Transition Into Veganism

Amine Person | September 30, 2015

Posted in: Vegan Living

Tags: Food, Vegan

It’s been around 3 months now since I’ve gone vegan; two weeks after I decided to go vegetarian. Turns out dairy products are even crueler than meat; You take a cow, impregnate her so that she will give birth to a calf so that as a new mother, she will be able to produce milk. The milk is then taken for human consumption because, of course, the calf doesn’t need it. The calf is then abducted from their mother to either suffer the same fate as a milk machine if female or as a male, sent to a slaughterhouse as to be made into veal. Learning about milk production was one of the main reasons why I went vegan but the final straw was watching Cowspiracy. I learned so much through one movie about the effects of livestock factory farming and what it does to our earth: pollution, destruction of our resources, world hunger, etc. For those who are willing to learn about it, you can now watch Cowspiracy on Netflix!

Letting my family know I went vegan was pretty tough. They became really worried for me. They kept telling me that meat was essential to my diet. I thought that too for a while before I had gone vegan but then I found out that it isn’t. Turns out you can live a healthier life without it, so, hey, why not? My parents, aunts, uncles, and grandparents still don’t believe me. Just do some research and you’ll realize humans can thrive off of plants!

I never thought I’d go vegan because the culture (Cham/Vietnamese) I grew up in was a huge animal consuming group of people.  My family is Muslim so sacrificing a cow or lamb was a blessing. Every recipe in my family’s arsenal thrived on cows, chicken, lamb, fish, and more. I can’t tell them  anything about what eating animals is doing to our planet. They just won’t listen.

The transition from meat to a plant based diet has been very easy with many delicious options. My wife, Livi, who had been vegan before me, made it even easier! I am grateful to have learned about veganism. I am also grateful for all the friends I have made on my journey towards veganism. The Animal Advocates of South Central Pennsylvania is made of the most amazing people in the world and I am so happy. Go vegan and help save the planet!

-Amine