As a vegetarian for many years, I quite recently (about a year ago) decided to make the transition to veganism. Gradually cutting out food, I finally achieved my goal. Although I must admit it wasn't without difficulties... As a Canadian currently living in the UK, the main difficulty was (and still is) getting the information and support. At first, I felt I was the only vegan aspiring in the entire area of Manchester... and I'm sure it's a feeling shared by many when considering becoming a vegan on their own. Becoming a vegetarian was a much easier thing to do for me as I never really liked meat anyway... I was eating it because people around me were doing so and because that's what was put in front of me by my parents. It only took about 4-5 months living on my own for me to decide to stop eating meat altogether. Naturally, becoming a vegan is a much bigger step, which is why I did it so gradually... motivated by my desire of ethical treatment of animals as well as the book which started it all for me: "Skinny Bitch", by Rory Freedman & Kim Barnouin.
The fact that my husband is an omnivore didn't make the process any easier either! Despite all his very appreciated support, I still could see all the food I wouldn't allow myself to eat laying there in my kitchen. It still can be tempting sometimes, especially with food I used to absolutely love such as cheese and chocolate, but I only have to think about the non-existing ethic behind it all to push the temptation away.
Another obstacle was finding vegan food in my area. I'm living in a little town just outside of Manchester, where both vegetarian and vegan options are basically non-existent or at least very limited. I sometimes go to Manchester in order to fill my cupboards but in between, it can be quite a struggle. When I think about how vegan friendly my hometown of Montreal is, I long to move back there even more!
So I have to admit that during that transition process, internet probably was my "best friend". I found so many good websites and blogs which are there to support, inform and motivate! I sincerely don't know if I would have managed without all this and I think that's what pushed me to create my own little blog in which I plan to write about issues/challenges that I have gone through and still am (probably just like most vegans), reading and viewing materials that inspire or anger me, cooking, fashion (which is also one of my passion)and hopefully many other things related to my lifestyle choice and animal activism.
I saw your comment on SuperVegan. You should check out QuarryGirl for spots in London and Barcelona. http://www.quarrygirl.com/category/restaurants-not-la/london-restaurants-not-la/
ReplyDeleteEric of Vegan Zagats
i too am a vegetarian, though not a vegan - yet. i'm an ovo-lacto vegetarian who tends to have high cholesterol and triglycerides (unusual for a vegetarian) and should start eating less cheese and eggs. i stopped eating meat 41 years ago, not wanting to help create a demand for animals to be killed, and now the thought of eating dead burnt animal muscles disgusts me. i noticed that other animals have emotions (i could see it in our pet dog). They have feelings and nerves, see, taste, smell, hear, and feel. The same acreage that feeds cows for meat could feed over 20 times as many people. I have to make a point of balancing my amino acids (legumes with grains), eating some peanut butter or sesame seeds once in a while and eating fruit and some tofu.
ReplyDeleteI don't cook that many vegan recipes - like pasta fagiole (noodles, white kidney beans and marinara sauce)-or potatoes O'brien (potatoes, onions and peppers) mainly because i'm lazy and there enough are vegetarian and vegan frozen pre-cooked meals from Amy's Kitchen in a supermarket near here. i love Indian cuisine. Hannah, who writes a blog called London Rose is also a vegan.
I found your blog while reading you've gotten a Beautiful Blogger Award from Mo at Me, Mo and Myself. Congratulations!