any or all of the following documentaries on Netflix: Forks Over Knives, Hungry For Change, Vegucated, The Beautiful Truth, Dying To Have Known, Supersize Me, and Food, Inc.

Love,

Daddy

P.S. The pinto quinoa burger (in picture above) recipe Nonna used is from a blog called Goodness Green: Plant-Based Recipes And Wellness.

January 4, 2014 at 7:02 pm , by Nick Shell

3 years, 1 month.

Dear Jack,

Well, needless to say,“going vegan” and “switching to a plant-based diet” were trendy things to do in 2013.

I speak from personal experience, having taken the animal-free plunge myself back last March; for better or worse, like Scrooge McDuck diving into his pool of gold coins.

(Only my leap of faith makes more logical sense than his.)

Even your Nonna (my mom) recently officially became a “mostly vegan” vegetarian (like you and Mommy are) and has been very excited to cook new recipes for us when we visit.

What was once a ridiculous lifestyle claimed by certain extreme people living on the fringes of society… has now gone mainstream.

After all, the number of American vegans doubled within a recent year and a half span. That’s a huge shift in terms of a micro-trend!

But why? How is the invisible sun (reference to the song by The Police) causing this movement across the country, affecting us normal people who don’t wear hemp underwear or throw red paint on people who wear fur coats?

“Netflix documentaries” would be my personal number one answer; though several of them are available for free on YouTube, as well: Forks Over Knives, Hungry For Change, Vegucated, The Beautiful Truth, Dying To Have Known, Supersize Me, and Food, Inc.

These days, mainstream society is able to be educated, at their own will during their own free time, and learn that despite what we are taught our whole lives about nutrition, the human body does not require the meat, milk, or dairy products of another animal and species in order to be healthy; as long as there is regular access to what I have named “the Big 6” (vegetables, fruits, grains, beans, nuts, and seeds).

Especially this past decade, I’ve witnessed big companies capitalize on “the hope” of a cure for cancer, by spreading/selling awareness to consumers; while their products often contain carcinogens- which are actually known to cause cancer. (As explained in the Netflix documentary,Pink Ribbons, Inc.)

That approach isn’t for me, though.

Instead, I tend to stick with the forward-thinking of a wise Jewish man who came to America escaping Nazi persecution in Germany; Albert Einstein, whobecame a vegetarian the final year of his life. He said this:

“Intellectuals solve problems, geniuses prevent them.”

As these “Netflix documentaries” teach, elaborate studies like The China Study show that people who completely, or nearly completely, eliminate animal products from their bodies dramatically (!) reduce the chances of getting cancer and diseases.

It’s like this: When you stop eating animal products, you “turn off” the cancer cells in your body. But eating animal products empowers the cancer cells.

But it’s not just about avoiding cancer and disease. After all, any heckler in the crowd can just say, “Who cares? You know you’re just going to die anyway, right?”

True, but I am a guy who had extreme psoriasis for a decade… and constant sinus pressure and sinus infections for over two decades… and was very allergic to cats… and then saw all those problems go away after becoming a vegan.

Now that I’ve explained my personal motivation for becoming a vegan, I want to explain what didn’t entice me to become a vegan, in the second half of my letter.

To be continued… (Here’s the rest.)

Love,

Daddy

P.S. The pinto quinoa burger (in picture above) recipe Nonna used is from a blog called Goodness Green: Plant-Based Recipes And Wellness.