B efore I knew, I didn’t know. Once I did, everything changed.

I’ve heard enough origin stories—stories of how people became vegan or plant-based—to know how alike they all are. Of course, the particulars are unique, but at the center of all our stories is that we stopped knowing—willingly, if unwittingly. Unwittingly because we don’t know we’re unconscious until we come to; we don’t know we’re asleep until we wake up. Willingly because, even while sleeping, a part of us knows we are, in fact, asleep.

And yet, that’s not where our story ends. Despite every reason to stay asleep, still we wake up. Despite the comfort of ignorant bliss, still we choose to know, to look, to change.