Peter Thurley loves meat. If you don’t understand that, the rest of this post won’t mean a thing. He also loves his new job at the Children’s Foundation which supports Food and Friends a children’s nutrition and breakfast program that funds 80 programs in Wellington, Dufferin, and Guelph.
Peter is one of my Facebook friends. About a month ago, he asked people what he should give up for a week as part of the Livefree campaign. He would pick one suggestion for what he should give up for a week to raise funds for Food and Friends.
I challenged him to go vegan for a week, giving up milk, eggs and meat for 7 days. I would give him 10 dollars for everyday he can do it. Peter picked my challenge, knowing that as a meat eater this would be very hard for him but would also remind him of the kids whose only food in a day might be the breakfast of a nutrition program.
Along with the members of my church, All Saints Anglican, I am a volunteer at the Cedarbrae breakfast club and have not only served hot breakfasts but also made up bagels and veggies for kids who do not have a lunch either. I am also going to give 70 dollars to Nutrition for Learning, our Waterloo Region breakfast program.
So why vegan? My oldest daughter has been a vegetarian for many years. Lately, I have been trying to get my eating into some kind of sensible order and I have also discovered I am very lactose intolerant. I am not vegan but I do eat less meat, fish and eggs. It is also amazing how many products have milk products, particularly whey in them! I can still eat a bit of certain cheeses, but not too much!
What I hope Peter, who is a blogger and tweeter, will learn from this exercise is what a shock it is when you begin to read packaged food and fast food labels. I don’t expect he will become a vegan. It’s a pretty hard row to hoe unless you are dedicated or it is your religion.
But there is a world of great meatless meals out there. So far he’s just eating the veggies so must be pretty hungry. I am making up a care package of yummy vegan meals for his wife and him this week-end.
To donate to Peter’s fundraiser, go here: http://www.livefreewdg.ca/live-free-life/2012-participants/peter-thurley
Update! Here is the Live Free Waterloo Region that I will be donating to as well. http://www.livefreewaterloo.ca/ Thanks Kathi Smith for this info. Kathi is going meatless until the end of March for Live Free Waterloo
For more about vegans, Google has a good range of recipe sites. (Most vegetarians use vegan recipes otherwise you get a life of constant cheese)Toronto Vegetarians website is fixed. Here is their veggie challenge. http://veg.ca/content/view/26/56/
Jane Mitchell's Blog 
What a GREAT post! You and I have similar eating restrictions–no dairy for me, which has inevitably led me down a path into veganism. Never have I eaten better and LOVED cooking in the kitchen. My creative juices came to life when I “restricted” my diet. But I really love how you said that you aren’t expecting Peter to become a vegan but to be aware of the food he is putting into his body–this is the best gift anyone can give to their friends. It’s all about small step-by small step to change patterns, right? xo!