Oprah's Vegan Adventure

Excitement in the online world of vegetarians and vegans has increased a bit this week. World famous Oprah Winfrey was affected by comments made in a book by Kathy Freston regarding what she calls "conscious eating." In her blog Oprah says:

"Conscious eater. That struck a nerve. I had recently come to the conclusion that after spending weeks reading and rereading A New Earth and being on line with Eckhart Tolle that bringing a higher level of awareness to my eating was the solution I'd been avoiding. My idea of a conscious eater, however, was not quite the same as Kathy's. I thought it meant not allowing yourself to eat emotionally and filling the void of anxiety with food, as I've struggled with for years. I thought it meant taking your time, making healthy choices and chewing slowly—being conscious of every bite and not scarfing down a meal and then thinking about the next one. That is one level of consciousness. But what she talks about in her book is a higher level. She speaks of "spiritual integrity." How can you say you're trying to spiritually evolve, without even a thought about what happens to the animals whose lives are sacrificed in the name of gluttony? So this 21-day cleanse gives me a chance to think about it differently and see what my attachments are to certain kinds of foods—and what I'm willing to do to change."

Every vegetarian e-newsletter I received has mentioned it. I'm not sure what they're expecting to happen, but I suppose Oprah has promoted many a cause, pushing it into the limelight at least. As a "conscious eater" myself I can't deny that it would make me very happy to know that a few more people are choosing a veggie lifestyle for whatever reason. The average vegetarian saves the lives of 95 animals per year. I see that as 95 fewer miserable lives and miserable deaths.

Kathy Freston is new to me. She has written several books and calls herself a "Conscious Living Therapist." She's making the rounds on daytime TV interview shows. Here's the book Oprah read that lead to her 21 day experiment. I plan to check in on her blog periodically. I wish her well!