I have always been a meat-eater. I grew up in a household where every lunch and dinner contained meat (except for PB&J, of course). It was the main ingredient of almost every recipe that I would cook. When I got older, I loved having dinner parties and cooking for friends. However I was hesitant to invite over to dinner a vegetarian, or much less a vegan, simply because I had no clue what to make for them! I would roll my eyes at the thought to have to feed someone who wouldn’t eat my wonderful meat dishes.
This all changed in 2016 when my husband and I watched two impactful documentaries, “Cowspiracy” and “What the Health”. This opened our eyes to the negative impact that animal agriculture has on the environment, animals, and our health. I knew the right thing to do was to stop consuming animal products. But only one thing went through my mind.
“I DON’T WANT TO BE VEGAN!”
I imagined myself eating a plate of lettuce for dinner. I was scared. What was I going to eat? What would my friends think? Would we be shunned from dinner parties? How could I give up all of the meat dishes that I loved to cook?
Then I decided to take a deep breath. Baby steps. I could not go from being a carnivore to a vegan overnight. Nonetheless, I wanted to make a change. So my husband and I cut out meat and fish and started following a mostly vegetarian diet. It surprisingly was much easier and tastier than I expected! We continued being mostly vegetarian for about a year.
I then went on to read the book “Eating Animals” by Jonathan Safran Foer. This book is what truly made me turn the corner. I learned the truth about the pain and suffering that animals go through so that we can enjoy the taste of meat, dairy, and eggs. I learned from this book that 99% of the meat consumed in the US comes from factory farming. Without going into more detail, all I can say is what happens to animals on factory farms is utterly horrifying. At this point, I was completely turned off. I didn´t want to eat anything else that came from an animal. Why should my diet cause suffering to anyone? Much less helpless animals who cannot defend themselves? By knowing all of the facts, it made my decision to go vegan much easier and much more exciting.
Keep in mind, I´m not a softie. I don´t consider myself an “animal lover”. I mean yeah, I like animals, but that isn´t the reason why I´m vegan. I am vegan because I think I should be able to live and eat healthily without causing suffering to anyone or anything.
I follow a mainly plant-based diet and all of the recipes that you will find on this blog are plant-based. However, I am not a strict vegan. There are still very rare occasions when I consume animal products. When traveling to a new country, I try the local food. When someone invites me over to dinner, I will eat whatever is served to me. To me, being vegan is not about restriction or restraint. It is about enriching your life by eating tons of nutritious and cruelty-free foods that don’t have a negative effect on the environment. What I find most important is to be informed about the negative impacts of animal agriculture (references below) and make conscious food choices that minimize that impact as much as possible.
If you have not already, I encourage you to educate yourself on where your food comes from. Don´t be scared! I know that it can be hard to make yourself watch a documentary or read a book that you know will tell you information that you don´t want to hear. But after being more informed, you will feel good about making changes in your lifestyle that can make a difference.
Recommended documentaries:
Cowspiracy
What the Health
Game Changers
Forks Over Knives
Recommended Books:
Eating Animals
How Not to Die
Online references:
https://nutritionfacts.org/