There are so many reasons to go vegan. I could spend days talking about the benefits – but that is for another blog post(s). Right now, I want to share with you the reasons I chose to become a full-time vegan. Before I begin, I feel as if I should make something very clear to you all: being vegan is a personal choice. It is my personal choice. It is perfectly okay if it is not yours. I am not here to shove veganism down your throat or shame you for eating animal products. At the same time, I want to be entirely upfront as to why I am vegan. No sugarcoats and with enough love, no hurt feelings. Now, let’s dive on into the story.
I became a vegetarian seven-years ago technically because of a bet. It was Easter Sunday and I was a carnivorous thirteen-year old. My family knew me as the weird girl who pretty much only ate steak and only ate it extra-rare. I had been lightly thinking about the whole idea of eating meat being kind of messed up, I had wanted to work at zoo or as a veterinarian pretty much most of my life up until that point. So, I mentioned something to my cousins, and they told me I would not make it through seeing Grandma’s beef and noodle soup or honey glazed ham and still want to be vegetarian. All I have to say is the challenged was accepted. A plate loaded with mashed potatoes, bread, and two pieces of lettuce I didn’t touch, I never intentionally ate meat again. To be honest, I have never looked back.
Fast forward to freshman year of college. I am not sure if it was due to stress or what, but my gut decided to raise hell on me. Looking, I have probably been lactose-sensitive if not intolerant most of my life. I ignored it because I told myself that I already limited my diet enough and at the time I had no ethical qualms with the dairy or egg industry; however, that first year away from home it seemed as if everything with even a drop of dairy made my stomach feel as if it were being flipped upside down. Probably not-so-coincidentally, at the same time I was in school as an animal science major. That means I got to learn all about animal agriculture – the good, the bad, and the ugly. I got experience on two meat farms. Wonderfully run, extremely ethical in terms of animal agriculture, farms. I got to milk a cow at a dairy and really see how the industry works.
No matter how humane the practices were, what I saw was a life. A life cut-short. Did you know that when dairy cows stop producing milk, they are killed? I didn’t. Did you know for an egg-laying facility to be considered free range, there only has to be a tiny outdoor enclose available? I pictured lush fields and lots of space to roam free. Did you know that a pig is just as intelligent as a dog? That alone blows my mind. I very quickly found an ethical reason to be vegan. By the second semester, I was vegan majority of the time. The food was very limited in my school cafeteria and at the time I could not afford to do much else. I lost a lot of weight being even mostly vegan because I could not eat much. Then summer came around, and I felt more than ready to be vegan for good.
Though it may sound a little woo-woo for some of you, in retrospect I am very grateful for my gut issues. I believe I was given them to force myself to start eating a plant-based diet that really serves my body. I have developed some more food sensitivities as time goes on. As of now, along with not being able to tolerate dairy at all, my body reacts poorly to refined oils and sugar. Believe or not, I see this as a blessing. I am eating cleaner than I ever have before and my body is keeping me in check with my diet. When my body is full of nutrient-rich, pure food, I am able to tap into my spiritual channel with ease. I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason, and it is my opinion that my gut is so sensitive because it has to be for me to be pushed into eating the way my soul needs me to be for me to progress further along in life. Like I said, it may be woo-woo to some of you, but I thank you, thank you, thank you for listening to who I became and why I stick to being vegan. I have zero judgement towards you if veganism is not your chosen path and I respect your personal beliefs.
Love,
Cazmera
