Why giving up is not a bad thing; a road to Veganism…

Today I wanted to share a radical change that I adopted for almost a year now. So here it goes. Basically, I gave up on non-vegetarian food; not all sorts of animal products but I gave up on meat and fish. So, why did I do it?

Introducing myself now. I am Ananya Chakraborty. As the name suggests I belong to a Bengali household in India. Indians who know Bengalis, are quite aware of the fact that we are hardcore non-vegetarian eaters. We love fish and meat. It was part of our staple growing up. We would eat meat and fish at least twice a week.

Slowly it was almost a habit. You don’t even question something if you have been doing something for a very long time. I had been eating meat for the 20 something years of my life. What happened that I decided to give it up?

In my early teens I had developed health issues. Doctors suggested popping pills and take supplements to study and observe how my body would respond. And I was tired of seeing the symptoms resurface over and over again. I wanted a permanent solution. I thus thought why not change something in my lifestyle permanently which would help me in the longer run rather than a quick fix.

A friend of mine suggested me to watch this documentary called The Game-changers. It’s a narration of former UFC champion James Wilks turned elite military trainer, who turns to veganism after a career-stalling knee injury. His quest showcases the benefits of a plant-based diet. I would recommend all of you to watch it too.

“We all know that when we eat animals, we pay for their torture and slaughter. But do we consciously feel that we cause pain to these innocent and sentient beings? We usually don’t. It is usually someone else who gets their hand bloody to feed us these dead animals for us to cook it up into relishing meals.”

So why did I feel its unnecessary?

It was not something new that I did not already know. But to hear it from the experts, to see internationally renowned athletes resorting to Veganism to increase their performance and recovery pace. The fact that they gave it up for their health intrigued me.

“Actor and former body builder Arnold Schwarzenegger states the crude reality how steak and meat are actually marketed to men for improving their masculinity; which is an utter lie.”

We have been taught from our childhood that meat is very healthy and we need the protein and calcium from animal bodies to be healthy. But the truth is you do not.

I wanted to try this,whether it would help me and change things in my body! I gave it a shot.

Honestly it was not easy and comm ’on I have grown up eating meat and I used to love fish and chicken. So how did I give it up? I did get cravings but every time I wanted to eat it I couldn’t. The images of those animals being slaughtered and tortured disturbed me. Ultimately even though it seemed tasty and it was something my taste buds were used to all these years; I could feel that it was dead animal. How could I eat a dead body?

I won’t say the change happened very quickly. It took a long while to convince my family and people around me that I don’t want to eat it anymore. People like my grand-mom and grand-dad, who had been eating all sorts of animal products for their whole life warned me about deficiencies and asked me to rethink my decision. With passing time I studied more about plant based diets and did my research online. I came across the ill effects of animal products.

It affects the human physiology in ways we cannot even imagine. Diseases like Diabetes, Hypertension, Atherosclerosis( blocking of arteries due to storage of cholesterol), Obesity and hormonal imbalances are all rooted in animal products. It is a slow poison.

Another documentary that inspired me was 73 cows. It’s a story about a farmer in UK who stopped animal culture to switch to organic farming.

“While all his life he had been rearing cows for slaughter houses, at the age when he was a senior citizen, he had a change of heart and he freed the last 73 cows. He felt liberated and repented for his choice of livelihood all these years.”

A prominent animal rights activist Gary Yourofsky who had Jewish lineage in his speech against animal killing compared the animal poultry or slaughter houses; to concentration camps where Jews were gassed to death in Nazi Germany under Hitler’s regime. You would be surprised to know how unhealthy pigs, cows, goats and even male chicks are crushed or gassed to death to meet the profit demands of this flourishing animal industry. He says that:

“Till the time mankind continues to murder animals we would never find peace”

Do you really know how the life form was reared, sheltered, tortured and finally killed to be on your plate?It got me thinking that how can we continue something uncivilized that can cause harm to animals when we have a choice. I am not saying that somebody who eats meat is a bad person. Well I had been doing it all my life until I questioned my belief system. I saw this video by Earthling Ed a prominent Vegan Activist who talks about something called Cognitive dissonance. He says that; I am paraphrasing

“If something questions our rooted belief system we tend to reject it without even analyzing it deeply. That is what we usually do in case of animal cruelty. We turn a blind eye. Just because we have an option to do it does not make it moral. Even slavery was legal hundreds of years ago and our ancestors were proud of it. As Humanity progresses, we should question what we do and how it affects the world.”

