On May 26th, 2018 my best friend suggested that I watch a documentary on YouTube called Earthlings. I did, and ten days later, I went entirely vegan.
What I watched in that documentary had completely contrasted with what I had thought, and been taught, my entire life. This documentary highlighted the horrific exploitation of animals in the food industry, as well as in the clothing, entertainment, and research/science industries. No words can even begin to describe the footage I watched with my own two eyes. Knowing that I needed to know the truth about what was actually going on, I made myself watch the entirety of it. (If you are interested in watching this documentary, please click here.)
My whole life I grew up eating meat and dairy. I had never thought twice about it, because that was just the way my mother cooked. I had always been what I had thought of as a healthy person, never really having any health problems. After watching Earthlings, I just felt like I had been lied to my entire life about what was good for me and what was “healthy.” So, I continued to watch more documentaries. I watched “What the Health,” “Cowspiracy,” “Fed Up,” and “Forks Over Knives” all on Netflix to learn more about the food industry. I was so shocked and disgusted that I knew I had to stop eating meat. For ten days, I took all meat products off my plate.
Before I made the connection, my average day of food (what I thought was an extremely healthy diet), looked something like this: oatmeal, cereal, a bagel with cream cheese, or a veggie omelet for breakfast, buffalo chicken wrap with lettuce and tomato, mac and cheese, tuna salad sandwich or a garden salad topped with grilled chicken and a hard boiled egg for lunch, fruit, cheese and crackers, yogurt, or a granola bar for a snack, and chicken with broccoli and rice, kielbasa and pasta, chili over spaghetti, chicken burgers, or tacos for dinner.
I was consuming the correct amount of calories for my height and weight, I was getting my veggies and fruits and grains in, I was eating enough protein, what could possibly be wrong with this diet?
Well, there was a lot wrong with it.
The following are just some of the facts from What The Health’s website (also discussed in the documentary on Netflix). Please take a look for yourself.
- WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION REPORT HAS CLASSIFIED BACON & SAUSAGE AS CARCINOGENIC TO HUMANS
- MOST KIDS BY THE AGE OF 10 IN THE US HAVE FATTY STREAKS IN THEIR ARTERIES
- AMERICAN DIABETES ASSOCIATION FEATURES RECIPES FOR RED & PROCESSED MEATS
- ONE SERVING OF PROCESSED MEAT PER DAY INCREASED RISK OF DEVELOPING DIABETES BY 51%
- THE NUMBER ONE SOURCE OF SATURATED FAT IS DAIRY
- THERE IS A STRONG LINK BETWEEN DAIRY FOODS AND AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES
- COUNTRIES WITH THE HIGHEST RATES OF DAIRY CONSUMPTION HAVE THE HIGHEST RATES OF OSTEOPOROSIS
- DAIRY LINKED TO MANY DIFFERENT TYPES OF CANCER
- FOR WOMEN WHO HAVE HAD BREAST CANCER, JUST ONE SERVING OF WHOLE DAIRY A DAY CAN INCREASE THEIR CHANCE OF DYING FROM THE DISEASE 49%, AND DYING FROM ANY DISEASE 64%
- 10 MILLION PIGS IN NORTH CAROLINA PRODUCE THE WASTE EQUAL TO 100 MILLION HUMANS
- LIQUID PIG MANURE IS PUMPED INTO WASTE PITS THAT LEACH INTO RIVERS AND STREAMS AND THEN SPRAYED UNFILTERED ONTO NEARBY FIELDS
- DEAD HOGS ARE PROCESSED INTO FEED AND FED BACK TO THE HOGS
- RAISING ANIMALS FOR FOOD PRODUCES MORE GREENHOUSE GASES THAN THE ENTIRE TRANSPORTATION SECTOR
- RAISING ANIMALS FOR FOOD IS THE LEADING CAUSE OF RAINFOREST DESTRUCTION, SPECIES EXTINCTION, OCEAN DEAD ZONES AND FRESH WATER CONSUMPTION
- USDA ADMITTED THAT EGGS CANNOT LEGALLY BE LABELED: NUTRITIOUS, LOW FAT, PART OF A BALANCED DIET, LOW CALORIE, HEALTHFUL, HEALTHY, GOOD FOR YOU, OR SAFE
- TESTING SHOWS 88% OF PORK CHOPS, 90% OF GROUND BEEF AND 95% OF CHICKEN BREASTS SAMPLED WERE CONTAMINATED WITH FECAL BACTERIA
- ALL PROTEIN IS INITIALLY MADE BY PLANTS
- MOST AMERICANS GET ABOUT TWICE THE PROTEIN THEY NEED
- MOST AMERICANS GET LESS THAN HALF OF THE FIBER THEY NEED
- THE LARGEST, STRONGEST TERRESTRIAL ANIMALS ON THE PLANET ARE ALL HERBIVORES
- YOU CAN STOP AND REVERSE HEART DISEASE WITH PLANT-BASED DIETS
- THERE IS NOTHING IN AN ANIMAL-BASED DIET THAT YOU CAN’T GET IN AN HEALTHIER FORM SOMEWHERE ELSE
(All information above is property of http://www.whatthehealthfilm.com/facts)
After being exposed to this information, I felt betrayed by the food industry. I could not believe how these industries had gotten away with brainwashing us. I knew that I did not support this and I did not want to be a part of this. After ten days of eating no meat, I also gave up dairy and eggs. So, for the past three and a half months, I have been vegan.
