Day 108 -- With Friends Like These

Tonight, I've been invited to a friend's house for a late dinner.  And she is cooking a vegan meal.  My friend M. has been keeping up with my experiences as a vegan and is interested in cooking more vegan dishes.  Since she is quite a good cook, I'm looking forward to something pretty tasty when I arrive.  No hastily prepared veggie burger for me.  No eating before I leave home.  I'm going to get a real vegan meal prepared by someone other than me! And she and our friend, T, are going to eat it with me.

Over the past three months I've had nothing but positive reactions to my new diet.  Which is kind of strange since many things I read on the internet about veganism seem to set off a war between the vegans and the meat-eaters.  Why do people feel the need to defend their diets in the same way they defend their religion -- or lack of religion?

Many of the people I talk to express a desire to eat more healthy foods, to cut out more meat from their diets and eat more vegetables.  To do away with processed foods.  The science is there and I can attest to the fact that eating more whole foods does make you feel better.  At least it makes me feel better.  I will never be a vegan crusader, out on the front lines fighting for my choice to avoid meat, eggs and cheese.  But it would be nice if the meat-eating world didn't see me and my kind as a threat.  When I used to eat meat, I used to admire vegans, for their ability to resist foods that were not the best choices for a human to eat.

ETA: It was a lovely meal of hummus and crudite, roasted potatoes, xauteed spinach and mimosas.  Oh, and vegan chocolate pudding!  I must start making spinach like that -- lightly sauteed with garlic.  I could eat it all day long.  And the pudding was yummy, too.