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-Today is officially my first day of a meat-free, dairy-free, honey-free, tree-hugging, bare-footed lifestyle. Whilst I have been talking about this quest, (and yes, I will call it a quest as I am praying for some form of fulfillment at the end of the two weeks) for a long time, entering into it has been something I have approached with much trepidation. I realise it is quite an absurd challenge, the differing responses I have received have definately confirmed this, from those who find it interesting (usually already some form of vegetarian) to those who have crinkled their noses, raised their eyebrows and said 'WHY?!' - with that tone of voice that is only ever reserved for those who don't care much for exploring other options. (usually carnivorous beings who have previously questioned my meat-free diet).
I feel it is necessary to state that I 100% understand why people eat meat, I would never argue against hunter/gatherer human instincts, 'it's natural for humans to eat meat, we are animals, part of the food chain' etc etc, or that it tastes good - I often miss sausage sandwiches, and the smell of spaghetti bolognaise brings me pangs of school-dinner nostalgia. My argument is not so much against the ethics of EATING animals, (or now, being vegan, eating animal products) but more against the ethics of the way in which the animals are REARED, and therefore meat is PRODUCED.
In taking on Veganism, I am attempting to understand the reasoning and ethics behind it; how milk, cheese and egg production is often as cruel to the animal/s in question as is the way in which it is slaughtered. How it is important to eat locally to cut on air-mile costs. One of my main concerns regarding meat-eating, (I'm not sure if this solely applies to the UK, but I very much doubt it) is that much of the meat in meat products, chicken burgers, pies etc. rarely comes from our own country, but is flown in from Thailand and other Asian countries, where let's face it, animal production and treatment is very unlikely to allow a gourmet, happy, healthy lifestyle for the poor poultry. The meat is often pumped with water, and therefore with chemicals to retain the water, before being flown thousands of miles to be put in a pie (which can then be advertised as a 'British Pie' due to loopholes in the Law). How's that for a massive increase on your carbon footprint? - As for the argument concerning money saving tactics, there are usually ways to avoid this. I have a market near where I live, selling local produce for probably 1/5 of supermarket prices (including Asda!), so really, for me, there is no excuse, as I'm sure there isn't for many people around our country-there are always ways of finding good, 'happy' produce.
So anyway. Here is the beginning of my two week diary. Bloody typical I decided to start the day after my housemate's Dad donated an extremely large Thornton selection box to the house.
- First morning coffee with soya milk - surprisingly tasty, comparable to a rather cold and less satisfying Hazlenut Latte (skinny of course, i went for 2% fat soya milk!) Following this, I had a rather oddly couloured bowl of apple and raisin porridge made with Soya milk, slightly cardboardy, but golden syrup sorted this out. - will i really have to disguise all flavours with heaps of sugar to cope with this?! - My teeth may have fallen out, but at least two weeks worth of environment will have been saved! Alarmingly, the time is now 15.36, and I have made it the morning and the afternoon with barely a pang of hunger. perhaps this is the way forward after all!
I have just discovered JUST how expensive being a vegan is, albeit, i did do my weekly shop in sainsburys (where usually I'd do Asda) but come on...£40 on pretty much fruit and vegetables! - no wonder I can name more celebrity vegans than 'real people'! However, my first Vegan supper was particularly scrummy - Spiced Morroccan couscous, with roasted vegetables, my favourite, and falafal bites, with a slight sprinkling of my new favourite (if not for its slightly 'off parmesan' flavour, then for its hilarious name 'Cheddareese' - i mean, come on!) cheese. Yum. I don't think this will be bad at all. and on the plus side, the only snack i've had today is a Ryvita, where usually I would have had chocolate, biscuits, or some such unforgiving delight.
Not Bad!