I may even lose some followers for it, but that’s life.
I don’t really talk much about my veganism on here because I
feel like writing about it is offensive to some people. Which is stupid. I
really don’t think what I choose to eat or not eat, wear or not wear should
offend people. If it does, well then maybe you might want to evaluate why this
bothers you.
When I first transitioned to a plant-based diet 18 months
ago I did because that was what my body told me it wanted. After 7 months of
somewhat steady weight loss, on an omnivore diet, withouy really noticeable changes in my energy
levels, sleep patterns, recovery time, I turned to mindful eating to track how
my body reacted to the foods I was eating. Long story short- what I found out
was that plant-based was what worked for me. I thrive on a vegan diet. I have energy
ALL THE TIME. Even if I can only get in 5 hours of sleep (or even 3 hours after
a long night of drinking) I still wake up energized and ready to dominate life.
I sleep like a log, once my eyes are closed I am out cold. It’s awesome. And
when I exercise (or decide to run 27 additional miles over the 5 days after my
half marathon) I don’t need much recovery time before I can do it again.
Plant-based works really well for me so it was a super easy, seamless transition.
But after a few months of loving how I felt as a vegan I
kind of wanted to know why. I read books, I watched documentaries, I followed
online videos all about it and learned of the science behind why plant-based is
such a great way to live. In the process of trying to educate myself to the
workings of a plant-based diet I also learned about the tragedy which is our
animal farming/raising/slaughtering for foods. And it breaks my heart.
Yes, I am now one of those people. Feel free to roll your eyes at me ;)
To me, I think being compassionate to all living creatures
is a good thing, one that should not garner shame. However, I have encountered so
many people that not only think I am strange (and wrong) because of my beliefs
but the vehemently think there is nothing wrong with how animals raised for
food (or fur) are treated. Maybe you don’t either. I know I am definitely in
the minority when it comes to my beliefs in regards to animals for food and
clothing and I get why. It’s not how we were raised. We don’t really know a lot
about all the bad things that happen before/during slaughter. When we are shown
videos or read articles most people shrug it off like “oh, there are those
crazy PETA people again” maybe not really thinking about the legitimacy of
their message and how it affects you.
No, I am not saying you should all become vegans (but that
would make me very happy) but I would like it if we all learned a little bit
more about the food we eat; where it comes from, how it’s treated, how it
affects our bodies by eating it, and what are the benefits, or even repercussions,
by doing so. I try to continually educate myself about food and am learning new things all the time. I am no expert but I certainly feel that we learn so little about nutrition and the importance of our food
choices throughout life and I think a lot of the issues we have could be
prevented with just a little education.
There is so much bad stuff going on in animal farms but
today I will just share with you one thing. One of my least favorite images,
although thinking on this I see so many images of the horrific torture and
suffering animals endure at our hands flash through my mind, of one of the most ridiculous and tragic
parts of the farming industry- chick culling. In the egg industry, male chicks
serve no purpose (as they do not lay eggs) and so almost all are slaughtered
after they hatch- by method of grinding, gassing, breaking the neck or
electrocution. Sick, isn’t it.
Yeah, I said you might hate me after this. But sadly this is
just the tip of the iceberg. The little tiny baby chick tip of the iceberg.
No matter what choices we make, whether it is vegan, ominvore, straight up carnivore, I just think we should know what's going on in our world and just try to make the best, and most educated, decisions we can. I think that's really the best we can do.
"I hold that the more helpless a creature, the more
entitled it is to protection by man from the cruelty of man" ~Gandhi
