My Experiences Becoming A Vegan

When I was 9 years old I became a vegetarian on Thanksgiving Day. It was easy.

This year at 39 on Thanksgiving Day, I have committed to spending a year as Vegan. Maybe even the whole rest of my life.

I am going to blog and video log about my experiences.  So here it goes….

I know the die-hard vegans are going to cringe when I write…  It’s been hard for me to study animal rights.  I already experience so much animal suffering in my daily life/work that my body nor my emotional state could handle anymore knowledge of suffering.  I would start to feel sick and depressed.   I had to shut a part of my heart off.

I know I am not the only one.  I witness it everyday.

In the past year, I have eaten a lot of eggs. I thought that if I were given eggs from my friends’ farms where the chickens are healthy, happy, and can live their lives free-roaming it is ok.

A couple of weeks ago, I was mortified to learn that one of my friend’s ranch hands gave away her middle-aged chickens (probably to be eaten) and replaced them with young chickens.  I just about died with guilt.  It slapped me into the realization that chickens can experience suffering anywhere. To think of those chickens being taken away from their safe home to their frightening deaths.

I can’t eat eggs anymore.  That was the beginning of me becoming a vegan.  I haven’t missed the taste of eggs yet (or maybe I never will).

It is time that I must open my eyes a little further.  I am stronger now.  I now know how to take care of myself. I know when to breathe, pray, do yoga, meditate, bath in salt, drink some juice, sage… when the suffering engulfs me and takes me to a deep place of despair.

Everything the animals think and feel goes through my body.  Everything. If they are suffering, I feel it in my body as if I am suffering.  That is downfall of my work and what I am constantly struggling with.  Suffering makes me tired.

I love Cashmere. I love the soft warm feel of it against my bare skin. I love a cashmere sweater with hood to keep my ears out of the cold on winters eve.  I love cashmere gloves on a morning walk. I love cashmere sweater and sweet pants and a cashmere sweater over a cocktail dress.

Though did you know that Cashmere is Cruel?

How could I hurt such a beautiful creature

as the one pictured above?

So Why Is Cashmere Cruel?

From Peta’s Website:

“Cashmere is hair that is shorn from cashmere goats’ underbellies.  These goats are often kept on farms where they are dehorned and castrated and have their ears notched without anesthesia.  Goats with “defects” in their coats are typically killed before the age of 2.  Industry experts expect farmers to kill 50 to 80 percent of young goats whose coats do not meet standards. Shearing robs goats of their natural insulation, leaving them vulnerable to cold temperatures and illnesses.  Many goats are sold to be slaughtered for their flesh after shearing.”

Click Here to read why Silk, Shearling, and Other Animal Products are not kind to animals.

I read that now and I internalize it in a way I was never able to before.  … Breathe in.  Breathe out. … Breathe in. Breathe out.

I have been scared for too long that the consciousness of animal suffering that comes with becoming a vegan would make me depressed.  It’s time to see.  Maybe I will surprise myself and by honoring the animals I will become more joyful.  We will see.  Stay tuned.