I am re-reading this book because it was highly influential in my decision to go vegan about 3 years ago. Cutting out animal products (I was already a vegetarian, so it was just eggs and dairy) was hard at first, but the results were just superb. I felt so much better physically – no more headaches, sinus issues, low energy. My skin was glowing and my body was lean.

Did you realize that humans are the only mammals who choose never to wean from milk? All other species of mammal drink their mother’s milk – and not milk from another species, mind you – until they reach maturity and are weaned. And yes, you don’t want to get me started on the ethics behind our nation’s very screwed-up dairy industry.

When I got pregnant with Poppy, I lost a lot of weight in the first trimester. Almost 20 pounds. When I could finally eat solids other than Jello around week 14, I had a lot of catching up to do weight-wise. My doctor advised putting dairy back into my diet for some healthy fat calories. Oh to eat cheese again! And ice cream! Mmmmm, the ice cream. How I had missed it.

So now, I am unpregnant and ready to go back to my vegan ways. As much as I dig the dairy, I just feel better when I don’t eat it. Soy ice cream is just fine by me. Really. No, really. Kind of.

For information on the benefits of a vegan diet, check out this site GoDairyFree.org