Going vegan

veg·an
1) a vegetarian who omits all animal products from the diet.
2) A vegetarian who eats plant products only, especially one who uses no products derived from animals, as fur or leather.
Definitions courtesy of dictionary.com

Look at all the delicious vegan food. Yes, every single thing pictured is vegan - even the cupcakes. And obviously it looks fantastic, because Peachfuzz is sitting here on my lap eating strawberries as I type. When she saw the picture she said "yummy, yummy", which is her big tick of approval!

I've been thinking of transitioning from vegetarian to vegan for quite some time. I have a small collection of fantastic vegan cookbooks which we eat from most nights of the week. I still enjoy cheese (soy cheese - not so much) and ice-cream, but I'd really like to eliminate all dairy, eggs and honey from my diet. And eventually, though it will be a slower process, eliminate leather, wool, silk, fur (don't think I own any fur anyway) from my home/wardrobe etc.

There are so many reasons I think this is the right step, and only a few that have been holding me back so far. Going vegetarian started primarily as a health thing. We just felt better when we didn't eat meat. Then as I looked for delicious vegetarian recipes, I started doing some research into the lifestyle. My reasons now are not just health reasons, but ethical and environmental too. One of the biggest things you can do to reduce your ecological footprint is eat less animal products.

So, the next logical step is to go vegan. There is animal cruelty and loss of life involved in producing dairy products and eggs. I just don't feel right supporting the factory farming industry. I know some people will say "just eat organic or free-range, it's more humane", but I really think my body will thrive without any animal products at all. Everyone I've ever spoken to who is or has been vegan (particularly raw vegans), have said nothing but wonderful things about the health benefits. I really don't believe we were designed to consume the milk of another species. When you actually think about it, there's something a little gross about that.

These are just the thoughts on my mind at the moment. I expect this will be a gradual transition. There are still eggs and cheese in the fridge, honey in the pantry and ice-cream in the freezer. Papa Bear is not ready to give up these foods yet. I hope that one day he will follow me along this path. There was a point in time where I didn't think he would ever give up steak, and now the mere thought of eating a steak makes him sick. So perhaps eventually he will come to the same conclusions as me. But for the time being, I will continue to cook vegan food, and support him in his occasional enjoyment of animal products.

I know this will not be a popular decision. Some people may not want us to eat with them any more. Cooking vegan food is not difficult, but it's a whole different thing when you're not used to cooking or eating that way. This may completely kill my social life, but if so, that's okay. I really feel like this is what I should be doing. So I'm going to do it.