My Vegan Story

I've shared my vegan story a few times over the years in discussion boards or with people who know me well, but I think it's especially important that I share it here. 


As a child, I always had a fondness for animals. We used to make trips to Guatemala every few summers to visit relatives. I remember going to my aunt and uncle's house where they basically had a small farm.  My cousin had a baby chick that they called Piolín. I adored that baby bird. I played with him every chance I got that summer. I was deeply disturbed when I heard sometime later that Piolín had eventually become their dinner.Though I don't recall changing my eating habits, I remember feeling really sad about Piolín and angry toward these particular relatives. They found the whole situation amusing, which horrified me even more.


My family has always loved eating, and my parents were usually pretty open to different types of cuisine.  They went to a Hare Krishna vegetarian restaurant and loved the food.  It was pretty far from where we lived, but they started taking us there occasionally.   It was always a pleasant experience.  I loved the food and really enjoyed visiting the temple with the aromas of incense and the soothing chants.  I was a little scared that they would try to recruit me into their fold, but I sometimes would take some literature.  I would skim it, and then it would go on the bookshelf.


I had a friend in high school who would constantly challenge me.  He'd ask all sorts of philosophical questions about my beliefs.  I would get frustrated with him because no matter how many answers I had, he always had more questions.  I eventually resorted to reading different religious and philosophical texts searching for some answers.  Included in my reading were the Krishna books, as well as some other books discussing similar principles and ideas.*


Now, this friend was NOT a vegetarian and never even brought up vegetarianism.  He was actually challenging me on other conventional notions that I simply took for granted.  I was already pretty introspective, but this was really the push that I needed to start thinking seriously about things.  Some of what I read really clicked with me.  I was amazed at how much sense some of these concepts made to me.  Why did we have to eat animals?  Was there any justifiable reason to treat a cow worse than the cats I loved so much?  What if I were a cow?  What if someone were raising me to eat?


I was actively thinking about all this for a couple of weeks.  I went around and around in my head.  Different things kept pointing me to the harsh realities of the slaughterhouse.  I think I may have not really been eating meat during that time, but I remember that I did on Thanksgiving even after all those thoughts.  It was done very reluctantly at my then-girlfriend's house.  Thanksgiving was a big deal to her, and I weakly succumbed.  I don't think she even realized my internal struggle.  I remember that guilt of participating in something that felt so wrong. It just made the drive in me even stronger.  I knew that I had to stop participating in this.  I couldn't dare eat another innocent animal.  On Monday after Thanksgiving, 1989, I stopped eating all animals.  


Because I knew that people would give me a hard time about it, I started out calling it an "experiment."  I knew deep inside that I had no intentions of changing back.  I couldn't look in the eyes of an innocent animal and imagine myself killing him or her, much less eating this other being.  Why eat an animal?  The transformation in me was complete.  It did take me a few weeks to realize the prevalence of the less-than-obvious meaty ingredients in food.  Twinkies and cinnamon rolls at school had beef fat. I learned about rennet in cheese (this helped to curb my cheese consumption somewhat in my pre-vegan days).  I found out that most refried beans had lard.  Gelatin was all over the place.  It soon became apparent to my family and friends that this was no experiment.  I know now that my mom still thought that I would give it up at some point, but most began to see that I meant serious business.


People would openly challenge me.  It was very difficult and painful, but it drove me to become a knowledgeable vegetarian.  I immersed myself and read as many vegetarian books and magazines as I could.  I learned all sorts of things.  I discovered veganism.  I was feeling somewhat guilty about leather from the very beginning.  In fact, I had a leather jacket that I would wear, and every time I wore it, I felt like a hypocrite.  I had decided that I would quit wearing leather from the very beginning, but I felt that I needed to learn about alternatives.  The worst part was that at Christmas my unsupportive girlfriend gave me a watch with a leather band.  I felt like crying.  She had initially asked me if I was going to quit wearing leather.  Because I was getting some attitude about my vegetarianism in general, I had said that I wouldn't, while knowing that I really had every intention of giving it up.  I started to see the problems with all animal products as I read more about veganism.  I got to a point reading about animal agriculture, when I knew that it was time to go vegan.  I wanted no connection to slaughter.


In 1990 in suburban Dallas, vegan was not something that people knew about.  I remember thinking of vegans as these sort of mysterious, other-worldly spiritual people that glowed brilliantly.  But I knew that I had to become a vegan.  One day in September, I stopped consuming all food animal products with the exception of honey (which I didn't know about) and started to get rid of all my leather, silk, wool products.  Shortly after, I learned about honey and dumped it as well, becoming a vegan.  I've never regretted that decision, only that I couldn't have come to it sooner than I did.


I have learned a lot in these many years of veganism.  I no longer think that vegans are free from all problems and sicknesses. I am all too aware of my own shortcomings.   But the one thing that I always stay true to is my veganism.  I have changed over the years in many ways.  I've been through all kinds of phases, friendships and relationships, but veganism is a constant.  Being vegan is practical and can be pretty easy in most cases.  It is not a fad, not temporary, not hip or political.  Veganism surpasses all of that.  It is based on the principles of compassion, freedom, amity,  and doing the right thing.  I don't view it as a good thing but as a necessity.    Veganism is not the solution to everything, but it is the best and easiest way to eliminate a great deal of senseless violence in the world.


* - I eventually found that Jain philosophy was what made the most sense for me.  That's a topic for another entry though.