It is official; I have passed the three-week Vegan milestone. I know this doesn’t sound like a long time, but it is a more significant accomplishment than many people might think. After being vegetarian for over two years, I must admit that I expected the transition to be very easy. Boy, was I wrong! For starters, most of my vegetarian meals contained things I can’t eat anymore like milk, cheese, and eggs so I had to clear them out of the refrigerator and freezer. Replacing them was a bit of a chore too since it meant reading every ingredient label closely. If you have read a food label lately, you know that there is a lot to read. Now try adding all the “code words” for animal products, and deciphering what is acceptable and what isn’t takes a long time.
Little things like candy have also become “no-nos” since most of them involve milk-chocolate. Bye-bye M&Ms. Lori was happy to help with that. Donuts also had to go. This one I actually feel pretty bad about since it used to make me happy to buy donuts for the office once a week. It wouldn’t be right for me to do that anymore, even if I don’t personally eat any. I did find Vegan donuts and considered bringing them in, but I decided I like most of my co-workers too much to pull this type of “bait-and-switch”. Actually, I am sure they are good, but probably not as good.
My nutritional supplements also needed to be checked out since some of them could involve animal by-products. I had already nixed fish-oils from my supplements, but this meant getting rid of any gel-caps or capsules with gelatin coatings. You may not know this, but gelatin is made from the boiled bones, skin, and tendons of animals. That’s the gross truth behind the day-glo façade. That should make you think twice before you or your kids enjoy a bowl of the wiggly stuff. Given the number of pills I take every day, replacing them with Vegan approved alternatives was another high price to pay.
One interesting thing with Veganism is the fact that you have to strive to find balance between this and waste. One example of this is my clothes. Whether I like it or not, the fact is that I have one pair of leather boots and a leather belt that I wear every day. I made a decision to keep them for now until they need to be replaced due to wear. Unfortunately, I cannot undo the fact that I bought these and throwing them away will not reverse it. They are too old to donate so they would end up in some landfill. So, for now they are an exception to my new lifestyle. Going forward, I will avoid these choices. For example, it is more difficult than you might think to find athletic shoes or racquetball gloves without leather, but it is possible. Luckily my Levis don’t contain any leather. The tag on the back is actually pressed paper…phew.
I am quickly learning that you can always find ways to be more Vegan and I continue to identify things that need to change in my life to avoid being hypocritical. I know this is not a lifestyle for everyone, even those who love animals and would never dream of personally hurting them. I would, however, recommend that everyone try living this way for one week. If nothing else, you will have a new found awareness of just how much animal products are part of your daily life. I think that once you have this knowledge, you won’t be able to help thinking twice before resuming the status quo.
In addition to the clearer conscience, there is one other thing that I am happy to report about my new diet. No, I am not losing weight, although most people assume that is my objective. The thing I appreciate is the support that I get from my team at work who will try to find places where we can continue to eat as a group. As I look around for signs of making a difference, I must admit this provides some much needed validation.
Well, in a lot of ways I am still more on the sidelines than I would like to be, but I am putting my money where my mouth is, so to speak. I am proud to say that we have some new adopted family members and I look forward to visiting them all soon.