I always get comments like “Wow you’re so dedicated, I could never give up chicken” or “I love cheese too much” or “But it just tastes so good.” And my first reaction is to get defensive and aggressively try to explain how bad meat and dairy is for us. But then I realized that I was in this position before, too. I never thought I could give up cheese, I loved pizza and mac and cheese too much. I could never give up ice cream, it had always been my favorite dessert. And what about burgers? Buffalo wings? Steak? They were so good when my dad grilled during the summertime. Well, the amazing thing is, you CAN still enjoy all of your favorite foods while being vegan. The great part is, no animal has to die or suffer for it.
As of 2018, it has never been easier to be vegan. There are vegan alternatives for almost EVERYTHING out there. Vegan shredded mozzarella or cheddar cheese. Vegan chicken strips. Vegan eggs. (Vegan eggs?! Yep). Vegan butter. Vegan ice cream. Vegan burgers. Vegan yogurt. The list is endless. One of the greatest things I found once becoming vegan was that I started cooking with foods and products I had never even heard of before, or didn’t even know you could cook with! Cashews for cheese sauces. Black beans for fudgey brownies. Nutritional yeast, tofu, dates, flax seeds, and so many other nutritious plant-based foods had started to make their way into my cooking.
(Mac n cheese made by my best friend, Brianna Medas)
Over the summer, some amazing vegan food I ate included: buffalo chik’n mac and cheese with bleu cheese, edible raw cookie dough, grilled chik’n wrap, spicy mac and cheese, homemade “cosmic brownies”, quinoa tacos, loaded nachos, buffalo chickpea pizza, pad Thai, tofu BLT, “mozzarella” sticks, poutine, cheesecake, vanilla milkshake, broccoli alfredo, chili, BBQ whiskey burger, cookie dough ice cream, scrambled “eggs”, peanut butter brownie, butternut squash quesadillas, spicy sweet chili Doritos, and spaghetti with Italian “sausage.” As you can tell, I didn’t “miss out” on any food just because I’m vegan. I thrived.
Though I made the switch for the animals and for the planet, I lost 15 pounds since going vegan. I have more energy, I do not get sick as often, and I feel happier. Since going vegan, I have helped this planet and myself in so many ways. I used The Vegan Calculator to see how many lives, how many gallons of water, pounds of grain, feet of forest, and pounds of carbon dioxide I have saved over the past three months. It’s so amazing to see how I, personally, have already positively impacted this world, and I hope that this inspires more people to do the same.
The majority of us think that all vegans eat is salads and tofu. But, just because we’re vegan doesn’t mean we don’t love a good cheesy pizza! We vegans have just made the connection that no animal needs to suffer for our cravings. Now, for those of you who can read those facts listed above and proceed to eat a burger later today, I truly encourage and suggest that you begin to watch some documentaries and educate yourself on what’s really in the “food” you’re eating. I am not criticizing those who are not vegan, because everyone has to make the connection on their own time, and I truly believe that with enough resources and support, anyone can go vegan.
Eating meat is a choice. Being vegan is a choice. I am vegan because I listen to my heart, not my habits. What will you choose?
For those of you looking to make the switch, or simply want to learn more, here are some great resources to get you started: