We had two sets friends in from out of town last week and over the weekend. One came for a funeral. The other came for fun. We had a wonderful time visiting with both, and we ate out at restaurants more than we usually do. I was able to find delightful beneficial food everywhere we went. One avoid snuck in unexpectedly, but that will have to wait for another blog. Today I’m reminiscing about a conversation yesterday at school.

The librarian – a Type A who integrates a lot of BTD principals into her diet – grabbed me in the hall and said there was a student in the library doing internet research about being a vegan. She wanted me to talk to her.

The girl does not know her blood type. She thinks her mother said she was something with a B in it, but she didn’t remember if it was B or AB. She told me that the reason she wants to be a vegan is not because of health or weight issues. She just loves animals and thinks it’s wrong to mistreat them.

I agreed with her on both points. I love animals and don’t want to see them mistreated. But I also said that if you go back to the Bible, God created animals for many purposes and one of them was a food source. I can say that in a Christian school – I’d probably be fired in a public school.

I told her that if she wasn’t a Type A, that she would probably not be happy or healthy long term on a vegetarian diet. She said that she hadn’t eaten meat in 3 years, and that she felt fine. I began to talk about essential amino acids, and that everyone including vegetarians must have protein. I encouraged her to look into food combining.

I reminded her that vegan came from the same root word as vegetable, and that she needed to be careful to get most of her foods from vegetables, fruits, and legumes. I began to suspect that when she stopped eating meat, she began to eat what was easily available – bread, candy, and potato chips. Beware, I said, of too much starch and sugar.

She countered with concern about hormones and antibiotics in meat. I agreed, but added that meats are not the only foods altered and changed by food processors. I asked if she knew about GMO and pesticides that affect the quality of grains. She did not know. I told her that white flour, white rice and other highly processed food could actually be worse for her than the meat that she was afraid of. I told her that if she was going to be a healthy vegan or vegetarian, it would involve lots of research and planning.

Eventually the conversation worked its way back to her primary concern – her love for cute animals. I reminded her that it is possible to buy naturally raised beef, lamb, and poultry. I don’t always do it because of the expense – but if that is her main concern, it is not hard to find in our area. By then there were several students gathered around listening, and one asked whether dogs went to heaven. Everyone had a strong opinion about that topic.

I said that I was very cautious to be dogmatic in areas where the Bible was silent. The Bible says that God created all of the animals. The Bible says that a sparrow doesn’t fall to the ground without God knowing and caring. But the Bible says nothing about animals in the afterlife. I am content to know that God’s plan for animals is good, even though I have no idea what it is.