Love animals? Want to save the world? Go Vegan! [It's like becoming a super hero]

 
 When you first become vegan you will feel overwhelmed. You feel angry wondering: How does everyone not see this? How can a person watching Forks over Knives, Earthlings and Cowspiracy not feel compelled to take action? Vegans see the world, the people on it and their selves in a different way. You see the world as it really is and this truth hurts. You want to tell the whole world about it! Only to find out no one wants to hear it. People will flat out insult, ridicule or even unfriend you. It is hard I know. I've been there.

   Vegan YouTuber BananaBlondie108  posted a video with one of the best speeches I have ever heard on veganism: 

"Going vegan means you have made a profoundly deep connection with sentient beings on the planet. Veganism is not about vegans. It's not about you or me. It’s about the planet and the animals. Vegans have actually been brave enough to step outside of their own selfish box and make a fucking difference in this world. This is a painstakingly slow moving change we are trying to make in this world. It is very difficult. We are not well received by the majority of the population." 

That is exactly what being a vegan feels like, and you know what, I never let any of it get me down or stop me from being 100% passionate about this movement. It is the most beautiful way to live because you know in your heart that you are truly taking action on making this world a better place. You start to notice how selfish and unaware people are with their choices. You realize how selfish and unaware you were in the past. You start to hate humans and sometimes yourself. Yes you heard that right, sometimes you hate yourself, mostly because you learn how completely unaware, unethical and selfish you used to be. But things are looking up, you are now on a beautiful path to being a new healthier better person inside and out. 

 My choice to go vegan was completely selfish. I went vegan after watching Forks over Knives for health reasons and because I wanted to lose weight. I hated myself for it. It isn't about me anymore. I'm doing this for the entire planet now and every living being on it. It wasn't until I saw Gary Yourofsky's speech that I realized I was doing it for the animals. 
Best Speech You Will Ever Hear 
Shortly after that I watched Cowspiracy and realized I was also doing it for the planet. After watching this film I was more proud to be vegan. It also scared the shit out of me. You can find it streaming on Netflix. It took me a while to watch Earthlings but I did it. 

Living vegan is the most beautiful, caring and ethical way to live. Anyone that would argue obviously knows little to nothing about veganism. If you want to argue about vegans or have something against us your problem is with yourself and your own choices. I have heard them all. Most people are too weak willed to make this change. Most people don't want to hear bad things about the food they eat. Everyone has an excuse. Most of the excuses are completely selfish or weak. They don't want to hear the truth because the truth hurts in this situation. You know deep down when you are eating a piece of meat you are eating death and disease. Vegans decide to go vegan for many different reasons. Once you become vegan your perception changes almost like a paradigm shift. The smell, or just looking at meat and cheese will make you gag. After you realize the filthy disgusting conditions these animals live in. After you learn the hell these innocent creatures have to go through. You never want to touch the shit again. It is normal and natural to feel this way. Because killing a living breathing animal that cries out in pain while it is being tortured and murdered is not okay or normal. It is wrong!

 Going Vegan is the ultimate Damn the Man! There is no better way of saying fuck you to huge billion dollar corporations. 

• Corporations like factory farms/animal agriculture that are the leading cause of climate change. 

• The medical and pharmaceutical industries that make money off people who get sick from the factory farmed meat and dairy. 

• The fast food chains that are slowly killing us and have the lowest quality meat on the market. 

• The dairy industries which in my opinion are the worst of the worst! MilkIsCruel.com

 You start to notice all of the commercials, billboards, and ads promoting these horrible foods. This will piss you off. This is one of the hardest things about being vegan. I live in Minnesota, the dairy capital of the country. Every time I travel I have to see cows being enslaved. It is very hard. It is considered normal in our society to enslave cows and take their babies from them because we want their babies milk.  It is not normal, humane or okay to do this to another living being period! 

 The more people who go vegan the happier and healthier our planet will be. It's really a win win. You get healthier. Look and feel great while saving the planet, the animals and the people on it. You have a choice whether or not to purchase these foods. Billion dollar corporations are not making money off of fruits and vegetables. These foods are full of vitamins and nutrients. These foods will make you feel better emotionally and physically. These foods have been scientifically proven to stop or even reverse disease. Eating tortured murdered animals will make you sick emotionally and physically. The reason why so many of us have depression, anxiety and other mental problems. The reason why so many of us have heart disease, cancer and osteoporosis to name a few. You are eating death and despair when you eat meat, eggs and dairy. So many of us who eat this food also suffer death and despair. You truly are what you eat.

 It is very important to educate yourself about veganism. Watching videos and movies like Earthlings and Farm to Fridge can be very hard. Seeing animals being tortured, beaten, raped and murdered is never easy. But it is crucial to watch. Not only will it help you go vegan but these graphic images give you the power to Stay vegan for years to come. When I see a piece of cheese I get the image of a cow being raped. The baby calf being pulled away from its mother. The calf being sold to veal farms. Then the mother cow crying for days to have her baby returned. The dairy industry is the meat industry! When I see meat I picture the pigs and cows having their throats slit. While it is crucial to watch, don't overwhelm yourself. You can always come back to them but you don't want to drive yourself crazy. 

