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Mid-Hudson Vegetarian Society, Inc.
38 East Market Street, Rhinebeck, New York 12572 USA -
845-876-2626
Vegetarian - Vegan - Animal Rights - Health - Nutrition - Environment
The mission of the Mid-Hudson Vegetarian Society, Inc. is to promote the vegetarian ethic in the Mid-Hudson (New York) region, educate the community and aid anyone in the pursuit of a totally vegetarian (vegan) cruelty-free and healthful lifestyle.
Newsletters
Spring 2003 Special Edition: Recipes for Peace
My Vegetarian Journey
by Claudette M. Webster
My journey towards vegetarianism began gradually. I was an avid runner and although not a marathoner, I enjoyed the high of running and the benefits it gave to my body, mind, heart and spirit. Thus when I embraced running in the mid-eighties and began running on an almost regular basis three or more times a week, I began to notice little but significant ways in which what I ate affected my body. Pasta was the food of choice for runners so I ate less and less meat-oriented products so as to be as fit and healthy as I could. Another contributing factors was that over the years, I had noticed the fat content of most meat products that was brought into our home and I determined to trim as much of the fat as possible from our foods. This was a greasy and unpleasant process but it made me feel better about the ways in which I was contributing to my family’s health.
In the early 1990’s, I went to live in Virginia Beach, Virginia for a short time. During that time, I visited the Association for Research and Enlightenment (A.R.E.) wherein many of the manuscripts of the works of Edgar Cayce are housed. (Edgar Cayce has been described as the father of holistic medicine.) It was during this time that I took another leap toward vegetarianism not only as a health choice, but also as a spiritual journey. I was introduced to aromatherapy and meditation, and began to eat more plant-based food. I read, wrote, meditated and enjoyed the natural wonder of the ocean during my six months stay. It was an enlightening experience.
In the almost ten years since then, I have continued to embrace vegetarianism. Recently, I went out to lunch with a friend and he ordered quiche and I had a hummus sandwich. He nodded and exclaimed, "Yes, you’re on your way to being a vegan." Perhaps, I don’t know. Eggs have rarely been a part of my diet in the past ten years. Like cheese and cheesecake and all those things that I used to love but no longer eat, it is a thing of the past, like old loves, lost friendships. In the past six months, I have begun to embrace organic foods and that is another part of the journey that I don’t think would have happened if I had not moved to into the region, met Joan Zacharais, and joined the Mid-Hudson Vegetarian Society. When I arrived here, if someone asked, I would say I am 80% vegetarian. Now, I can say I am 90% vegetarian. I am 100% human but I like to leave room for the unexpected.
We look forward to
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