An Argentinian goes vegan

In Argentina, a regular citizen consumes 57 kg of meat, 45 kg of chicken meat and 18 kg of pork meat, given up 120 kg of meat per year per person.
( https://misionesonline.net/2018/11/23/datos-del-ipcva-argentina-consume-doble-carne-paises-desarrollados/). So, eating meat, is kind of cultural, in developed countries, the meat consumption is about 67 kg per year per person.

I have been thinking for a long time in becoming, at least, a vegetarian. Actually, I’ve tried, and failed. I become anemic because I didn’t know what to eat, and (this was about 7 years before), no one helped me.

Today I’m celebrating my first month in Milano, and since I arrived, I eat meat just once, while my mom was with me during the first week. Here meat is much more expensive, and the meat cuts had different names, so I wasn’t sure what to buy. I had been craving for a piece of meat for the last 20 days, and that’s how I found another Argentinian working at a hostel who organizes “asados” (typical Argentinian barbecue with a lot of meat, and JUST meat) every Friday. I got an invitation.

I had been waiting for this day for the past week, but on that Friday we got the lecture of Paola Maugeri, oh what a lecture. She talked about all the radical things she did for an entire year, and she strongly said “there’s nothing as revolutionary as not eating meat”, and explained why. I knew she was right, and once I heard it, I couldn’t forget it.

I arrived to the Hostel, and I saw all the meat there, at the fire. I had decided I was going to start my “vegan challenge” on Saturday, because I needed to buy food and organized my house. I couldn’t eat for the first hour. I felt guilty. After the first hour I was getting really hungry, so, I grabed some pieces of meat, I ate, with no pleasure at all.

I knew something had changed in me. I couldn’t stand all than meat laying there. I was conscious, I was awake. I was vegan.