  It is also very important to educate yourself on what and how much to eat on this diet. People have a hard time transitioning to a completely different diet. There are so many vegans out there that can help you along the way. Vegan YouTube channels can help you transition to the new diet! Here are a few:

1. That Vegan Couple
2. The Edgy Veg - (Great recipes) 
3. Gary Yourofsky
4. The Vegan Corner - (Great recipes) 
5. Fablunch - (Great recipes)
6. The Vegan Atheist
7. The Vegan Activist - (Where you will find the How to go vegan overnight video, a must watch!)
8. The Vegan Zombie - (More great recipes) 
9. Think About This
10. VegSource - (Speeches by countless doctors on health and nutrition. I cannot stress how amazing this channel is!)  
11. Bite Size Vegan  - (Emily works hard on her videos. You can learn a lot from her!)
12. Kalel - (She is one of the biggest reasons I went vegan!)
13. Mango Island Mamma - (She is great if you have children and need vegan advice)
14. Naturally Stephanie - (If you like a cute girl with a Scottish accent this channel is for you)
15. NinaandRanda (These two have been vegan since birth) 
16. Sorsha Morava 
17. Vegan Gains (Proof not all vegans are skinny tree hugging hippies!) 
18. The Vegan Revolution (Amazing) 
19. Happy Healthy Vegan
20. BananaBlonde108 - (Another great channel if you have vegan children!)
21. Simple Daily Recipes 

 There are many more! I've binge watched all of these channels. You can learn all about veganism. 
These websites can help: 
Adaptt.org has essays, recipes and so much info you can cram into your brain. 
The web site nutritionfacts.org is great for making sure you get all of the proper nutrients with this diet. 
There are thousands of vegan groups on Facebook you can join to connect with other vegans. 
Knowledge is power and the more you educate yourself the better. The more you know the better arguments you will have with people who don’t like your choice of going vegan. 

 At first you will want to cut out all meat and if you can all direct dairy. Ice cream, yogurt, cheese, milk, sour cream, butter and cream cheese are all direct dairy. When you cut dairy out of your diet you will feel so much healthier! After that you can slowly start noticing what labels contain animal products. Some people find it easier to go vegan overnight but most have to work at it gradually. Bryan and I cut out meat first. Then the dairy, and from there we gradually learned how to read labels and avoid the hidden stuff. There is an amazing and informative video on how to go vegan overnight created by The Vegan Activist: How To Go Vegan Overnight  

You also have to get off of your ass and start cooking your own meals. You will have a better connection with your body and the food you put into it. 
There are many vegan cook books out there that are amazing: 
Thug Kitchen, But I Could Never Go Vegan!, Oh She Glows and Betty Goes Vegan to name a few. 
Before I went vegan I didn't like preparing raw meat. I hated touching it. Until it was cooked I didn't want anything to do with it. You don't have to worry about that with vegan food. If you under cook rice, veggies or beans you won't get sick. Bite Size Vegan has a video on why cheese is so addictive. There is also an amazing video on the channel VegSource about addictive foods. This video is posted at the end of my blog entry ‘The matrix has you’.

 Some delicious recipes I have made are white chili, roasted garlic spaghetti with broccoli and mushrooms, chick peas and dumplings shown below (The dumplings were made from scratch yummy food coma!), no meat fajitas (the secret to good fajitas are the peppers not the meat.) Most meat if eaten by itself with no seasoning is boring. Do you realize what we season our meat with? We season our meat with plants. Mexican, Asian and Italian seasoning are all plant based.

   Listen to your body. If you are feeling weak you may need to eat more. This is the prime reason why so many people don't last very long on this diet! Plant based food has far less calories than fatty animal foods. You will need to make up for the calories. Fill up your plates! You may crave the food you ate before. You have to fight the cravings and remember to eat more. The more calories you put in the less the bad cravings will surface. When your taste buds evolve you will try new foods that you never thought you would like. You start to learn more things about the food you eat. Being educated and having a better connection with your food and your body is a wonderful thing.

Vegan Epidemic

 You may start to notice your energy levels increase. Listen to your body. If you get easily irritated and feel like you can't think straight you are probably lacking B12 and will need to take a supplement. I've heard many vegans say that you don't need to take a B12 supplement as long as you eat enough lightly washed fruits and veggies. That is rubbish. If you are eating a plant based diet you really should be taking a B12 supplement. If you are feeling weak and are bruising easily you may need Iron. Vitamin D is also a good idea but it is very important not to over do vitamin D. Get your blood work done before and after you have been on the diet for a while. Getting proper nutrients is key. 

 Many people think going vegan is expensive and time consuming. Some of the cheapest things on the market are cruelty free and vegan: Rice, Beans, Pasta and Lentils. All of these can be substitutes for meat and seasoned like meat. A bean and rice burrito with the right seasoning is delicious! Spaghetti with Italian seasoned mushrooms and broccoli is delicious. If you think cooking your own meals is time consuming you are letting convenient fast food control you. These fast food chains and processed microwavable foods are bad for your health. Plus how do you know who is cooking it and what is being put into it? I would rather cook my own food. It's the only way to know what really goes into your food. It is the best way to make a real connection with your body and the food you put into it. 

 Arguments that a vegan diet is too expensive are just an excuse. If you put health into the equation, meat eating is the most expensive diet out there. Meat has been proven time and time again to cause disease. Yes the processed vegan food is expensive but this food is not that healthy for you. It's mostly there to help you transition. You will want to try out some vegan cheeses, there are many to choose from. Some of my favorites are Field Roast slices and the new Daiya mac and cheese. Heidi Ho organics is another good one.

  

 Finally if you are considering veganism for any reason you are already on the path to a new better you. The vegan community welcomes you! We want you on our side. This is a powerful way to change the world and I hope you will be as passionate as the rest of us. We are here to help you.