Why I became vegan
Contrary to popular belief vegans don’t live off carrots and lettuce leaves and they do enjoy being vegan. Once at my mum’s house I was dishing myself up a vegan treat and one of my relatives said to me, “How long are you going to have to eat that for,” as if I was somehow afflicted. Although mildly entertained by the comment, I realised, that some carnivores (mainly the avid ones, who wouldn’t limit their meat intake for love nor money) view vegans with a kind of abject pity. It made me think of how I became vegan myself and my attitudes, prior to my, dare I say, ‘conversion.’
I have only been vegan for coming up to three years. I used to gobble meat on a regular basis. I didn’t really think about how the animals were reared and slaughtered and the means by which they came to be sitting on my plate. I think this is the case for many people. They see the animal as a pre-packaged item on a shop shelf.
To cut a long (and very boring) story short, I underwent a spiritual transformation, through learning a Japanese energy healing system. A short while after learning the course I had a nightmare that I was eating chicken and it was making me vomit. I could see myself chewing on the carcass and it was altogether, highly unpleasant. The next day I woke up and the thought of eating meat made me feel nauseous. Still, I put it to the back of my mind and went to my dad’s house for Sunday lunch. He cooked up a beef roast and although I didn’t particularly relish the idea of eating it, I was conscious of not offending him, so I tucked in. Every time I took a mouthful of beef, I had visions of cows being slaughtered. I decided there and then to become a vegetarian. It was the first time I had really considered that I had been munching on living, sentient beings, whose lives were no less valuable than my own.
A couple of weeks after my first unsettling dream, I had another one where eating eggs was making me vomit. The following morning I decided to become completely vegan.
Sometimes people ask me if it is a chore, but I have never been happier. I eat a lot more healthily. I eat a wider variety of foods. I feel a lot lighter, because meat sits heavy on the digestion. I believe that vegans and vegetarians (generally speaking) tend to be more compassionate people. Albert Einstein once said,
“It is my view that the vegetarian manner of living, by its purely physical effect on the human temperament, would most beneficially influence a lot of mankind."
I have not found any problems with being vegan whatsoever and various studies have shown the benefits of a vegan diet to human health. The Vegan Society provides lots of information for potential and existing vegans. In fact, I would go as far as to say that being vegan has never been so easy, with all the many resources we now have available. I think it’s time for the devout carnivores to broaden their horizons a little.
Cool! I went vegan about 3 years ago too. After I saw how animals were treated in factory farms and gruesomely killed in slaughterhouse, I just couldn't bring myself to eat another drumstick.
Posted by: drew | May 2, 2007 5:32 AM