read this if you don't understand why i'm vegan, or if you aren't vegan
hello, it's me, writing yet another post (honestly, who am i? not just writing weekly but like daily?), this particular one is sure to get some people mad. a preface, i stand by what i say. however, i understand that other people have differing views and opinions, and i will treat them with my utmost respect, but i do ask that if you feel upset by this in any capacity, that you think about why that may be. i hope you understand that this is not me being mean to you, and that you can actually give this some serious thought. alright, enough with that. on to the post.
hello dear friend! today we get to hop onto this lovely controversial subject that is: veganism. yes, it's me, your friendly neighborhood ethical vegan. apparently, some people feel threatened by the idea of eating plants only, so first i shall go into the diet aspect of veganism, and how it really is amazing and wonderful and doesn't suck, and then i will go into the ethics. first: you may think that you have never eaten vegan food. unless you are a true carnivore (you're not, or if you are for some reason only consuming animal products, please go get your heart checked out, you may be at risk for heart issues. that ain't healthy, chief), then you have had quite a variety of vegan foods throughout your life. vegetables, mushrooms, fruits, legumes, grains, seeds, nuts, and many more things are naturally plant based, vegan foods. chips and salsa are vegan, oreos are vegan, sour patch kids are vegan, as well as many other snacks, so even if you aren't a veggie or fruit lover, you've probably managed to get a piece of vegan food into your body at somepoint. often times, when people find out that i am vegan, they suddenly become rather distraught about the nutrients i get, which seems rather odd because people were never worried back when i would eat toast for 4 days straight, seems kind of odd. i then have to explain that yes, i only eat plants, but plants contain all the nutrients we need, including protein, believe it or not. if you eat animals that are herbivores, so cows, deer, sheep, goats, etc., then the animals you are eating get all their nutrients from the plants that they consume, and they still have muscles and still function perfectly properly, because all the nutrients you need are in plants. believe me, or look it up, they are. after i attempt to convince people that i am indeed nourished, i tend to get the, "well, i could never give up ____", which tends to be steak or cheese or ice cream. this is my favorite subject to get on to. people assume, rather incorrectly, that being vegan is all salads and smoothies. as much as i love smoothies and salads, i rarely consume them. i'm vegan for the animals, and sure, i'm way healthier than i used to be, but that's just a bonus at this point. i still eat all the same foods i used to: burgers that are rich and juicy, full of protein and chewy, biscuits and gravy with butter, and mac n cheese that is my own personal favorite recipe, one that has even converted some of my omnivore friends over, but all of them are made from plants. yes, there is vegan cheese, and yogurt, and ice cream, and whipped cream, and burgers and bacon and ham, and chicken nuggets, even vegan eggs! just without killing a sentient being that doesn't want to die. vegan food is not only nutritious but tastes amazing, and in my experience, leaves me feeling much better than their non vegan counterparts. i recently hosted a vegan brunch for my friends, none of which were vegan. comments i got on my biscuits and gravy (that happen to be gluten free, too, and are ridiculously easy and cheap): "sorry, i have one question: i though meat wasn't vegan, but this has meat?" "this tastes just like the normal versions... " some more comments on my vegan scrambled eggs: "this not only has the texture of eggs, but tastes even better" "this is my new favorite dish" vegan pancakes: "this tastes like normal food. pass the syrup?"
see, it's not about taking something away from you. i would never want to do that. it's about understanding that we don't need animal products for taste or nutrients, and that because of that, when we eat animal products, it is unnecessary death.
this is what i get into arguments with my friends about. not because they disagree with me, actually because they agree with me but their actions don't line up with what they believe. that's called cognitive dissonance, and it makes you uncomfortable. reasonably so. most people really don't like the idea of hurting other beings, so when they start to realize that's what they're doing and they don't stop, they get frustrated and upset. that was me, before i went vegan. i yelled at so many vegan friends and got into arguments with them. one day i realized that i was being unnecessarily mean and that vegans were literally doing no harm to me, and i looked into veganism more. i saw health benefits and weight loss, so i tried going vegan, then eventually went back to an omnivorous diet after only eating salads and feeling hungry. a few months later, i had this dream thing where i was in the place of the animals that my money paid to kill. i felt helpless, abandoned, and fearful. i'm not saying animals and humans are equal, i don't personally believe that. but i realized that we have the same capacity to suffer, and my money going to kill them didn't need to go to killing them. for the same costs, cheaper, i could buy plant foods instead of contributing to the suffering of animals. it was an incredibly easy choice at that point. thank you for reading this far, i hope that things are making sense for you. i'm tired, it's getting late, so i will just leave you with a few questions to think about.
do you think you need animal products to be a healthy human?
do you want to contribute to harm or do you want to contribute to peace?
do you think that the animals we kill for food want to die?
do you think that it is justifiable to kill something that does not want to die when there is no need?
