vegan diet Archives – StayBlooming.com

^{Image source: PETA}

I get asked the same series of questions very often: How did you stop eating meat? Do you still eat fish or eggs? What else do you eat? Do you miss meat? Why did you stop eating meat? The list goes on… This article should serve as an answer to all of the questions I receive and hopefully it will also serve as encouragement to going meat-less.

First and foremost, I want to mention that everyone’s experience when transitioning to a new diet is unique. Each of our physical body’s has its own set of requirements to be satisfied and properly nourished. The difficulty can range for everyone and not every food alternative will work for your palette. With that said, food can be a very personal subject.

We have been conditioned to believe a mass-producing meat industry is normal. For meat eaters, there’s this perceived convenience due to what they actually can’t see. Some of these thought-provoking things include: filthy living conditions for livestock, overconsumption of fresh water, high methane emissions, etc. If more meat eaters were aware of the process it took to get meat onto their table, they would most likely source it differently or change their overall eating habits.

As if the blindfold we live behind isn’t bad enough… current trends of accessibility to meat enable society’s meat eating habits. Citizens have more purchasing power with meat as opposed to plant-based foods. It reminds me all too much of environmental justice situations where our economy and governing systems idle on the communities that need change the most. Like when low-income communities or communities of color experience contaminated water supplies or landfill placement in proximity to them.

So why did I stop consuming meat? I use social media oftentimes to express that my reasons are multifaceted and there really is no one simple answer. The reasons are numerous and their severity vary in intensity:

Majority of animals in the meat industry are given a lot of antibiotics and are sometimes even force-fed to make them gain weight.
Cows have to endure being impregnated by human intervention (rape if you ask me) to produce milk as well as having heir newborn calfs taken from them so humans may have milk. Other animals can be in cramped or confined conditions that oftentimes are not as clean as they need to be. Animal abuse should never be tolerated, especially before animals are sacrificed for meat.
Environmental effects (and climate change)
- Producing meat is a large uses of our fresh water. From the amount of water animals need to survive, to the amount of water necessary in production of meat, and even down to the water in vegetation that more and more livestock animals need to eat.
- Large livestock populations emit a large amount Methane from their excrement. Methane is more dangerous than Carbon Dioxide, allowing the atmosphere to heat quicker.
- Big spaces of land are also turned into grasslands for livestock, this causes the environment to experience a loss of land that could provide for a more biologically diverse community.
In human’s history, meat was not an everyday delicacy. It was one that was recognized as a sacrifice of the earth and was ritualistic. Not only was it consumed way less frequently as it is now, portions were also not as big as they are now. The push for consumerism has taught us not to value the life of an animal to be quite frank.

Now, how did I stop eating meat? I honestly tried more than once to become a vegetarian and the first time, I relapsed. It was hard because I attempted to do it without any planning or prior research. But that attempt helped me to establish that I would no longer eat red meat (beef, lamb) or pork (pig).

^{Image source: PETA}

To make it more of a successful experience, for my second attempt I transitioned slowly. In 2015, I began experiencing digestive issues and it was the perfect scenario to motivate me. Just as the human body takes time to heal, it takes time to adjust to new habits such as a diet change. I began eating chicken less frequently and intentionally looking for more alternatives to add to my diet. I found that: foods like mushrooms were tasty and provided awesome texture; vegetable mixes were underrated especially when you tried new ones together or made a homemade vegetable soup; and potatoes are filling plus can be eaten in many different ways. I stopped eating chicken too but I was still eating seafood.

I began limiting my seafood intake to only fish… and it difficult. Fish was my favorite of everything I was going to stop. So, just as I had done with chicken, I ate fish less and less frequently but also made sure I was adding to my alternative choices. At this time, I was already developing favorite snacks and meals.

Early this year, I completely stopped consuming dairy (milk, cheese) and eggs. Although I don’t have any inclination to drink milk and have been drinking alternatives for some time, I am extra careful when ordering drinks and reading ingredient labels. I have learned that reading labels becomes an art as a person with a vegan diet.

So the last and final question, do I miss meat?, and my answer is yes. There are times that I get an indirect craving for meat but it’s my body asking for something else nutrient wise . Earlier on, when I did give into temptation, meat simply tasted raw no matter how well cooked it was.

And now I can’t even stomach to smell meat being cooked. I hope this brought some insight and thought to you.

The one that I’d like to discuss a bit today is the vegan label.

I want to dissect this a bit because it was brought to my attention recently. These days, people choose to go vegan for a multitude of reasons. Some do it because they want to prevent animal abuse in the meat industry, and some do it to help promote a healthy environment, some do it strictly for health reasons. I do it for a combination of those reasons. I even advocate for veganism on social media and constantly referring to myself as a vegan. But there’s a great big misconception that goes unnoticed with calling yourself a vegan.

Begin a vegan means not only promoting a meatless/fishless/dairy-free diet but also promoting a lifestyle that completely avoids animal cruelty. I have thoroughly enjoyed seeing more and more people convert to a meatless/fishless/dairy-free diet—the best part is watching their conscious mind flourish—but I’ve realized that only comes if you’re aware & doing things for the right reason. I’m in no way promoting one or the other as each is an avenue in the right direction in my eyes. A decision for every person to make for themselves.

^{Image Source: PETA Latino

PETA’s “Caring Consumer” animal cruelty-free bunny logo for products that don’t test on animals.}

This should serve as an educational and informative post to teach you one thing: there is no one that is a true vegan. If you call yourself vegan but are still using things like leather, gelatin, or honey, then you’re not really vegan. It is impossible, in the current state of the world, to not find some sort of animal or human exploitation in the process of producing food, manufacturing goods, and transporting them. Even the PETA “Caring Consumer” logo above could be misleading as it only helps consumers discern if a product has been tested on animals, but is that enough to know it’s cruelty-free?

This is a hard reality to face but it’s the truth—we need to act with discretion and with research.

Instead of being vegan, what more people are actually doing is choosing a vegan diet. It does still completely transform your life and brings much wisdom due to your increased level of awareness. I would also even say that a vegan diet is best and easiest way to increase your being a vegan. With that being said I hope this post brings insight to those reading and please do share if you think it’ll enlighten someone else.