Being Vegan...

This Sunday will be my 39th birthday.  As I approach this wonderful age, I am discovering who I am and who I want to become. I am figuring out how so many different aspects of my life actually fit together and come full circle, such as my love for animals and my choice to be vegan.  My new life as a vegan has taken me on a journey that I would have never imagined just two years ago.  I spent the first thirty-seven years of my life loving milk and eating meat.  Never before would I have imagined that I would become a vegan mom raising a vegan child with a vegan husband!

It was only when I was laid off from my job two years ago that I started to re-asses my life and started to research about many things, including food. I quickly realized that I wanted my life to be about more than just me.  I wanted to live each day making this world just a bit better than the day before.  I have learned that every decision we make, has an effect...we have to decide whether we want that effect to be positive or not.  My research into becoming vegan has showed me that everything from buying food to shampoo has an effect on our animals, people and the earth. 

I have definitely become a more conscious consumer.  I have come to realize that our money has power and every time I spend money, I am supporting everything that has happened to make that product.  Shopping for me now takes a much longer because I read the label on everything before I buy it.  I recommend everyone do this, because you will be surprised to see just what things are in the products we buy. 

Not eating meat, was only the beginning. I no longer buy anything leather products or products tested on animals (at least that I am aware of). I still have the products that I had before.  But now as they wear out, I replace them with animal-free products.  My husband's birthday was last Saturday. He already had three leather jackets and I was so proud of him because he was willing to donate them. So for his birthday I went out and got him a really nice jacket that looks like leather, but isn't. Now he still looks cool...and doesn't smell like a dead cow!

My teenagers sometimes do not understand why I will not buy them certain products.  Sure I could tell myself that I'll buy it for just them and I won't eat it.  But in my head, I always get this little voice that tells me, "if you buy that chicken, they will have to kill another to replace it".  At that moment I can see the effect of my decision, so I can not bring myself to make the wrong choice.  This is not how I was before.  My new lifestyle as a vegan has opened my consciousness and I can feel the effects of my choices.  It's a heavy burden, but one necessary to keep me a compassionate consumer and person.

I have become particularly moved by the things I've read and seen about the lives of dairy cows.  I never would have figured that of all the cute animals in the world, the cow would be the one that moves me so much.  The cruelties they endure just to provide humans with a product that they should not drink, are too much for me to bare.  Even though I know there are a few good dairy farms that may treat their cows well, it does not change that they are contained and forced to bare children just to produce milk, not for their young, but for us. I have become committed to share the information I learn so others can become aware and make better choices as well. 

Becoming vegan has changed me greatly.  I feel it has made me a better and more compassionate human. I see things differently than I ever did before.  It has made me more aware of the world...of it's good and of it's bad.  As I grow older, I hope that I am able to continue learning and growing. I hope that my children will be inspired to look beyond themselves and make conscious choices that will have a direct positive impact on our world and all living things.



The Dairy Cow: The Most Overworked Mother on the Planet

Video by EVOLVE! Campaigns