My comment about ex-vegans in a previous post was, apparently, ahead of its time. Recently, a couple of newly ex-vegans have blogged about their experiences, and while there have been a number of good responses, including this, this, this and this.  I wanted to address a different angle.

I have run into several ex-vegans (or ex-vegetarians) over the years and have recently started to think of them more as “born again meat eaters”. Like the stereotypical born again Christian, they hang onto a pile of partly-understood rationalizations for what they are doing, believe they have discovered absolute truth, and won’t shut up.

But a recent posting from an ex-vegan has shown that I forgot something: a religious experience.  Here are some excerpts (emphasis added):

My first bite of meat after 3.5 years of veganism … I just ate, and ate, and ate. I cried in grief and anger, while moaning with pleasure and joy. … my face felt warm, my mind peaceful, and my stomach full but….I searched for a word to describe how it felt….comfortable. I had only eaten a small piece of cow flesh, and yet I felt totally full, but light and refreshed all at once. … How beautiful it felt to be able to eat the exact thing that for so long my body had been begging for. I felt profoundly joyful in finally listening to the wisdom of my body. What a revelation.

She didn’t eat a steak, she saw Jesus!  But the miracle continues!

Then I noticed something else odd: my heart was beating slowly, steadily. … my heart was in perfect shape. … Now after eating a single piece of steak, my heart thudded on, steady, strong, and slow. It made me cry all over again, this time in joy.

I am healed!  Praise the Lord!  Amen and pass the butter!