Why I'm Vegan

Posted: April 17, 2020

I’m vegan for a lot of reasons at this point, which can be filed under these broad categories:

If you’re curious why a regular person would go vegan, or perhaps why you should go vegan, please read on. There are so many benefits that you’re bound to find at least one thing that resonates with you.

Ethics

There’s no point in hiding it - my primary motivation for being vegan is to reduce the cruelty that living beings experience on Earth. As someone who’s been through hell, this is very important to me.

If you believe that animal cruelty is wrong (like, say, microwaving a kitten), we likely share the same ethics - I’m just applying them more consistently.

If you believe that animal cruelty is wrong, but you continue to eat animal products, you are acting hypocritically. That’s not a moral judgment, just a fact.

Acting hypocritically is a very human thing to do. But I think we can do better, so I do. You can too.

I ate meat, dairy, and other animal products for over 25 years: most of my life. I loved eating barely-cooked New York steaks.

I had heard stories of cruelty in slaughterhouses, but I brushed them off as the cruel actions of sick individuals. Now I know better.

It’s not like there are a few psychopaths working in the meat and dairy industry, giving everyone a bad name.

Psychopaths are too smart to work at a slaughterhouse. Cruelty is the industry’s standard operating procedure.

If you must know, this is the very short (and blood-free) video which changed my heart forever: “Mother Cows Get Upset When Their Calves are Taken Away”

If you don’t want to watch, it’s just a mother cow chilling with her baby. A farmer drags the calf away by one of its hind legs - standard operating procedure - while the mother looks away. When the mother looks back, her baby is gone forever.

If you’ve never met a cow in person, go to a state or county fair next summer. They’re incredibly friendly, intelligent, and loving animals, like a big, lazy dog.

Imagine this happening to you, or your child, or your pet. That’s just sad, don’t you think?

Health

I used to not care much about my health. But if you do, you probably want to go vegan.

Within 6 months of adopting a vegan diet, I lost 40 pounds, going from a slightly-chubby 185 to a lean 145 pounds.

I did not consciously try to lose weight - eating a vegan diet naturally encouraged me to eat more whole foods because a lot of the processed junk I used to eat is not vegan. It’s amazing how much better food tastes when you’re not dealing with sugar, fat, and salt addiction.

My dedication to veganism was 100% cemented when I realized it was not just good for animals - it was good for me.

A friend gifted me the book How Not to Die. It’s a 400+ page summary of all the medical research on vegan diets, and it’s incredibly compelling. Dr. Greger (the author) shows you very clearly (with citations!) why eating animal products is so harmful.

Pills will not save you from a painful, miserable death caused by poor eating habits. They never could, and they never will.

Lifestyle change is the answer to almost all of the health problems in the United States.

And have you heard of a little thing called covid-19? It’s directly attributable to animal cruelty.

Nowadays, I eat mostly whole foods that I prepare at home. I find it easier and better that way. I love my daily smoothies, hummus, and overnight oats. They are so delicious, convenient, cheap, and healthy, that I can’t imagine stopping now.

Minimalism

I embrace minimalism in the Marie Kondo sense - it’s not about giving things up, it’s about making your life simpler so you can focus more on the things you really want. If you haven’t read her book, I highly recommend it.

Here’s how veganism supports minimalism for me:

Overall, being vegan is simply easier than the alternative. As an engineer, I find it highly compelling.

Economics

There’s a common misconception that vegan food is expensive. Vegan food is cheaper, straight up. There’s a reason that people in developing countries rarely eat meat or cheese.

Sure, vegan snack foods can be more expensive than their traditional counterparts. But if you’re eating primarily snack foods, you’re not prioritizing economics.

Everyday vegan foods like beans, rice, tofu, and fresh produce are among the cheapest things you can buy at the grocery store.

And have you seen the healthcare prices in the United States? Eating meat could cost you (or your government) hundreds of thousands of dollars someday (cancer, obesity, cardiac arrest, etc).

People can spend money on anything they want to - but wouldn’t you rather have a lake house, or a Porsche?

Environment

The environment is really far down on my list, but many people care deeply about climate change and human extinction.

If you care about the environment, and you eat animal products, you are acting hypocritically.

Going vegan is the absolute best thing you can do as an individual to help the environment. Making 1 pound of beef requires about 2.5 pounds of grain and 1,840 gallons of water. Those are estimates from neutral or pro-beef sources.

I’m not an expert on environmental issues, but at least where I live, it’s common knowledge that going vegan is good for the environment. It’s just that no one wants to do it.

After all, why not?

After being vegan for a year, I’m left with one question: Why would I ever go back to eating animal products?

Being vegan is good for me, good for animals, and good for the planet.

I’m not a saint. I just have discipline. Being vegan is good for me. I don’t have to do it for anyone or anything else.

And really, at this point, no discipline is required. I have new favorite foods, and I’m never tempted by steaks or cheese.

I don’t talk about veganism much in daily life, but people do sometimes ask me about it. After telling them some of my reasons, they usually say something like, “Yeah that all sounds really great, but I just can’t live without cheese.”

Is that really the best you can do?

I’ve gotta be honest. I won’t hold this against you, but that’s pathetic. Do you really want to allow food to control you like that for the rest of your life?

By the way, you don’t have to give up cheese 100% forever if you try out veganism. Even a small change is incredibly impactful. But once you start, the mental justifications fade away… and it will seem unconscionable to go back.

I used to think there was no problem with eating meat or dairy products. That was an illusion.

Why not go vegan? It’s a life of zero compromise for me. It’s the best diet I know of, in so many ways.