Hi! First of all, I must give credit to Sarah Kramer and Tanya Barnard, authors of the cookbook "How it all Vegan" for the title of this post today : ) as it is very fitting indeed for the subject of this post - how it all vegan for me!
Before I went vegan, my absolute favourite foods were either sausage and cheese sandwiches, or a steak and chips. I ate these foods for many reasons, I thought they were tasty, I grew up eating meat and dairy (esp cheese) all the time, and it was normal for me to have meat or dairy products at every meal. If I was staying with my Nan and Grandad, a normal day's food would be porridge and a boiled egg with toast and butter for breakfast, grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch with cheese and onion crisps and a strawberry milkshake, some kind of meat, potatoes and veg for dinner and a bowl of ice cream for pudding.
I'd been thinking about the possibility of vegetarianism since I was 13. However at the time I didn't have much recourse to vegetarian materials or recipe books and my Mum wasn't exactly an adventerous cook. When we didn't have sausage casserole, Spag bol, or a roast dinner, we had frozen foods. Not terribly healthy. However, when I left home, went to university and discovered the PETA website, I was so shocked I immediately went vegetarian - for a week... I chatted to the only vegetarian person I knew, and all she seemed to have for dinner was pasta, chips, or takeaway food and I felt that my diet was much more varied and exciting - I mean I could have pizza with pepperoni - wow! When I look back on what I used to think vegetarians would eat I realise how much my opinion has changed! But even though vegetarianism seemed an option, I knew nothing of veganism.
A few years later, and I don't remember how this happened, I stumbled across an awesome podcast called Vegan Freak Radio. I subscribed to the podcasts and started listening to the back episodes, especially the interviews with Gary L Francione. I read his book Introduction to Animal Rights and bought Bob Torres' book Making A Killing - both of which I highly recommend. I really started researching abolitionism as a concept and how it related to veganism. I found that the arguments not only made sense to me, but seemed impenetrable. The idea that if you really care about the way animals are treated, and if you have an ethical issue with them being killed for meat, the ONLY consistent way to live your life is to be vegan and not consume, wear or use any animal products.
The problem was that as a nanny for 3 children I respected the wish of their parents that their children eat meat and dairy products and I was the one cooking for them. I couldn't see a way through this into being vegan, so I decided to wait until I stopped being a nanny and was living back in Edinburgh again. When in Edinburgh, the issue became my relationship with C. He felt that if I went vegan rather than vegetarian,
it would have too big an impact on our lives/diet/going out and would just generally be too much of a hassle. The mistake I made was in accepting this and thinking, if I can't be vegan, I won't do anything.
The epiphany came when I found the book "Vegan Freak" in a wee political bookshop down a back street in Edinburgh. I took this as a sign - I hadn't been able to find it anywhere, everyone had to order it and said it would take months, and that the new version wasn't available for a while. I bought it immediately and found I could no longer make excuses, and within a week, I was vegan. I told C that this was something I had to do, that for my consience I couldn't dither anymore, and he agreed to support me. I had my last non vegan meal (cheesy tuna pesto pasta) my last non vegan chocolate bar (milkybar), watched Earthlings and never went back.
My motivation for going vegan was like anyone else I guess, ethically I think that breeding animals for the sole purpose of consuming them is wrong. I also have a great deal of compassion for the way animals are treated and I don't want to contribute to the cruelty and animal suffering in any way. However, I didn't go vegan due to a great love of nature or wildlife - don't get me wrong, I like animals, and think a lot of them are really cute esp penguins, but it was more the consistency in the argument for being vegan that swayed me. Vegetarianism was just not enough for me. To me, knowing all about what I eat and where it all comes from has opened my eyes completely and knowing that someone like me can go vegan when I used to eat meat and cheese A LOT gives me hope that other people could make the change too. Ignorance of where our food comes from = cruelty and pain rather than bliss for millions of animals a year.
So, on the 25th August - I officially became vegan! Now that I am a vegan I really feel guilty for not doing it earlier, I can't believe I thought it would be hard, it's just so easy and fun, and opened me up to so much I wouldn't have otherwise tried. In Edinburgh, we're so lucky with great healthfood shops and supermarkets that sell vegan items that it's been so simple to find ingredients. I truly am so happy being a vegan! feel so much better in the choice of food I pick now. I thought I would crave other foods, esp cheese that I used to LOVE but nope - it's like a switch has been flicked and now that's it... I just feel so much at peace from knowing that I'm eating healthier and food that required NO CRUELTY to make. : ) As I said yesterday I care more about what is in my food, not just in terms of rogue animal products, but preservatives and e-numbers too, I want to cook and not eat processed foods, I want to be healthier and eat food that's good for me rather than the rubbish I used to. It's also made me think more about my place in the world and
how I can contribute to it, what I can do to make life better for others and for future generations...
Veganism as a diet is also just so much better for me - knowing I can't just go into a shop and pick up a chocolate bar is great, it means I've stopped picking up unhealthy snacks on the go (like crisps) and am happy eating more veg and I'm a lot more willing to try different foods. My usual repetoire of foods included shepherd's pie with loads of cheese on top, risottos with bacon and tons of cheese, lasagne with you guessed it, lots of cheese, and for me pushing the boat out with my options was having fish... Now, I'll cook soups, lentil currys, anything with lots of veg and beans and I know there's so much out there for me still to try!!! I feel lighter, happier and I even love cooking more knowing that I don't have to feel in any way guilty while I'm cooking because it's all animal free, healthy and just great food!!!
In conclusion, being vegan rocks! The only thing about being vegan that I don't like is that the whole world isn't living this way. I just want the whole world to go vegan! I'm all about spreading the vegan word and vegan love! : ) But as a vegan, if I can show people that we eat great, healthy food and are happy people who instead of being restricted in our diets are open to so much in ways that I never was as an omni, then I'll feel like I've done something to help the vegan cause! I'm a much happier peaceful person being vegan and I know now that I will always live this way and forever be on the side of oppressed animals living in the hope that ONE DAY it will no longer be that way...
Thanks for reading this reeeeeeeeally long post!
Peace and love, and go vegan! : )
C
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