Photo of Fanny on her rescue day. By Jo-Anne McArthur
Good Morning Davis!! We are so thrilled to take this journey with you. Davis is from Connecticut and has been a vegetarian for 5 years and is ready to delve into discussions about transitioning to a vegan diet.
Davis, you stated that “Getting over that taste-boundary (eggs, milk and cheese) – understanding that my personal preferences are not worth compromising myself and supporting such an inhumane system – may be a good place to start”.
It sounds like you have been giving these issues a great deal of thought and have an awareness of the ethical implications. What has been your experience so far in your attempts to eliminate dairy and egg products?
The opinions we express as GFJ Coaches are ours personally. We are not professional health practitioners. Neither are we treating a specific health care issue. That means we are not offering advice on health-care problems. If you are experiencing a health-care problem, it is important to seek the advice of a health professional. However we are experienced, practicing vegans and we look forward to coaching you on your journey..
Hi Davis,
Congrats on taking this journey. For me dairy is also the greatest challenge-and where I struggle internally the most.
I look forward to following your discussion!
Welcome Davis! Enjoy this 5-day experience!
Hi everyone!
Well, I’ve been vegetarian for a long time, with brief stretches where I managed to eliminate dairy and eggs from my diet — but they’ve never lasted long, no more than a few weeks. I was living in New York City at the time, a good environment for it, and felt like I was moving in the right direction. Then I moved to the suburbs — to something very close to a food desert.
With eggs, I began to compromise by getting them from a friend who raised chickens. That made me feel a little better, although I would try not to think about what happened to his male chicks.
Cheese has been harder. I love the taste of cheese. I love cheese shops. I love nice cheeses from around the world. I love cheese on crackers, cheese on bread — you get the idea. And I’ve never found a cheese substitute I could get excited about — but I’m open to suggestions!
Davis, I wondered what it was about NYC that made it so much easier for you to follow a vegan lifestyle. Was it the amazing eateries or were there other factors?
The food was definitely a big part of it, but I think the supportive community in NYC was the biggest factor. Many of my friends were vegan and even more — maybe even most — were vegetarian.
(Between living in NYC and Connecticut, I lived in a small town in Missouri, which was even worse; more than once I got the question, “You can eat chicken, right? Chicken is vegetarian?”)
It truly is helpful to have support and to be able to be around like-minded people. Have you checked into whether or not there are any veg meetups in your area? I also don’t live in an area where there are that many vegans or vegetarians but I have found amazing and inspirational support groups on FB (like TGIOM!)
Do you live anywhere near Bridgeport? There is a wonderful veg restaurant there –
https://www.bloodroot.com/
Hi Davis! Welcome to the the GFJ!
We’re so glad you are willing to share your personal journey this week, and explore ways to get back to a vegan lifestyle. You’re aware of the ethical issues, and practicalities, and it’ll be wonderful to share some of your thoughts about this along the way.
So, you LOVE cheese! I think for most vegans this is the most challenging food to let go of, and find substitutes that are satisfying. Have you tried Tree Line cheese?
https://treelinecheese.com
Several friends of Ghosts are raving about it!
Let us know your thoughts, and hopefully others will make some suggestions and share thoughts as well.
Treeline Cheese looks great, and it’s made in New Paltz, so maybe I can find it nearby! I’m going to look into it and see if I can get it for this week. (Actually, looks like they’re not available at stores yet — do you know if I could get it some other way?)
Side note: When I’ve tried to eliminate cheese before, I frequently go “cold turkey,” as there are some dishes I enjoy without cheese. When I cook at home, my favorite things to make are Mexican / Tex-Mex / Southwestern food. (I have no connection to the area, but I just love the taste.) I find a lot of my carnivore friends are shocked that it can be done vegetarian, but looking through my recipes, virtually all of them could also be vegan.
Hi Davis!
Welcome to Day1! You can get the Treeline Cheese at the most amazing shop in New Paltz:
https://www.lagustasluscious.com/shop/
I don’t know if Lagusta is only selling it in the shop or is shipping yet – but it would be worth the trip to New Paltz to buy in person. Vegan chocolates, vegan cupcakes, vegan ice cream! And she makes her own miso and tempeh and sells it at the shop too!
