So, why did I decide to go vegan? I've thought it about it for a long time. If I'm honest, eating meat has never really sat right with me. For starters, for anyone who doesn't know me (which will largely be 99.9% of anyone reading this blog), you could ask my friends and family what I'm passionate about and I reckon overwhelmingly they'd say animals. I love all animals and particularly my three French Bulldogs - Delilah, Betty and Mister Chops - and last, but not least, my Norwegian Forest cat - Rita Beyonce. So, on a very basic level, purely associating myself with being an 'animal lover' has often made me question why I've never thought twice about eating them. Secondly, having gone vegetarian for five years when I was in uni (and yes, reverting back to meat-eating) I've always known there's another way to eat outside of gorging meat. While the reasons I decided to be a vegetarian differ massively to my reasons for becoming a vegan today, I've always known in my heart that ultimately I'd like to lead a meat and cruelty free life.
So why now? Becoming a vegan this week has surprised everyone, myself included. While I always knew it was the lifestyle I'd like to live, I guess I made excuses about why there was a never a right time to commit. It was only last week while discussing veganism with my colleagues that I said although I'd ultimately like to 'go vegan', I felt like it was something you had to ease yourself into. I'd need to go veggie first, and then perhaps dairy-free separately just to see how I'd cope. Maybe I could introduce a full vegan week and see how that went. And then Saturday came and just like that I became vegan. No testing out cutting different food groups from my diet, no last indulgence in all the foods I'd previously enjoyed. For want of a better term, I guess you could say I went cold turkey.
 |
| Simply_Kenna on YouTube talks about going vegetarian |
You might be wondering how I did it and why I did it and really it's very simple - because I wanted to. I just don't think I'd ever really tapped into how important it was to me. I, like most meat eaters, considered myself an animal lover but shied away from looking deeper into the dairy and agriculture industries. I wrapped myself up in a blanket of excuses which made it acceptable for me to love and protect my pets with all my heart, whilst at the same time marinading the meat of chickens, pigs and cows. I wasn't intending to embark on a vegan lifestyle this weekend, I just so happened to catch a video about going vegetarian, which led me on to watching Gary Yourofsky's life-changing speech about becoming a vegan. Whilst watching his video, I was shocked and appalled that I hadn't questioned my meat-eating behaviour sooner. The points he makes are so obvious, I truly couldn't believe I had allowed myself to be so blind to what I was engaging in on a daily basis. It was whilst watching behind-the-scenes footage of slaughter houses and dairy farms that I made the decision that I would never eat another animal ever again. And that was it - I became a vegan.
 |
| Gary Yourofsky "The Best Speech You'll Ever Hear" - YouTube |
I truly cannot believe how right being vegan sits with me. It feels like I have done something that I should have done years ago - I'm honestly shocked with how natural the transition has felt. When I first told a friend (who happens to be vegetarian) about my decision, their initial reaction was 'you're brave considering you ate meat and dairy beforehand', but if anything has surprised me during these first few days, it's how well I've adapted to the change. And let's lay the cards on the table - I wasn't a healthy eater. Prior to going vegan, I rarely ate fruit and vegetables. I could cook about 3 decent meals which I'd make infrequently, but other than that, the food I'd regularly eat was high in fat, convenient and usually arrived in a Dominos box. I liked cakes and cream and pizza and McDonalds. My fiancé and I had got to a stage where a treat was no longer a treat but an every meal occurrence. So truly, I was the last person who thought going vegan would be easy, but so far so good. I'm only on Day 5 and I won't deny that there may be days I find it a struggle, but so far it's felt like the most natural decision I've ever made and it's been a pleasure to embark on.
I'm planning on documenting my journey through vegan life on this blog, and I hope if you're considering going down the same route that it will be helpful to hear how it's worked out for me - someone who was previously a meat eater and a lazy cook. If you have any questions, or anything you'd like to know more about, just leave me a comment. It would be grand to get to know more people who are vegan or going vegan as I'm currently a lone ranger amongst my friends and family.
