Eating to Live: There is No Can’t

The question I hear the most as a vegan is “So you can’t eat (insert animal product here)?!” My typical response in the past has been a simple yes or a smile and a shrug so I don’t have to do any actual explaining. Recently I have been taking a new approach.

The idea of “can’t” is that I have been restricted or have had some wonderful thing taken away from me that no one should ever be without. It makes it sound as if I have been ordered by the vegan gods to give up everything that is holy and just live in this world for sprouts, tofu, and other seemingly bland sounding foods that are viewed as insufficient forms of nutrition by the average person. It’s not that I can’t
eat meat, dairy, or eggs – I have chosen not to. The power of that decision is solely mine and I have embraced a complete lifestyle change from the typical diet of convenience. I have chosen not to buy into the food pyramid created by the meat, dairy, and egg industries that have been force fed to us during the formidable years of our lives. I have chosen to research where the food I eat comes from and have
decided that I want to have nothing to do with a diet that promotes the killing of animals. I have chosen to try and cut out over processed food products that have a huge laundry list of ingredients I have no idea how to pronounce and eat as much fresh organic produce as possible. I have chosen to know exactly what I am putting into my body.

This doesn’t put me on some ethical pedestal or make me look down on anyone who chooses to eat the standard American diet. My choices have been made for my own personal reasons and I hope that I can influence more people to make healthier decisions about the food they eat. This change did not come overnight for me and I don’t expect it to happen that way for anyone else. I was brought up as a meat and potatoes kid in the Midwest and was surprised the first time I met a person who was vegetarian. The idea was foreign to me as it is to a lot of people who were raised in the typical fashion, as I was. Slowly I began to embrace the idea of being a vegetarian, which, at the time simply meant omitting the meat from my diet. I still consumed dairy and eggs and didn’t think anything of it. When the idea of being a vegan came up I thought it was extreme and I resisted because I thought, “I can’t give up dairy and eggs!” Where would I get my calcium and protein? How would I not shrivel up into a walking skeleton? Of course now I know all of those thoughts were just misconceptions. When I turned 30 I got my first physical in years. At that point I had been vegan for about 2 years and was ecstatic when I received and clean bill of health from the doctors. I had perfect amounts of calcium, protein, and iron in my system without the help of meat, dairy, and eggs. Now at 35 I am entering my 7th year of being vegan and I love it. I am constantly learning more about my diet and making changes as needed. Currently I am doing a mostly raw diet consisting of fresh juices, organic fruits and veggies, sprouted legumes, sea veggies, and nuts. I am also mixing in an exercise routine and trying to end my addiction to caffeine.

Many are curious as to why I would make such a change. My reasons are two fold. First I decided to go vegan because of the cruelty that goes on in factory farms. Taking a living being and turning it into a neatly packaged product does not sit well with me. Every time I see a cattle truck, pass a feedlot, or even see meat on a plate, an overwhelming feeling of sadness comes over me. I think of all the suffering
that goes on in the meat industry and it’s more than I can bear. If you are at all interested in seeing how meat, dairy, and eggs are mass-produced you should watch Farm To Fridge. My second reason for my diet came a little later along in my journey. Recently I lost my 53 year old mother to cancer. I feel like eating a much healthier diet could have prevented a lot of what happened to her but, unfortunately
I was not educated enough to help turn her situation around, so I am now trying to rectify that in my own life. I have partnered with the wonderful organizations: Keep A Breast, The Non Toxic Revolution, and Action For Animals to help educate people about the impact of their food choices and the toxins in everyday life. I don’t want anyone else to go through losing a loved one due to not knowing what could have been done to try and prevent it. I believe food is medicine and that it can also be a chemical soup full of toxic ingredients. Food shouldn’t be a science experiment. It should be simple, nutritious, and make you feel amazing after you eat it. I want to set an example and be someone who can make a difference in the lives of others. Even if someone goes vegan for health reasons only, I have still ended some animal suffering and promoted a healthier lifestyle. Win. Win.

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