Today marks the beginning of day eight of my Vegan Challenge. I was prompted to try removing all animal products from my diet after reading a UN study published a few weeks ago. The study revealed that a global diet shift away from meat and dairy is needed to help prevent resource depletion and alleviate world hunger. The report said agriculture accounts for 70 percent of our global freshwater consumption, 38 percent of the total land use, and 14 percent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, more than half of the world’s crops are used to feed animals, not people. So, I’m going vegan for two weeks to reduce my environmental footprint, and to prove to others that it’s not so hard.
When I left off, I was visiting four meat-eating friends over the weekend. I thought this might pose a challenge. However, I planned ahead, as I’ve learned to do, and I brought my own groceries. And if I wanted to eat out, I used the VeganXPress iPhone application, which allows you to scroll through popular chain restaurants and identify vegan items. I also love the VeganYumYum recipe application. What a cool way to merge new technology with an active vegan lifestyle.
Anyway, my weekend hosts were open to, and curious about, my new eating habits. We experienced major power outages on Sunday, so we were forced to grill out. I whipped up some stir fry while the boys worked on their BLT sandwiches. And despite being offered, and tempted by things I used to love (bacon, tapioca, burgers), I really had no interest in eating them. This challenge has already successfully altered my thinking, and I can’t so much as watch someone eat meat without wanting to tell them all about what I’ve learned.
This brings me to my next point: spreading the word about veganism in a carnivorous country. I live in Indiana, where I need only hop on the interstate and I will pass chicken farms and hog farms and cows grazing in pastures. Animal products are an integral part of the culture here in this state, and other surrounding states, so to take the time to avoid them all-together certainly invites curiosity and criticism from those who don’t understand the mission. I guess what I can’t understand is why some of us so heavily defend the status quo. Clearly, our consumption habits are out of control, and we can fix this by changing what we eat, but some of us hold so strongly to our habits that we can’t see new possibilities, and this is self-defeating. Two of the boys I spent time with this weekend said things like, “Well I love meat and I’d rather eat it than not.” This kind of reasoning lacks sound logic. It goes along with the weird mentality that America is the nation of burgers and hot dogs.
We spend so much time investigating the source and integrity of other products. For example, most of us know where our cars were made, how many miles per gallon they get, what kinds of gadgets they offer. We have relationships with these kinds of products, and yet, we have no relationship with our food, the stuff we put in our mouths that fuel us for life. We have no idea where it comes from, and we don’t know what’s in it or what it’s doing for our bodies. When did we become so complacent about what goes into our stomachs? For me, the last seven days have made me incredibly skeptical about product packaging and advertising. It takes time to investigate food, but I think we owe it to ourselves to understand where it comes from, what’s in it, why it’s good (or bad) for us, and what the alternatives are.
I think it’s important to help spread the word about veganism (and health-conscious eating in general) in positive ways. We know there will be people who get defensive, throw outlandish arguments, and refuse to listen no matter how you pitch it to them. But if we approach this movement gently, with open arms, inviting others in warmly, I think it could work on a bigger scale. Sometimes I think we need to focus less on the gruesome negative impacts of eating meat, and more on the positive, globally constructive benefits of eating fruits and vegetables. For me, seeing videos of suffering animals makes me want to look away and pretend it isn’t happening. Of course, we can’t ignore the impacts of the problem, but I know that if I’m offered a hopeful vision for the future, I am more likely to focus on pushing for that future.
So, in my upcoming posts, I’ll be exploring that vision for the future, and I invite you to do the same. If you have positive ideas and visions about how the future could change if we all backed away from animal products (for whatever reasons, be they moral, political or environmental), I invite you to share them. Let’s brainstorm. Let’s get excited about the possibilities. Let’s reach out without scaring people away. Let’s make this a movement about positive and tangible change for tomorrow.
I’m off to make breakfast (oatmeal with cinnamon apples!), and I look forward to more wonderful reader feedback.
The Vegan Challenge Series
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Preview: Indiana high school principal on budget cuts, teacher layoffs
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Effects of Move Your Money campaign are indirect but present
Jessica is a freelance writer from West Lafayette, IN. She recently graduated from the Indiana University School of Journalism with her B.A. in journalism and a concentration in political science. Her works have been featured in a number of publications including HELEN magazine, The Bloomington Herald-Times, and CafeAbroad.com. Jessica is an environmentalist with a passion for the outdoors. She also has an insatiable appetite for travel, and was fortunate enough to spend a semester abroad in Rome, Italy. She currently lives in Indiana but is planning a move to New York City in the near future. Visit her Web site here.
Wow, this is fantastic! It sounds like this change might not be temporary after all. That would be wonderful.
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Oh man! I missed all these great updates. I think you sound really confident about your ability to fend for yourself as a vegan, which is definitely something I struggled with even as a vegetarian. That’s pretty inspiring. I gotta ask, how do you feel these days? Craving anything?
