I have decided to go vegan. For 21 days. Yes, not vegetarian, the whole hog (pun intended). I have decided to completely swing my normal eating habits on their head and cleanse the system. Why? Because I am tired of being tired, tired of being sick, tired of feeling like I am out of sync with my body. Is veganism the answer? I really don’t know, but I believe if I strip everything back and eat as natural as I can I will be able to see more clearly where my problems lie. I am a firm believer in we are what we eat, so I believe going back to the raw basics of fruit and vegetables will aid in finding balance and wellness in my diet.
So why vegan? Well, I eat hardly any meat as it is so vegetarianism wouldn’t be too hard and I know dairy is my killer – I FUCKING LOVE EGGS – I have been known to have a hardboiled egg in my hand bag for a snack. But to be frank, diary makes me feel like shit. Doctors tell me I am “lactose intolerant” – to that I say GIVE ME ICE CREAM! It’s a drug, one big juicy, creamy drug. But when you think about it, how disgusting* are we to eat another milk produced by a completely different species? We are the only known living beings to do this by choice, not by situation or lack of available resources but because hell we want to milk the shit out of cows!
The purpose of milk – from any animal – is to essentially fatten up a baby. However, eventually animals are weaned off it once they are strong enough to eat solids....except humans. Many scream “CALCIUM” but all animals once weaned off milk get their calcium from plants – yet we humans have become too lazy to eat some spinach, instead we gorge on chocolate milk. [On a side note, if you do rely on milk as your main source of calcium you must be eating enough magnesium otherwise your body cannot absorb the calcium in milk.] You’re body naturally absorbs calcium from plants with more ease than dairy and the World Health Organisation actually recommends reducing animal proteins and increasing fruits and veggies to promote healthy bones.
On a humanitarian note –milking cows just don’t live a very happy life. I like to think they chill
on the land and someone with a little wooden stool and a straw hat comes and fills up a bucket and goes on their merry way. NU-AHHH. Due to selective breeding and genetic manipulation,
cows in Australia produce 35 – 50 litres of milk per day, ten times more than what they would naturally produce for their young. So what is the point? All this milk puts strain on the animal causing painful stretching of udders, tearing of ligaments, infections etc. Which means some GROSS results in our milk – think blood, mucus and bacteria which isn’t all washed out when pasteurised. In Victoria there is NO limit on the amount of pus or “Somantic Cell Count” that appears in pasteurised milk. ICKY ICKY POO!
In Australia, a diary cow is impregnated to produce at least one calf a year to ensure they keep producing milk. These calves are taken away from their mother within 12-24 hours. Imagine the stress mother and calf must be in? In nature a calf suckles from its mom for up to a year! So what does this scene look like? A mother screaming for its offspring and separated calf frightened and in complete shock. Then – mum is schlep off to milking to keep pumping out those dollars. And the calf? Three quarters of a million unwanted diary calves’ are sent to slaughter so you can eat veal – they are generally five to six days old. A FIVE DAY OLD BABY IS SENT TO SLAUGHTER! The Australian industry additionally approved withholding food from five day old calves for up to 30 hours before slaughter. Calves usually eat five times a day. Yep – this is what our country deems as humane.
So it is pretty obvio I LOVE MY ANIMALS. Can I be hypocritical – yes, especially if you challenge me when I’m eating my McDonalds cheeseburger. But the whole point is to be AWARE of WHERE your food comes from. This is why I have decreased my meat intake and in learning more about the dairy industry, why I want to decrease my demand on this animal by-product. I want to walk the walk more. I want to feel that sense of wholeness. I want to connect with my food and not absentmindedly scoff down my chicken breast in front of ‘Two and a Half Men.’ I know people will for some reason get offended at this vegan pledge, the same way many challenge you when you let on you believe in Jesus – people have a need to deduce ones beliefs maybe because they realise they have none?
So time to jump into the deep end tomorrow. Hopefully at the end of this I will have more energy, clearer skin, s-shaped poos and in the name of vanity, a few less kilo’s.
*I am not an angry cow with sore tits....or paid by cows to protest
Got any vegan recipe ideas? Please share!
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