My Background with Veganism
I have always been the type of person you might stereotypically think would be vegetarian or vegan. I love animals, I’m a bit eccentric, I practice yoga and observe the principle of ahimsa or non-violence, and I’ve had many vegan and vegetarian friends. But I have also always wanted to be super healthy. I believed the lie that we needed meat and dairy for optimal health. Truly, I never really enjoyed eating animals, and I HATED milk as a kid. But I thought I needed these things because society said it was normal and necessary. Even so, I always had this little voice telling me it was wrong.
Like most Americans, I knew that animal agriculture involved extremely poor conditions and could be cruel. So I understood my vegan and vegetarian friends when they didn’t want to consume animals. But I didn’t realize the extent of the suffering. And again the rhetoric from society and tradition was so ingrained, I let myself be blinded to the truth. Even though I clearly had examples of fully healthy vegan friends right there in front of me, I was so selfish as to put my own health above the life of innocent animals. That is how deep the delusion was.
As I discussed in my post about my health journey, I started experimenting with different eating patterns to try to heal my body. Through this approach I had already eliminated dairy and was starting to eliminate eggs. Finally, as I started researching more about whole food plant-based eating, I considered eliminating meat. But I still held onto the delusion that something might go terribly wrong if I cut out animal products completely.
The Spark That Changed My Life
Then I stumbled on Gary Yourofsky’s “Best Speech You’ll Ever Hear” on YouTube, and my world was turned upside-down. He is very direct and harsh. He doesn’t sugar coat anything because he is passionate and knows what he is fighting for is right. So if you can keep an open mind knowing that his blunt style comes from a place of deeply compassionate beliefs, I strongly recommend watching this speech. However, I also must warn you it is hard to watch.
I have a pretty strong stomach and I nearly got sick watching the clips he shows. So I recommend watching but with a very big trigger warning. The thing is we have a choice, the animals don’t. We have a choice of what to eat, the animals do not have a choice to live as they please. They are bred into existence and their death date is already predetermined before they are even born. They have no say in the matter. Certainly there may have been a time in human history where consuming animals was a necessity for survival. But that is no longer the case. In our modern western society we can get everything we need from plants.
So yes, we have the choice to eat animals and their secretions, but they did not have any say in the matter. If we do choose to eat them, I think it is only fair to see what is really happening to them. If you can’t bring yourself to look at how a vast majority of the food we eat in this country is produced and slaughtered, then how do you justify forcing someone else to do it for you?
The Burden I Didn’t Know I was Carrying
So long story short, that day I was shaken. I was numb. My life had changed forever. For about a week I was dazed and had trouble sleeping. I felt sick and sad over knowing I had spent 32 years supporting this industry because I believed the lies of the government and the massive industries that influence it’s policies.
After watching Gary’s speech though, I had no remaining doubt or question in my mind about leaving the animal products off my plate. There are plenty of other foods available to me to eat, and no reason to eat animal products. Animals do not deserve to be killed for no reason, so I made the decision then and there to stop consuming animal products. I no longer cared whether it was the optimally healthy diet or not. I let go of my selfishness and my hypocrisy and decided to choose an eating pattern of compassion for others.
Once I made this decision I felt like a giant weight that I didn’t know I had been carrying was lifted. It felt so natural and normal and like I should have been doing it all along. I knew I was on the right path. But then I had to figure out how to get there.
Transition Period
After making the decision, I realized I still had animal products in my home to deal with. Luckily I had already given up dairy and eggs. So I really only had some frozen meats and some already cooked and frozen meals that contained meat left. Of course I didn’t want to waste it, so at first I decided to finish it. I would immediately stop buying any more animal products. And once everything else was gone, I would then be fully vegan.
But there was a problem with this plan. I had counted out about how many servings I had left and it would take a few weeks to get rid of it. I started eating it, and almost got sick. My realizations about the ramifications of what is being done to animals was so profound I literally felt sick even trying to eat it. So I ended up distributing what I had left to friends and family who were still eating meat.
Even doing this didn’t feel great, and I told them so. I hated giving them something that I wouldn’t want to eat, but they seemed happy to take it. And I had no problem donating any shelf stable processed animal products, at least those might help someone in great need.
Being Vegan and Not Looking Back
So that’s pretty much it. That was April 17th of this year (2021), and I have been 100% vegan every day since then. Many people lament that it would be too hard to give up animal products. For me, since it was an ethical decision, I can’t imagine eating those things ever again. I have never even been tempted by any animal products.
In fact, any time I see animal products now, I shudder a little bit. It doesn’t even look like food to me. When I see meat, I now only see animal flesh and I think about the life that was exploited and ultimately taken. When I see eggs, I think of the millions of male baby chicks that are literally thrown into macerators and ground alive right after they are born because they serve no purpose in the industry.
Perhaps the worst is the dairy industry. When I see milk and cheese and ice cream, all I see are the cows that are forcibly impregnated so they will produce milk, and I hear their cries of agony as their newborn babies are torn from them so they won’t drink the milk that was intended for them by nature. I mourn for these poor maternal beings who only want to protect their babies and can’t understand why we take them away.
What’s Good for the Earth is Good for Me
Ironically, after three years of selfishly trying different things to find the healthiest diet that would heal me, it wasn’t until I put my own needs aside and thought of someone else that I ended up finding it. Since I stopped thinking about myself and started eating only plants, I have never felt better. I have more energy, I feel stronger, I sleep better, I am much happier. Plus I feel like I am actually making a difference in the world. All because I am eating in a way that I know causes the least amount of harm to other living beings and the planet.
