When you first tell most people you’re vegan, the first thing they say to you is “I could never do that” “I love steak too much”. I’ve only been vegan since May and I’ve heard this a countless number of times. Disclaimer this isn’t an article promoting veganism but it’s just to educate you. Veganism isn’t for everyone and I’m not going to be one of those people shoving this down your throat.
As a vegan you don’t eat any animal bi-products which includes meat, dairy(cheese, milk, yogurt etc.) and eggs. Prior to being vegan I was a vegetarian for 6 years but I started eating meat again when I went to college and the choices were slim for a vegetarian. Vegetarian is you don’t eat meat you still can eat milk and eggs. Cutting meat out of my diet wasn’t hard at all. I thought it would be hard to give up eggs and cheese but I’ve gotten used to it now.
There are a few reasons one would become vegan. First off is for the welfare of animals. The meat and also dairy industry does not treat animals humanely. By cutting out meat and dairy for your diet you’ll save animals from being harmed. Secondly for health reasons, personally I didn’t do it for health reasons but I have seen a difference in energy levels and weight loss in the short time I’ve been vegan. As a vegan you eat a lot less junk so it makes sense. Another is an environmental factors, you may not realize but the raising, killing and transportation of the meat and dairy products contributes to your carbon footprint. The world cannot produce the amount of meat if everyone ate at consumption rate of the average American. As an individual it’s something to be mindful of because the earth’s resources are not all renewable. Within the next 20 years it’s going to become even a bigger issue. So we should be trying to reduce our carbon footprint.
Honestly I’m not telling you to become vegan but please be mindful about your meat intake even you cutting down on meat in your diet. It’s been said that two people that eat less meat can have the same impact that as a vegan so everything counts. I’ll be posting more articles about being vegan this is just a brief introduction to a lifestyle that I recently became apart of.
(Photo Sources: vegetarianmark.net)