Why Plant-Based?

I read John Robbins’ book, Diet for a New America, when I was a young adult. It branded me for life. I tried profusely to become a vegetarian immediately after the conclusion of this book and experiencing the truth behind our food. Unfortunately, this was an uphill battle at a pinnacle of battle I had not yet fought. I did not realize I would be fighting my parents, my friends, myself as I waged this war to save the environment; stop the painful mutilation, torture and murder of innocent animals; and protect my body from the brutal damage a Standard American Diet defends. It has been a long journey as I struggled to research, read, and absorb as much information as possible; to be able to confirm and then defend the facts. But I have finally come to this sacred place…the point at which I have no further doubt. I have successfully completed a Dietetic Internship after spending weeks and months in hospitals, schools, offices and classrooms. I have finished a graduate degree in nutrition despite the vast support from the super-powerful and economically endowed food and drug industries. And, here I am…alone with what I have gathered from decades of homework, reading and gathering. I am a plant-based dietitian confident in my steadfast decision to avoid animal products, to not allow my children to be sucked in by the vacuum of money-driven propaganda. Although I am constantly faced with dissidence, I have taken a stance, for good or for bad, in sickness and in health, until death do I depart my viewpoint.