How and why I became vegan

How and why I became vegan 

There was a time where my life turned upside down and I became completely depressed, feeling sick everyday. My diet consisted mainly of dairy and meat, as I came from a culture and family where eating meat and dairy was a big part of their main lifestyle; they sadly believe that all nutrients and vitamins came from a dead animal. If I told them that I moved to a plant based diet, I would be considered crazy and that I was destroying my health, as they believe that you can’t be strong and fit without consuming meat and dairy.

Making this change was a very hard decision, because I was not sure if I was making the right choice. Around five years ago, I stopped eating meat and at that time veganism was very rare. Everyone I knew were meat eaters. The vegan life style was extremely difficult to adapt to, especially in an environment where a large majority of people ate meat. There weren’t many vegan options where I was living, but luckily I knew how to cook, which enabled me to improvise various vegan dishes at home.

After a year of becoming vegan, through research and experience, I realized that I made the right decision. I began feeling better again after years of constant sickness, and understood the health benefits of living a vegan life. For example, having the ability to replenish my energy through nourishment of vitamins and minerals that are found in foods such as; fruits, vegetables, seeds and nuts. Over all, I had more energy than I every had previously and I felt the happiest I had every felt in my life, as I was not consuming animal suffering and bad karma anymore. My sleeping improved, and my stress level went down dramatically.

After becoming vegan with extremely successful results on my health, I was then more  confident to suggest this lifestyle to my children. I began very slowly by speaking to them and explaining what veganism is, and how it will benefit their health, animals and the planet as a whole. I made them aware that killing animals for food is wrong and we shouldn’t kill to eat, as nature has provided all the necessary foods we need. My children were very open to the idea and understanding, however it took them a long time to transition from a meat eating lifestyle to a vegan lifestyle.

Eating meat and dairy can be very addictive due to the casomorphin chemical in dairy products and meat and thus is extremely hard to break the addiction, as our body craves this addictive substance. It makes it hard especially when we are living in environment surrounded by these foods and smells that we crave. The food at school did not make it any easier for them, as there weren’t many options provided for vegans. 

When I began opening my children’s eyes to the reality of animal suffering they started to see the bigger picture and felt empathic towards animal suffering. I did this by showing them a few videos of footage inside a slaughter house, and over the years of explaining to them how veganism can benefit our health. Also, teaching them about the variety of different fruits and vegetables, such as the shapes, colour, smells, how they grow and engaged them in the cooking process. At this point, they decided to become vegans willingly. This was a very tedious process and required a lot of patience and effort while teaching. 

The hardest part of making this decision was to stand alone without any help and support from my family or friends. When I told them I was becoming a vegan, they began to look at me in a certain way, as if I was doing something wrong. However, deep down I knew I had made the right decision, regardless of what others were saying, there was no turning back for me; knowing that I am not contributing to animal suffering, improving my healthy and saving our planet. I have never looked back and had any regrets since.

MY ADVICE TO ANYONE WHO IS TRYING TO BECOME VEGAN 

Please be patient with this process, becoming vegan or introducing this life style to your children is not easy. Allow yourself to go back and forth and don’t force your self or your children. Remember, this process is to reduce suffering and not to add on top of the suffering. With children, try to improve their connection with animals by going to see animals, maybe getting a pet, or just show videos of how they are beautiful creatures that are no different to us. Explain to them why we shouldn’t kill them or eat them. Educate them constantly, even if you don’t see immediate results, teach them about the benefits and what vitamins are found in each of the fruits and vegetables.