My exploration in to Veganism started just a week ago with a chance conversation with a friend which led to a philosophically enlightening moment whilst sifting and sorting a huge bowl of blackcurrants from the garden.
I decided, because of my stance on the matter – (that we are from a (normally) damp, cold and definitely not tropical northern climate, and therefore we need to eat meat) to do a week-long Vegan challenge. It’s probably not long enough to see or feel any results, but it was long enough to immerse myself in the idea of it, and explore the reasoning and challenges that come from, and those that lead to, Veganism.
Living in rural Britain surrounded by farms where there are well looked after animals it was easy to lie to myself and believe that farming is basically alright, and knowing several farmers personally and knowing how well they care for their animals, along with a spiritual belief that includes the recognition that death is a part of life, I felt certain that I was right, and Veganism was just another band wagon, profiteering off the insecurities of the ‘on-trend’ selfie obsessed Instagram youth.
I started off watching ‘Cowspiracy’. This was a major eye opener for me. It might be because I watch virtually no TV, or maybe I’ve just got my head in the sand, but I had no idea how destructive the animal agriculture industry is. Like literally. As someone who considers themselves to be an environmentalist and doing what I believed to be the right things for the environment I was blown away by how bad things are, and how colossal the western appetite is for animal products that it is the major driver in the destruction of our planet.
The deforestation, the incredible amount of grain these animals consume, and therefore the huge amounts of land turned over to growing the gm grains for them. The colossal amount of water it requires, the amounts of poo they produce which fills the oceans with dead zones, the drugs they use on the animals, the speed of processing leading to bacteria and faecal matter on the produce, the nitrous gases they produce which add to global warming. The lists of atrocities against the environment goes on. And whilst all this shit is happening in America, it still affects us here. All of us will be affected eventually by the destruction of the rainforest and the dead zones in the oceans, and if Theresa May and Trump get their way we will soon be facing the mega-corps having free reign over us and our landscapes just as is happening over there.
And then there is the impact of our diet. All this destruction is so that we can stuff our faces with foods that are killing us off, and simultaneously creating humungous profits for the drug companies. ‘What the Health’ was the second film I watched, written and produced by the same guys who made ‘Cowspiracy’ and it was shocking in its own way. With one daughter who is severely overweight despite efforts on all our parts, it was a wake-up call to tackle this as a whole family. ‘Forks over knives’ followed the same line of thought with some inspiring results at the end of it, and while the sceptical side of me knows that nothing is ever that easy, or that perfect, the physiological facts of the constructs of our jaw and digestive system give a powerful message that plant based diets make us well and animal-based diets make us ill. It’s that simple.
So, despite several conversations with different people in the last week where people have expressed the opinion that Veganism is a lifestyle choice, I would now argue that No, it is not a lifestyle choice, but rather a necessity. For our own future, where the security of healthcare for those on a low income looks shaky to say the least, and for the security of future generations. The food we consume is at least one stand we can make against the power of the multinational greed machines.