Why Vegan?

When I tell people that I’m a vegan, I get many different reactions, but most of them have something to do with pity. Most commonly they tell me that I will die due to nutrient deficiency or they ask me what I have left to eat when there is no meat, dairy or eggs in my diet. But I don’t see veganism as a restriction. It’s enrichment. Here is why:

Veganism is indulgence, as long as you´re open-minded for new tastes and experimental cooking. I was overwhelmed by the variety of ingredients and spices I found in vegan cookbooks and all the cooking websites on the internet. There is much more to explore than you might think. Of course, meat can also be prepared with exotic spices but those vegan recipes triggered my interest. Facing this new horizon of cooking, you´ll see that it is not a problem but a pleasure to dispense with meat, dairy and eggs. Even if your favourite dish is non-vegan, there are many excellent vegan substitute products available, also in common supermarkets e.g. tofu, seitan, rice whip cream or soy/ rice/ almond/ hazelnut milk, which are far more delicious than dairy.  Since many years the vegan product range is growing and you´ll also find vegan oven-ready food in the frozen-food section. But watch out: Just as some non-vegan oven-ready food can taste awful and is probably unhealthy, so might be their vegan imitations, although there are some delicious ones as well. You see, even a cooking grouch can fill his or her belly. Most restaurants today have at least some vegetarian dishes in their menu and I noticed that more and more restaurants promote their new vegan repertory. My most surprising experience about vegan-food availability was in the airplane on my 2-hour flight to Greece with my boyfriend. The crew already knew that we ordered a vegan meal and they served us luscious vegan vegetable lasagna. Vegan food gets more and more present and accepted in our society. There is nothing to be afraid of. ;)

Veganism is also a very healthy lifestyle. Even though many people claim that vegans suffer from nutrient deficiency, the opposite is true. The most common causes of death in the western world are heart attacks, diabetes and cancer. These can all be triggered by the consumption of animal protein. The china study, which was published in 2004 proved that a vegan diet (containing mainly of fruits and vegetables) is much healthier than the ‘normal’ western diet. Nutrient deficiency is very unlikely to happen, as long as vegans practice a balanced diet. There are many vegetables that contain calcium, protein and all the vitamins you need for good health. Since I live vegan, I feel a lot fitter and I never feel the need to binge on chocolate and sweets.

That leads me to my next point: Vegans don’t need to count calories. Some years ago I weighed 65 kilos and I gained weight very easily. I had to restrict my calories but it didn’t even pay off.  Now that I’m vegan, I weigh 52 kilos and I can literally eat whatever I want. It doesn’t matter. Sometimes, when I visit my favorite restaurant – the Mangolds in Graz – I load my plate with 1kg food (it’s weighed at the till) and I shove it all in. But I do not gain weight. This is nearly the best part about veganism as I really love food and now I can enjoy every meal without worrying about my shape. I love it.

Moreover veganism is indulgence with clean consciousness. At the time I used to eat meat, sometimes I realized that I was actually not eating a steak or a Schnitzel but a dead animal. This happened quiet rarely as I was manipulated (just as most of the people in our society), to forget about this fact. Advertisements with laughing pigs and happy cows on green grassland have stopped me from realizing, that no animal wants to die and that they feel pain just as humans do. Once I started to inform myself about factory farming I started to eat less and less meat. But animals are also tortured and killed for eggs and dairy. Did you know that male chicks are thrown into a shredder because they don’t lay eggs? And male calves don’t have a better fortune. After being ripped away from their mothers shortly after birth, they are slaughtered. These are just two examples for the horrible conditions on modern farms. But the meat and dairy industry also destroys the planet. Water (15500 liters for 1 kg meat) and crops (10kg for 1kg meat) are wasted for factory farming while both are desperately needed in 3^rd world countries. So now that I am vegan I am proud to say that I do not pay for cruelty and profusion. Some people might think that vegans can’t change the world, but in fact (due to the law of supply and demand) they surely can.

All in all there is just no sensible reason for me to eat meat, dairy or eggs as veganism has made my life a lot happier. If you have any question regarding this lifestyle, just ask me. I would love to help anybody who is interested.