This is a man who has put up with a lot. And even though it’s not his birthday anymore why not celebrate him one more time?

Pete Sawochka is my husband. There should be reason to celebrate right there with having to put up with me and my….well let’s say feisty ways.

When I went vegan in February 2012 Pete wasn’t for it at all. He was hoping I would finish my project and go back to my old ways of eating animals and animal byproducts. Pete told me things wouldn’t be fun anymore if I was a vegan. He said it wouldn’t be fun to cook or prepare any kind of food for me, it would be hard to find places we could eat at together and he just went on and on.

After 6 months of being a vegan, I’m happy to report that my frustrated man has actually become supportive of my decision to become a vegan. It’s become very important to him that when we go out to eat that we go somewhere that has vegan options. We’ve also started cooking together. I knew Pete liked stir fries and they have a lot of vegan options/alternatives you can do on their main dishes (like substituting tofu for chicken and eliminating egg altogether) so we’ve been cooking and eating the same dinners. He’s even come to love (hopefully) the avocado, tomato, hummus and sprout sandwich on vegan bread for lunch.

Did I mention breakfast? Poor Pete has a fit if he doesn’t get his “morning shake” as he calls it: almond (or coconut milk), chia seeds, 10 ice cubes, 3 bananas, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries and cocoa powder is Pete’s breakfast (and mine too). It’s very good and I highly recommend it.

If it wasn’t for his snacking, there are some weeks where Pete would eat 100% vegan. Pete snacks a lot on cheese. He always says that giving up meat wouldn’t be as hard as giving up dairy milk and dairy cheese would be. He’s obsessed with the cheese station at the Whole Foods we go to every week at Lincoln Park.

Pete has lost weight. If you see a svelte, slim figure pass by you, it might be Pete! He’s lost a lot of weight by cutting down on a lot of the meat and dairy in his diet. He eats way more vegetables and fruits than he ever did before. He even likes fun vegan recipes like the spiced banana pancakes we make.

Pete is a good husband by showing his support of his vegan wife. However he reaps some of the benefits of not eating a strong meat and dairy based diet he’s lost some weight, his clothes fit better and he has that vegan glow (even though men don’t really glow—he still has the glow)!

I’m sending out a big thank you to Pete for adapting to my lifestyle and not condemning me for staying vegan. You have no idea how much your acceptance means to me. It means even more to me that you participate with me and try to understand why I do what I do. If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t be where I am today with my veganism.

And this was all from a man that said, “Well I hope you don’t stay vegan at the end of your Very Vegan Valentine’s Day blog project.”

Support is always important when you are trying to do something. I hope you have someone by your side supporting you through whatever endeavors you may be going through.

Sara Sawochka

This is a re-post from the Mercy For Animals blog. Your tax dollars don’t just go to bail out banks. They go to bail out the animal agriculture industry. I hate that my tax dollars go to support something that I don’t believe in. Can you watch this video and still continue to support the meat industry? Or will you just turn away, not watch it, deny the situation exists and continue eating meat?

“Earlier this week, the Obama administration announced that it would buy up to $170 million-worth of meat products to bail out the animal agriculture industry from drought-induced profit losses. Associated Press reports, “The USDA plans to buy up to $100 million of additional pork products, $50 million of chicken, $10 million of lamb and $10 million of catfish.”

While the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) is more than willing to rake in a federal giveaway of a hundred million dollars, it strongly opposes federal laws, such as the egg industry reform bill, that aim to improve the lives of animals on factory farms. The NPPC seems to support federal involvement only when it benefits its bottom line.

Further, the pork industry continues to use, and defend, inhumane practices that are simply out of step with the values of the majority of America’s tax payers, such as confining pregnant pigs in gestation stalls so narrow the animals can’t turn around, lie down comfortably, walk, or engage in basic natural behaviors.

The governmental program is choosing to bail out cruel factory farmers instead of looking out for the best interests of animals, the environment, or consumers.

A recent Mercy For Animals undercover investigation at a Walmart pork supplier revealed some of these cruel practices that the USDA-protected animal agriculture industry tries so hard to keep hidden from the American public.

At this Walmart pork supplier, pregnant pigs are confined to filthy, metal gestation crates barely larger than their bodies, and sick and injured pigs with severe, bleeding wounds or infections are left to suffer without veterinary care.

While MFA continues to expose the cruelties inherent in pork production, ultimately consumers hold the greatest power to end the needless suffering of animals by switching to a compassionate vegan diet. Visit ChooseVeg.com to learn more.”

Please let me know your thoughts on this.

Sara Sawochka