Vegan Saturday II | Why go vegan?
Alright, it’s the big question! CourtneyInControl asked, “What made you decide you want to go vegan?”
Disclaimer: My intent is not to convert you to veganism, just to share my feelings on the subject!
I’ve been a vegetarian for over 8 years. The idea of becoming vegan (not eating milk or egg products) did not become intriguing to me until I lived in Rome, in 2006. I volunteered at an animal shelter with a lot of vegans who shared information with me about the lifestyle. I believed in the cause, as well as the health benefits of the diet, but honestly, I was NOT ready to make the change yet. I didn’t want to spend time worrying or caring about what was in my food, especially when living in Rome! I wanted to be carefree and eat as much pasta and gelato as I could fit in in 7 months (rest assured, I accomplished that)! I didn’t want to go to the trouble of learning even more of the Italian language to read food labels, and ask waiters in Italian, “Does that have dairy or egg in it?” I was just lazy.
Since then though, I made a somewhat conscious decision to cut back on dairy and egg products. I didn’t eat them that often. When I lived by myself, I didn’t even keep those things in my apartment. BUT, I did enjoy the occasional slice of pizza, bowl of ice cream, or scrambled eggs.
Since then, I’ve constantly run across information on factory farming and animal exploitation. Honestly, I do NOT search this information out, because I cannot stomach it. If I read/see/hear something cruel, I CANNOT get it out of my mind. It makes me feel sick.
But since I kept finding myself running into this information, I did force myself to think about it, and came to the conclusion that I must use my actions to voice what I believe:
I believe that animals should not be exploited for our gain. I believe they are sentient beings, who should have the basic right of living a free life. I believe they should not be used for food, clothing, research, or entertainment, even if there is no unnecessary suffering.
I feel like cutting out dairy and eggs is one small step for me. Animals are used for more than just food. There are many ways they are exploited that I do not agree with. But I honestly cannot go on a rampage through my house throwing away all of my leather products, glue, the tires off my car, etc. I can only make small steps towards a more compassionate lifestyle.
I really want to share some of the awful things I’ve learned about animal exploitation, but I don’t want to ruin your day, if you are like me and cannot get the images out of your head, so I am going to share some links below.
Thanks for reading with an open mind.
Wikipedia Entries:
Speciesism: The discrimination in favor of one species, usually the human species, over another, especially in the exploitation or mistreatment of animals by humans.
Animal Rights: The idea that the most basic interests of animals should be afforded the same consideration as the similar interests of human beings.
Galleries:
PETA (yes, I know PETA has done some strange things, but they are not making this stuff up):
Themocracy
Thanks for posting about your desire to be a vegan!
I went vegan about 5-6 years ago, specifically for health reasons (though I do love animals).
I think it’s great you’re working towards making your life as pure as you can. That’s always something to feel good about! Just do what you can and know that you’re making a difference.
All the best!
-Thomas
Thomas Scott – Thanks for your first time visit… and for being my lone commenter. I think one of the key points to becoming vegan is realizing that you cannot control everything, and you can only do the best you can. 🙂
I liked Courtney’s question. I’m always interested to hear about why people chose to eat a certain way- whether it be animal rights; health reasons; dislike of a certain food – I find it all interesting. To each his own.
Gina (Mannyed) – Thanks for your support Gina! 😀 I am in the same boat – I love to hear what people think about things. Right now, I am listening to Jillian Michael’s podcast about how she thinks meat is necessary for the diet. And she hates soy. And I still love her 😉
I think you are right, that you can do your best but you will never get rid of every single thing in your house. I love that you are taking steps and doing what you can though. I love reading about your thoughts on this and I love that you answered the question!
tori – Thank you for your support! I am really do this selfishly, to make MYSELF feel better, and for animals. It doesn’t really affect anyone else! So, I can only do what I can! I am not sure how that is related to what you said… it just came out 😉