Why I Went Vegan And So Can You

Tags:: #Vegan_Blog

Photo by Robert Bye on Unsplash

Why Veganism

Here’s a small history of my path to going vegan. I’ve wanted to be a vegan for a long time. Our family used to be meat eaters when I was little and as any family would I was also taught that meat is good for health.

Then as I grew and understood what death means, my view towards meat and animals changed completely but, being a 5-year-old you can’t expect to go on a movement against your family. I was not the only one going vegetarian though my mom also thought about it and it went vegetarian.

On the other hand, I was allowed to eat whatever I wanted. Then soon on a random day, I decided to never eat meat again. Remember this is a 5-year-old who might forget about what he said and eat the same thing again but, that never happened and I’ve never regretted that decision ever. (Hats off to the 5-year-old me for the commitment.)

Fast forward to me being an 18-year-old I started to see many westerners going vegan but never tried to dig deep into it. I knew that being a vegan is a good thing but, being an 18-year old I wanted to gain muscle and the normal theory goes like “If you want to grow you need milk!”

So even though I never ate meat or eggs again I was consuming milk. Not being lactose intolerant meant that I could get away with it. But after 20-years I gave it a try and went vegan for some time although I might just drink a little milk with tea once in a while but, this was a transition period for me.

By, 22 I was a strict vegan and this is also the same time I started running. I also use to intermittent fast in this period and this combination gave me so ridiculous amount of stamina while running. I could see the benefits of being a vegan for the first time.

I fell in love with running, intermittent fast, and veganism.

Then came the job and it was hell, Not getting the time to run or fast was bad. I also started to drink tea again on daily basis but, the good part is after 1 year of work there I left and became a vegan again.

What I want to say is there might be times where you’ll fall and slip, You might end up drinking some milk here and there but, it’s ok as soon as you avoid it.

Now The more I research veganism the more I understand why I should stick to it as strictly as possible.

Well, that was longer than I wanted it to be but this is the back story of my vegan journey.

Cruelty On Animals

Each year more than 150 billion animals are killed for human consumption, many more fishes are killed each year. To be frank I couldn’t find the right figures because there are just so many different figures from a variety of sources.

Inhumane Treatment

Now you’d say of course inhumane because they are not humans but, keeping an animal like a pig in a 4x2 box where they can’t even move around is going too far.

Most of these animals are kept in a very small place where they can’t even walk or just turn around. They are kept like that away from sunlight, where they just sit in their own feces until the day they are ready to be killed.

In contrast to the treatment, the meat industry just keeps growing. There are no strict laws designed to keep animals in a certain way. It’s an industry where profits matter more than anything else.

The more space you can save the better, the fewer resources you can use to make the animals bigger the better.

Bread To Be Eaten

Through selective breeding, most of these animals were made bigger to produce more meat. Making fat animals is more profitable. In 1957 an average chicken would weigh around 905g in 2005 an average chicken weighs around 4200g.

That’s a four-time increase in weight in around fifty years.

Steroids and Antibiotics and Hormones

Most of the animals that are coming from farms like these are feed steroids and antibiotics of a wide variety just to keep them alive. These animals are also given sex hormones for better fertility and birthrate. Remember if your livestock is dropping dead or having a low birthrate for reasons that would be a loss. It’s important that they are kept alive in that dirty environment no matter the consequences.

To do that steroids, antibiotics and hormones are the best and cheapest things available in the market.

In the end, these chickens lay more eggs than any normal chicken would, the cows are pregnant for most of their lives until it’s possible then butchered.

The negative impacts of using hormones and antibiotics for animals have a direct correlation with humans who consume them. It messes up your hormones and your ability to fight infections.

We can see studies where eating meat can show a direct relation to cancer or other life-threatening diseases. This just goes to show some of the issues we face when consuming animals become industry-focused solely on profits and high demands.

Better Than Meat Based Diet

I would like to recommend the documentary ‘The Game Changers’ which shows how vegan athletes are better than what most would consider the norm which is meat-eating athletes.

The Misconception

People think that going vegan will cause malnutrition but, this is far from the truth. Most vegans are better than meat-eaters when it comes to Vitamins and Minerals. There are just 2 things a vegan needs to think about that is, Vitamin B12 and Omega 3 fatty acids.

Both of these can be found in vegan forms fairly easily like, Vitamins B12 can be found in algae and Omega 3 can be found in good sources of fat like Flaxseed extract, etc.

This misconception arises due to people not eating a variety of food when being vegan. If you have a habit of not adding a variety of food to your diet, it’ll cause you problems no matter if you’re vegan or not. Having healthy eating habits no matter what you eat is a good thing.

What About My Protein

“Where do you get your protein from?!” This is something most people will ask a vegan. Most of these people actually have no ideas about what protein is or how much of it you need it.

You need around 1.1 grams of protein/kg of weight. So a 65kg person like me only needs about 72 grams of protein, which is not hard to get for anyone eating a healthy diet.

Healthier Body And Mind

Vegan food is fairly easy to digest compared to meat. Being on a vegan diet will help your stomach feel lighter. Many people who move to a vegan diet report losing excess weight in a matter of months. We have already talked about adding variety to the diet and keeping in mind your eating habits.

When your body works right so will your mind. It is not uncommon to find people being happy and pleasant after changing to a vegan diet. There are can be a few reasons for this first, knowing that you’re not killing animals makes you feel good inside.

Second, Getting a healthy diet that provides you with all the essential Vitamins and Minerals with all the macronutrients helps get the body in balance. Giving your body the ideal nutrients and keeping it light gives a subconscious benefit that you can kind of feel. A sense of clarity and happiness.

Conclusion

Being vegan is not that hard if you decide to do it, you might have a few setbacks and let downs but doesn’t that happen with everyone?! This blog post was not to convert to veganism, It was just my take on what could be a possibility for you. It is just my attempt to try and make this planet a better place or change a life for the better, that’s all. Appreciate you reading it so far.