Why People Adopt a Vegan Lifestyle

“How can you live without meat? ” growled my team mate as I gave my lunch orders for take-out. I’m still alive and kicking, I say. I hope that answer is enough evidence I am better off without meat.

My vegan lifestyle was one of the best decisions I’ve made. Or so, I should think. During my university days, I became vegetarian to protest the violence of war. I compared the war to the slaughter of animals. I can’t bear their sharp prolonged cries that end in a short pathetic whimper when they are killed. I imagine war to be that way. 5 years ago, I learned what vegetarianism and veganism are all about.

To be a vegetarian or vegan means being a compassionate and a caring human. Foremost, it is being kind to oneself. Researches reveal that vegans have lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels than carnivores. Stroke, heart attacks and other degenerative diseases are results of too much animal fat in the diet. All of us know the consequences. I wouldn’t want to be gulping a handful of drugs to cure diseases due to a carnivorous diet. A proactive stance to health is way much better.

Being compassionate means having a larger view of other creatures of the earth we share. Animals are like humans created with a brain. They exhibit varying degrees of intelligence, sensations and feelings. Most of all, they feel pain. Being vegan prevents this cruelty.
I think of my pet dogs. People love you because of your wealth, how beautiful or influential you are. My pets just don’t care. Their love and loyalty withstands the trials of life.

Lastly, being vegan or vegetarian cares for the environment. Eating plants conserves water and most of the world’s resources. Animal farming, apart from being cruel, utilizes tons of water to produce meat. Grains that should be fed to starving people are instead used to feed farmed animals. Flatulence from millions of farmed animal increases the green house gas in the atmosphere, contributing to climate change and its catastrophic consequences.

Vegetarianism and veganism are getting mainstream in developed countries. You’ll not be ostracized but respected for your choices. But there are also groups that criticize the lifestyle. I was amazed that someone has given all the reasons to eat meat. This proves that vegans or vegetarians are some force to be taken seriously.

My country, the Philippines isn’t ready for a vegan or vegetarian lifestyle. Maybe, it is because of our culture, traditions, some rituals and practices. Or because most of us have grown up believing that meat is the superior protein.

As a vegan, I feel at peace with myself, my world and all creatures much like Buddha, Gandhi, Jesus Christ, St. Francis and other vegetarians of history. If you’d ask me why I look younger than my 50 plus years or why my endurance is longer, the reason is obvious. I’m vegan and I wouldn’t have it any other way.