WHY I am deciding to become a Non-Vegan Vegan: Part I of a series

You know what disgusts me the most? More than massive amounts of animals being shot up with hormones, standing in their own sh*t and then being slaughtered inhumanely in massive amounts?

The dairy industry.

Ever since I became a {nursing} mom 4.5 years ago, I stopped drinking cows milk cold-turkey. My kids also never drank cow's milk, even when the doctors were saying it was the only way (I found a new doctor). No, I didn't give up conventional yogurt or cheese or butter or chocolate. Yes I see how that makes zero sense.

In order for milk to be taken from an animal, that animal needs to be a mother. In order to make it a mother, it is usually artificially inseminated. Then, since the milk is obviously for us humans, not the baby calf (duh, humans are better), the calf is taken. If it is male, it is slaughtered and sold for veal. If it is female, it is destined for the same life as its mother. The animal is then milked, literally almost to death, by a machine, it's entire life. Once it's too old or useless, it's slaughtered and sold to fast food chains (which is probably why you can get a burger for $1 at McDs...)

ANYWAY, I digress, because my reasons for trying to be a non-vegan Vegan actually have much more to do with the environment than ethics...though ethics are a solid 2nd place.

What the hell is a non-vegan Vegan anyway? Its my own term referring to someone who wants to reduce their impact by about 90%, while never fully committing to never ever eating an animal product ever ever again. Because you see, I believe humans are meant to eat meat. We are omnivores. We have sharp teeth for cutting {meat} and flat teeth for chewing {plants}. I also believe that Velveeta cheese is a gift from the universe and the thought of boycotting it forever makes my heart twinge. Thirdly, I believe that the circle of life is natural. Animals kill and eat other animals. It's part of life. However the WAY in which humans kill other animals, with such superiority and disrespect, is cringeworthy (I am referencing factory farming - hunting is, in my opinion, natural and humane).

And the even BIGGER problem is what this is doing to the Earth, and what it could mean for the future of our species. Literally.

So there are a sh*t ton of human-issues surrounding climate change. We already know that. Trash, transportation emissions, energy use, etc etc. But according to a recent study, "A vegan diet is probably the single biggest way to reduce your impact on planet Earth, not just greenhouse gases, but global acidification, eutrophication, land use and water use." (https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/veganism-environmental-impact-planet-reduced-plant-based-diet-humans-study-a8378631.html; Referencing this study: http://science.sciencemag.org/content/360/6392/987)

One of the main reasons factory farming, beef and dairy in particular, is such a problem is because of the methane is produces. "Over 37 percent of methane emissions result from factory farming. Methane has a global warming potential 20 times higher than carbon dioxide." (http://www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/factory-farming-is-killing-the-environment/)

Here's another fun fact:
The transportation sector - I'm talking cars, planes, boats, trucks, ALL of it - is responsible for about 14% of total greenhouse gas emissions.
Factory farming emissions are responsible for 14.5-18%.
(https://www.epa.gov/transportation-air-pollution-and-climate-change; https://www.care2.com/greenliving/which-is-worse-for-the-planet-beef-or-cars.html)

Yes, factory farming has a greater impact on climate change than all of our transportation impacts COMBINED.

And what's at stake? Literally, life on earth. As of now, if the rate of over-fishing continues, we could have a complete collapse of the world's stock of seafood- COLLAPSE - by 2050. Guys, THAT'S IN OUR LIFETIME.

Anyway, I could sit here for hours giving you quotes and statistics and copying reference points but...I don't want to. It takes too much time and I need to go shopping for some veggie sausages and pick up my kids from Kita (where it's sausage day for breakfast by the way...liverwurst and salami...how ironic). I also want this topic to be in manageable-sized reading chunks for you.

My point is this: turning off the lights when we leave a room, not letting the water run, recycling and composting, biking more and buying hybrid cars...it matters, don't get me wrong. But we could make a GREATER impact, a MUCH GREATER impact on our world, our species, and the future of our children and grandchildren by eating FAR LESS MEAT AND DAIRY. And imagine if we could raise little {possibly non-vegan} vegans? They're the real future - let's educate them and set them up on the right path. I want to do better. I want to ACTUALLY make an impact, not just stand by. This is how I am choosing to do it.

Future posts on this topic will include:
- HOW I am working towards being a non-vegan Vegan
- Other {health} benefits of being a non-vegan Vegan
- How to get enough protein and nutrients while living the non-vegan Vegan lifestyle

It's too much for one post guys. It's just too much.

By the way, disclaimer: I am using the term non-vegan Vegan for fun. I don't like labels. I feel like they're restricting. Who knows how this will evolve for me, but for now, I am just trying to do better. If I can reduce my own family's impact by 80ish% while still sometimes enjoying chicken parm in Italy, brisket tacos in El Paso, Velveeta mac and cheese in the winter and salmon occasionally because I love it, then I will feel so damn successful. The thought of going cold-turkey into a vegan lifestyle has caused me to do NOTHING, so this, at least, is sustainable. However, that's a topic for another post :)

Leave me some love! What are your thoughts on eating less animal products? Is it something you want to do? If so, what is the biggest obstacle in your way to taking that first step? 

