I believe my vegan journey started long before I even realised; it started by going vegetarian. This blog post is a continuation of My vegan journey – Going vegetarian (part 1), so check that out for more context.
I started my conscious transition from vegetarian to vegan some time in 2019. There were three main factors that contributed to this shift:
1. I met some vegan people
It was not just a myth, these people live amongst us 🙂
Vegan people were just like you and me, they didn’t have ‘vegan’ written all over them and didn’t make it their mission to preach about it. This opened my eyes to the idea of veganism, which I hadn’t considered before. I started considering what goes in the cakes I made for bake offs at work and tested a few vegan recipes, to be more inclusive. I started reflecting on my own eating habits and realised that some of the food I would usually eat was vegan already.
2. I realised how traumatic animal farming really is for the animals
As a vegetarian I was pretty happy with myself, thinking I am not causing animals any suffering by simply not eating them. After all no cow died from being milked for me to enjoy cheese and milk chocolate; or so I thought. I had never considered that a cow needs to be constantly impregnated to give milk; that her baby is taken away from her so that I can have that milk and how traumatic it is for a mother and baby to be separated; also if the baby cow happens to be a male, it will most likely be shot because it has no value. The harsh reality is that farm animals are exploited like assets and are not treated like the sentient beings that they are. I am not going to go in more detail, because I personally find the graphical details very upsetting, but the Viva! Charity is a good source of information.
3. Vegan food is more accessible than ever
Being vegan takes considerably less effort than it ever did. It is amazing how every food you can think of has a vegan version. You can still enjoy your favourite take away or comfort food, but it comes with the added bonus of being cruelty free. Pretty much every restaurant has vegan options and there’s also the exclusively vegan eateries (dreamy!).
My concerns
Now that I had all this knowledge about the impact of my food choices, I had all these vegan options readily available and have met actual people who were vegan, I felt compelled to at least give it a go. What was the worst that could happen?
> Is a vegan diet and lifestyle sustainable in a world that is not vegan?
I was concerned that a vegan diet may not be sustainable long term. Can I go without ever having cheese or cake again?
> How will my family and friends deal with it?
I still need to function in a non vegan society, where being vegan is not that popular (to put it mildly).
My approach
I wasn’t sure that I can do this or what to expect, but I had to at least give it a go. I told myself it is not all or nothing; reducing the amount of dairy and egg I consume was still going to make a difference.
I started slowly, by replacing the milk in tea and coffee with plant based options; I reduced my egg intake and started to explore more vegan foods like jackfruit, banana blossom and even gave tofu a chance. I had to relearn how to bake cakes without dairy and egg and how to cook dishes with new ingredients. I also made sure to chose the vegan options when eating out, if such options were available. But it wasn’t all plain sailing, I was still finding it it hard to resist my usual chocolate bar treats and snacks.
Committing to a vegan lifestyle
After about 8 months of conscious effort of trying a vegan diet, I was almost there, but I would still be tempted by the odd non-vegan snack. I made the shift in January 2020 by signing up to Veganuary and never looked back. Turns out I can do it! Who knew it? I certainly didn’t. There is more to a vegan lifestyle than a vegan diet and I am still working on all the other aspects. Being vegan is a journey, not a destination.
“Veganism is a philosophy and way of living which seeks to exclude—as far as is possible and practicable—all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose; and by extension, promotes the development and use of animal-free alternatives for the benefit of animals, humans and the environment. In dietary terms it denotes the practice of dispensing with all products derived wholly or partly from animals.” Vegan Society definition of veganism.
Lessons learnt
I will end this self-reflection with the main lessons learnt during my vegan journey so far:
> Rethink and relearn
Do you think you need protein from meat and calcium from milk? Think again.
Be ready to learn to cook nutritious and delicious cruelty free food. You will find plenty of inspiration and tips on my blog.
> It’s not all or nothing.
Start thinking about the food choices you make and try vegan/vegetarian dishes or products. Allow yourself to be curious. If you can’t live without cheese – that’s fine, you can still make a difference by ditching everything else that’s not vegan.
> It’s not about perfection
Being vegan in a non-vegan world comes with its challenges, but that doesn’t mean you have to give up this ideal. Sure, you may end up eating something that has milk powder in it without realising, or you will be shocked to find out that most fabric conditioner contains animal fat in it, or you may have a really bad day and give in to a [insert not-vegan craving]; but that’s not the point. What truly matters is that every day you start again and try to be the best vegan you can be, as far as is possible and practicable.
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