Hi Davis,
I think it’s hard to get excited about cheese substitutes at first. But if you start slowly, using Daiya cheese on pizzas for example, you can slowly get yourself away from the addiction to dairy. I have found that the longer I am away from dairy products the less I like them. And now I get excited about cheese substitutes! I tasted a non dairy havarti on the weekend and went week in the knees! It will happen.
Welcome to the journey.
You raise a great point Judy, about the addiction aspects of dairy. There is a reason for casomorphine, and why it draws calves back to their mothers. T. Colin Campbell writes about the addiction qualities of cheese in his book, The China Study. Not to mention the bombardment of advertisements everywhere for dairy.
It’s no wonder so many people keep going back for more!
I would definitely describe it as something like an addiction for me. (This is from coming from someone who has struggled with nicotine addiction as well.) I almost described it as that in my first post. I don’t think I could ever get over the taste of cheese, though a substitute would help. But I think it’s important that I get to the point I can realize the harmful effects it has on others who are NOT me, and gather the willpower and make the clear decision that their lives are more important than my taste palate!
I don’t think that I ever had an addiction to cheese, so in many ways it has probably been a lot easier for me to eliminate dairy. I was so horrified when I learned about the treatment of dairy cows on factory farms that it all became very simple for me. When I found out that the babies are taken away from their moms, I was devestated.
There are some eye opening photos taken by Jo-Anne McArthur which chronicle a day at a Dairy Farm
https://www.weanimals.org/gallery.php?id=90
Hooray Davis! Congratulations for taking the Ghosts free journey. You are in great hands with Rosemary and Donna and the entire Ghosts community. I transitioned to veganism many, many years ago from vegetarianism, and honestly, when I knew the truth, and really, really reflected on the information, my body just started rejecting all animal products. For me it was the connection of my intellect and emotions that led the way. Good luck with your journey…for the Ghosts!
Thanks for your support, Lorena! I like the description of the connection between your intellect and emotions. That strikes a chord. I’ll try to follow your lead and let that be my guide as well…
Here is an article that I think may be fitting for your struggle with taste vs. ethics. Hang in there, Davis…..it’s a process.
https://www.thisveganlife.org/i-couldnt-give-up-cheese-so-i-gave-up-animal-cruelty-instead/
Hi Davis. Yes, I understand how you feel about cheese. It is a delicious and fun world of taste. I don’t crave it anymore. For me, I decided to quit dairy a year ago because of Fanny, a former dairy cow (see photo at the top of this page). She is featured in the documentary, and our cameras were there on her rescue day. The film follows her development over the course of a year. She went from being a spent, beat up and fearful dairy cow to becoming a happy healthy friendly and remarkable cow. She lives at Farm Sanctuary in upstate New York. For me, I just think of her and I don’t want to partake in that industry – so she has literally been a moral compass for me. I want to also add that quitting dairy has improved my health in a few very obvious ways. I don’t think everyone knows when they are allergic to dairy, but I believe I was. Finally, I will add that perhaps you will cut out dairy altogether, and perhaps you will cut down on it, whatever you decide, I think you will feel better for it, both physically and spiritually.
I can’t wait to see the documentary! I wish I had opportunities to interact more often with cows and other animals caught in the system. I think it would have a huge impact. When they’re so distantly removed from my direct experience, it’s easy to forget about them or to “abstract” them like we tend to do with so much other far-away suffering. I’ve wanted to visit Farm Sanctuary for some time now, as I have some friends who were involved with them for years. I’ve heard so much good stuff about the work they do.
If you have a chance to visit Farm Sanctuary, you should definitely go! There is less distance there, (physically, emotionally, and spiritually)as you’ll be able to commune with farm animals and connect in a profound way (at least it is in my experience). I think the direct relationship is very powerful and can be the impetus for shifts in our lives.
Rosemary, I just talked it over with my wife and we’ll be going to Farm Sanctuary Friday! (Or maybe a closer one, like one of the ones Danielle mentioned.) I feel like meeting some rescued animals and getting to know them in person will be a good way to wrap up my Ghost-Free Journey.
How fantastic, Davis! What a great way to end the week! I Friday is only the end of your journey as it takes place on this website – this community will be here for you whenever you want or need it.