Getting Your Kids to Love Reading

Our babies are young, only 2 and 3, but they already LOVE to read. This is something that's been important to me from the start, and so I've intentionally put things in place to encourage a love of reading in our kids from the start. As a former elementary school teacher and lover of children and child development, I know the importance of reading ability in our society - and giving children the tools they need to build a love of reading EARLY will greatly benefit them in the future.

Here are some of my top tips for instilling the love of reading in your kiddos - I'm sure I will have many more tips to add as my children grow! In order of importance, here we go:

1) Create a cozy space just for reading in your home.

From the day our daughter was born we had a book nook. Our first one was behind our couch in our old home, right next to the window so we had natural light and could always see when Papi came home from work. In our current house, it's on the second floor in this empty space under the stairs, still with a window and natural light (cuz that's my thing). It doesn't matter where you have it - it could just be a corner of a bedroom. The important elements are a bookshelf or baskets with a variety of age-appropriate books, and blanks, pillows, stuffed animals and/or chairs and beanbags...anything to make it cozy and inviting. The options here are limitless!

Another tip that ties into this one is to start asking for books as gifts. Research some good ones, make an Amazon wishlist, and start sending it out when a birthday or holiday is approaching. You can also keep an eye on your local libraries - about 1-2 times a year, libraries clear their shelves and sell books very cheaply! Likewise, keep an eye on yardsale pages on Facebook, or simply ask friends with kids older than yours if they have any old books they'd like to pass on.

2) Make time for reading, every day.

For us, our daily reading time is before bed. It's routine, so when we don't have time for it the kids are naturally upset. Every night we all snuggle up in the book nook and read a variety or books with the kids. Sometimes they take turns choosing books while one parent reads, sometimes they each go with a separate parent and get to listen to all books of their own choosing, it really depends. The point is, it happens. Every night. Also, since I stay home with the kids, often times we will read together during the day also.
If your children are a little older (think 4 and up) you can start implementing independent reading time. This would be a time where everyone, you included, drops everything and sits down to read. In school this is often called DEAR (Drop Everything And Read, duh). This can range in time, from 10 minutes to 90 minutes, depending on you, your children's ages, and so many other things. It also ties into step 5 below, which is having your child see you read.

3) Go to the library regularly

Almost all libraries offer story time - if yours does, and you are available at that time, make it a priority! It is seriously one of the best ways to get your children familiar with the library in a way you can both share. I know this isn't a reality for every parent though, so just getting to the library, browsing the selections, and letting your child chose books he/she is interested in s a great motivator for kids! Bring some books home and have a special basket in your reading area for library books. Your child will be excited to exchange their books each week/month.

4) Be developmentally appropriate, but not too much. 

As stated above, it's super important to provide children with developmentally appropriate books. This means board books and repetitive language for toddlers, more involved stories with lots of pictures for young children ages 2-7, chapter books for ages 7 and up, etc. HOWEVER, children's auditory comprehension develops far faster than their ability to read, so what's also important is that whe you read books together, try to chose books one or two bar above where they are independantly. For example: My daughter is 3.5. She can't read on her own yet, but she can flip through pages and tell a storyin her head based on the pictures, and she can memorize books with short, repetitive language so once we've read them together enough times, she can "read" them on her own. However, she is now at the level where she can comprehend much more, and so we have started reading more folktales and fairy tales together, including ones with less pictures and longer text - sometimes even chapters. This provides a lot of opportunity to talk about new words, explain new concepts, and basically answer all of her "why' and "how" questions (which, I know, can be exhausting...but that's your child LEARNING, so do your best to answer their questions the best you can and never stop exposing them to new material!).

5) Love to read

I put this one at the bottom because, while it's important, I know some people just don't enjoy reading as adults, and I 100% believe that this won't necessarily impact your child's love of reading, IF you apply the above 4 steps. Also, "reading" to us looks different than it does for kids and different than it used to. With the use of tablets and eReaders, our children aren't always seeing us read books, they are seeing us staring at a screen. To them, it's no different than us using our phones or staring at a computer. So take note: SHOW them your eReader or tablet. Explain how it works and show them how to flip the pages. You may also want to download a children's digital book on Amazon and read it with them on your eReader or tablet so they understand the concept of reading using technology.

Obviously some of us are still using old-fashioned paper books ::gasp:: and that's fabulous - no extra work needed.

The point here is to read, something, anything, and have your children see you do it. Be a role model. Trust me, they are watching.

So that's it! My 5 top tips for creating readers. Have any to add to the list? Drop a comment below!