It took me about two years of being vegan off and on before I finally sealed the deal and never looked back. It wasn’t because I didn’t want to be vegan or didn’t like being vegan, that’s just how long it took me to fully incorporate a new lifestyle to the point where I didn’t even have to try or think about it anymore. Now it’s just who I am and how I live my life and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I’m vegan for obvious reasons like most other vegans are, but sometimes unexpected little bonuses pop up along the way that reaffirm you’ve made the right lifestyle choices for yourself. My only regret? That I haven’t been vegan since day one!
Here are my top 10 reasons why I love being vegan 🌎 🐋 ☮
One. For me, animals are the biggest reason why I love being vegan. I love animals and I believe they have just as much of a right to be here and enjoy their lives as people do. Animals have been around long before people and then we came around and messed everything up for them 💩 For me, I knew that eating meat meant eating a dead animal, but I never really thought about what that process entailed. When I did learn the reality, the thought of eating the flesh of a slaughtered animal lost all appeal to me. No matter how good the end product tasted. Being vegan means that I don’t believe I am better than anyone else, even the smallest of creatures. I love animals and I want to live in harmony with them.
Two. My next favorite reason is that I can fight illness and disease just by being vegan. By eliminating animal product from my diet, I’m already eliminating the chances of getting a slew of diseases, including cancer. I’m a huge health nut so that’s very appealing for me. If I took it a step further and ate a mostly raw diet free of processed foods, I’d be off the charts healthy 🎉 I’m looking forward to the day that I’m ready to tackle that next step. You literally are what you eat. Every single cell in our body is affected by what foods we choose to consume. I love feeling in control of my body and my health by eating plant based foods that nourish me.
Three. This one took me a tad longer to discover. I was shocked to discover that the production of meat is destroying our planet faster than the pollution of automobiles or any other factor. That’s crazy! Our obsession with eating flesh is going to be the thing that destroys us, literally. Are pleasing our taste buds really worth that? We only have a limited supply of water on this earth and we’re using a huge percentage of it to water all the billions of animals that we slaughter for food. We’re destroying the rain forests to harvest crops to feed all the billions of animals that we slaughter for food. We could feed all the starving people in the world several times over with all those wasted resources.
Four. I felt much more mentally clear after going vegan. I don’t know if that’s because my conscious feels clear or because I make choices that I don’t feel guilty about either consciously or subconsciously, but I definitely noticed a difference. On the flip side, my mind does constantly feel bogged down worrying about all the suffering creatures in the world and the animals being exploited and mistreated. But I honestly wouldn’t trade it for blissful ignorance. I go to bed at night feeling peaceful about my choices.
Five. On a similar note, my physical body feels much lighter and cleaner. I feel better about my body at age 29 than I did at 19 💪 And I can tell that my body is thankful both inside and out. I have much less instances of getting sick. The worst I’ve dealt with over the past couple of years is seasonal allergies but even those have gotten better. I used to get headaches all the time and now I rarely do. I sleep better. I feel stronger. I get compliments on my appearance all the time, with people assuming that I must work out a lot, which always makes me laugh because I don’t work out at all! I just eat vegan and go on long walks a few times a week. Not everyone will be the same, but for me I love my vegan bod!
Six. Another reason that I love begin vegan is that it has made me more empathetic and patient, with both animals and humans. Being empathetic with humans didn’t come until later, and sometimes I still struggle with it. Being empathetic with animals is a piece of cake for me 🍰 but it took months and even years of hating people and their ignorance and selfishness before I came to a place where I could observe the negativity but not get sucked into it. Tons of vegans go through the exact same thing, it’s pretty normal actually. I’ve realized that some people are just horrible and I will never understand them, but others just need my patience. There’s a lot of people out there that agree eating meat is wrong, but they’re in a place in their life where they aren’t ready to do anything about it. My job is to be a good role model for these people and everyone else.
Seven. I love the fact that my journey to veganism has made me wholly informed about what is going on in the world and that allows me to make informed decisions which is a very powerful thing. I feel much more in control of my life. Looking back, I just wish I knew everything sooner. I’ve also experienced that people will try to tell me I’m wrong or trick me into thinking that I am, but knowing the facts about factory farming, exploiting animals, the environment, health, sustainability, ingredients, food production and so many other things is all the peace of mind that I need.
Eight. Being vegan forces me to stand up for what I believe in even when I stand alone. And trust me, I’ve stood alone a lot. And it sucks. But it’s made me stronger and just reinforces my beliefs. For me, the biggest reminder I need on days when it’s tough is that animals can’t speak up for themselves. They can’t tell us to stop hurting them and killing them. They depend on us to be their voice, and I will never stop being their voice.
Nine. Being an educated vegan that has done tons of research allows me to inform other people and hopefully open up their minds a bit. That’s really all I want. To get people thinking. Once they do, it’s always there even if they try to ignore it. Ever since I was about five years old, I wanted to be a teacher. Well, even though I don’t have a teaching certificate and I’m not a teacher in the literal sense, I kinda am because people ask me questions all the time about animals and being vegan and what I eat. It’s my chance to gush about my passions and maybe get others excited about the possibility. I fully believe that teaching children compassion at a young age is everything. Children should be taught compassion for animals, for people, for the environment, for their bodies. The world would be a much better place if that was required in schools 📚
Ten. And of course, I love being vegan because of the awesome food! I’m lucky that I’m alive in a day and age where technology and creativity allows me to eat all the foods I love while still being vegan. I don’t have to “deprive” myself of anything. If I want pizza, there’s vegan pizza. If I want donuts, there are vegan donuts. If I want bacon, there’s tons of vegan bacon! The food is delicious 🍕 🍔 🍝 and sometimes I have to remind myself not to go crazy. It’s soooo easy to be vegan nowadays! Plus, it’s amazing what kind of food creations can be made with raw plants. I mean, cheesecake made from cashews? So cool 😍
There’s many more reasons why I love being vegan, but these are the first ten that come to mind. Vegans will literally save the planet, the animals, the starving people, and the diseased bodies. I mean, we’re kinda like superheroes? 😎 ✌️
Why do you love being vegan?
Jillian 💙
Hi Jillian! As you already know, I’m not a vegan, but I do highly respect those who are. Compassion is an endearing quality. However, I wonder, how does a vegan view carnivores? A whale that consumes 40 million krill a day, wolves & reptiles that cannot survive without killing and eating rabbits, deer, or rodents. Does a vegan have a greater respect for them than humans that consume meat? Innocently curious I promise!! Great photos of you. I like the one with the cows but the ‘smoothie selfie’ (the greatest testimony to your photographical genius) is phenomenal. I totally understand if you don’t want to post this, but if not , would you consider responding via facebook private message. As I am outsider, I am genuinely interested in the response. Once again, there are no negative sentiments here.
Hi Randy! Good question! There’s definitely a difference between carnivorous animals and carnivorous humans. Research shows that human bodies are not meant to break down meat and dairy, we are meant to be herbivores, that’s why we don’t have canine teeth like carnivorous animals. I personally believe that just because some animals eat meat doesn’t mean that humans are supposed to. And just because people have been eating meat for a loooong time, doesn’t mean that it’s right. I think it was a survival method for humans way back when, that didn’t have immediate access to edible plants and then it progressed into this myth that meat is essential to human health. Plus, people think it tastes good. But certain animals were created to be carnivorous and I accept that and I think they should do their thing and humans should do theirs. So I guess technically yes, I have greater respect for animals that consume meat because they truly do it out of necessity! Not to say that I don’t have respect for humans too, though 🙂 Thank you for your input. It’s interesting to get another viewpoint!