Vegan Pride

by Jo Morgan

Weird Vegans

In December I had two vegan cousins come to stay. I was appalled. What the hell was wrong with them? What the hell was I going to feed them? Who the hell had brainwashed them?

Whilst providing them with weird looking fake cheese and strange, pretend milk I feasted on foie gras and camembert. I was half expecting to argue with my cousins about this. Somehow I felt that they might be judging my own food choices or that they would exert a sense of superiority about their own.

Somewhat disappointingly the weird vegans didn’t make any judgements. They didn’t preach the virtues of veganism, they didn’t cause a fuss.  

As my initial horror softened I began to ask questions about the reasons behind veganism. For my cousins, these were threefold: health, animal welfare and the environment. As my interest deepened I began a thorough engagement with each of these issues. At the same time I decided to try out ‘Veganuary’; a month of plant-based eating during January.

Health

We are all taught that meat and dairy are essential parts of a healthy diet. I had believed these myths my entire life until, on my cousins’ recommendation I read the book How Not To Die by Dr Michael Greger.

What I read blew my mind. Greger uses journals, medical trails and studies to prove the catastrophic impact that meat and dairy have on our health. He demonstrates that cancer, diabetes, heart disease and many other illnesses are caused by the consumption of animal products. I also watched What the Health on Netflix which, whilst less academically rigorous confirmed the fact the veganism really is a no-brainer.

Animal welfare

This summer I got a puppy who I absolutely adore. As I started to question my dietary choices I began to realise that funding the meat and dairy industries was completely inconsistent with my love of animals. I had already seen Dairy is Scary on YouTube and knew the reality of animal suffering but it was something I had previously chosen to ignore or even laugh about. Suddenly I felt like my eyes had opened. The rare steaks I’d been eating lost their appeal and as I engaged in further research I couldn’t believe that I had funded something so unethical for so long. Watching Earthlings online sealed the deal.

Environmentalism

Prior to my vegan journey I had never considered the impact that my food consumption was having on the planet. The truth is shocking:

This infographic has been produced by the creators of the Netflix film Cowspiracy. Again, watching this documentary was a key turning point for me. Becoming vegan is the single greatest impact I can have in protecting our planet.

Vegan for life?

So, what began as Veganuary has progressed into something far more meaningful and long-term. Unbelievably I don’t miss meat at all. I’m enjoying cooking and eating more than ever and I feel that I have made a really positive change in my life. Vegan for life? I really cannot imagine going back.