There is a lot to be said for meeting our animal friends and putting faces and personalities to the products that are sold as commercial goods.
We are looking forward to hearing all about your experiences at Farm Sanctuary (or one of the others -Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary also has a B&B that you can stay at).
Hi Davis!
Wonderful to meet you! If ever you’d like to meet rescued farmed animals, closer to you are Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary and Catskill Animal Sanctuary. In fact, there is a Thanksliving Celebration at Woodstock October 14th!
I’m looking forward to your journey here 🙂 I should say that cheese and I were best friends before I went veg. The break-up was ugly because it was hard for me to stay away. I pretty much stayed away from cheese, then I found Daiya. I had a smile from ear to ear!
Thanks Danielle! Okay, I’m going to pick up Daiya tomorrow and try it. Maybe I’ll make pizza…
And if I don’t make it to Woodstock this weekend, I’ll keep an eye out for that celebration in October. Sounds great!
That’s wonderful Davis! I remember my first trip to the farm. I rested my head on the massive chest of one of the rescued dairy calves, he was over 20 years old, no longer a calf. I could feel his heart beneath my head as it rose and fell with each breath he took. Feeling his breath on me was magic. That magic is at every sanctuary.
To me, the magic lies in the animals ability to forgive a species that nearly cost them their lives, one who too often does so without a second thought. It’s truly beautiful. I’m certain you will enjoy the trip!
Liz, what a powerful and life-changing experience for you. It seems that people often make this intense connection when they come face to face with the life of an individual (“food animal”), and relate and connect to his or her life as sentient. Somehow, reading about the plight of the dairy cow or seeing photos of a factory farm doesn’t quite have the impact that an individual relationship has. Wonder how others feel about this??
wow, Davis, that is fantastic! It will absolutely be an important factor in your journey to reconnect with living, breathing, rescued farm animals. Hooray!
I’m going to go grocery shopping after work today… Anyone have any advice? I prepared a little bit last week by trying to check ingredients, which is something I’ve never done before. My wife can help a little, but I wonder if there’s anything I should watch out for.
Also, I’ve found some Daiya available in my area so tonight I’m going to try a homemade vegan pizza!
some of the common milk derivatives that might show up are casein and whey.
What do you usually buy when you go shopping – are there some specific items that you are trying to find substitutes for?
Also, here is a link to an article about non-vegan food ingredients:
https://www.vrg.org/nutshell/faqingredients.htm
I think it depends on the type of food you want to eat and cook with, but in general, I’d recommend easy to prepare and whole food when possible. Things like grains (brown rice, quinoa), lentils, beans, and lot’s of veggies and fruit for basic foundation. Building from there with recipes by adding condiments and other sauces is easy! Check out the Resources (food) under the GFJ page above for some great site and ideas. Good luck!
My tip for pizza: I bake the dough a little bit before I prepare it with the toppings. It makes it perfect and crunchy 😀
For Shopping: The first couple of trips take a little bit of time. Many veg cheeses have casein in them, which is a dairy bi-product. Sometimes I check the “Allergen” part of the ingredients first, that’ll tell you quickly if you’ve got dairy or eggs. A trick I showed my mom was to check the nutritional info, if there’s cholesterol, there’s animal products. It doesn’t take too long for your eyes to skim and find ingredients you don’t want. OH! And some products have a little “V” on them, that’s the easiest way to know if something is vegan 😀
I’m looking forward to seeing how it goes.
Daivs, I can’t wait to find out how you made out with the vegan pizza and your food shopping trip. I am about to head home to make something for dinner – thinking of doing a very quick and easy potato and kidney beans curry, I’ll check back later!
Yes! Let us know how the shopping trip went, and what you wound up making for dinner.
I’m also curious what others have done (cooking) when going from vegetarian to vegan, and learning to cook without eggs, cheese and milk?
We actually ended up making very tasty vegan enchiladas — so I hope I didn’t disappoint all the pizza-lovers, but not to worry, they’re on the menu for tomorrow night. It was a great first day! I’ll see everyone tomorrow morning.
Hi Davis and everyone else reading this thread ~
Here is a link to some delicious vegan recipes from some of the previous Ghost-Free Journey participants. check it out:
https://www.theghostsinourmachine.com/ghost-free-recipes/