On Tuesday, I posted an Ask Me Anything blog and one of the questions was "How did you become interested and invested in veganism?"
My story of why I went vegan can be found in a lot of places. I'll include some of those at the bottom of the blog. I wanted to focus this blog on the second part of that question, about my investment in veganism.
Long before I went vegan, I read the following quote on the wall of a Body Shop store in my local mall.
"The question is not, can they reason, nor can they talk, but, can they suffer?" - Jeremy Bentham
If you're not familiar with The Body Shop they're a beauty company and they've had a long standing policy against testing on animals and you could find this quote on the windows, walls, and shopping bags in the late 90's.
Anyway, it was from the moment I read that quote that I found a deep love and fascination with philosophy and when I first started becoming aware of how humans use animals in every facet of life (to this point, I was very aware of the process of veal but not much else). I stopped buying any products that had been tested on animals and then I discovered that sometimes, you even had to be careful about that label. If you click on the VeganLinked video below you'll hear me talk about discovering the label "This finished product has not been tested on animals."
Wait, what?! You mean there are products themselves that haven't been tested on animals but ingredients within have been?
This didn't get me to start considering who I was eating just yet, it's so interesting to look back now and see all of the ways I was introduced to different aspects of veganism without even realizing it. Each of these things though was internalized and I started paying attention.
So, when that issue of PETA's Animal Times Magazine showed up in the mail on a July day in 2001, I was ready to face some hard truths (even though I wasn't expecting it and didn't necessarily want to.)
My heart was continually broken as I learned more and more about all of the ways humans use animals. There were so many questions of why and the answer seemed to be a resounding "because we can."
I've also always been interested in making the world a kinder, safer place, so, when I realized that the world is not at all that for billions of animals, it solidified my commitment. The more I learned, the harder it was to ignore, and the more invested I became in not just making continual changes in my own life but also in sharing what I was learning with those around me.
I started tuning into other social justice movements and realizing just how intertwined how we treat each other and animals truly is.
I am so invested and so passionate about being a voice within the vegan movement because it just makes sense to me. This is truly what I'm meant to do on this earth.
Blogs where you can read about more of my story:
The latest podcast where you can hear my story:
Video:
Who I knew I had my story on so many mediums?! 🤷♀️
What mission or cause would you like to call attention to? Tell me in the comments below!
Interesting post. I do have a question regarding the animals. If everyone went Vegan, what would happen to all the animals, what would happen to the dairy and beef farmers? There are many areas where so many homes being built are taking away the land for animals. They actually have certain times of the year for homeowners to kill the deer, bear, and any other critters that walk around what use to be their land. I learned about veal very young and have never eaten veal.
I commend you on your passion and dedication.