Recently, I've had many people I know in real life asking me about veganism; why I became vegan, what I eat, what difference it makes to my life etc. In this post, I'd like to answer these questions, and clear up some issues surrounding vegans.
Firstly, what is a vegan?
The word 'vegan' is synonymous with 'plant-based', meaning that we only eat things that come from plants. Therefore, vegans don't eat meat or fish (like vegetarians), but we also don't consume any other animal products e.g. milk, cheese, yogurt, eggs, honey, gelatine etc. Also, veganism is more of a lifestyle than a diet, so we also don't use other animal-based products including leather, fur, suede, silk etc.
Why did you become vegan?
In mid 2015, I watched a video on Facebook about how factory-farmed animals are treated and killed, and it really struck a nerve with me. I'm normally okay with gore, loving horror movies, but for some reason, I couldn't stop thinking about this video, and every time I thought about it, I wanted to throw up. I just wasn't aware of what factory animals went through (and are still going though) just to be eaten. On that day, I decided to go vegetarian, and then I changed my mind - I wanted to go vegan. Honestly, it's mainly because I wanted to be different, and vegetarian wasn't daring enough for me, but I'm so glad that it worked out, and nowadays I'm not vegan just to be indie! Now, I'm still shell-shocked by the vile treatment of factory animals, but I'm also staying vegan because I now believe that life is more important than anything else in the world, and this is because of my relationship with God. Even if you aren't religious or spiritual, surely you can appreciate the wonder that is life; human or otherwise. This deep-set marvel of the miracle of life is what keeps me from breaking and just thinking 'screw it, I might as well eat meat'. So now, I've been vegan for almost a year and a half.
What do you eat?
This is normally the first question that people ask me once they find out that I'm vegan, and I'm still not quite sure how to respond.Whatever you eat minus the items mentioned above, and with substitutes instead. Generally, there are a few different types of vegan 'diets'. Most vegans are HCLF (high carb low fat), but there are also raw vegans, macrobiotics, fruitarians, and an endless list of others. Personally, If I had to categorise myself, I'd be HCLF, because I adore pasta too much to go raw.
What's good about going vegan?
Apart from saving and/or bettering the lives of countless animals (more than 56 billion animals are killed for food every year, not including fish and other marine animals, are their death toll is so great that they are measured in tonnes), going vegan helps the environment in numerous other ways. For one, livestock is responsible for 51% of worldwide greenhouse gas emissions, which means that funding the meat industry contributes more to global warming than all transportation exhaust fumes put together. Many of us are worried about climate change, but we aren't told the real reasons for it. Growing crops to feed livestock uses 56% of water in the US. 12% of the world's population does not have access to clean drinking water, and the first world is wasting it mass-producing animals. Furthermore, livestock and feed for livestock covers 45% of the Earth's total land, again because of the large-scale mass-production of farmed animals. Animal agriculture also 'is the leading cause of species extinction, ocean dead zones, water pollution, and habitat destruction'. Remember when everyone was freaking out because the Great Barrier Reef is dying? That's almost an 'ocean dead zone'. Speaking of oceans, fish are often overlooked by vegetarians and vegans (especially pescatarians, but let's not talk about them), but they are in just as much peril. Fishless oceans could be a possibility by 2048. I will not even be 50 by the time fish are extinct. Will my grandchildren ever be able to see a fish? Not if we keep fishing at the rate we are now.
In addition to the worldwide benefits, going plant-based is good for your body. When I went vegan, my skin cleared up, my hair got healthier and shinier, I lost weight and felt healthier and happier within myself. Also, not eating meat greatly reduces your risk of heart disease and heart attacks due to high cholesterol and blood pressure. (Plus, it's a super great talking point, so there's never awkward silences when you meet new people. One mention of veganism from a friend and you're in the middle of a heated debate.)
What's bad about going vegan?
I had to think long and hard about this question, but I promised myself that I'd answer it, because I feel the need to be unbiased, especially after last week's politically biased post! Therefore, the negatives to veganism are:
1) You have to plan every meal. You can't randomly choose to go out to dinner, unless you're sure that where you're going will cater for vegans. Also, when you're at a friend's and they order pizza, you can't have any. :(
2) The MEMES. I personally consider this a positive, but some people get annoyed by the sheer volume of vegan (or should I say anti-vegan) memes out there. For someone who spends as much time online as I do, you can't go an hour without seeing at least five vegan memes. Mainly because you'll always get tagged in them, no matter who by, because you're the only vegan they know. Plus, people love to talk about meat in front of you, which I don't actually mind, but it gets kind of annoying when you're told 'but BACON though!!!' for the tenth time that day.
3) Stigmas. There are so many people who genuinely believe that vegans are all hippies who just eat cabbage and talk about being vegan all day. Contrastingly to this post, I actually don't talk about being vegan that much, it's normally other people who bring it up (Lord knows how they find out I'm vegan). Also, some people dislike you straight away solely because you're vegan, which is kind of ridiculous. What I eat doesn't affect my personality.
4) Protein. Goodness me, the number of people who've told me I can't survive without meat!!! Clearly, I'm alive. Therefore clearly, I can. It's amazing, when someone finds out what you eat, they somehow immediately become nutritionists! I don't have to take supplements for protein or calcium or other non-vegan-related essentials, but I do prefer to take multivitamins, simply because I always seem to have a cold. This isn't because I don't eat meat (it isn't helped by that either, but still), it's because my immune system has always been slightly awful.
Didn't God create animals for us to eat?
I don't know, is the honest answer. I personally don't think so, because as stated earlier, I believe that life is more important than anything, so I believe that plants were created for food, and animals were not. I'll refer you to Genesis 1:29 'And God said "Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed... to you it shall be for food"'. Obviously I can only speak as a Christian, and as for other religious people with their own opinions on meat and other food consumption, as well as other Christian's opinions, I cannot speak for their views.
But cows don't have to die to give milk?
True, in theory. However in practice, this couldn't be more wrong. In order for cows to lactate, just like humans they must be pregnant/breastfeeding a child. Therefore, the cow must have a child before being milked. What is done with this child? If it is male, it is immediately ripped from it's mother and sent to slaughter if it's lucky, or if not, it is brandished in a ring and bid on for hours crying for it's mother, before finally being taken away and slaughtered. If the calf is female, then it is destined for the same life of artificial insemination, disease, and entrapment as her mother. As well as the calves' deaths, many many cows die every year due to filthy living conditions, disease, improper waste disposal, and other microbes which run riot in factory farms. The same microbes which get into your milk and meat.
Thank you for reading, and I hope you've learned something about veganism. If you have any other questions please feel free to contact me with them, and if you know me in real life, please do the same! I'm always happy to answer genuine questions about my lifestyle, and would love to hear your opinions on things. :D
Statistic creds: Goodland, R Anhang, J., Jacobson, Michael F., Thornton, Phillip, Mario Herrero, Polly Ericksen, Oppenlander, Richard A., National Geographic, animalequality.net.
