Why Vegan?

Hi, I’m Saf.

I eat plants and write about them too.

I went vegetarian on a dare back in 2009. I didn’t give it much thought- I already didn’t eat a ton of meat (flashback to being scolded for not sucking all the meat off a chicken wing), and all my friends were doing it (the one time peer pressure was a good thing, amirite?). I do credit PETA for making it stick in those early days- I quickly learned about the reality of animal agriculture and felt an undeniable pain witnessing animal cruelty in videos and documentaries.

As I grew older and became more passionate about environmental issues and nutrition, I realized how enormous a part the meat and dairy industries play in rapidly damaging our natural world while at the same time killing our health on a broad and thoroughly messed up scale. Finding it impossible to turn a blind eye, I went fully vegan in 2015 and haven’t looked back since.

Almost immediately, I realized that the stomach issues I had been suffering with for years completely disappeared. I was also a chubby kid all my life until cutting out meat and dairy. Now, I maintain a healthy weight and feel so good in my skin. My taste buds completely shifted: I went from hating avocado, mushrooms, and even peanut butter to excitedly eating them multiple times a week. I felt a huge emotional weight lift as well- knowing that I was no longer contributing to such a horrible system made my heart feel light and unbelievably happy. I also became a guide for others and found immediate, fulfilling joy in inspiring others to make similar lifestyle changes.

So when people ask why I’m vegan I say, “Well, for every reason.” I can’t help but care deeply about my own health, other living beings, and the state of mother earth. Veganism also inspires other lifestyle shifts. When your diet changes so dramatically, you can’t help but fall into other new positive habits as well. My advice in making the shift would be to not think of it as giving up anything, but rather to open yourself to new foods that will eventually replace the old. Surrounding yourself with like-minded others eases the transition, and talking out your struggles is essential, because you’ll find that others on the journey have experienced the same things. Be open, don’t beat yourself up for a rocky start, and seek to educate yourself as much as possible! There are always others to learn from and to support you along the way.

So here I am, writing about plant foods and recipes I enjoy, restaurants, traveling while vegan, product reviews, and the like!

A version of this appears in my feature on Plant Powered Sistas!