Meat or no meat? What is right?

I just ate meat for the first time after being a vegtarian for 13 years. I'm not going to lie, it was challenging.

I first became vegetarian 13 years ago while living in Chile. Growing up in Estonia I was used to dairy and meat products of really good quality, so once I moved to Chile I was shocked to see that dairy is not kept in the refrigerator and the local meat industry is massive (which leads to low quality). Right before Chile I lived in NYC and experienced the same - I even had strong physical reactions to the local dairy products and stopped consuming dairy altogether, which actually at some point led to me become fully vegan.

The main reason for me though has always been the global mistreatment of animals. As I know how decisions are made in the world (based on profit) then I decided to stop contributing my finances to “vote” for the ongoing suffering of animals. An additional strong motivation has been from various literature, especially “The China Study” - a book scientific enough to my taste that links excessive meat consumption with many chronic diseases, including cancer. Though the book notes that cancer cells activate when the amount of meat consumed is higher than ca 10% of the daily suggested calorific intake. In parallel Tibetan Medicine also refers to everything we eat in moderate amounts, e.g. a small piece of meat as an addition to the meal, not a large chunk of meat as the main course.

Even though I feel like the queen of all vitamins and supplements (and actually take them, too) then in January 2024 I was diagnosed with iron deficiency after I almost passed out in my living room.

I should have seen it coming though - going back to look at photos from 3-4 years ago my skin has been getting increasingly pale (which I love) and my energy level has been dropping to zero right after waking up in the morning (which I don’t love). Even though iron isn't part of most multivitamins (with a good reason) it never came to my mind that I might be deficient on it. So after my diagnosis I started supplementing with iron and felt like a new person already a week later.

In April I went to my Tibetan Medicine school intensive in Tenerife where I spent two weeks learning from my teacher in the local clinic. Meat is very honored in Tibetan culture and is an important part of the daily diet. Since I joined the class three years ago I’ve had numerous discussions with my teacher and classmates if vegetarians can be fully healthy. I think we as people have a tendency to think that our choices are the absolute best ones, so we have all naturally remained to disagree on this topic. Yet I have to say that already in April I was feeling that something inside my bones is missing. It’s a weird notion to describe, but it’s almost an insight on a cellular level. Tibetans love to boil bone broth and it’s heavily used as a medication to calm down the Wind element in the body. During our intensive my teacher cooked bone broth daily. The smell of it felt so right and nourishing at this moment so I decided to drink it, taking out the meat pieces to feel less guilty. I felt an immediate overwhelming relief in my bones and a warm tingling sensation all over my body.

Just a regular view from my evening walk at the Tibetan Medicine school. Looking at beauty is also one of the healing methods of Tibetan Medicine. Unfortunately I don't have a photo of the bone broth.

Even though I’ve recommended drinking broth to many people, I’m usually lazy to boil it myself. So without drinking high quality bone broth for months I started to get this nagging feeling in my bones again, becoming almost unbearable to the point that one day I saw meat in the supermarket and felt an immense desire to eat it - a feeling that I don’t ever remember experiencing. After many weeks of contemplating on this desire I finally decided to try.

Next day while ordering groceries from an online store I added grass-fed beef to my cart, just to delete it a moment later in confusion and repeat this sequence for a few times. When you’ve avoided meat products for 13 years it really feels really out of character to buy any. When I finally checked out and the delivery arrived I couldn’t help to hesitate my decision again. After a good workout in the gym I just couldn’t get my mind off the meat in various ways while walking home. When I opened the fridge and took out the packaged meat I was hesitant how to cut it as I don’t want to touch it (while desiring to put it in my mouth?). Then I followed to read the label which said: “Packaged in Estonia, killed in Latvia”. OMG killed. I put the meat back into the fridge in a speed of light. Then I literally took a carrot and started eating it (not referring here to vegetarian food being just carrots). I love carrots. I ate the carrot while feeling my aching bones. After an hour I decided to try again. This time I took out the meat, closed my eyes, cut the package open and was relieved to discover it had already been sliced. So I quickly threw it on the pan and put the on the fan to avoid any smell. I boiled some rice and arranged it together on a plate. Wow, I’m actually doing it.

I always pray before eating to have at least a few moments of awareness in my day. This time I dedicated my prayer to these beautiful animals who had to give their life for my nourishment. It reminded me a discussion with my teacher where I explained her my viewpoint that even though I don’t eat meat myself I don’t mind it so much if the animal has lived a natural and unrestrained life with as little suffering as possible. Then she explained me her viewpoint. As the animal is already killed, then she chooses the meat of an animal who has suffered more during his life, so that she can do a prayer to purify this poor animal’s karma. To me this was profound and I was astonished by her kindness and consideration. I believe that if we take a moment to really listen to the other person’s viewpoint then we develop understanding. And with understanding we have compassion. And with compassion we already have everything that is worth striving for in this world.

So what’s my conclusion about eating meat? As Tibetan Medicine says everything is a poison or a medicine depending on what the body needs at this moment. We just need to pay attention.

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The Simplest Warming Broth Recipe

Here’s a really simple bone broth recipe to nourish the body and calm down the Wind element. You can drink this throughout the day and especially at night if you’re experiencing problems with sleep. It’s also healing for anxiety and nervousness.

• One whole chicken or chicken carcass or salmon carcass or beef bones

• If you are vegetarian you can replace meat with a mix of mushrooms of your choice

• Black peppercorns

• Bay leaves

• Salt (if you like)

• Cold water

Boil everything together in a cooking pot in medium heat until the meat comes off from the bones. Drain liquid into another pot/bowl. Remove and clean any meat from the bones. Add the cleaned meat back to the broth or use separately. Enjoy 😊

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Can you still be a vegetarian and follow Tibetan Medicine improve your health? Absolutely.

Meat is a natural part of Tibetan diet, but there are alternatives we can use. I followed Tibetan Medicine recommendations for years while being a vegetarian and felt a great overall improvement to my health.

Learn more about Tibetan Medicine here or book a consultation tiibetiteraapiad@gmail.com • +372 51 73 093