Welcome to the Veggin' Out blog

Cassandra Sherrill, graphic artist for the Journal: I need to confess something right off the bat: I’m not actually a true vegetarian in many vegetarians’ eyes. I’m what some call a pesce-vegetarian (and others might call a pesky vegetarian). In other words, I eat fish, but no beef, chicken or pork. I think of myself as mostly a vegetarian, but some say there’s no such thing – like being slightly pregnant.

I turned toward vegetarianism because of health as well as ethical reasons. I wanted to be kinder to my cranky digestive system, and also avoid the hormones and antibiotics given to animals raised for food. I also have a deep love for animals, and thinking about them being killed so that I can eat them makes me feel queasy.

It has been a gradual process for me. One year I gave up beef; the next, pork; and the next, poultry. I don’t have any plans to give up fish, but one day, I might decide to do that, too.

Julie Harris, Journal library director: My main reason for being vegetarian is for the animals – I don’t even like to bite into a chocolate Easter Bunny, much less contribute to the horrors inflicted upon real, live animals…. So I try to learn as much as possible about animal-rights issues. My goal is to go completely vegan. (A vegan diet excludes eggs and dairy products as well as meat. Vegans also avoid the use of such animal products as leather and fur.) I see vegetarianism as a journey, as a way to get from the world as it is now to what it ought to be: a place of peace and plenty for all creatures.

But going veg also turned me into a "foodie." There is so much variety and beauty in the vegetable kingdom, and so many delicious new tastes to be discovered. Now I read cookbooks like novels, and enjoy trying new things all the time.

We'll be updating this blog twice a week, on Tuesdays and Fridays. We may post on other days for special occasions or if there is late-breaking news we think you'd like to know about quickly.

Well, enough about us; let’s talk about you. Won’t you tell us a little bit about yourself, and what interests you most about vegetarianism?