I used to hate the idea of veganism and vegetarianism. Now I try to figure out why I felt that way and I really don’t even have a good answer. I guess I really believed that eating animals was something we needed to do to be healthy. I was very closed minded about the topic until one day a friend, whose opinions I respected, told me he was about to become vegetarian (over a big plate of osso buccco I’d made for him, no less).
Something clicked. I couldn’t deny that I was repulsed by the way animals were treated in factory farms, so I decided I’d stop eating those animals. This decision quickly steered me down a path of devouring facts about the realities of animal slaughter regardless of the size or type of farm they were being raised on. Within a few months I became vegetarian but there was still something pulling at my conscious.
I learned more and more about the cruelty that existed as a result of the dairy and egg industry. Over the next year or so I weaned myself off of milk products but continued to eat eggs. When I was traveling throughout Thailand I came face to face with animal cruelty and the complete lack of respect for animal life. On my last day in Thailand, before crossing the border to Cambodia, I decided to make the final step and go vegan. Now, 2.5 years later, I can’t even imagine eating animal products. It’s such a strange and foreign concept to me.
The beautiful picture of Randi has been taken by @localgrapher
