Hey there friends, so I have a confession to make… I’m vegan. Now I know what you’re thinking, oh god another hippie vegan freak who’s going to throw fake blood on my coat. Now you’re not entirely wrong, I would consider myself a hippie vegan, but I promise to never pass judgment of you or your actions! That’s the great thing about this world we live in, freedom of choice!

Typically, I refer to myself as plant-based, however, when speaking to those unfamiliar with the lifestyle, I use the term vegan. There are a number of reasons why I refer to myself as plant-based, but the main one being, true veganism would cut out a lot of foods that need to be pollinated in order to grow, and I’m just not on that level (currently).

Now I became vegan for a variety of reasons, and I firmly believe that everyone’s reasons for doing what they do are valid to them. I know some may disagree with what I’m saying, and that’s perfectly fine! But keep in mind, we’re here to spread positivity and our experiences, so if you disagree that’s ok, and we would love to hear why!

SO I haven’t been living the vegan life for very long; however, for the amount of time I’ve been doing so, I feel AMAZING!

First I cut out all dairy products almost two years ago, that was not as challenging as I thought it would be. Honestly, for me, cheese was almost addictive, but thinking about what it was doing to my body kinda freaked me out!

Next, I cut out eggs, mainly because I’m a student and I have a firm belief of only putting in the best quality food I can into my body, and I just could not afford organic farm fresh eggs.

Meat was super easy for me to cut out. On one hand, I’ve never been a big meat eater; and on the other, financially I could not justify purchasing the meat that I had been for about two years or so at that point (organic and local).

Those are the basics of why I decided to go Veg for health reasons. On another note, choosing to be a vegan is more related to my concerns about the environmental impacts of my food choices. As someone who has been working in the health industry for over five years, and also studying the environment/social justice/politics in university, these impacts plagued my every thought as cooked and ate my meals. Thanks to my experiences, I was able to make the educated decision to make the shift to plant-based. The conventional meat and dairy industry is far too unsustainable and with the state of our planet, there is no way in good conscience, I felt I could continue to be a part of the consumer culture within this industry.

Of course, I am pro plant, but I understand why making this kind of change is difficult to understand for most. We live in a society of habit and consumerism, where people justify their actions by making small changes (don’t get me wrong – small changes are still changes and can impact our planet immensely). Unfortunately, our oceans are rising, plastic pollution is suffocating our earth and the air we breathe is pretty much a carcinogen itself. Big changes need to be made, and as soon as possible! All we can do is try to make the best possible future for ourselves and for generations to come. There are many ways you can change your lifestyle to be kinder to our environment. I chose to become a vegan to help make a change.

Questions about the vegan life? Comments? All are welcome, as always 🙂