How I gradually moved towards veganism and how it has blossomed my life
In this article I will tell you about my transition to a vegan diet and how small decisions have transformed my life. Because I took some time to make the transition, I am splitting this post into two parts. This first part covers my transition from a meat-and poultry-heavy diet to a pescatarian diet, the benefits, and the challenges I encountered. The second part covers my complete switch to a plant-based diet.
I grew up in Romania on a standard local diet of beef, lamb, pork, eggs, and dairy products. I remember eating chicken liver with polenta or the traditional beef and potato stew that my grandmother had made me.
I also remember feeling sleepy and bloated after meals, often experiencing indigestion. At the time, I thought it was normal and everybody felt this way. I was unaware of how to listen to my body and its’ sensations, having never heard of the concept of mind-body connection two years ago.
In 2020, the pandemic frequently left me bored at home, so I began watching documentaries explaining the relationship between diet and disease.
Who could have predicted that what started as boredom would lead me to a plant-based diet?
These documentaries explained how my usual source of protein, which I have been eating my whole life, can be harmful to me, but more importantly, harmful to our only home, the planet. A planet in crisis. An ecological crisis: lost forests, unhealthy soil, poisoned rivers, empty oceans, filthy air, and a compromised climate threaten the Earth.
Realizing the critical connection between nutrition, fixing our climate, and restoring our nature, I read book after book on diet and climate change. In the book “Earthshot” by Colin Butfield & Jonnie Hughes, I noticed the following recurrent question:
Do we want the forests and their ability to moderate temperature, make rain, and maximize biodiversity?
Yes, definitely.
But it is more complicated than that. The land is being converted from forests, savannahs, and grasslands to produce soy. And a few of us are aware of how much soy we eat.
I wasn’t.
Here is why: 80% of the world’s soybean crop is fed to livestock, especially beef, chicken, egg, and dairy production.
While I wasn’t eating large quantities of soy directly, I was indirectly consuming it: my weekend chicken roast ate some of it as it was fattened up to be slaughtered.
Now the question remains: Do we want the forests and their ability to moderate temperature, make rain, and maximize biodiversity? Or do we want to have them removed so that soy plants can feed our livestock?
Furthermore, many disease scientists suspect that by replacing tropical rainforests with palm oil or soy plantations to feed our livestock, we disrupt the complex interplay between species within ecosystems, pushing diseases to find new hosts. This is why Covid-19 may have joined a long list of diseases that have spread from animals to humans in recent decades.
I also looked into organic meat which is often touted as being better for our health and the environment. Nonetheless, some researchers have pointed out that organic livestock is often grass-fed which means they produce less meat and grow more slowly, so they spend longer emitting greenhouse gases before slaughter. When it comes to high-consuming countries and individuals, simply switching to grass-fed beef is not enough to have a positive effect on the climate. Eating less meat, of all types, is.
I realized that switching to organic meat is not a viable option for me.
Let me take you through one of my favorite scenes from Douglas Adams’s brilliant science-fiction work “The Hitchhiker Guide to the Galaxy” which finally convinced me to start eating … not vegan yet, but a pescatarian diet: imagine sitting at the table of your favorite restaurant. You see a peaceful dairy animal of the bovine type walking towards your table with large, watery eyes, beige-pink skin, small horns, and what almost appears to be a smile on its lips. The animal is today’s Main Dish. It starts speaking to you, expressing its desire to be consumed. It offers you part of his shoulder, braised in white wine sauce, then proceeds to offer other parts of his body, having worked hard to fatten itself up by forcing itself to eat.
Are you willing to eat the animal that invites you to do so?
I am not.
Having loved animals my whole life, I marvel at how long I avoided imagining this scenario. Just like the main character of the book, I would express my disgust at the idea of eating the creature. And would order vegetables instead.
Even if your answer is yes, there is no judgment, since it is better than eating an animal that doesn’t want to be consumed.
You might also choose to order a rare steak, a very wise choice. The animal then shoots itself in front of you. After a few minutes, the waiter arrives with the steaming steak and says:
“Wish you have a great meal!”
Where were we?
Right, my decision to start a pescatarian diet. I was such a seafood lover that removing this from my diet seemed impossible; part of my excitement for the summer holiday used to be a trip to my favorite restaurant on the beach where my family and I enjoyed freshly caught fish or mussels in white wine sauce.
Not a long period of opting for seafood instead of meat and poultry has passed and I could already notice the difference in my overall health: my energy levels increased significantly, my mood improved, and I was not sleepy after my meals anymore. My workouts became much more enjoyable. My progress came more quickly: finally, I started seeing the six-pack I had dreamed of.
Sometimes I even had the energy to work out right after lunch or go for walks in nature. Being able to include more activities throughout my day without feeling tired or bloated increased my self-esteem and confidence, which enabled me to reach my goals and concentrate for longer periods.
To consume a varied diet, I did not aim to only eat fish as a source of protein but to consume plant-based sources of protein as well such as beans, lentils, nuts, and seeds. Cooking has never been this much fun as I started to learn and experience new ways of doing an activity that I have seen my grandmother doing daily.
Okay, so far so good, right?
As with any challenge in life, things start to get complicated. People were suspicious of my new food choices. They began asking me where I was getting my protein and whether I miss the taste of meat. My diet choices had to be explained repeatedly. At Christmas, I had to cook separate meals for myself so that everyone- plant-eater and carnivore alike could help themselves. I suddenly had fewer options when I went out.
But after observing the benefits of this new diet, I persisted. I discovered that some of the flavors I miss from a meat diet do not have to come from animal products as I became better at cooking plant foods. It gave me a sense of satisfaction to see my family and friends enjoying my food and appreciating its flavors.
Eventually, I became extremely interested in sustainability and finding other ways to decrease my footprint and increase my overall health. Meditation and yoga continue to help me understand the importance of getting better at listening to my body and developing more awareness of self, dietary and lifestyle choices that affect my mental and physical traits.
If you enjoy reading my article so far, stay tuned for part 2.
Thank you!
