[Joseph's Mama]

Hello all!

This is an interesting discussion! I just wanted to add my two cents here. I was vegan for three years, and raw for a year... I was totally into the philosophy of not eating animal products for all the ethical/spiritual reasons.... but physically they were the worst three years of my life. But I guess I am just "one of those" who despite it all, still feels better with a small ammount of meat in my diet, in addition to mostly raw vegetables, nuts, seeds, and fruit. I do eat meat cooked though, and usually with rice. I know I need the variety that meat provides, since I don't really tolerate grains (besides rice) and definitely don't tolerate dairy. I experimented with raw meat but it just seemed yucky. This for a while I felt difficult to justify spiritually, until I realized I wasn't functioning - not working, not able to really do anything - I was SO tired and SO plagued by brain fog it was impossible to do anything but lay on my parent's couch. Now I figure this was all just a part of pre-diabetes ... but even giving raw another try I still can't get all vegan - there's just not enough to eat that's affordable as far as fats and proteins and doesn't really satisfy. I believe in the possibility of it for me someday, and I know that meat eating is not for everyone, but I guess that's just been my experience. That said - ducks are fantastic to raise - very entertaining little creatures!! The eggs are rich and the ducks clean up our yard and kitchen waste real good! Get rid of all the bad bugs and slugs in the garden. You really don't need to do anything special except buy laying mash or deer corn, provide a kiddie pool of water, a fenced area, and get the Pekin ducks because they are too big and fat to fly away. With four hens we got 2-4 eggs a day, and I've eaten them both raw and cooked.