It is so weird to think that I have not been a vegetarian, for almost the same amount of time that I was, if that makes sense. I should preface that with letting you know that this stint was not brief, to say the least. But at the same time, it feels like a lifetime ago.
As we are halfway through Veganuary, I thought it was a good time to delve into details of my vegan journey and reflect on what that era meant to me and how I went about it. I was vegetarian for seven years, from the ages of 19 to 26 which were seven long years and more than half of my twenties, where there was no meat in my diet of any nature. For the last two years of that time, I was a full-blown vegan. Living this lifestyle meant that anything from the following were completely excluded: eggs, any dairy item, honey, leather, wool, anything containing feathers, gelatine and I am sure the list goes on.
What was the trigger that made me choose this lifestyle?
I have always enjoyed eating meat. I mean, fried chicken… I know right. I have also been raised in a family where it’s not a question of ‘are we eating meat tonight?’ But more about what type of meat. So, my choice to forgo all meat from my diet was a bit of a shock to the system for all people involved.
The Event
It seemed innocent enough, another drive through the suburban Melbourne streets that made up my childhood. Only this drive included a stretch of paddocks full of cows grazing and enjoying the sun. Amongst these gentle giants, there was an adult cow laying on her side with her young calf right beside her. Looking at these two enjoying their space and environment in complete bliss of their future was the nail in the coffin for me. Of course, this single event was not the sole factor in my decision to go vegetarian, I was wanting to make the switch for a long time as an animal lover and eating meat felt like a real betrayal to what I felt was right.
Things you may have to deal with now that you are vegan. Buckle up, its a wild ride
Plan your script
Everyone will ask you why you’re doing it. People will become defensive and feel like they need to explain why they would never be vegan and that it wont do anything for the world long-term because of xyz. Just drown this out and go to your happy place
Ethical standpoint being questioned for anything and everything. Oh, the burden is real
This was my case anyway, I cannot speak to everyone’s experience, but I did find myself easily going down quite a radical slope. I would be googling most/any shop before I went in to see what their ethical policies were and whether they were in line with mine. Everything took an absolute eternity.
Disassociating yourself from the food
Well, this is a fun one. I guess the more you tell yourself why you are committing yourself to a cause, the more you actually commit. Burgers were no longer burgers, they were dead and previously suffering flesh. Cheesecake was no longer a joyous cake, it was the epitome of the sacrifice and torture produced from the profit-hungry dairy industry.
You will become victim of rampant disinformation
Don’t you just love it when everyone has an opinion which they feel they owe it to others to share as facts? Not only their version of facts but declaring some shit that is just not true. Yeah this is really, really bad and I actually question sooooo much now from what I believed in my vegan days.
You feel ready to take the plunge? Cool, cool however I beg of you, please do not become this guy
I am so excited to cut all meat and dairy and get the body of my dreamzzzzz
Everybody that wants to give the vegan diet a shot, I say go for it. Its something great to try and there is no harm at all in seeing if it is for you. However, don’t get your hopes up if you are doing it because you think that if you go vegan for say, two months you will lose weight, look amazing and all your dreams will come true. I don’t care how much Beyoncé swears by it; if you think you can keep this lifestyle up long term, and your only driver is weight loss and aesthetic goals, you will not get there. Sorry, just my view.
If you want to lose weight, there is nothing wrong with that at all. If you are not sure where to start, you may find my post below on my weight loss in 2020 helpful.
I am going to be a vegan warrior and save the world and by the way… you should too
If you do manage to get into a rhythm in the vegan lifestyle, you find it easy and you enjoy what it brings to your life, I am so pleased for you. But please, please do not be the preacher. If you are thinking about kindly suggesting that your friend replaces their chicken tacos tonight with some tofu instead, you can fuck right off with that. That suggestion can go in the bin along with your judgment and shit suggestion.
My type of veganism is the only way forward and anyone else that tries is just not doing it well enough
Honestly, anyone that gives veganism a shot and is trying their best to make it work, don’t tell them how they could be doing better- unless they ask you. I remember how shit the vegan community was when I was a vegan and just being so put off by the superiority complexes some people held where they would be hypercritical of others attempts and would create such an awful feeling and environment it was almost smug. I don’t know, that could have just been the information I was consuming then and maybe things are different now. I hope so anyway.
The ‘westernised anti-corporate, upper middle-class saviour’ guy
If you are in the position where you are privileged enough to be able to decide what diet you follow, it is important to keep that in mind. Remember that there are a lot of people who eat a native vegan diet for various reasons and they do not glamorise it. Aka, check your privilege.
Choosing a vegan lifestyle has many benefits
- Animal welfare: It’s pretty simple. If you do not want animals to be produced only for consumption- which means they will die. Then you do not eat meat. You are making a change. In fact, if you live in the UK, you are allowing in the range 24-110 animals, per year to survive
- Nutrient dense diet: I am excluding the vegans here that live on potato crisps and oreos of course. The vegans that want to take full advantage of this lifestyle and the wide variety of plant sourced foods that are full of goodness and nutrition. It is bomb.
- Environmental reasons: Living a vegan lifestyle can have a significant positive impact on the environment and could reduce greenhouse emissions from food production by almost half, that is massive!
So what now? Well I am back to a diet containing anything I want to eat. I eat most meats and pretty much all dairy foods, I do not limit anything for ethical reasons anymore. This does not mean that I no longer love animals, but we all have to live our lives according to ways that we feel comfortable with realising that we cannot and will not be able to save everything and that is ok.
Thanks for reading,
Mel x