Why am I Vegan?

My heart is so heavy writing this, as I know that many don't understand.

Roughly 2 years ago, I made the best decision of my life, to become vegan.

Becoming vegan wasn't an option for me. It was something I had to do. 

The stereotypical view of vegans are that they are hippies eating salads all day long and know nothing about actual health. They push their opinions on you, they deprive themselves, and they are only doing it to be different than everyone else.

First of all, if anyone knows my husband and I, the last thing we do is eat salads all day as we know that is not sustainable. We do anything but deprive ourselves as we eat more than anyone else we know, and we definitely do not push our opinions or do it just to be different.

Yes, we don't eat any animal products...this means no meat, cheese/dairy, or eggs. We don't eat animal fat, gelatin (as it comes from bone marrow) or honey. We don't wear leather, wool, or suede. 

Being vegan is about the animals, but it's also so much more.

Being vegan is about taking down the blindfolds that have been put in front of our eyes by society and seeing the world for what it really is. It's about knowing and understanding what is going on with our products, instead of taking the easy way out and hiding. It's about knowing what is in our food, skin products, and cleaning products and not participating in evil.

Most importantly, it's about being compassionate.

Many seem to think being vegan is just a diet, but that is not true as being vegan is a lifestyle. 

I don't miss anything that I'm not eating or using because I know the truth behind it. 

The problem is, as consumers, we are completely blind to what is going on before we get what we are buying. We don't raise, kill, or butcher our meats. We don't see the animals getting tested before we buy our shampoos and soaps and we don't listen to the cries of the enslaved animals. When we buy our products in a nice little package, we don't think about what it really is or how it could affect us.

This is a lifestyle. 

We choose to live compassionately towards animals, the planet, and the people around us.

We choose to reduce our carbon footprint and to make the best, most educated decisions on what we buy.

We choose to be vegan.

This is a topic that I am very passionate about, but I feel that without being exposed to what I've been exposed to, it's difficult to truly understand.

I challenge anyone who has not already to watch these YouTube videos and documentaries.

-Gary Yourofsky: Best Speech you will ever hear- 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=es6U00LMmC4

-Earthling 

-Cowspiricy

-Food-Inc

-Forks over Knives

In no way is this a post trying to make anyone feel badly, or judged against. This is only to open up minds about veganism, to eliminate hateful stereotypes, and to expose the truth behind our food.