NO MEAT? – BUT WHAT ABOUT CHICKEN?
People always ask me how I can go through life and not eat meat. The typical comment is something like, “I don’t eat red meat much anymore, only chicken and fish, but sometimes I just crave a juicy burger or steak. Don’t you?” My answer is always, “Not At All!” And that’s the truth. But I understand where their question comes from and how they may be skeptical of my answer. The reason is they don’t have the same moral and ethical convictions and emotions that I have for my reasons to not eat meat. This is a personal choice based on my research which lead me to this lifestyle. Others may do the research and it may lead them in another direction. At least do some research, and then make your own decisions.
AGAIN, THE PROCESS
For me, my belief is that going to a plant based lifestyle is a process. First you have to want to educate yourself on what I call the 3 pillars of becoming a vegan. These are – 1. Health 2. Environment 3. Animal welfare. You have to become emotional and invested and firmly believe in these pillars if you want to maintain being a vegan for life. In my opinion, if you make the choice for just one of these pillars, it just becomes a “diet” and it won’t last.
I am not the type of person who tries to force my views on others. I told you I wouldn’t get too preachy here and I won’t (ok, I will a little at times). When people ask my why or how I became a vegan, I tell them it is a process that doesn’t happen over night. You may start with reducing red meat, then no red meat, then reducing chicken and so on. You may start to do a little research, typically starting with the health benefits of reducing meat. While you are reading about this, you may stumble on an article about what the mass production of meat is doing to our environment. And a little while later you may find an article that describes what really is happening to animals due to the explosion of industrial “factory farming”. Honestly, you probably won’t read that article at first because it’s too disturbing. But over time you may go back and want to know what is really going on with animal welfare in our world today. All this information may lead you to give up or reducing the amount of meat, fish and dairy you consume or maybe not. It did for me and that is why we are here today.
THE PILLARS OF MY VEGANISM
At the very least, consider my 3 pillars, 1. Health 2. Environment 3. Animal Welfare and do some research. I respect those who aren’t afraid to know the facts and then make their decisions that best represents their own moral and ethical convictions and emotions. I also challenge you to try incorporating vegan meals into your weekly menu. My wish is for everyone to go 2 weeks without meat or dairy. You won’t believe how great you will feel, how much more energy you will have, you will have more clarity in your thoughts and overall your body will just function better. Most people won’t believe this and that is why I would love for more people to give veganism a try for just 2 weeks! I dare you to do it – And I dare you to tell me you didn’t experience a tremendous improvement in how you feel. Even if you don’t maintain a 100% vegan diet, I know you won’t be able to ignore what you felt and that will encourage you at eat less meat and dairy. If Not, I won’t judge you, I PROMISE! But go ahead and give it a TRY!
