We feel a lot better not eating meat.

lost 60 lbs, maintained it, improved my blood chemistry, feel great, and satisfied with my new way of eating

I am vegetarian and not vegan, so I eat dairy products. I love cheese and eggs which also have a lot of protein.

I'll still eat animal-derived products under certain circumstances:
a) I'm absolutely certain it came from an non-factory farm, ethical source
b) If in consuming it I in no way contribute to the demand for factory-farmed products.

So far I've encountered situation a when a coworker brought me a few eggs from her neighbors backyard chicken.
And I encountered b) when a friend gave me a leftover piece of chicken that they would have otherwise thrown away.
If she had bought it with the intention of giving it to me I wouldn't have taken it, but we weren't that good of friends.

I do eat chicken from factory-farm, it is the cheapest, but I eat very little. nevertheless, I know I shouldn't. But am on food stamps and have to eat cheap.

my one consolation is that if everyone ate as much flesh food as I do, the factory farms would close.

I call it going "welfare mode" and eat beans, whole grains, and cheap root veggies and winter squash until it's over. It's a healthy diet, it just gets boring really fast and I know how to cook that stuff to make it taste good.

The last time, I discovered powdered eggs. They'd taste lousy reconstituted and scrambled, but they worked really well holding bean loaves and burgers together. I couldn't afford flax gel or even flax seed.

And yes, you have to eat what you ca get.

For my husband and me, mostly vegan, my weekly shopping is between $50 and $75. I do have quite a store of dry goods like rice and beans on hand, and some canned goods, spices, etc. already. My grocery cart gets filled with fresh produce, bread, non-dairy milk, and things like cat food and paper towels. We shop farmer's markets in summer and grow a few things, and have apple trees in our yard, which I'm harvesting right now for applesauce and sliced apples for the freezer.

I even avoid a lot of the "fake" meat items, because I don't think isolated soy protein is such a good thing. Historically, people in Asia ate tofu, soy sauce, tempeh, but not processed soy, so I'm suspicious. Anyway you can make a really good veggie burger without it using mushrooms and oats.

I'm not advocating for meat. I eat very little meat.

But in my supermarket - maybe depends on the part of the country - I'm in NJ - i could buy a whole chicken (I wouldn't!) for a few dollars.

One organic cauliflower head costs. $ 4 or $5.00

as far as eating non-organic vegies, I do, - if I didn't, I would eat very little fruits and vegies - but I wonder if I am doing myself more harm than good, considering what is in them..

of course if we can grow things, that is the best, not everyone can.

I don't routinely buy organic vegetables, except for celery, which is at the top of the dirty dozen list. And strawberries because they are at the top of the fruit list. And wow do they ever taste better than non-organic strawberries.

Ever notice that most of the store coupons are for dairy or meat foods? You do when you don't buy them anymore. But that's okay, I'm still saving money.

I planted a strawberry patch the other year, and it is yielding some fruit. And tomatoes and squash usually do well. But the farmer's market is where we get the best stuff in summer.

We had a friend a few years ago from Tunisia. He very seriously asked us why Americans who own homes with yards don't plant trees that bear fruit or nuts in every space they have. Why do they just grow decorative plants, he wondered. Hah--maybe some day we all will be doing that, if prices get too high!

And a reaction from local governments to criminalize the lawn-to-food movement.

You may have seen where some people have actually been arrested for growing food on their lawn, and for sharing food with their neighbors!

Of course. Where would Monsanto et al be if people didn't saturate their front yards with toxic chemicals so they could have a "beautiful" lawn.

I agree about strawberries. I am on food stamps, so $6.99 a pint for organic strawberries is way over budget, but one day I splurged.
They are delicious!

I like to buy at farmer's market. We have one in my town which is very popular, people come from some distance to shop here. Some of them even accept food stamps. And even tho most of the vendors cannot label their produce organic, they say they use as little pesticide as possible.

so that is something. And as we consumers demand no pesticides that will make a difference.

Let us know how you're feeling along the way. I hope you feel an improvement.