Being vegan for 4 years now seems like a lot for some people, but it pales in comparison to the decades some people have been following this lifestyle for. I truly feel privileged to have learned about veganism at an early stage of my life where I was still mentally and physically developing at a rapid rate. I think turning to veganism was a pivotal point in my overall self-growth as an individual. It’s interesting when I think about how much veganism has helped me in terms of health, empathy, mindfulness and being aware of how important it is to maintain a sustainable food system.

All of these thoughts that have been manifested in my mind and those that have been played out in my life are rooted within my firm belief in a cause that I’ve embraced wholeheartedly. Funny enough, I don’t think I can truly say I was ever vegetarian because it only lasted for three weeks. It’s interesting for me to look back on this, because I decided on a whim to stop eating animal products all together, and begin a new life that was foreign to everything that I had learned as a kid growing up in a country that has no foundations in veganism.

Questions always seem to creep up that in some way invalidate my experiences and the thoughts and efforts that I’ve had to deal with throughout my journey. People sometimes ask me if I miss the taste of meat, or if I would ever return to an omnivorous diet. I find these questions in some sense to be innocent, because they’re not shadowed by ill-intent or a belittlement of veganism as a whole. Sometimes, people are genuinely curious about someone’s choice to be vegan, and I think that in order to perpetuate the idea and make it more appealing to the average person, veganism has to be explained in a manner that is relatable to others as well.

I have ready-made answers to common questions that I usually get, but sometimes, I have to go deeper within myself to actually find an explanation that truly describes the rationale behind my choice of being vegan. I think veganism, when it’s truly embraced, is more than just an ideology. It becomes a way of life that is tied to the person indefinitely. When people become vegan, and I mean, vegan in the sense that their life choices revolve around alleviating harm onto others, then it becomes very hard to go back to a life that neglects the wellbeing of those that have a right to life as much as us. I think it’s quite similar to the Allegory of the Cave where if you would see the sunlight after having lived in a cave, at first it would hurt your eyes but soon enough you will open up to this new world around you. As such, going back to the cave would seem like a downgrade. I think that when someone becomes vegan, and remains that way for a long time, they would learn so much about themselves and the process itself that it wouldn’t make sense to revert back to their old lifestyles.

I think it’s funny to say that my nightmares include having to eat a piece of steak, or accidentally eating animal products. I genuinely believe that being immersed in a lifestyle of constant awareness leaves a massive mark on a person. People that follow a standard omnivorous lifestyle in general are spared from having to think deeply about their food, especially as they’re growing up. In some regards, if there is no direct contact with one’s food, then it wouldn’t be surprising to assume that it has always been a final product. We understand that in order to have food available for consumption, there has to be an intermediary production process. Whether that is planting crops and harvesting them, or breeding animals and slaughtering them, production is necessary to ensure a steady flow of food. This industrialization has made it convenient for people to purchase food, or any product for that matter, without having to think much about the previous stages.

I think that this commodification of food has made it easier for a lot of people to embrace diets and lifestyles that are based upon the exploitation of others. In fact, it makes people even more defensive about their choices because veganism goes against the grain of their upbringing and cultural norms. As such, it’s imperative to understand food from a holistic approach, rather than basing it upon structural subjectivities. In order to acquire meat, dairy or eggs, there has to be some form of exploitation of another. People are no longer hunting like they used to, because it is considered dangerous and requires a lot of skill. Instead, people work jobs that provide them with the necessary income to purchase food. As such, the form of nourishment that is provided to people is through supermarkets, farmers markets and food service operations like restaurants and food banks. In the city for instance, there is no room for hunting or large-scale agriculture. Therefore, a reliance on businesses and the government is pivotal to ensuring one’s sustenance. Services have made food a commodity, and when food is a commodity, it no longer attains the same level of reverence that it has when one had to toil or hunt for it.

I believe at the end of the day that people should form a connection with the food that they eat. This can be done simply by just observing what you put in your body, and where it comes from. Is the food that you’re eating heavily processed junk? Or is it vital towards the health of your body? Did your food come from overcrowded, pathogen infested hotspots? Or did it come from a thriving environment? Whatever you choose to eat, always reflect on how it will affect your health and the planet. But more importantly, who did your food truly affect? Did it tear families apart? Was it at the expense of another life? Did your food have to come through suffering? These are the questions that I always reflect about when shopping. They keep me grounded to my reality as a vegan, and continuously remind me that my sustenance should not be at the expense of someone else’s life.