Resources For Plant-based Living

Here's a list of documentaries you may want to see if you're thinking about trying a healthy plant-based lifestyle. I will warn you. The last ones on the list are very disturbing, disgusting, and sad. I almost wish I never saw them, but these do need to be seen. Just to be fair, I will mention that parts of some documentaries seem to use debatable information or include opinions presented as facts. Overall, I believe this list offers a great introduction to the lifestyle, can help people see why people like me eat they way we do, and offers reasons to be more mindful about food and the systems that create it.

Food, Inc.
Veducated
Eating You Alive
Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead
What The Health
Secret Ingredients
Genetic Roulette - The Gamble of Our Lives
In Defense of Food
Supersize Me
Forks Over Knives
Fed Up
Food Choices
Hungry For Change
Sugar Coated
Cowspiracy
Speciesism
Meet Your Meat
Earthlings

Introduction

Hello to everyone! Welcome to Monk Island. My focus is on easily prepared meals, cheap foods, take-out foods, snacks, restaurant meals, and any food that could be good for plant eaters who are traveling or can't cook. I'm not a vegan chef or nutritionist. I'm not here to debate issues or criticize people who are unlike myself. I'm not rich or famous. I'm just an active individual who really enjoys sharing photographs of food, and my food of choice is vegan. Take from it whatever you choose.

My goals for this blog are to:

• present photographic documentation of my food with some comments
• share useful information with current and potential vegans
• present evidence that a plant-based diet can be fun, inexpensive, and easy
• promote a positive view of veganism
• educate anyone interested in plant-based eating
• present occasional essays on related subjects
• spread information about plant-based products
• present restaurant reviews from the perspective of a vegan

You may want to know about me. I live in the south-eastern United States of America (a vegan food desert). I discontinued consumption of pigs in 1987, birds in 1989, then cows and eggs in 1995. I became a vegan in 2009. My gradual transition was effortless. My desire for animal-based foods is completely gone. The greatest challenge is being a social anomaly, but I have absolutely no regrets. I'm healthier now than I've ever been. Cognitive dissonance associated with food, cleanliness, and my friendship with animals is now resolved. Eating is much more simplified with fewer choices, naturally ready-to-eat foods, and clearer boundaries for what is "food". I can taste my food better because my sense of taste has adjusted to appreciate the subtleties of nature. Becoming a vegan is one of the greatest things I've ever done for myself.