In fact, after having already reduced my meat consumption to almost zero and having dairy mostly destroy my stomach, I’ve decided to give the vegan lifestyle a go. I have a few posts scheduled for upcoming weeks that involve recipes with eggs or dairy but after that my recipes will mostly be vegan. For as long as it lasts anyway.
It isn’t a “clean-eating” thing or a “wellness” thing (two words I hate and will continue to hate). But it is something that I think that I can do to give back to the planet in some small way by reducing my carbon footprint. With massive super-storms and tragedies striking every corner of the globe, global warming is undeniable. And if I can do a tiny bit to give back to the environment by reducing my meat and dairy consumption, I will. (I blogged before about the environmental benefits.) But at the same time, I’m trying not to increase my intake of soy – as soy is a large cause of Amazonian deforestation – though the vast majority of soy is grown to feed the animals in our ever-increasing levels of meat consumption. They are similar reasons to why I’m trying to get all my vegetables as locally as possible, as well as eating seasonally.
Plus, every time I look in Harold’s eyes it destroys me and I think “he’s so human-like and full of personality”.
If I can give that respect to a tiny, naughty sausage dog, surely other creatures deserve a similar amount of respect. I’ve long donated to the RSPCA and I’ve found that my empathy has just continued to deepen over the years. (If you want to continue to eat and enjoy eggs, never research egg farming. Even organic free-range egg farming. Beware, there be monsters there!)
It’s a change that I’ve been contemplating for awhile. But there is sometimes a very cult-esque vibe to veganism. Lots of online forums seem to exist to shame or guilt people into changing their eating habits. It’s something that I found to be a massive turn-off. “Holier than thou” attitudes about pretty much anything induce massive eye-rolls from me.
So whilst in practicality, I’ve been eating a vegan diet, I’m not going to call it such. Instead I prefer to say that I have a “plant-based diet”.
I’m not going to be too hard on myself. If I eat a block of halloumi one day, it’s not the end of the world. (Or even an excellent slice or three of pizza sometimes). It doesn’t make me a bad person or even a bad vegan/vegetarian. For me it isn’t about a moral high-ground or having purity (yuck!) in my diet, it’s about helping out the earth and off-setting some of my own impact.
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Anna wrote a really interesting post last month about “Confessions of a Part-Time Vegan” that really resonated with me.
What are your thoughts? Would you ever transition to a plant-based diet?
