When I was an early teen I became a vegetarian. My mum was veggie and a couple of girls at school were and it intrigued me. Back then I just went along with the notion that eating flesh was gross and I never really knew much more about it.

At around age 17 or 18 I started eating chicken again. This was due to a drunken night where a friend bought me a chicken burger and I obsessed over chicken until I ate it again! I loved chicken burgers and he knew it would tempt me.

Until age 28 I mostly ate chicken and fish when it came to animals and a lot of cheese when it came to dairy. I was never a big red meat eater, but I could eat chicken daily! And cheese.

Oh my goodness, cheese. I loved strong cheddar. The stronger the better. I think I was actually addicted to cheese. I could have it with every meal you can think of. I’d have grated cheese on everything – curries, beans on toast, roast dinners, the lot!

Even if I went to a pub for a meal I’d ask for some grated cheese on my food or order it on the side in a bowl and add it myself!

Believe me, I was hooked on cheese and never thought I’d give it up.

So how did I turn vegan?

At age 28 I returned to vegetarianism. After eating a KFC and peeling off what must have been a vein from the chicken I was eating I freaked out. That had never happened to me before and it totally freaked me out.

After returning to being a vegetarian I began thinking a lot more about the food I was eating. I started researching a more natural wholefood diet and long before I turned vegan, I was talking about it, reading about it, cutting down on dairy and seriously considering it for a while.

And now, at age 32 I have ditched the dairy and I follow a plant-based vegan diet!

I have several reasons why I’m now 100% plant based (vegan) and I will never choose to eat meat or dairy again.

Unless, perhaps, it was a matter of survival. ..

If I was in a life or death situation and my only option to survive was to catch a fish and eat it, then maybe I would. But that’s a life or death situation. If it’s me or the fish then I might eat it. But who knows. Unless I’m there and it’s happening, who knows what I’d choose to do. So maybe I shouldn’t say never.

But how likely is that to happen? But it’s one of those stupid questions you get asked as a vegan… along with a million other stupid questions or misconceptions about not eating animals. Many of which I plan to address in this new healthy living blog of mine.

But in normal day to day life, no, I won’t ever consume meat again!

Here’s why.

Reasons to choose a plant based vegan diet

Since turning vegan there are now so many reasons I support this way of life and it’s not just because eating meat is gross. I can’t believe I never realised all these reasons before, but a lot of it has come from educating myself, reading and learning and continuing to do so all the time.

It is 100% the right decision and there is no way I could choose to eat animals again. It’s now an ethical decision and I can never change my mind on this.

It’s flesh and blood

Helloooooo. It’s flesh and blood and skin and veins and yuck. I don’t believe I need to say anymore, but apparently I do as so many people think it is normal to eat dead things.

I personally don’t find it normal at all. We’re brought up thinking it’s the norm and so we all do it like we are supposed to, but just stop and think about it for a moment. Is it really normal to kill certain animals and eat them?

The whole thing doesn’t make any sense. How people will love and care for one animal such as a dog or cat, but then happily slaughter another like a pig or cow, just to eat it when they don’t even need to.

Gross.

I find it quite sickening and very hypocritical of the meat eating animal lovers out there.

It doesn’t taste that great

I don’t really like the taste. I think when I loved chicken burgers I loved the taste of the seasoning and the mayo and the lettuce and so on, more than the meat itself. The meat was just there to provide substance.

Most veggies will say they miss bacon and steak most, but these were my least favourite meats. I really didn’t find them tasty. Show me a plate of meat and a plate of veg and the veg looks far more appetising to me.

I could never kill it myself

I’m a big believer in knowing where our food comes from and accepting this. Too many people ignore how their food is produced, where it comes from and the impact it has on other people, animals or the environment.

I know I couldn’t slaughter an animal, drain its blood and then chop it up. I just couldn’t.

I also couldn’t stomach watching it be done in real life. I feel that if I can’t do it, see it, or accept it then I shouldn’t consume it. I don’t want to be ignorant to where food comes from and how it ends up on my plate. It’s not all pretty supermarket packets.

It’s bad for the environment

In the past year especially there has been a lot of mainstream coverage about this and people are starting to take note with initiatives such as Meat Free Mondays and Veganuary. Not only is it often a healthier option to go vegan, but it’s much better for the planet.

Rainforests are being cut down to provide land for cattle or to grow the crops to feed the cattle. The number of crops grown for animal feed, could feed us several times more than the meat itself can. That’s a huge waste of energy, food and resources. It makes no sense.