i hope you can think about this, and try going vegan out, even if it's for a week, or a month or a year. leave me a comment, i would love to discuss this peacefully with you. i'm hoping to start posting veganized classic recipes every week, along with my standard content. thank you for reading, it really means a lot :)
hello dear friend! today we get to hop onto this lovely controversial subject that is: veganism. yes, it's me, your friendly neighborhood ethical vegan. apparently, some people feel threatened by the idea of eating plants only, so first i shall go into the diet aspect of veganism, and how it really is amazing and wonderful and doesn't suck, and then i will go into the ethics. first: you may think that you have never eaten vegan food. unless you are a true carnivore (you're not, or if you are for some reason only consuming animal products, please go get your heart checked out, you may be at risk for heart issues. that ain't healthy, chief), then you have had quite a variety of vegan foods throughout your life. vegetables, mushrooms, fruits, legumes, grains, seeds, nuts, and many more things are naturally plant based, vegan foods. chips and salsa are vegan, oreos are vegan, sour patch kids are vegan, as well as many other snacks, so even if you aren't a veggie or fruit lover, you've probably managed to get a piece of vegan food into your body at somepoint. often times, when people find out that i am vegan, they suddenly become rather distraught about the nutrients i get, which seems rather odd because people were never worried back when i would eat toast for 4 days straight, seems kind of odd. i then have to explain that yes, i only eat plants, but plants contain all the nutrients we need, including protein, believe it or not. if you eat animals that are herbivores, so cows, deer, sheep, goats, etc., then the animals you are eating get all their nutrients from the plants that they consume, and they still have muscles and still function perfectly properly, because all the nutrients you need are in plants. believe me, or look it up, they are. after i attempt to convince people that i am indeed nourished, i tend to get the, "well, i could never give up ____", which tends to be steak or cheese or ice cream. this is my favorite subject to get on to. people assume, rather incorrectly, that being vegan is all salads and smoothies. as much as i love smoothies and salads, i rarely consume them. i'm vegan for the animals, and sure, i'm way healthier than i used to be, but that's just a bonus at this point. i still eat all the same foods i used to: burgers that are rich and juicy, full of protein and chewy, biscuits and gravy with butter, and mac n cheese that is my own personal favorite recipe, one that has even converted some of my omnivore friends over, but all of them are made from plants. yes, there is vegan cheese, and yogurt, and ice cream, and whipped cream, and burgers and bacon and ham, and chicken nuggets, even vegan eggs! just without killing a sentient being that doesn't want to die. vegan food is not only nutritious but tastes amazing, and in my experience, leaves me feeling much better than their non vegan counterparts. i recently hosted a vegan brunch for my friends, none of which were vegan. comments i got on my biscuits and gravy (that happen to be gluten free, too, and are ridiculously easy and cheap): "sorry, i have one question: i though meat wasn't vegan, but this has meat?" "this tastes just like the normal versions... " some more comments on my vegan scrambled eggs: "this not only has the texture of eggs, but tastes even better" "this is my new favorite dish" vegan pancakes: "this tastes like normal food. pass the syrup?"
see, it's not about taking something away from you. i would never want to do that. it's about understanding that we don't need animal products for taste or nutrients, and that because of that, when we eat animal products, it is unnecessary death.
this is what i get into arguments with my friends about. not because they disagree with me, actually because they agree with me but their actions don't line up with what they believe. that's called cognitive dissonance, and it makes you uncomfortable. reasonably so. most people really don't like the idea of hurting other beings, so when they start to realize that's what they're doing and they don't stop, they get frustrated and upset. that was me, before i went vegan. i yelled at so many vegan friends and got into arguments with them. one day i realized that i was being unnecessarily mean and that vegans were literally doing no harm to me, and i looked into veganism more. i saw health benefits and weight loss, so i tried going vegan, then eventually went back to an omnivorous diet after only eating salads and feeling hungry. a few months later, i had this dream thing where i was in the place of the animals that my money paid to kill. i felt helpless, abandoned, and fearful. i'm not saying animals and humans are equal, i don't personally believe that. but i realized that we have the same capacity to suffer, and my money going to kill them didn't need to go to killing them. for the same costs, cheaper, i could buy plant foods instead of contributing to the suffering of animals. it was an incredibly easy choice at that point. thank you for reading this far, i hope that things are making sense for you. i'm tired, it's getting late, so i will just leave you with a few questions to think about.
do you think you need animal products to be a healthy human?
do you want to contribute to harm or do you want to contribute to peace?
do you think that the animals we kill for food want to die?
do you think that it is justifiable to kill something that does not want to die when there is no need?
i hope you can think about this, and try going vegan out, even if it's for a week, or a month or a year. leave me a comment, i would love to discuss this peacefully with you. i'm hoping to start posting veganized classic recipes every week, along with my standard content. thank you for reading, it really means a lot :)
Comments
Post a Comment