The Road to Becoming Vegan

I became vegan.  It wasn’t always that way though. Growing up on a dairy/beef/pork/chicken farm in the Midwest, I ate meat, dairy and eggs daily.  Everyone around me ate these animal products.  I thought those were the foods I was supposed to be eating.

Change

It wasn’t until August of 2012 when all that started to change.  One evening I fried two large pork chops, mashed potatoes with pork gravy and a side of peas.  Loaded all on my plate and sat down to watch t.v.  I was flipping through the channels and was horrified when I came across a pig farming factory documentary.  Tears came to my eyes, and I threw my plate of pork chops out, and immediately became vegetarian.  No meat at all.  Slowly I started falling back into some of my old habits.  I started eating fish again and was still eating dairy and eggs.  When I met my boyfriend, he was a huge meat-eater.  I drifted back to the old ways of eating.

Forward four years to 2016.  I met Amanda Smith, a kind vegan, through her wonderful website www.createnplate.com  and she has been a great and continuous source of inspiration and support for me.

So, for almost a year now, with her guidance and help, I went back to being vegetarian, and eating meat only once in awhile.  After watching several food and health documentaries, (you can find the list here), I finally chose to become fully vegan for several reasons;  My entire body feels better.  I feel better physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually.  But most of all I feel happy that I no longer need to hurt animals to live a healthier life.