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Bacon. But I find any cravings I have are manageable, and I can just eat something equally delicious that’s vegan. Yum.
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One word: Bacos
I also like smoked tempeh strips (“Fakin’ Bacon” by Lightlife)
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Wow! I love reading how you are really absorbing this all and not accepting the status quo. You go girl!
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This is a tough one. You will see several schools of thought. There are people out there (Vegan Outreach for example) who consider the animal welfare argument to be the best one. And the strongest one at that. They argue that after people are exposed to information about animal cruelties they become very committed in the quest to stop eating any animal products. But they also recognize that sometimes it is hard to make people look at those videos/pictures so they would make the connection.
There are also advocates who use the health argument. It appeals to people’s self-interest and thus makes for an easier argument. You don’t have to talk about horrors of animal production, which makes people uncomfortable. Instead, people using the health argument talk about the improvements in health that happen once people adopt a vegan diet. And most people who have been eating a Standard American Diet should feel better after transitioning to a whole foods plant based diet. In fact, the effects on overweight and more importantly heart disease and Type II diabetes are well documented. All of these conditions can be reversed with a healthy vegan diet. But proponents of the first argument (animal rights) say that some people who do not have serious health problems and who adopt this diet primarily for health reasons give up veganism fairly easily. If they don’t feel as they expected or if they become deficient in something, they are not committed enough to stick with it and figure out why they don’t feel right. Maybe it is a simplistic way to describe this, but that is the jist of it.
Here is my take. I agree that for those people who are more open to learning about animal treatment issues the first argument is the best. But when I first became vegan I was mainly persuaded by the health argument. Yes, most of the people who convert to veganism are in their middle age or even older. But that was not the case with me. At that time, I was 20. Also, although I continued to read about health-veganism relationship, I was still exposed to information about animal treatment. If the health argument cannot persuade someone to be a 100% vegan, then the fact that animals were tortured in the name of food made my decision even stronger. And over time, I learned more and more about animal treatment. So it is possible to get commitment with those people who are persuaded with the health argument at first, but then learn about animal welfare issues. And that is why I don’t completely dismiss this argument. I feel that it can help many people transition to this diet.
I didn’t mention the environmental impact and how this can be used as an argument because I haven’t met a lot of people for whom that was the main reason for their veganism. Although it is possible to persuade some people using this argument, I think it will be quite a bit harder compared to the first two.
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Good summary, Lisa.
Here is a longer discussion of the health argument:
http://www.veganoutreach.org/articles/healthargument.html
One thing to keep in mind is that it takes about 250 chickens to provide the same number of meals as one cow. So if using the health argument leads one person to stop eating animals and one to give up beef for chicken, a lot more animals will suffer (and much more intensely).
Here’s more on that topic:
http://whyveganoutreach.blogspot.com/2010/05/calculating-optimal-advocacy-for-all.html
Keep up the great writing, Jessica!
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Love your articles! Here’s a recipe for veggie bacon from PETA
BETTER THAN BACON:
INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup soy sauce (I use low sodium)
1 tbsp nutritional yeast flakes
1 tbsp. maple syrup
1/2 tbsp liquid smoke
1/2 lb. extra-firm tofu
DIRECTIONS
Mix the soy sauce, yeast flakes, maple syrup and liquid smoke together in a shallow container. With a cheese slicer, shave the tofu into very thin slices.
Marinate the tofu in the soy sauce mixture for 1 day or more.
To cook, heat a lightly oiled, heavy frying pan over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, fry the tofu slices until they are golden-brown and almost crispy on both sides, scraping underneath the slices as you turn them with a sturdy spatula. Turn several times during cooking and let cool in the pan; the slices will crisp up as they cool
Makes about 40 thin slices
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Congratulations on trying veganism out! I hope it works out for you. What you said here; “‘Well I love meat and I’d rather eat it than not.’ This kind of reasoning lacks sound logic”, resonates SO much with me. I encounter this herd mentality of “I’ve always done it, everyone else does it, so why change?” all them time and it’s unfortunate.
I’ll tell you what really annoys me though; the idea that eating red meat is “manly” and tofu is pansy or feminine. Yeah, and people used to eat monkey brains and other animals penises with the idea it will make you smarter and more fertile or better lovers. I’ll be laughing when all these “manly” men are laying in hospitals riddled with disease and the “pansy” vegans are still strangers to their doctors (studies show vegans have fewer hospitalizations and necessary doctor visits than their omnivorous counterparts.)
Good luck!
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Well done! I’m so glad you’ve taken on this challenge and are bringing these issue to light for those who may not already be aware.
What I found is that once you learn the truth about what you’re eating, it’s hard to ignore. I hope it sticks for you, but even if you don’t stay a vegan forever, I’m certain that what you’ve learned will impact your future eating choices. Sad thing is, like you said, most people don’t want to know!
