Becoming Vegan

I remember getting scolded all the time when I was a kid because I wouldn’t eat my vegetables. I’ve come to realize that it is justified ever since I’ve decided on becoming a vegan. The shift was easier than I expected, and I think that anyone can do it with the right support, commitment, and research.

My Big Why of Becoming Vegan

People would always ask me why, and I always say that I blame the pandemic. With the lack of good television shows, I’ve gotten more and more into Netflix. As any Netflix viewer would agree, I’ve spent more and more time finding good programs to watch that actually watching. So, when I’ve gotten sick of watching Koreanovelas (not forever, of course), my partner and I have gotten more into documentaries. Yes, movies and series have been helping us escape the terrible reality, but we always need a reminder that there is a real world out there, and we’re destroying the crap out of it. So, we’ve started with Fantastic Fungi and, thanks to algorithms, finished almost every nature-related documentary (you can find them in my previous blog) you can find on Netflix.

Realizing the Need to Become Vegan

My friends would say that I’m a bamboo, that I just swing with the wind. It’s a good thing that I am, or I wouldn’t have been swayed by the things I’ve learned about planet earth and about the curse (yes, curse) of being an egoistic human. I’ve learned that Lil Dicky is right, “I’ve trudged the Earth for so damn long and still don’t know sh*t”. And I only appreciate things that are logical, so the things I’ve learned in the documentaries do make sense. Here’s a list of reasons (beside running of decent programs to watch on TV):

• Our anatomy makes us naturally vegan (according to Peta):
  • Short, soft fingernails
  • Small, canine teeth to grind food up and down and side to side (not tear down flesh)
  • Weak stomach acids that require us to chew our food well
  • Long intestinal track
• Global farm animal production is one of the biggest causes of global warming

• Animal meat consumption increases risk of diabetes, cancer, and pneumonia
• Eating less meat (or no meat) can help mitigate the global water crisis

• There is a significant association between mental health and meat consumption
• Non-human animals can obviously feel pain

I can go on and on and put links of lots of overwhelming articles here, but you get my point.

The Need for Protein

Vegans are sick of this question, really. Where do you get your protein if you’re vegan? It made me remember being taught about how we get the most nutrients if we take them straight from the source (and not as a 2nd or 3rd consumer in the food chain. It pains me to remember that, after being taught this, we are then provided with the Grow, Glow, Go food groups that include milk, eggs, and meat. It’s weird that I didn’t realise then where my food is coming from. Going back to my point, protein can be found in A LOT of plants and fungi. I honestly thought I’d feel weaker after becoming vegan, but I’ve never felt stronger! Not to brag but to inspire, but I don’t have any trouble maintaining my weight anymore. I should add that to the list!

Here comes the persuasion

I often invite people to eat at vegan-friendly restaurants with me. One friend even told me not to “convert” him, like I’m some pastor starting a new religion and needed to recruit. To be honest, it’s hard to convince people to switch to the vegan way of living. We’ve been programmed to consume animal products since we were kids (I blame marketing and capitalism!).

If your only reason for even trying to become vegan is for health, it is unlikely that you’re going to last. But, if you use the facts above to appeal to your human compassion and think about the animals getting tortured and slaughtered, or the tribes being driven out of their homes to convert their lands to farms, or the forests getting depleted and animals being forced out of the wild, or the future generation potentially inheriting an inhabitable planet, you’d know that it’s a small price to pay.

Benefits of Becoming Vegan

People often associate veganism with having a plant-based diet, but it’s more related to morality and compassion rather than food consumption. Veganism is about caring for humans and non-human animals. It’s about realizing the source of the things we buy (no to animal testing) and the way they are produced (no to child labor). It aims to help minimize suffering. It’s about being involved and aware of the consequences of our little actions on a global scale. Although it seems like a lot of sacrifice, there are definitely benefits to becoming vegan:

• Be and feel healthier and have more energy to just enjoy life.
• Reduce risks of lifestyle diseases
• Increase immunity against diseases
• Avoid a lot of processed foods and fast food.
• Save money on not buying a lot of processed foods and fast food.
• Reduce or eliminate instances of allergic reactions (shellfish and dairy)
• Spend more time in appreciating your food source
• Feel more compassion and love towards all beings
• Meet new people through the small, but growing vegan community

Most of the benefits of making this change are not superficial and material, which makes it even more exciting. And once you make the transition, you will not feel the urge to go back.

We spend so much time bashing people who torture dogs or leave stray cats starving in the street, but we turn a blind eye on calves losing their mothers or pigs not knowing lives outside their filthy cages. Even if we change the names of these animals into pork or meat or venison or luxury bags, it won’t change the fact that they are being killed and treated like beings that only exist for our consumption and, may I say, enjoyment. As author Zoe Weil said, “I am grateful to realize that my desires do not entitle me to add to another’s suffering”, and indeed, I am.