the power of plants

I once was a vegan for two weeks. I was thirteen, and had just seen a PETA video of baby chicks on a conveyer belt, and sad pigs in cramped spaces. There is no better way to pull, or rather viciously yank, my heart strings than to show me any animal experiencing less than ideal conditions. Even smashing a spider provokes enough guilt to make my stomach flutter and my eyes slightly dampen.

Despite my emotional "come to veganism" moment at such a young age, the small amount of will-power I began the two weeks with fizzled out completely by day fourteen. I could have gone forever with no meat, but my dependence on dairy and baked goods with eggs in them absolutely caused my relapse. I rationalized my return to eating animal products with reminders that "I'm just one person so I can't make a difference" and "Veganism is bad for my health because I've been eating a whole pack of oreos every day" (yes, oreos are somehow vegan). Ever since then, I have been an eater of all things animal, and because of my understanding of what made up a healthy diet, that was the plan for life.

As I'm sure you foresaw, this did not end up being the plan for life. I happen to be a very easily-persuaded person, and life just so happens to be full of very compelling arguments. So - last week, I watched a documentary on Netflix that was suggested to me by two of my most trusted friends. I expected to learn about the American agriculture realities and the effects consuming meat has on the environment, but I was met with something entirely different.

The documentary focused on the impact of animal products on the human body, as well as the benefits so many have reaped from eliminating those products from their diets entirely. There were Type 2 diabetics whose conditions were practically reversed from switching to a plant-based diet, gym rats who were incredibly ripped and claimed that adopting a plant-based diet was key, and also some randos who just felt super awesome after making the change. I learned that processed meat (unfortunately a childhood staple) is very carcinogenic - what a bummer. There were also some great arguments that our teeth and digestive systems are set up just like an herbivore's, and visuals of how our bodies respond to dairy and meat overtime. Perhaps the most surprising point of the film was the exposure of renowned groups like The American Cancer Society, The American Diabetes Association, and Susan G. Komen for being sponsored by meat or egg companies. They all advertised healthy diets as containing portions of processed meat or eggs - things known to be very bad for humans. Okay, I know what you're thinking. Um...eggs? Eggs are definitely great for you. My response is that I really don't know much about eggs except for what the documentary had to say. So eggs can definitely be debatable for the purpose of this post, but I hope we can all agree that processed meats have been scientifically proven to be very bad.

Was the documentary somewhat biased? For sure. Were there some seriously compelling arguments that facilitated a major change in my diet? Absolutely.

The corruption of the American agriculture industry, the extreme pollution this industry causes, the less-than-adequate treatment of the animals, and the serious impact on human health are all the reasons that came together to re-ignite my feeling that a plant-based diet just might be the way to go. Despite my deep love for dairy, and the many reasons there are to continue eating it, I have found the counterargument to be far more compelling. My love for animals has only grown in the past seven years, my passion for the environment and knowledge of its harsh reality have just come about since starting college, and my health has become increasingly important to me the older I get.

So here goes nothing. I am on day three of a plant-based diet (pt. 2), and I have been feeling great. Maybe I'll stop getting headaches every day, or maybe I'll be able to get out of bed without dying of tiredness. Maybe neither of those things will occur. Regardless, I am excited to experience the effects of this lifestyle, and if nothing else, I'm glad to be one less person adding to the pollution, corruption, and mistreatment that it takes to get each animal product onto the shelves of supermarkets.

Finally, I will leave you with my favorite quote from the documentary, which wonderfully sums up my decision to make such a drastic lifestyle change - I want to be my healthiest and strongest self, but not at the expense of other living things.

#plantbased #vegan