A Vegan's Story

I first started shifting my diet at ten years old. I cut out all red meat. My mom, who is also vegan, was very open about where meat came from. At my grandparents’ where I spent a lot of my time, I was surrounded by neighbors who had cows & pigs, even one family who raised bison for meat. Once I was able to really grasp what was happening to these animals, I didn’t want to continue contributing to that. Two years later, at twelve, I went vegetarian fully. Shortly after turning 23, I decided to cut out dairy & eggs. I learned about the horrible abuses in those industries & the incredible loss of life to produce those products & I felt I could no longer justify continuing to eat them. For me, being vegan was always about not contributing to the suffering & eventual death of animals so to realize that even by not eating meat I was still causing so much harm forced me to rethink my choices. It was only after becoming vegan that I learned of the environmental benefits.

Vegetarianism / veganism is strongly linked with many of the world’s major religions as a practice of non-violence. In Jainism, it is a requirement for all. In Buddhism & hinduism, it is strongly encouraged through the scriptures, with the First Precept in Buddhism prohibiting practitioners from killing a person or animal. Many sects of Sikhism also prohibits the consumption of meat. For the Abrahamic religions (Christianity, Judaism, & Islam), the ties to veganism lie in the story of the Garden of Eden. Many scriptures including the Bible reference this diet as being the ideal before the fall from grace. It is also widely believed in these religions that an afterlife/second coming will involve a vegetarian or vegan diet. Christianity in particular has a strong history of biblical interpretations on vegetarianism. The Gnostics & Cathars who were very early christians practiced vegetarianism as a required part of their faith. The early Orthodox Desert Fathers were also known to abstain from meat. Many Christians today practice a plant based diet to comply with Jesus’ teachings of compassion & non-violence. Other religions that promote meat free diets include Rastafarianism, Bahai, Manichaeism, Zoroastrianism, Daoism, & Neo-Paganism.

There are many reasons to go vegan, be it for health, religion, compassion for animals, or the environment. For me, I loved animals so much & wanted to end their suffering that not only did I stop consuming products made from them, I even switched religions to one that more emphasized kindness to all, in particular the most vulnerable creatures on this earth. For me & for other vegans, it is our belief that animals aren’t ours to abuse, consume, or exploit. They are sentient beings who want to be happy & free from suffering. My dietary choices are very small but they have a big impact on the world we live in.

-Promise August 2020