My family never believed I could be a vegetarian; at twelve years old I proved them wrong. But they sure as hell never thought I — the chocolate, mac and cheese, and ice cream lover — could ever even attempt to be a vegan. Which, I’ll admit, I didn’t either. Veganism was somewhat of a foreign concept to me until I watched way too many Netflix documentaries like Food Inc. and Vegucated, met some people at BU that are vegans, and experimented at the many vegan restaurants in Boston. Suddenly, the idea of being a vegan wasn’t so scary to me.
The word “vegan” to my family, however, remained dirty and unfamiliar, something they just wouldn’t and couldn’t understand. At the beginning, I got questions and statements like: “What is there even left to eat?” “Are you trying to starve yourself?” “Well, you can’t be a vegan when you come home.” “Don’t you realize that humans are supposed to eat meat?” The questions kept coming, and the support was lacking, simply because my family didn’t understand how important it was to me to be a vegan and just how feasible it really is.
My immediate family eventually came around as they always do. But what continued to surprise me was how resistant most of my friends and acquaintances were to veganism. All too often, people would ask me “why” and remind me that they know, better than I, that veganism is in fact, not healthy. I have to disagree with them there; veganism is actually one of the healthiest things you can do for your body. When I first became a vegan, I’ll admit, I was hungry. I was constantly in search of vegan replacements for chocolate chip cookies, bagels, and cheese — all of the things I had come to crave. And I found the supplements I needed; there is pretty much a vegan substitute for everything. But after being a vegan started becoming easier (it took about two weeks for me), I suddenly wasn’t as hungry as I was before, and the cravings for unhealthy food started to disappear. Now when I am hungry, I resort to: nuts, salads, beans, or tofu, surprisingly filling foods and much better for my health than any processed meat or cheese. So you’ll see why I have to disagree with the claim that veganism is impossible and unhealthy.
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photo credit: Don’t Look via photopin (license)
There are many reasons I decided to be vegan, some of which involved my health, and some of which involved the environment and the extreme pollution that slaughterhouses create. However, the main reason has always been that I believe in animal rights. I’m an animal lover and owner. I have two dogs; they’re my life, I love petting cows, feeding goats, and holding chicks, and the idea that these animals could suddenly turn into a meal at the drop of a hat appalls me. But I’ll admit, I ate dairy products while I wasn’t eating meat because I chose to turn a blind eye to animal slaughterhouses and how horrific and inhuman the murder of animals for meat really is. Ignorance was bliss for me, as it is to so many other people.
When I finally chose to open my eyes, however, what really struck me was the brutality behind the idea that humans raise animals for the sole purpose of killing them and eating them for a meal. Furthermore, it just doesn’t seem right to me that the human race forces ten animals into a cage that is originally designed for two. We don’t allow babies (calves, piglets, etc.) to see their mothers once they are done nursing. We simply throw male chicks into the garbage alive because they won’t be good for meat for years and will never lay eggs; they have no purpose to the human race. Finally, I had to ask myself the hard question: what distinguishes the animals we love from the animals we eat? My answer to this question was: I can’t, I just can’t draw that line. When I realized this, I simultaneously understood that I shouldn’t be eating any animal product whatsoever.
While being a vegan is one of the most rewarding things I have done, I will be the first to admit that, at times, it can be really damn hard. At times I still crave animal products; I think it will take years for my taste buds to get over that. At times it’s awkward for me to tell people, no, I can’t go on breakfast dates with them because there’s nothing I can eat. And at times, it sucks when people think I’m crazy for valuing an animal’s life at the same level as my own.
Being a vegan has also made me reevaluate certain practices and ideals in my life that I hold dear. For example, veganism has caused me to look twice at my $150 animal-made Uggs. It has also forced me to ask myself why I’m not doing more to be an animal rights activist; why I am turning a blind eye to the circus or Sea World. So this blog was my first step, my first step is explaining to someone why being a vegan is one of the most rewarding things I have ever done, why it is more than possible to do, and why everyone should, by all means, try it! Being a vegan is not always easy, but it is always worth it.
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