I was introduced to veganism (properly) in January of this year, when I went to a MeetUp.com walk with a group of vegans. I began joining a few friends I met at their potlucks (many of which were raw vegan potlucks, and absolutely delicious) but never actually went vegan. I felt like I could love animals, understand everyone's point of view, without cutting anything out of my life and pigeonholing myself into a particular box with a certain label. I was really into introducing myself into different dietary communities and religious ones but not fully prescribing to any of them since I didn't want to just be "one thing." I've been raised on a diet heavy in animal products and eat them every day. I actually really enjoy the flavor of everything from mayo to steak to sushi to fried eggs.
I began becoming close to making the plunge to veganism mentally but I'd be swayed in the other direction for various reasons - one of which being my dad thinks vegans are absolutely insane and would say so whenever I mentioned it after coming from an enlightening talk with an interesting speaker on the subject of veganism. However, I just couldn't sway the fact that I loved vegan food and enjoyed the way I felt when I ate it, and really enjoyed the company of other people who had vegan ethics.
Months past, I had a mini breakdown due to mental health issues (long story - it was due to a breakup and being put on an antidepressant that caused me to have a manic episode even though I was at the lowest dose), and I decided to drop everything and travel. I actually cut off contact with all my friends from home including my vegan friends due to the antisocial feelings mental health problems can create (which is why it's odd I'm finally making the connection now and making the plunge). At first, the frantic traveling to escape my life caused me to lose the desire for the vegan way of life since I felt like seeing the widespread suffering and way of life of people who have less than I do proved that making such omissions and refusing certain foods based on ethics is just not realistic for most people if they want to not be hungry. I enjoyed experiencing all food from other cultures, as well.
I moved in with my grandmother, who lives near Sydney in Australia after I finished my travels. Due to feeling rather blobblish and sluggish due to stopping the on-the-go travel lifestyle, and having spent months mainly eating stir fried meat and noodles, I went back into the depths of the internet and decided to actually educate myself properly. Even after all those meet ups and discussions on veganism, I still hadn't seen the documentaries.
So more out of curiosity than anything, I watched Cowspiracy (which had been suggested and suggested to me but I'd never watched it) and watched some talks by Bite Sized Vegan and Gary Yourofksy. While I don't agree with everything they stand for (like - for example I don't disagree with the lifestyles of carnivorous animals and would never feed my cat a vegan diet - I think some earthlings must eat meat unlike me) I could not help but realize that me, myself, a human who lives in a place where all my groceries come from factory farms, do NOT need to support the detrimental suck on our environment and the endless suffering to countless innocents. Animal products are not necessary, and I'll probably have a better time with my health and weightloss routine as an added bonus! I also realized that the milk we drink was not meant for human consumption - it was meant for baby cows. Most of my arguments have always been a round-about version of "it's too hard to eat that way due to the current state of things" and "I really really like how many animal products taste" which really aren't good arguments at all. It's funny since my close vegan friend from home was convinced I'd eventually go vegan since he could see it in my behavior and ethics, but I wasn't convinced. I suppose he was correct! (He's the one I can thank for brining me along to all the meet ups and introducing me to the vegan community).
I know I won't be a perfect vegan right out of the gate - and it's going to be a transition - my grandmother and I are going to finish the food we've made and had freezed because we don't want to waste what we've already cooked (sort of like how I won't throw out my leather or wool clothing, I'd rather just wear it out). However, after a few days when the SpagBol and curry has all been eaten...I'm going 100% vegan. I already bought coconut milk for myself, since my grandmother will not be going vegan right out of the gate at least - she's going to try to be pescatarian. She recently had an art show in her studio, but now that her show is over, I get to move into the apartment/cottage/studio and have my own kitchen, stove, and refrigerator! Yay for having my own groceries!I've offered to do the cooking for my granny as well so when I cook I'll be making 100% vegan meals for her. :)
That was very long but I just wanted to write it all out - today is the day I decided I'm doing this so I wanted to have it all "down on paper" so to speak.
TLDR - Finally clicked after 9 months of being educated. I'm going vegan!
Submitted September 20, 2015 at 01:08PM by jolvie http://ift.tt/1F94cFD vegan
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