For the last two weeks, Savvy Veg's Judy K and new veg Lori B. have had a running conversation about vegetarian diet, nutrition, recipes, organic food, gm food, cooking, beans, tofu, soy, sprouting, cultured vegetables, protein, crockpots, veg transition, vegan ethics, gardening and much more.

About half way through, it struck me that these conversations could be helpful and entertaining for other Savvy Veg visitors, especially those going vegetarian for the first, second or third time. 'L.B.' tried vegetarianism 17 years ago, and couldn't continue. She thinks Savvy Veg is so helpful that she moved in and lives there now. L.B. is friendly, enthusiastic, thoughtful, articulate, and funny - I laughed, cried and cheered as she described her new vegetarian adventures.

Our conversations were mostly about being vegetarian in a non vegetarian world. We got into guilt, animal treatment and vegan ethics, finding organic produce, living with a non-veg, She turned me on to cultured veggies, I turned her on to sprouting. We shared war stories about trying to get vegetarian meals in restaurants. She inspired me to get serious about doing a vegetarian cooking directory right away - it's been in the planning stage forever.

Here's a sample conversation with Lori B.

L.B. Hi again Judy! I forgot to ask you something in my last email that I'm a bit concerned about. I wish I could buy organic produce but two things stand in the way - finances and availability. I live in the high desert in California and the one decent health food store has a very small produce department.

J.K. Are there any conventional grocers you could ask to bring in organic produce? Any farmers markets in the area? Or CSA's? Have you thought about taking up gardening?

L.B. Then there's the $$$ issue which I'm working on.

J.K. Just do the best you can, while avoiding those things that are more loaded with chemicals, and also genetically modified. Check out these sites for food lists: Food News and True Food Now

L.B. So what's my question you might be wondering? Well I guess I'm just worried if loading up on lots of conventionally grown veggies and fruits with all the yucky pesticides etc is not so healthy. (I guess not any worse than how I've been eating up til last Sunday - too much fast food and animal protein)

J.K. Conventional over organic isn't ideal, but better than doing nothing! Avoid processed food as much as you can - check labels. Buy organic when you get a chance. Be a catalyst for change, but realize you can only do what you can do.

Read Conversations With A New Vegetarian

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