Plus most of these crops are covered in pesticides and chemical fertilisers which are polluting our water supply, soil and poisoning us. If that’s not enough to shock you, then the cows flatulence is also methane heavy so it’s polluting the air!

You want to eat me?

It’s a carcinogen

Most people eat processed meat and not fresh untouched organic meat from the butchers. Sausages, ham, burgers and bacon are all processed. Processed meat has been classed as a type one carcinogen by the World Health Organisation. That’s in the same category as cigarettes!

Eating processed meat is as bad as cigarettes when it comes to a cancer risk. That’s scary stuff and this, along with many other factors nowadays including poor nutrition, means it’s no wonder cancer incidences are rising and now 1 in 2 people will get cancer today.

It was 1 in 3 when I was younger and it’s on the rise. Surely this 50% chance is enough to make people consider their food choices?

I don’t believe we’re meant to

One of the biggest arguments I hear for eating meat is ‘but we’re supposed to, it’s natural’. I disagree. I don’t think it’s natural for us to catch, kill and eat animals. We’ve just made it that way. Not made it natural, but just made ourselves meat eaters.

I can’t imagine that before fire was discovered, we leapt on animals, killed them with our bare hands and tore them apart with our teeth and ate them. It doesn’t make sense or seem natural to me.

We don’t have claws or sharp teeth.

I can’t imagine it’s natural for us to do this or even that we can.

Plus most animals need cooking so they are safe for us to eat. It seems far more likely that our hands are for picking fruit, berries and vegetables. Peeling them, picking them apart and eating them raw. This seems a lot more natural to me.

We don’t need it to survive

We also don’t need to. There are loads of lifelong vegans who are perfectly healthy and not dropping dead for not eating meat or animal products. In fact, many people who turn to plant based diets become much healthier!

People – we do not need meat and dairy to survive!

It’s a huge marketing con.

Read The China Study by T Colin Campbell and The Food Revolution by John Robbins.

These are scientists who have studied nutrition for years and how meat/dairy affects the body. They’ve known for decades how bad meat and dairy is for us, but as one of the books says ‘he who has the gold makes the rules’ and the meat/dairy industry is a huge corporation with a lot of money to spend marketing itself as something we need and drowning out any critics.

But now, thanks to the internet probably, the truth is coming out.

We have been lied to for years about how we need meat and dairy, yet it is causing so many diseases!

Read those books to start you on your journey to the truth!

It’s cruel

Raising an animal to kill it, no matter how lovely a life you think you are giving it, is cruel. Most animals are pumped with growth hormones so they grow quicker, so they don’t even enjoy a long life anymore.

Plus many animals are killed inhumanely. There’s enough footage out there to show it’s not a great end for many of them.

Taking a life from an animal is cruel. Full stop.

It’s not even because we need to. It’s because we want to. For our own pleasure. To satisfy our taste buds. We don’t need to eat meat. We are torturing and killing innocent animals for our own selfish pleasures – the taste of them!

‘But they taste good’ is something I hear all the time. Well, we might taste good but that doesn’t mean I want to eat a human! Just because something tastes good doesn’t mean we have the right to kill it and eat it. That’s just ridiculous.

If you care for animal welfare, which you should, then search for Joey Carbstrong on YouTube. See the arguments for the animals. Get the knowledge. Don’t just shut vegans down because you think the animals are treated well because that’s what the meat and dairy industry tells you.

There’s a reason why the only regret vegans have is not turning vegan sooner!

The information is out there loud and clear. Search Anonymous for the Voiceless. See the footage. Make the decision yourself. Is it cruel?

I feel healthier

I feel much healthier following a vegan diet, even when I was vegetarian I felt much lighter and healthier than when I ate meat.

I never feel disgusting after eating a meal. I never get those ‘meat sweats’. I never feel sick. I never catch food poisoning.

I rarely got ill anyway, but now I never get ill. I have more energy and feel more alive.

I eat a diet rich in fruit, vegetables, seeds, nuts and pulses and get way more than the recommended 5-a-day.

My meals are colourful, nutritious and inviting.

Being meat and dairy free is so much healthier for us and the planet. It’s also the ethical choice. There is no excuse for harming or killing an animal just to eat it. We don’t need it to survive. It’s destroying the planet. Even eating dairy is harming animals and contributing to the death of animals, so choosing to be a vegetarian is still cruel. Search ‘dairy is scary’ on YouTube if you don’t believe me. There is so much information out there now to show you exactly what goes on in animal agriculture and dairy farming. Don’t be ignorant. Wake up, know the truth and make the right decision for your health, the planet and the animals.

If you care about your health then read The China Study by T Colin Campbell and The Food Revolution by John Robbins to get started.