It’s hard to go against the grain, especially in the midwest where animal agriculture is a way of life. People seem to take it as a personal afront when they learn about your dietary choices, even when it has nothing to do with you! The longer you do it, the better you’ll cope with it. Sounds like you’re already doing great so far. Keep up the good work!
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Talking with many other vegans I think the consensus is that not everyone will be ‘turned on’ by the same argument. During conversation with people you tend to figure out what’s important to them and tailor your discussion towards their priorities. It’s also worth remembering that not many people make such comprehensive behaviour change on hearing about it for the first time – some psychology suggests that a person needs to be exposed to a new idea up to 7 times before they start to consider it (but that doesn’t mean you can just tell them 7 times yourself!). The most you can do is give them something to think about and offer to answer any questions they have now or in the future. Some people keep a stash of ‘Why Vegan?’ leaflets in their bag for just such purposes.
Keep up the great work! It’s amazing isn’t it just how deep you can get into this? I’m really interested to see how your thinking has developed just in the last week.
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Congrats! Veganism is amazing. VegWeb.com is my favorite vegan recipe website!
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Isn’t it amazing how fast tastes change. The usual time period most researchers give to transform taste and food preference is 3 weeks. But you did it in one! Shows how adaptable people are and why taste preference is not a good reason to eat animals.
An animal-free diet in enjoyable on every level. For maximum success, eat a wide variety of whole plant foods. http://perfectformuladiet.com/plant-based-nutrition/science-based-nutrition-and-health
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Dear Jessica,
Hey! I really enjoyed reading your diary! I find it absolutely interesting that, so far, the transition to a vegan diet has been so easy and quick for you. It will be great to get an update on your food habits and feelings a year from now.
For me – the knowledge of animal curelty has been hands down the single issue that has hooked me and my husband on Veganism. I’m 58 and he is 61!
When I was around 27, I read Diet for a Small Planet and other books about food choices that help feed people and conserve resources. I have also been nutrition conscious since I was a teenager. I am also a lifetime naturalist and environmentalist. So, I picked up on the vegetarian idea pretty quickly and decided eating low on the food chain was for me. The problem – I felt that I could tweek the vegetarian diet and still feel good about my eating choices. For years I ate low fat meat and dairy products. I gave up pork and beef back then but stuck to fish and white chicken breasts as an occassional meal. I felt that these were healthy choices and caused less envrionmental damage. I used egg whites in all my baking recipes! I hate to think of all the eggs we consumed this way! Just awful!
In the back of my mind in the last decade or so – I was beginning to feel uncomfortable with the knowledge about the treatment of farm animals. But I never explored the issue directly. And I still – I felt that for good health – I had to stick with my diet plan. I was skeptical about the health benefits of Vegan diet and I just never did take the time to explore the Vegan philosphy.
Two years ago – I finally asked a friend why he became Vegan. I shared with him my concern about animal abuse in the farm industry. Well…he sent me the video – Meat Your Meat! My husband and I have been transitioning vegans since! I also learned about Vegan Outreach! What a great organization. The nutrition section is outstanding and I totally agree with their postitive approach and their focus and goal to reducing suffering of the animals. They are right on when they say that health and enviornment reasons for eating veg allow one to “cheat”. When I think of the millions of suffering animals that are living a life of hell 24/7 – eliminating animal products is a piece of tofu cake – a no brainer.
I think there are many more people my age who dabbled in vegetariansim in the 1970s and 1980s for health and environmental reasons. I met a woman my age at the grocery store last year. She looked at my food choices and lamented that she used to eat the kind of food that she saw in my cart. But, she moved to the country and now had a meat eating boyfriend. It was just easier for her to return to her old eating habits. I gave her my phone number and said we could get together a talk about food, etc. I too am a country person – but have been able to stock our cupboards with vegan food choices. I wanted to share this information. Unfortunately, she never called me.
My husband and I have three very good reasons to eat Vegan – health – environment – animals.
By the way – since switching to a Vegan diet (1 1/2 years ago) my cholesterol numbers have dropped dramatically! After 50 – my cholesterol kept raising. I eventually started taking a statin drug. Last summer my doctor thought that I should up my dose. I told her about my diet change – so she said I could wait a see. Well – my last two blood reports were outstanding! From mid 200 total number with high bad cholesterol – to 159 and all numbers in the excellent range.
Thanks for your diary! It is inspiring!
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Hello, all! Thank you again for your amazing advice and input. I wanted to let you know that I’ve written a final post about the challenge, we’re just waiting on some technical difficulties to pass before we post it. I haven’t tried to leave you all hanging!
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Thank you so much, I love to read about other vegetarians and vegans as it gives me the strength to continue. I have about a thousand vegetarian feeds in my google reader, but another can’t hurt!! I did manage to find a good lentil recipes here, but I’ll be sure to try yours too. Thanks!
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