My Pilgrimage - Jim Weiland
Articles Reflecting a Vegan Lifestyle From All-Creatures.org

Vegan lifestyle articles that discuss ways of living in peace with humans, animals, and the environment.


FROM

Jim Weiland, Peaceable Table
March 2017

Just a few years ago I began checking out animal compassion. I grew up having dogs and horses but never considered myself as an "animal lover." To be honest, I always thought people that didn't eat meat and went ga-ga over animals to be weird. Little did I know that I was becoming one of them. It's a natural fit that when you quit eating animals, you start liking them more.

tweiland vegans
Jim and Jan Weiland with furry friends Carob, Sootie, and Ethan

It's interesting how many of us place others in categories that seem to fit our prejudices. Certainly someone who supports animal compassion is young, skinny, liberal in his/her politics, hates sports, and is New-Age-like when it comes to religion. Well, I am lean but that's due to my change of diet over seven years ago. Until then I was pretty pudgy. It was at that time I stopped “cold tofurky” eating all animal products (aka became vegan).

This came about when I watched an almost three hour video from Hallelujah Acres' George Malkmus. After this my wife Jan and I became health ministers with this organization and several years later I became a certified Naturopath, Master Herbalist, and Health Counselor. I'm fast approaching my sixty-seventh birthday and feeling very healthy, taking no drugs, and my vitals look great. My almost-sixty-five-year-old wife does even better.

Just a few years ago I began checking out animal compassion. I grew up having dogs and horses but never considered myself as an "animal lover." To be honest, I always thought people that didn't eat meat and went ga-ga over animals to be weird. Little did I know that I was becoming one of them. It's a natural fit that when you quit eating animals, you start liking them more. In fact, it seems strange to me that if a person eats animals (aka dead flesh), that he or she can really like them. I consider myself to be conservative in my politics, enjoy sports, fundamental in my faith, and still looking forward to the future while not hung up with the past. I can't think of one good reason why people should become vegan. . .I can think of five: 1) animal compassion; 2) health; 3) environment; 4) world hunger; and 5) the Bible--time began with humanity being vegan and will become so again upon Christ's return). To me, animal compassion is neither a liberal or a conservative view, as cruelty to any of God's creatures, whether it be human or beast, should not be tolerated nor should we support it. My taste buds have changed so much that I salivate whenever I think of various vegan meals and am repulsed at the idea of eating flesh.

Last Friday night my wife and I had a Nazarene pastor and her husband for dinner. We are also Nazarenes and admire John Wesley greatly. Most people (including Nazarenes) do not realize Wesley's views on health and animal compassion (see Pioneer, PT 131 ) . (After reading his book Primitive Physick written over 200 years ago, I was convinced that he had to be a Naturopath, as his view toward medical science closely matched my own.) Understand that the pastor was fifty-eight years old, a diabetic, trying to recover from a massive stroke less than two months ago, and is obese. It seemed to me that she would have embraced the ideas presented to her by us if for no other reason than to improve her health. But to our chagrin she flatly rejected them. Her faith is in medical doctors with all the drugs and surgeries they have to offer. I told her that last year we lost a lot of friends about her age due to sickness (all of them professing Christians). I'll be surprised if she lives too many years more; if she does it will be a life with pills, following one disease after another. We believe in the power of prayer but if we continue to test God we will discover that he "is not a respecter of persons." I suppose I need to remember how old I was at the time of my "conversion." (My mother-in-law was in her eighties when she became vegan--that’s another story. )

As we continue to look forward, we are planning to build a vegan health store with a cafe along with an animal sanctuary. If God will permit we hope to include RV's and cabins down the road.

For those who still eat animal products--including dairy which is terrible for your health--please be encouraged to make the change to a vegan diet. Don't make excuses; know there are many individuals and groups out there that will support you in your new venture. You'll feel good about yourself and you will also just feel good.


Return to Articles Reflecting a Vegan Lifestyle
Read more at Animals - Tradition - Philosophy - Religion