Why I am vegan

One day some time in October 2011, on a trip to Germany, I was looking at books at Frankfurt airport and saw a book called “Eating Animals” (by Jonathan Safran Foer). At that point, I had mixed feelings about vegetarianism. I understood there were ethical issues, but it seemed to be going against nature and after all, nature is not always that kind. But I was intrigued to read the arguments of someone who pretended not to be an activist. And indeed, the book is written in a way that is very effective. As someone who does not have pets, I am not particularly attracted to cats, dogs, horses or any animal really. But Safran Foer lays out the arguments calmly and convincingly. Most of us are aware of the conditions in which many animals are raised. But this book does a great job at presenting facts and documenting the scale of the problem. My immediate reaction was then to shrink my meat consumption drastically and shift entirely to organic meat. But even that started to feel wrong. When you take a step back, it seems indeed a bit odd to eat animals. Now I feel the same way about cows and pigs as I feel about dogs and cats. I just don't really fancy eating any of them...

But what do you eat then?

I then became vegetarian. The question is: What do you replace the meat with? Well, cheese in an easy option. So I ate quite a lot of cheese. Many restaurants’ vegetarian option has cheese as a main basis. I was fine with cheese mozzarella made from milk from cows raised organically and so I ate a lot of it. But then I did not feel too good. My digestion did not feel quite right. But I could really not go back… Also, clearly, the dairy industry is not better; the idea that cows are separated at birth from their calves is also quite a cruel but unaboidable part of the production process. There is a great article in the Guardian written by an academic who presents the facts in a scientific manner: cows and their calves are experiencing deep suffering when they are separated. One can discuss whether we find this morally acceptable or not, but the fact that they are experiencing tremendous suffering is a fact.  

Healthy at 100

A year later (in 2012), a friend of mine told me about another book called “Healthy at 100”. At the time, I was also reading more about nutrition for my own work on diet. And I learned a lot and read a lot more after that book to learn about the evidence… I don’t think there is a case for saying that eating small amounts of meat is really a killer, but there is certainly enough evidence to put me off meat for health reasons as well. I also read more about dairy, and realised that contrary to my belief, dairy is not that great for you… My conclusion is that the evidence is sufficiently convincing to want to reconsider eating animal products - and this is coming from an experimental / empirical economist obsessed by causal identification...

And then even our great fish is not that healthy anymore because of the conditions it is raised in. In the wild you have the worry about mercury; in farms, we have the same issues as with other animals raised in mass production… so what can we eat? I started buying vegan cookbooks. I realised there were tons of food I never ate before, such as some pulses, legumes, seeds, nuts and many other foods that were not part of my diet. This fact is interesting to point out I think because many non vegans think that vegans just eat like everyone without the meat, dairy and fish. But that would not leave much on the plate... Instead, we eat a lot of other things that non vegans do not typically eat. Some foods that used to be very traditional and is still the basis of many recipes in poorer countries (such as lentils and chickpeas). 

The structure of a vegan diet is simple and quite humble. You do not need to eat 'weird' ingredients, fake meat or fake chicken... Take some plant-based protein (lentils, beans, chickpeas, quinoa,…), add vegetables (with garlic and onions, this is something I love) and carbs (brown rice, barley,…) and you get wonderfully tasty simple dishes. Add seeds and nuts everywhere; add pumpkin oil, walnut oil, hemp seed oil… Drink smoothies with coconut milk, blueberries, chia seeds and hemp seed protein. This is incredibly nutritious and tasty…

Long term benefits?

Not only now I love vegan food, but my health has improved dramatically. I thought I was healthy, but in fact I was often tired, I did not digest well, I felt quite stressed.  Since I changed my diet, I am very rarely sick. The proof is in the pudding for me and so now I know I will never switch back. The benefits are not long term benefits as we often believe; the benefits are actually much more immediate than I thought...

I know that people are not convinced you can really have tasty vegan food, and many people tell me they could not do without meat or cheese or fish… I’d just say, I am passionate about food, I love tasty foods and like many of us, I did not think I could ever be on a vegan diet. But actually, now a vegan diet seems really “right”, authentic, it is the food that makes me feel good. It is very much possible to have tasty and healthy food at the same time, just try it for a while and see how it feels. Give a chance to the thousands of foods you have not eaten before… Give yourself the chance to experience feeling good. But give it a fair chance, inform yourself on what you should eat. Find good recipes to start, but don’t make your life too complicated either. Start with simple dishes. I know too many people who say “I could not sustain a vegan diet”. I think that once you have understood the principles, it is a simple and “common sense” diet, and the reward is immense. It tastes good, feels good and does you good. What else can we ask?