THE CONTROVERSY OF LABELS - Separating and Dividing Ourselves By What We Eat!

Omnivore, Herbivore, Vegetarian, Ovo-Vegetarian, Lacto Vegetarian, Lacto-Ovo Vegetarian, Vegan, Pollotarian, Pescatarian, Raw Foodist, Breatharian....Am I missing anyone?

People really love their labels.  It seems to help people decipher who is who, what someone does, and what we can expect from them.

Food is a huge part of almost everyone's life.
Some people will eat almost anything, others are more discerning, others simply picky.
Some people have health issues or food allergies that dictate their food intake.
And some have ideas that keep them locked into a diet they believe will serve them best.

Our ideas about food often dictate our experience, and I think talking about our choices is of great value.  I'm bringing up this subject here on Steemit to discuss mostly our ideas about food, and the judgment that may accompany them.

In general, people have a lot of judgment on and about food...this is good, this is bad, this is right, this is wrong, this is best, this is worst, this is how people should eat and this is how they shouldn't.  Often these ideas are placed on others, believing that we have the best perspective, or even place them on ourselves and then feel guilty we do not live up to our own standards.

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Many people gravitate to the @gardenofeden where I live and thrive.  
We have a couple of really top notch chefs, one of which I consider myself to be.
We grow a football field-size garden and many raised beds, we also have fruit trees and bushes,
nut trees and an abundance of naturally grown, uncultivated plants.

A sweet little pomegranate growing in the @gardenofeden.


It is extremely apparent that we eat healthy, high-vibe food, and share it prolifically with others,
including the homeless, local businesses, firemen, single mothers, and families in need,
as well as all those who pass through the gates at the Garden of Eden.

Often people form ideas that because we grow much of our own food,
we must have only organic food, that we are vegetarians or vegans,
and that meat is something that we, as wholesome and vibrant, high-vibe people, do not eat.

Blackberry bushes bursting with nutrition.

There are lots of expectations that people build up in their minds that eventually come to the surface.
We have had families uproot their entire existence to come be a part of our community,
basing their entire move on their assumptions of the food realities here,
only to be faced with the shattering of their uninformed images about us.  We have had people attempt to argue and belittle us, especially on the internet, because they are so staunch in their own viewpoints.

Now generally this upset does not come from meat eaters who eat most everything.  Meat eaters make poke fun at others who have a more focused diet, but generally go on their merry way at eating whatever they please.  In my experience, some "vegetarians" who believe eating meat is unethical, think others should be vegetarian too.  But, what I've noticed in my vast experience with many people and their eating habits, the most judgment comes from some strict "vegans" who make their choices not to eat meat or any animal products based on what is right, wrong, good or bad.  As their lifestyle choices are quite impactful in many ways, watching others make decisions, that from their perspective appear to be barbaric or unhealthy for humans, animals and the planet, can be downright offensive.

I have not eaten meat for almost 25 years, but I do not consider myself a vegetarian.
I have had people judge me for not eating meat...
judge me for eating eggs and dairy products...
judge me for not consuming certain kinds of food...
and judge me for eating what they wouldn't choose.

Of course I have also had people agree with my perspective, support my choices, and some who don't care at all, but they aren't included in this topic of conversation.

One of my most joyous ways to share a meal, piece by piece by piece, a different combination with every bite....and of course, with my fingers!

I find that when we have judgment on things, we are assuming we are right.  Is it right to kill animals to eat?  Is it right to kill plants to eat?  Is it right to eat any products that come from animals?  Is it right to tell others how they should think about it and what they should put in their bodies?  The whole discussion of right and wrong, shoulds, have-tos and musts, is a great subject for another post.

Making my food choices based on my own experience, not on an idea or  label.

When I stopped eating meat, I didn't do it to save the animals, as I grew up where we raised our own food, including our own meat.  We also ate wild game, and fish we caught ourselves to feed our family and nourish our bodies.  I stopped eating meat because I felt it was hard to digest and decided for just one day to not eat meat.  Feeling so good felt better and better, so I continued my in-the-moment decision until many days went by and meat no longer was a priority or a desire in my life.  I don't call myself a "vegetarian", I just simply make the choices that are best for me for right now, and I don't hold myself to any standard, diet or idea according to a label.

I don't try to convince anyone else what would be good for their body, and I don't try to make them feel bad for the choices they make for their own lives.  I feel everyone's body is different, their requirements for health are their own, and they can choose whatever is optimal for their own situation.

Now I also don't condone the way we treat animals that go to market.  I don't condone the mistreatment, torture or abuse in their breeding, raising or their slaughtering.  Actually, the way we treat life in general on this planet is pretty disturbing to me, but I do my part to not contribute to that reality as much as I possibly can.  I also feel that the energy that goes into the meat from such abuse is what goes into our bodies.  So eating an animal that has been tortured or forsaken, does in no way interest me to be a part of my existence.  

It is also said that plants are conscious, as they respond to stimuli and to their environment.  I believe that eating plants that are grown and harvested with love makes for happier plants and healthier input into our human bodies, just as it would be with animals raised under loving conditions.  Since I have yet to be able to live on air and sunshine, I make the most conscious and empowered choices for my nutrition according to what my own experimentation and listening to my body dictates is the best for me, not on an idea or a label that would keep me in line.

With high-vibe nutrition for my body, I am fulfilled in my own experience.

I honor the choices of others and know that we as humans will only be healthier and more humane when we each make the choice to do so.  People can only see what they are ready to see, and belittling them or insisting that they change is really quite impossible anyway.

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Many people come through the @gardenofeden with all different types of dietary needs and desires.  We do not judge their choices or put our ideas about food upon them.  We don't tell them what to eat, coerce them, manipulate them or deprive them of their own choices. We are, after all, about responsible freedom!  You will see many posts where we serve meat, cheese, milk or eggs.  Our foods are home grown or sustainably harvested.  We receive many donations that would otherwise spoil and turn into waste, hence really honoring the life and death of the once living plants and animals we consume.

Onion, jalapenos, sweet banana peppers and cayennes ready for the Candied Jalapeno Pickles. The BEST!

Eating healthy foods like these meet my nutritional needs.  But one day, who knows if or when, I may decide to eat meat again, though I feel with all the options, I can make the decision as I go along.  In the meantime, I don't need to be defined by a label or make judgment on the choices I make or those of others.

I have experienced that using labels to describe ourselves actually doesn't really help us. Not only do our eating labels define us (as do political parties, country borders, illnesses, class and race), they even more powerfully also separate and divide us.  When we choose to just be, and allow others the same opportunity, we can erase the invisible yet nearly impermeable boundaries that make us appear to be so different.

Do you create your diet based on a label that is pre-determined on ideas, or do you make dynamic choices that change as you change, and bring value to your life?   Even if you do give yourself a label and live by the definition of it, I won't judge you about that either.  Everyone has their own way of finding their individual path.

I'd love to hear how your diet affects you,
and how it affects your relationship with others and with yourself.