We reject what we need the most. We tend to turn our back on the things we need to listen to more deeply. If you asked me about vegans before 2010, I would have said they only ate tofu. I got the whole part about not killing any animals, but I just couldn’t wrap my mind around why not eggs or dairy, if that didn’t require any killing. I always asked people I knew who were vegan: Why? They would explain that it was a boycott of animal farming. That just sounded too complicated to me.
Before I became vegan I was lost and confused. Since I first began to have cognitive function, I’ve wanted to find my people. I wanted to find my tribe, but where was it, and what exactly did they look like? I was an atheist and a pessimist, I was angry at the world, I was missing a reason to believe in humanity.
After the road trip I started writing as a side job for different fashion publications. I had a friend and teacher who would mentor my grammar. JJ invited me to one of his literature classes. When I sat down in his classroom to watch a speech by Gary Yourofsky on the web, my world shook and changed forever. The video detailed the dark and cruel reality of factory farming involved in the industrial production of dairy, eggs, poultry, fish, and meat.
It was Nazi acts of violence and animal torture; I had not allowed myself to even wonder that such things could exist. Seeing in the video how the animals were disrespected, amputated while alive, humiliated, antibiotic-injected, and forced to overproduce in crowded filthy cages caused me to hurt all over. The video made me see how ignorant and irresponsible I had been in my own existence. I was buying and consuming out of convenience as many of us do, thinking that moderation is the way to be, when in fact it is pure mediocrity. I feel that we blind ourselves because it’s easier. We turn our trust to familiar corporate brands instead of taking the responsibility of searching for small companies that truly care for our health outcomes.
This presentation gave me the sense of belonging I was longing for. It awoke in me the empathy for other living beings, and respect for those who are weaker than us. I wanted to be part of something that made existential sense; I needed to feel useful, to have a purpose. Veganism gave me a reason to make my choices in line with my values and to make my presence stronger; it opened a portal of transformation. I went vegan out of rebellion.
Fuck moderation.