So Sarah, Why Vegan?

I feel like it’s important to share my heart on why I choose this lifestyle because to me, it is more than just a way to stay healthy or keep weight off. I think sharing more of what fuels my passion for a VEGAN DIET could help someone else who is on the fence about it.

I have had many people ask me how this lifestyle is possible long-term, and why on earth I would ever want to live without steak, chocolate ice cream, or pepperoni pizza. I can tell you now, over 2 years into a 100% vegan diet – this lifestyle is not just possible, it’s SO MUCH BETTER than the one I lived before. Every SINGLE PERSON is different, and each person has to eat in a way that they are comfortable and happy with, so there should never judgments made, but with that said – for me, a vegan diet is the very best, kindest, healthiest way for me to exist.

The meat/dairy industry is not at all like people picture it to be. It’s a very sick, twisted, greed-driven machine that is doing a lot of destruction. Having done extensive research over the years, I’ve heard, seen, and read things that I will never be able to remove from my conscience. This effects the way I eat, the clothes I wear, and the products I use. I don’t want to take any part in supporting  such a corrupt industry.

I have heard the argument, “God made meat for people to eat”, and who am I to say what God did or didn’t do? I do NOT condemn, or believe anyone to be a less compassionate human being because they live differently than me. I DO believe that many people are ill-informed about HOW those animals live and die for our MASS consumption of their meat. I don’t believe that God would have created animals for the sake of living miserable lives, caged and chained to machines, tortured mercilessly, overcrowded to the point of death, being skinned and gutted while alive, babies ripped from their mothers at birth, never seeing daylight, continuously injected with artificial hormones and ANTIBIOTICS, starved to the point of eating their own kind. These are the facts of their lives. Unfortunately this is not just me being some over-dramatic animal rights activist – this is our food industry today.

If you are like me, and want to be as informed as possible as to what is actually going on behind the scenes, I suggest you watch a few very informative, very eye opening documentaries.
1.) Earthlings. Let me warn you ahead of time – this is hard to sit through. I sobbed through most of it, but I felt that is was so important for me to see the truth. It changed the way I look at the world and what we’ve done to the creatures we share it with. Before anyone judges a VEGAN DIET or thinks it to be nonsense, I DARE you to sit through this entire movie and not be changed by it. You can watch it free any time on youtube.

2.) Forks Over Knives. This documentary is extremely informative. It will explain in great depth the science behind a whole foods plant based DIET. It, too, changed the way I will eat and view food for the rest of my life. I highly recommend each person sit through the entire documentary before throwing out the idea of a meat/dairy-free life.

3.) Vegucated. Another one that may be a little difficult to sit through, but completely necessary. It’s so important that we actually take time to see what we are doing to the creatures we consume.

There are many, many others – watch them all if you care to. The facts will change you – let them. Embrace a different way of existing in the world. I can tell you, with experience now, that it is not hard. It is much harder to me to think about ever going back to the way I use to live. I felt sick often, I was unhappy with my weight, I was TIRED all the time, and I lived in total ignorance to the industry I was helping support. 2 years after making the decision to change it I NEVER get sick, I always have energy, my skin/hair/nails are better than ever, no moods swings, and I have stayed at a weight that I never thought was even attainable for almost 2 years now. I feel better than I ever have.

If you have an interest in this lifestyle the best advice I can give you is to do AS MUCH research as you possibly can! Inform yourself! Read books (The China Study by Dr. T. Colin Campbell, Whole: Rethinking the Science of Nutrition. by Dr. T. Colin Campbell, Becoming Vegan by Brenda Davis & Vesanto Melina), follow vegan blogs, watch the documentaries and find out for yourself if it is something you feel in your heart you should do. The only one who can change the life you live is you, which is GREAT news! YOU are the only one who can stop you, so get out of your own way and start cheering yourself on!

If you decide to CONTINUE eating meat/dairy, guess what – ONLY God knows your heart and He is the ONLY perfect judge there is. Let no one condemn you for doing what sits well with your own conscience. God bless ALL of you – I pray we can always be respectful and live at peace with one another. In the end we’re all just doing the best we can.

With all the love in the world,

– Sarah