Monday, May 13, 2013

Why I Became a Vegan

Are there any other vegans like me?

When I went vegan in 2006, I had just returned from a year teaching English in Japan.  In Japan, they like their meat fatty (greasy, chewy, rubbery, ugh), and determined to be a good sport I put on a smile and gulped it down whenever it was offered.  But it was during that stay in Japan when I realized my nearly life-long desire to try vegetarianism deserved a real try.  It would be nearly impossible while I lived in Japan (and again, I wanted to look like a “good” foreigner), so I decided I’d give it a go when I returned to the States.

When I returned, the logistics of becoming a vegetarian hit me hard.  Sure, I could always live on cheese… but it turns out many cheeses are made with enzymes from animals’ stomachs.  Ok, so I’d avoid cheese then.  My favorite type of candy has always been gummy candy, and most of them contain gelatin a.k.a. bone product.  So the candy was out.  I decided to really challenge myself and go vegan instead.

As I think it’s becoming apparent, there are a lot of reasons people go vegan and I’m implying I didn’t use any of the common ones.  That is why I’m wondering if there is anyone else out there like me… a vegan because “ick! Animal bits!”  I didn’t want to do it halfway.  I internalized all the reasons I could find:

Animal Cruelty

Health

“Purity”

Weight-control

Moral Superiority (LOL)

But none of these are the real reason, and today I remind myself that these were NOT the reasons for me.  Which is why there are many who would say I'm not really vegan at all.

Animal Cruelty: I have to drive a car. Sorry.  My husband has a leather couch.  I think he would have dumped me (understandably) if I had insisted he get rid of it for the privilege of dating me.  Thing’s expensive!  I can’t help but kill bugs.  If they are in my house, they must die (self-defense?).  Bugs are going to die anyway.  I am klutzy and they wind up under my shoes.

This may have you thinking that maybe I’m just a “dietary” vegan (I was at first, but eventually I gave away all my leather, silk, and wool.  Non-vegan cosmetics were discontinued starting in my 6th year).  However, no, diet is the only place I “cheat vegetarian,” in fact (I’ll clarify this later).  I don’t buy leather shoes.  I won’t buy a handbag even if it only has a little leather detailing.  I’ve always hated wool  sweaters because they make me itchy, and avoiding wool winter coats has probably been the most difficult thing but I’ve succeeded just fine.  I never owned much silk anyway.  But I’ve digressed far too much here.  Can anybody really be completely vegan if they go all murderous at the sight of a common house spider?  Not really, but I still consider myself vegan because in most areas I am.

Health:  Well, I am perfectly healthy but where I’ve failed is I often eat loads of junk food and don’t try to be a raw or pure vegan.  I also eat refined sugar (technically not vegan b/c it’s made with bone char).  I won’t eat honey, though it’s technically not unhealthy and has some health benefits… but it’s just gross because it’s bee spit.  Junk food you can eat as a vegan (besides all the vegan brands of chips and sweets out there): oreo cookies, loads of bread, sugary cereals, soda, fries, and sour patch kids. I eat them all. Fail.

“Purity” and Moral Superiority: Okay, sometimes I do indulge in feeling better about myself because I’m a vegan and I contribute less to animal suffering and depletion of the planet, but as I’ve already covered I’m also a junk food fiend that kills bugs so I don’t really have much to feel superior about :-P

Weight Control: Oops, covered this one already, too.  Though I’m not an obese vegan exactly, I am currently overweight because it seems like it was genetically pre-determined that I’d gain about 60 lbs. with my pregnancy (exactly like my standard-American-diet-eating sister).  The weight is coming off with almost no effort on my part, albeit at about 1 lb. a week (supposedly this kind of slow weight loss is better for you in the long run anyway, so I have no complaints).  So, being vegan is a leg up on the weight control in my unsubstantiated opinion, but in no way does it guarantee a svelte physique.

Sorry if you want to tell me TL:DR at this point, but I’m coming to the real reason I am vegan: disgust.  Yes, I am a squeamish, sensitive girl!  While I can stomach knowing there is some honey, egg or milk in my pancakes and doughnuts (the “cheating vegetarian” I mentioned earlier), I can’t stand the thought of eating a plate of gooey eggs or having a cow-milk latte.  I shudder at the thought of smearing waxy bee crap or crimson nasty-bug juice (carmine) on my lips or cheeks, and at wearing another animal’s skin on my feet.  It’s just gross.

The best thing about the reason I am vegan: it’s unassailable.  It’s my OPINION.  You can’t tell me I’m wrong about thinking that using products with animal junk in them is nasty.  That’d be like telling someone meat simply doesn’t taste good when they are adamant that it’s the best-tasting thing ever.  Even if you are a vegan for animal rights or health or any other reason that invites (ignorant and wrong) arguments about your choice, the most self-defensive meat eater armed with loads of B.S. about how veganism will make you have deficiencies can say NOTHING when you tell them that animal product use is just dirty and makes you want to go take a long, hot shower. 

