Why I went vegan ~ 2 yr veganniversary

The purpose of cow’s milk, is to turn a 65 pound calf into a 700 pound cow – Dr Michael Klaper

Two years ago, I’d just decided to go plant based because of physical and mental health reasons. I’d been vegetarian/pescatarian and gradually phasing out animal products for a while, in particular milk – although I was on a low carb diet, and consumed large amounts of cheese and egg whites on the daily. I didn’t have any trouble giving up meat, as the connection between killing animals and their flesh ending up on your plate, was fairly straightforward for me to make. The whole story about why I went plant based is slightly different to my gradual developing an understanding for and adopting a vegan lifestyle. I want to focus on the latter here.

I am a medical student, and I place scientific arguments highly when it comes to level of credibility; therefore, I knew I would only go vegan if it was “safe” to do so, and I delved into a world of Netflix and YouTube documentaries as part of my research. (buuuut to be honest, right now, I would remain vegan even if research came out which showed that it’s deadly, because I’m committed to veganism for ethical reasons at this point too lol)

Being vegan makes sense.

No, really. Think about it. Eating animal products in this day and age, is not only illogical, but also unnecessary. This is, of course, assuming one has the privilege of learning about veganism – many don’t, or don’t know its benefits, or think that adopting a vegan diet is something for only rich white kids who have copious amounts of avocado toast on the daily.

I think, that in order to go vegan, you need to personally fully embrace the truth. You need to completely face the facts, realise that they don’t align with your current actions, and subsequently change the way you behave so that your actions may align with your values.

The trigger for me – what made me realise that I now knew something I couldn’t unsee or unlearn – was a sequence from the documentary Cowspiracy. In it, Dr Michael Klaper talks about dairy. It all boils down to a very basic things: cow’s milk is for baby cows. Just as dog’s milk is for puppies, giraffe’s milk is for baby giraffe’s, sheep’s milk is for lambs, and human breastmilk is for cute little human babies. Simple as that.

I don’t know why, but that one fact was the one that completely changed everything for me. And I have continued learning ever since. I love watching videos about ethical debates on veganism, such as those Earthling Ed puts up on YouTube. Logic and simple facts win every time.

I am also endlessly fascinated by the health aspect of a wholefoods plantbased diet. Of course, I don’t believe that diet can cure any disease. I do believe that good nutrition is important to support your health, and a powerful tool alongside all the amazingly effective drugs and treatments that have been developed in centuries leading up to the present time.

Now, I am actually getting ready to go out for dinner with my family as a little celebration 🙂 Therefore, I’m running out of time to write!

I’m going to resort to a list of key points:

• the dairy industry is closely linked to the meat industry and death. I know many vegetarians (such as myself) aren’t aware of this, but it sadly is true. If the “not your mom – not your milk” argument I outlined above wasn’t enough to put you off dairy, know that dairy cows’ lives are hellish. They don’t just produce milk, they have to be pregnant in order for their bodies to produce breast milk for their calves. Farmers repeatedly impregnate cows unnaturally, and their bodies are essentially used as birthing and milking machines. When a dairy cow tires out (which is maaaany years before she would die of natural causes), she is rushed off to slaughter. And the baby cows who were supposed to get her breastmilk? Well, they are formula fed and grow up to be like their mothers (if female), or killed for veal meat (if male)
• eggs are chicken periods. ew. gross… they are also not essential for human health, and very high in cholesterol (which we don’t need, as humans are perfectly capable of producing their own). Furthermore, male chicks in the chicken industry are ground up in a big blender on day 1 of their life. sickening, right? Now, I used to love the taste of eggs, and I probably still would, but I am really happy that there are many vegan egg alternatives (wooooop woop, keep your eyes peeled for some recipes coming this way)
• fish are not vegetables. fishing is killing our seas, our planet, and many near-extinct other types of animals as by-catch.
• animal products are non-essential for optimal health, and in most cases seriously increase mortality and morbidity. Plant Proof is an excellent resource to learn more about this.
• there literally is an insane amount of vegan products available on the market today – that is, food in addition to “normal” vegan food which encompasses literally every vegetable, fruit, legume seed and grain on earth. I can guarantee to you, that there will be a satisfying enough alternative for any animal product that you like – cheese, milk, yogurt, sandwich spread, sausage, burger…

With that said, I am now off to eat some delicious vegan burgers 😀

If you’ve read all of this, I’m honoured and I love you!! Leave me a comment below or connect with me on Instagram.

All the love in the world,

xo Linda