why i became vegan

Recently, I made the massive decision to convert to veganism. But thinking back to two years ago, when one of my best friends became vegan, I had scoffed and thought that it was a stupid idea, merely because I didn't understand it. Why would someone cut out dairy and eggs? Vegetarianism I could understand (who really likes shoving dead animal flesh into their graveyard of a body?), but cheese doesn't feel pain when you eat it, right?

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As much as I would love to show you Peta videos of cows on dairy 'farms' (the things that they reveal concerning animal slaughter is both terrifying and revolting) and traumatise you all into becoming vegan, I'm just not like that. We all have free will, you can do want you want. But, I believe that this is an important issue and it needs to be addressed. Also, I would like to educate you all on what Veganism really is - it's not a breach into anorexia (like my cousin stated), it's not because I hate humans and want to make an alliance with farm animals to turn hamburgers into humanburgers, and it's definitely not because I want attention. Well, I suppose that it is attention that I want. But, I want said attention to focus on the living skin stretched across your sofa, the wriggling piglet ground into your burger, and the cow, the mother, who had her calves ripped away from her and her udders tied up to painful machines all so you could enjoy your rennet cheese (fun fact - cheese also has a special chemical in it to help it curdle - calves' stomach). What I really want is to raise awareness for these poor animals, not the insides of an animal cooked and put inside a burger for me to eat, nor the skin of a bull peeled off and bent into a coat for tomorrow's outfit.

For example, let's think about chicken slaughter. Chickens are typically kept in tiny cages, with barely enough room to spread their wings. Their feet become deformed from standing on wire all day, and their bones waste away from lack of use. If kept amongst other chickens, their highly sensitive beaks are cut off to stop them pecking the others out of desperation to be free. Hens are forced to be impregnated again and again, motherly instincts always present, and when they force out their eggs, they are snatched away. They will never see their chicks. The mental effects of this are disastrous. The chickens are fed high doses of chemicals and steroids to make them plump for when their necks can be sliced and they can be shoved into boiling hot water to burn their feathers off - sometimes whilst still conscious. When eggs are hatched and male chicks have happily nestled up to their mothers and twittered about, they are rough handled and thrown, alive, into giant meat grinders. This is passed off as dog food. I, as a vegan, don't want to support these cruel acts of injustice.

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So why don't you just become vegetarian? I hear you cry. Simple. Let's use the animal byproduct of cow's milk as another example. The obvious fact that I am drinking the milk that should have gone to a loving cow's calf makes me feel like a pretty horrible being - not my mom, not my milk, the saying goes. The cows are given heavy drugs to make them produce up to ten times more milk than they are meant to, expanding their bodies and stretching out their insides, putting pressure and immense pain on and around their udders. They are impregnated constantly to keep this rapid flow of milk continuous and then when the immediate motherly bond has formed, their newborn calves are stolen away from them and sliced up into burgers. The mothers are bound to the same fate, only this time their skin may be turned into armchairs and handbags and their organs may be mangled into mince.

The same thing goes for animal testing. I am currently in the process of throwing out all make-up, toothpastes, deodorants and shampoo that may have been injected into monkeys' scalps or force-fed to overgrown cats. And even famous products like Maybelline's Baby Lips (I own six or seven, guiltily, until I throw them out for good today) have droplets of pig flesh in them. Why is this? Why is the pain and suffering of countless animals evident everywhere, happily moulded into Nivea products and foundation? Is rotting animal flesh really a beauty product?

As someone who is also trying to reform into the Buddhist lifestyle, it is also my religion to not promote the suffering of others, regardless of whether they have more legs than me, fur or pointy ears. Even religions like Christianity say things along the lines of 'thou shalt not kill'. I'm not having a dig, I'm merely making a point. 

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So far, my venture into veganism has been a difficult one - from trying to persuade my family that this isn't just a phase, finding food that I will both eat and enjoy, going out for food with people and saying no to chicken and Magic Stars chocolate, having no vegan options at my school canteen (an outrage), to educating people about the suffering that endless animals have to go through, day after day - but I am doing okay. In three days, from holding out on meat and dairy products, I would have saved an innocent life. In three more days I would have saved another. And again and again and again. Life after life after life.

As a vegan, there are many things I don't support:

Zoos - animals bred in captivity, forced to perform stunts to entertain humans and abused when they accidentally do something wrong.

Dog breeders - for each dog bought, a perfectly good dog up for adoption has had it's life stolen. Get your animals neutered, people, there's enough tragedy in the world without you adding to the amount of strays on a death list.

Meat - animals who could have roamed free, raised a family, taught their young the basics of the marvellous world around them... grounded into burgers, sandwiches and pies.

Non-vegan clothes - silk, leather, fur.. all unnecessary, all cruel. We can live without wearing animal skin, they can't. Also, wool supports the cruel dairy and meat industry, and once they stop producing as much wool as they used to, the sheep are sent to be slaughtered anyway.

Animal byproducts - why would I not support the skin of a living animal stretched over a drum, yet support millions of cows milked into exhaustion?

Seafood - "You're a vegan, right? So you can eat fish?" No, I can't. That tuna sandwich once had a heartbeat. That shark tail once belonged to a shark who swam around merrily. And don't start the argument that sharks kill humans - we all know hundreds more sharks die from human attacks than humans from sharks.
Other non-vegan products - down, for example. The bird feathers used to fill pillows, stuff bed sheets, and even strung around dreamcatchers. 50 - 80% of down feathers are live-plucked, causing tremendous pain to our feathery friends by snaring the skin (causing their thin blood to pour out) and then the snares are sewn without painkillers only so the birds can be plucked again and again until they're ready for slaughter - and then plucked again once dead.

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Then there's always the argument of, 'but you're killing plants, they might feel pain". Point taken, but plants don't actually have nervous systems, so it is scientifically proven that they don't feel pain. Also, to quote Random Facts,  "approximately 25 gallons of water are needed to produce 1 pound of wheat. Around 2,500 gallons of water are needed to produce 1 pound of meat. Many vegetarians argue that more people eating a meat-free diet would lower the strain that meat production puts on the environment." It's great to think that by being vegan I might actually be helping the environment, but, at the same time, I don't know how to support one thing without contradicting another. For example - tea leaves can be carried by an ox, which is animal labour and is therefore, in my opinion, wrong. But what's the alternative? Slaves carrying the tea leaves? Sometimes I'm not sure if I'm doing the right thing, but I want to do the best I can.

The word "veganism" denotes a philosophy and way of living which seeks to exclude — as far as is possible and practical — all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose; and by extension, promotes the development and use of animal-free alternatives for the benefit of humans, animals and the environment. In dietary terms it denotes the practice of dispensing with all products derived wholly or partly from animals.

- Donald Watson, the man who coined the word 'vegan' in 1944

For those of you who think I'm a complete nunchuck for believing in the practice of veganism, I'm sorry for caring about farm "products" (and rabbits, deer, bears, foxes, elephants, etc),  but I can't really say that I love animals and hug my dog when I'm supporting the gruesome slaughter of endless others. It feels wrong to me, but I appreciate your alternate beliefs. It's your choice and I accept that. I'm not having a go at you, I am just explaining my personal reasons to stay away from brutally murdered animals' flesh. I didn't want to go in to too many details because I'm afraid of becoming preachy and sounding like I'm trying to force my beliefs onto other people, but at the same time I think this issue should still be addressed, and this is a topic that I am becoming more and more passionate about.