My journey to veganism

Like most Americans I grew up eating meat. Barbeques, fast food, steak, all of it. Ironically both of my parents were vegetarian (for health reasons) but they thought it would be difficult for me to be a regular kid if I didn't eat meat. In retrospect I find that disappointing of course, but I never questioned their choice and I never questioned my own eating habits. We never even really discussed it, that was just how things were.

Needless to say, like many Americans, especially kids today, my standard America diet took its toll on me pretty young. When I was ten years old my cholesterol was so high they put me on a special "diet" and made me get my cholesterol checked every week. Of course, I didn't know then that only animal products contain cholesterol and the stuff doesn't even exist in plants. And of course the doctors didn't recommend that I eat more plants, but rather, that I switch from butter to margarine and things like that.

From there I went on to struggle with my weight for many years, trying everything from Weight Watchers to Slim Fast to Atkins. None of it worked. I switched to egg whites and lean meat and skim milk and had a little bit of success with weight loss but mostly my weight fluctuated greatly. I was generally pretty lethargic and had major bouts of depression over the course of many years.

I never really thought about animals or animal rights or the possibility of going vegetarian until my mid 20's. Once I did I honestly didn't even consider that my health might improve. I just knew I really loved animals. I had (and still have) two amazing cats who showed me how smart and emotional animals are. I saw how they interacted and I realized for the first time in my life that animals had feelings. I knew they did--I could see it. I saw it in my cats and I knew my cats were no different than other animals in that capacity and slowly but surely my circle of compassion began to extend out into the world to encompass all beings.

Then one day I saw a video of a factory farm and I was completely blown away. It was the most awful thing I had ever seen it and I could not believe that was what animals were going through just so I could whet my appetite. I didn't stop eating animal products, including meat, right away, but I did continue to watch videos and research the practices of factory farming. As time went on the chasm between my personal ethics and my behaviors became so great I had to choose a side. I realized I could no longer claim to love and respect animals so much if I were going to continue to eat them and support an industry that brutalizes them for profit, especially because I was doing it just to please my taste buds.

So I decided to become vegetarian. I wasn't a huge vegetable person so I was eating mostly fruit, cereal, bread, and eggs; not exactly the healthiest diet. I kept forcing myself to look into the dairy and egg industries after I had given up meat. I knew I had to give those up too eventually but I figured I was moving in the right direction and baby steps were okay. At first I thought at least animals weren't being killed for my food, but I soon realized the dairy and egg industries were just as bad and even worse in a lot of ways. How could I contribute to helping these companies profit at the expense of animals?

I knew it would be a challenge at first, but I had to go vegan. Without letting on my true intentions of actually wanting to go vegan I decided to propose a contest to my boyfriend Brian and our good friend Dave. We decided we would see who could remain vegan the longest and the first one of us to fail would have to buy the other two dinner anywhere we wanted. We started on New Year's Day. The night before I stuffed my face with ice cream and cheese anything else I could find. And then a new day and a new way began. By the time we got to about three months we had all decided the contest was over and we were sticking to veganism. In addition to feeling like we were living in moral harmony, we were actually enjoying eating without dairy and eggs. We experimented so much more with cooking and I actually started to eat veggies-lots of them! I realized all of the delicious whole foods I had been missing out on before. And of course there were still lots of foods we enjoyed before that we could eat like some Italian food, Indian, Ethiopian, and Thai just to name a few. Plus we found excellent alternatives to some of our favorites like coconut milk ice cream and vegan cheese (Daiya).

People always ask me if I miss things now that I've been vegan for so long. I can honestly say I do not feel in any way that I am sacrificing and I don't crave animal products at all. I have access to tons of delicious and varied foods and I feel wonderful about my choice. I am healthier than I've ever been. I no longer need medicine for acid reflux, which I took for years, and I rarely need my inhaler for asthma. I have more energy than I ever have and my levels of anxiety and depression have practically disappeared. Not to mention I no longer struggle with my weight. I've lost almost 30 lbs by doing yoga and, well, not much other than eating--a lot!

Today, several years later, Brian, Dave and I enjoy our vegan lifestyles more than ever. Now every time I eat I know that no animal suffered or died for the food to get on my plate and nothing could taste sweeter than that.