Why & How I Became Vegan

This blog post is to summarize my journey to becoming vegan. Hopefully something resonates or offers a different perspective.

My Non-Veg Childhood

I grew up eating meat. Chicken was my absolute favorite – chicken curry, chicken rolls, chicken kottu roti. I remember whenever my mom would make chicken curry, I would smell it from upstairs and my mouth would water as I went downstairs ready to eat dinner.

There was some guilt I felt here and there about the living conditions and torture, but I don’t know that I truly dwelled on these thoughts. When I tried mutton curry for the first time, I thought it was delicious, but once I learned mutton was goat, I couldn’t continue eating it. The image of goat was harder to swallow. Essentially anything new from what I grew up eating was harder for me to digest.

For religious reasons, I was vegetarian on Fridays. I often tried to avoid dinners with friends or family on Friday nights. I thought it was a waste to go out and pay to eat salads.

Trying Vegetarianism

When I went to college, I remember getting a brochure explaining the torture chicks endure in the meat industry. I felt guilty, but I didn’t know what to do. 2 years later, I decided to become vegetarian. I ate salad for lunch and dinner for 2 months straight. My new diet ended when my friend came to visit me. I thought, alright, I’ll just eat this chicken burrito and go back to being vegetarian once she leaves. Well that never happened.

Can I be a Pescatarian?

Years later, in 2016, I worked at a company that put meat much more in my face. I thought, let me try again, but this time, let me make a plan to gradually ease into vegetarianism. The plan led me to becoming a pescatarian. I basically ate fish, mostly salmon and tilapia. This was to gradually cut me off chicken but still consume enough protein.

Even with this diet, I had to do research to eat what felt right to me. I chose to consume Alaskan Salmon (wild) over Atlantic Salmon (farmed). It felt more ethical knowing the wild salmon didn’t have to endure the life humans decided to give it in an enclosed space. After about 2 years of that, I decided to become vegetarian. I was successful for 5 months this time!

Becoming Vegan

In 2018, I was in Europe for vacation and randomly came across an Instagram post that changed my life. It was a comic strip illustrating what female dairy cows and their calves endure within the milk production industry. I couldn’t stop crying, but I also couldn’t stop re-reading the comic strip to process properly. It was hard to differentiate a mother cow from a woman. Her body being used in ways against her will. Her child being taken away. It wasn’t right. It wasn’t enough for me to be vegetarian. I couldn’t consume dairy knowing what I was indirectly contributing to as a consumer.

I decided that day to start eating a plant-based diet. Luckily enough, some of the plans I had already made accommodated this decision. It was great to see that Fortnum & Mason offered a vegan menu as part of their Afternoon Tea experience.

The Transition

After my vacation, I returned home ready to buy groceries to maintain a balanced vegan diet. I was vegetarian and vegan in the beginning – finishing what I had left over to not waste it, but buying new things that fit my vegan diet. Being vegan was surprisingly easier than I had thought it would be. By 2018, there were lots of meat alternatives in stores and information online. While the options were there, I had do a lot of research to ensure I was getting all the nutrients I needed to be healthy. I’ll write about my experience during this transition and my privilege in another post.

Overall, with my decision to change my diet and lifestyle, I felt happier. The way I was eating and living now resonated with my beliefs.