V is for Vegan (and some food for thought)
Why am I Vegan? Let me count the reasons:
1. It is far more environmentally sustainable than an omnivorous lifestyle. To produce just one pound of beef it takes 2500 gallons of water. Newsweek once put it another way: “the water that goes into a 1,000 pound steer would float a destroyer.”
2. It is simply healthier, assuming that the lifestyle is adopted by an educated, intelligent person interested in making sure that they give their body what it needs.
3. It automatically means that meals are prepared carefully and thoughtfully. It is difficult to “throw together” a nice sit down vegan meal without putting any thought into it.
4. I don’t like inflicting pain on anything that feels it. I know I don’t like pain.
5. Death seems like a harsh punishment for animals; simply because I won’t take the time and effort required to keep them alive.
6. I like my foods hormone free. My body knows how much of any hormone I need, it doesn’t need me getting in its way.
7. Have you ever heard of a cat drinking goat milk; how about a dog drinking human milk? Why does a human drinking cow milk sound so normal?
8. Why should other people do my dirty work? I can’t even watch an animal being slaughtered on TV let alone do it myself in real life. Why should it be ok just because someone else did the killing for me?
9. I won’t go so far as to say that I am Buddhist; rather my beliefs and ideals fit well into that religion. One of its main teachings: Compassion for all sentient beings. I find it difficult to feel truly compassionate for a grazing cow knowing that it could be on my plate tomorrow.
10. I believe that life is a summation of our many experiences, good and bad. The more experiences we have the richer our lives will be. Veganism is another way to relate to people and the world around me and another for the world and those people to view me.
11. I now have an informed and truly educated opinion on vegan/vegetarianism. Education (good education that is) serves to expand the mind and we could all use a little mind-expansion.
No, I have not been Vegan long, a little more than 2 months to be precise. Before that I was off and on vegetarian and have always enjoyed veggie dishes more than their bloody cousins. I hold no grudges against non Vegans, I was one for the last 19+ years of my life. It is a personal choice, and I am always more than willing to help anyone make an educated one. I try my best not to be preachy as many Herbivores may seem, but I do enjoy a good heated conversation now and again. That is definitely a perk of the lifestyle.
One thing that I have learned thus far is how important food is in our lives no matter what food you choose to eat. I wouldn’t want it any other way, but one thing I see too often and that I am now very conscious of in myself, is losing control over my body. Especially when it comes to food. For many people food controls what they do, how they do it, what they think and how they feel. None of us are starving so I think it is a great privilege for us to be able to control our food rather than the other way around. We should us food to our advantage, eat it or not, love it or not. When we don’t have it, then we don’t have it, but we are secure in the comfort that we can get it very easily. This gives us the opportunity to do what we want how we want with NO LIMITATIONS. It is mind over stomach, and a little less food will do very few people in North America harm. Food in every case in the west is a means to an end, not an end in itself.