Friday, February 10, 2012

2/10/12

Weight: 119.5

Today I ate:
Three Starbucks petite vanilla bean scones (not vegan) (140 cal. ea.)
Zoup! Frontier 7 Bean soup (bowl, 16oz., 200 cal., definitely vegan) with a multi-grain roll (maybe not vegan)
500mL diet Mtn. Dew
Giant spinach and arugula salad with dijon balsamic vinaigrette, carrots, dried cranberries, almonds, soy nuts, and pepitas
Cafe Latte (almond milk, sugar, coffee)

Vitamins:
DEVA Vegan Prenatal Vitamin
VegLife Supreme Vegan D 2000 IU
DEVA Vegan Cal-Mag Plus (Zinc, Vitamin D, Boron & more) Chelated

2/9/12

Weight: 119

Today I ate:
1 Del Monte fruit naturals red grapefruit in 100% juice (100 cal)
1 White Chocolate Macadamia Luna Bar (190 cal)
2 500mL bottles of diet Mtn. Dew
2 bowls of angel hair pasta with tomato sauce
1 bowl of roasted broccoli (olive oil, garlic salt, pepper)
A handful of Triscuits, a couple tbsp. almond butter, a couple tbsp. vegan chocolate chips

Vitamins:
DEVA Vegan Prenatal Vitamin
VegLife Supreme Vegan D 2000 IU
DEVA Vegan Cal-Mag Plus (Zinc, Vitamin D, Boron & more) Chelated

Thursday, February 9, 2012

2/8/12

Weight: I'm sick and I didn't weight myself :(

Bowl of angel hair pasta with tomato sauce
Spinach smoothie made with 1 Del Monte grapefruit cup, 1 pint of raspberries, and 1 banana
Fajita veggie burrito from Chipotle (cilantro-lime brown rice, black beans, fajita veggies including green bell peppers and red onions, lettuce, guacamole, and corn salsa in a flour tortilla)
1 500mL diet Mtn. Dew

Vitamins:
DEVA Vegan Prenatal Vitamin
DEVA Vegan Vitamin D2 800IU
DEVA Vegan Cal-Mag Plus (Zinc, Vitamin D, Boron & more) Chelated

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

2/7/12

Weight: 120.1

Today I ate:
1 Del Monte fruit naturals red grapefruit in 100% juice (I had been saying these fruit cups were made by Dole, my bad!) (100 cal)
1 banana
2 500mL bottles of diet Mtn. Dew
Boca patty (100-calorie size) with seasoned salt on a deli-size onion bun (170 cal) with about a tsp. of Vegenaise (35 cal) and some arugula x2 (two whole burgers, so like 620 cal total)
2 dill pickle spears (15 cal or so)
Bowl of angel hair pasta with tomato sauce
Roasted broccoli
Vitamins:
DEVA Vegan Prenatal Vitamin
VegLife Supreme Vegan D 2000 IU
DEVA Vegan Cal-Mag Plus (Zinc, Vitamin D, Boron & more) Chelated

2/6/12

Weight: 121.4 (bloating... typical for a day after I eat too much!)

Today I ate:
2 Mocha Chip Muffins (someone else kindly wrote up the recipe here, but it's originally from Vegan with a Vengeance by Isa Chandra Moskowitz) (about 240 calories each)
1 banana
1 Smucker's Uncrustables PB & Grape Jelly sandwich on whole wheat bread (210 cal)
2 500mL bottles of diet Pepsi Wild Cherry
Boca patty (100-calorie size) with seasoned salt on a deli-size onion bun (170 cal) with about a tsp. of Vegenaise (35 cal) and some arugula x2 (two whole burgers)
Dill pickle spear

Vitamins:
DEVA Vegan Prenatal Vitamin
VegLife Supreme Vegan D 2000 IU
DEVA Vegan Cal-Mag Plus (Zinc, Vitamin D, Boron & more) Chelated

Sunday, February 5, 2012

2/5/12

Weight: 120

Today I ate:
1 6-oz. cup of vanilla soy yogurt (160 calories)
5 (for shame) Mocha Chip Muffins (someone else kindly wrote up the recipe here, but it's originally from Vegan with a Vengeance by Isa Chandra Moskowitz) (about 240 calories each... OH GOD)
Angela Liddon's Easy Black Bean Chili Dip garnished with 1 avocado ( For lunch I split it with my husband and we cleaned the plate! We ate it scooping it up with countless Baked Tostitos tortilla chips. Not diet-friendly to eat that much, but who's dieting this weekend?)
Crushed lentil soup (full bowl) with two restaurant pitas (a man's palm -sized)
Fattoush (pita chips, romaine lettuce, tomato, cucumber, mint & parsley, sumac vinaigrette)
Fresh carrot-apple juice
1 500mL diet Pepsi Wild Cherry (which reminds me, I drank a can of diet Mtn. Dew yesterday and of course, forgot to write that in after I lost my post)

Vitamins:
DEVA Vegan Prenatal Vitamin
VegLife Supreme Vegan D 2000 IU
DEVA Vegan Cal-Mag Plus (Zinc, Vitamin D, Boron & more) Chelated