”So… why are you vegan?”, that’s the question I keep asking people who made the choice of excluding animal products from their diet. I don’t ask this question on an accusatory tone, but rather in a curious, wanting-to-understand-where-you’re-coming from tone. Because I’ve considered being a vegetarian/vegan for a long time, but I wouldn’t take the first step before I felt authentic about it. Like writing an essay, I felt like I had to do a thorough research on the subject to come up with rational arguments for myself. So why would I switch to the other side? From all the reasons I researched and heard about, the environmental impacts of the meat and fish industry made the most sense to me. Cows produce methane just by living: they’re farts, burps and breath releases this dangerous gas in our atmosphere and traps the heat inside, thus causing global warming. ”A staggering 51 percent or more of global greenhouse-gas emissions are caused by animal agriculture. According to the United Nations, a global shift toward a vegan diet is necessary to combat the worst effects of climate change”. They produce so much feces (10x more than humans do in North Carolina) that it’s collected and sprayed on the fields as a fertilizer. The problem is that the waste often leaks in water sources and contaminates it. For the fish industry, fisherman use huge nets that drags on the marine floor and destroys it: the choral dies and the fish ends up homeless.
So I had my first argument, but what else? I just finished my first year at University and I experienced at least 10 times a moment where someone approached me to give me a pamphlet explaining with detailed illustrations about how animals are treated horribly in slaughterhouses. I thought: wow, this is horrible, but it can’t be that bad…? I told myself they made it look worst to persuade people to stop eating meet. But then I did some more research and found out that they were by no means exaggerating.
So I had 2 arguments: environmental impacts and animal cruelty. But it still wasn’t enough because if animals eat other animals, then why shouldn’t we eat animals? The Lion King’s theme song was my main inspiration for that thought: it’s the circle of life! We need animal protein to be strong and fierce! Don’t we? I then decided that I would only eat chicken (less methane) but only from local organic farms (no antibiotics, hormones nor animal cruelty). So just this last Saturday, I mounted my bike and headed to the organic farmers market and bought a nice chicken breast.
I got it, I found the solution! Until I watch the documentary Vegucated (which you should all watch) and realised that even ”small” family farms have issues. Another disturbing realisation (pointed out by my sister) is that humans are the only specie that drink milk: (1) from other species and (2): after we grow out of our ”baby stage”. Harvard recently published a study about how milk ”Doesn’t Do A Body Good”.
In conclusion, I’ve decided to match up my ”zero-waste” challenge with a ”Vegan” challenge to experience first-hand the ups and down of being a vegan for a month. Again, I will post daily articles about my experience of going to the other side.
La Joie De Vivre 