Why I'm Vegan

First off, a warning:

I am NOT one of those vegans who think all non-vegans are killing the world and themselves and that we should all be chewing raw kale until our jaws give out.

So whether that instills in you relief or a fiery rage, now you know.

I firmly believe that different bodies digest in different ways, and even more firmly I believe that different people have different definitions of "healthy." My version may not be your version, and I completely respect your right to choose to eat whatever you'd like for whatever reasons you'd like. But I do expect the same in return, and just as you should feel free to eat anything in front of me, I'd like to feel free to eat anything in front of you.

Please don't wrinkle your nose at my tofu if I haven't wrinkled my nose at your hamburger.


Now that the preach-y bit is out of the way, we can get to the good stuff!

What I Actually Eat:

I'm not what you'd call a strict vegan. I use responsibly-sourced honey in my baking because in my experience small-scale beekeepers have a ton of respect for their bees and do their best to keep them healthy and happy, which is lovely. I also eat fish the one or two times a year I'm in a restaurant fancy enough to be sure that 1) it was wild-caught and fresh, 2) it's going to be prepared perfectly and 3) I can be sure they'll make it without butter if I ask. As you can imagine, this marvelous trifecta doesn't occur frequently, and I'd say I'm vegan 98% of the time.


Why I Went Vegan:

Sometime around the time I was 19 I started noticing HELLA problems with my digestion. I won't go into detail, but let's just say I long for the days when I could count on being regular, every morning, like a person with a healthy digestive tract can.
I noticed a small improvement when I started eating less bread, but still nothing stellar. For a couple of years I noticed, not a change in my digestion, but that in general I felt rather weighted down and slow after I ate meat, and ate it less and less, ultimately becoming mostly vegetarian, with the occasional chicken breast or egg whites. But as I researched different diets and detoxes to aid digestive health I kept running into endless articles on the benefits of veganism. So in April of 2012, after reading enough blogs, articles and books to convince me, I decided to go vegan.

It was SHOCKINGLY easy. I was prepared for cravings and the possibility that I'd only last a month or two. But I didn't miss anything. AT ALL. A former lover, nay, ADORER of cheese, I can now take or leave the stuff, and the only time I've had "real" pizza in the last year I was sorely disappointed. More than any actual non vegan food, I missed the ease of eating out, since outside of New York City finding vegan options in restaurants is unreliable at best. But I never felt like I was depriving myself of anything. And that's because I wasn't.

So many people, upon hearing that I'm vegan, say, "But WHAT do you even eat?"
I just want to answer, and usually do, "It's easier to tell you what I DON'T eat."

And it's true. I eat soup, sandwiches, salad, stir-fry, pizza, pasta, risotto, polenta, burritos, enchiladas.
Italian, Mexican, Chinese, Thai, Indian, American. I eat really any dish from any ethnicity of cuisine. Except maybe French. That's a whole lot of cream, meat and cheese to be finding substitutes for.

But if, rather than looking at what you can't eat, and trying to imitate it, you look at all of the things you can eat and the endless combinations therein, it's pretty hard to be disappointed in an all-plant diet.


Why I Think You Should TRY Veganism:
People worldwide, but especially in the US, have a warped idea of how much protein a person needs to eat, and where protein comes from. In the land of 32 ounce steaks, I'd love for people to realize that meat does not, in fact, make a meal, that too much of it is deadly, and that "too much" is most likely a smaller amount by far than they'd imagine.
I also would like people to, even if they simply can't part with butter or cheese, give SERIOUS thought to nixing milk. Since cheese and butter are so fatty, they're already largely seen as a treat and something to be used sparingly. But milk has the whole world fooled that it's healthy; nature's supplement of necessary vitamins and minerals, rather than it's actual sugary, hormone-laden, phlegm-inducing self.


Why I Ultimately Don't Give A Crap Whether Or Not You're Vegan:
While I do love me some fuzzy, cute animals, I don't keep vegan out of a desire to never see another animal die. It's natural for one beast to eat another, and, frankly, it's silly to deny the fact that humans were designed to eat whatever was available to sustain them: animal, vegetable or mineral.  No, I keep vegan because I'm aware of the fact that I'm lucky enough to be able to CHOOSE what I eat based on how it makes me feel, and I choose not to eat animal products. If I had to survive in the wild and my only option was going good ol' hunter-gatherer, you can bet I'd eat meat if necessary. But we have the luxury of choice.

BUT with great luxury comes great responsibility (heh heh) and the reason it doesn't matter whether you're an omnivore, a vegan, or a mad old fruitarian is because there is a MUCH larger issue at hand: we have almost completely lost all respect and regard for what we eat, no matter what it is. It has been so long since we've had to pick our own fruits and vegetables and kill our own livestock that we've separated ourselves from the process entirely, and getting food the normal way (a la from the farmers) has become a novelty. Buying food from the farmers' market is what you do for a treat or entertainment, but the rest of the time we're happy enough to eat food that was grown in revoltingly mass quantities, chock full of chemicals and shipped many miles before it gets to us. And that goes for beef and chicken as much as it goes for fruits and vegetables.

So all I can ask, whether you've eaten nothing but nuts and berries for as long as you've had teeth, or whether you eat turducken wrapped in bacon three times a day, is to think more about your food. Be thankful FOR and TO your food. It's literally what you're building your body out of as you replace your cells so you can go on living, so even if you can't find the time/energy/whathaveyou to worry about the effects of agribusiness on the environment/government/whathaveyou, take the time to worry about it's effect on you. Then do something to change it.

TL, DR:
I recommend veganism, I find it lovely and tasty. I won't judge you if you don't go for it. But please be conscious about whatever you choose to eat and help stop agribusiness from destroying what little we have left of a REAL farming culture and industry in this country.


Many thanks to you for reading my thoughts and opinions! Have the loveliest of days, and happy eating!