After all each person has been conditioned to eat a certain way to honor traditions and cultural practices of our ancestors. We follow it by heart in the name of culture or religion. Though I am sure you did not know that historical evidence shows that the human digestive system and the structure of our jaws indicates that we were predominantly herbivores.

We think we are omnivores, but evolution, anatomy, and physiology point to Herbivorous traits.

But at the end of the day it should be an individual’s choice. And everyone has a right to choose. We are seldom aware of the consequences of our dietary choices. It was not just that the cruelty towards these animals via species-ism really questioned my intent behind eating animal products but imagine something we would ourselves be aghast to do i.e kill animals we pay others to do it.

And if I have a choice why should I choose to eat them. I have not stopped using animal products completely as I still consume dairy and egg occasionally. I plan to do it slowly and steadily because I am on the path of understanding the suitable alternatives for dairy and how it meets the dietary needs of our body.

The good thing came out of this choice; my underlying health issues which I mentioned earlier; vanished. Today I feel healthy and am off medications. My vitals are normal. I no longer feel unhappy of killing animals. I know I am taking baby steps. I have told my parents to stop eating and they agreed. My parents both diabetics since decades have now suddenly witnessed a stronger blood glucose control being on a plant-based diet. Doctors are bound to reduce their medications. I feel confident now that this is what I want to adopt for the rest of my life.

Do not ever feel that you are losing out on food or the fun of it by giving up non-vegetarian food because all kinds of foods that you eat get their flavor, color, taste and vital micro nutrients from plants. Think of the spices and sauces and all the vibrant colors of red, green, yellow, purple all come from plants. If you see something stale, colorless, bloody which is animal muscle ;that’s not what gives any food the flavor. The flavor comes from plant sources only. You would not miss out on the taste part.

I also came to know that certain forms of cancer are caused by animal products over years of consumption. There is enough evidence on the internet in scientific journals about the same that a meat heavy diet can lead to cancer. Also, the current pandemic COVID 19 ( Bats or pangolins) and many other yesteryear pandemics that affected millions of human lives like Spanish flu( most likely an avian creature), H1N1 Swine Flu (Pig), Bird Flu( Chicken) Ebola( Primates), HIV( Chimpanzee),Plague( rodents) all riginated from zoonotic sources i.e. animal bodies. It is estimated that many more pandemics are likely in the near future if we do not change our interaction with animals.

The recent murder of Regan Russel at Ontario Canada exposes how even peaceful animal rights activists are targeted by the people who have their livelihoods linked with animal slaughterhouses and thus feel threatened by vegans. Certain vegan meat substitutes and lab-cultured meats are about to take the animal industry by a storm.It is true veganism will affect a huge population of people who are linked to these industries but every great change comes with a price.

If you read further about veganism you will understand that a lot of the grains and fodder used to feed these animals and fatten them up are actually grown on deforested natural reserves like the Amazon. Soy and corn are cultivated for these animals alone. Instead of feeding these animals in excess we can stop the demand cycle for mass production by not choosing animal products. That will basically ensure food security for impoverished countries as a solution towards eradicating poverty and hunger.If we have to meet food requirement via plants it would in turn help the agricultural sector and farmers who are usually at a loss. Instead of importing the grains we would cultivate it locally. That would ensure National food security and also help sustain the climate in the very long run.

Every small step counts. There is a reason a Vegan Movement is catching up around the world. People are finally realizing that their choice can help prevent climate change.

Our beloved Captain of India’s Cricket team Virat Kohli has also gone vegan and he exemplifies fitness.

I thought why not give it a try and its been almost a year now. I feel great. However, this research on veganism is still ongoing for certain people like pregnant women, lactating mothers and infants who have very delicate needs for growth. But in general, it is a sustainable lifestyle for others. It is thus advisable to consult a nutritionist and doctor for guidance unless you have the knowledge and right information.

Certain forms of cancer have been cured by chronically ill cancer patients following a plant-based diets. A channel called Sattvic movement is becoming a torch bearer for veganism in India. They have case studies on people who have cured their illnesses completely by being on a plant-based diet.

In case you have any form of illness rest assured that following a plant-based diet will help you relieve the issues of your body. But if you still doubt the choice, I would say read about it and educate yourself on the topic and take help from the vegan nutritionists. A very famous platform is Forks over Knives which has guided recipes and lifestyle measures for vegans. It is something doable. I hope you will think it through and I could put out my message there. Definitely if you want to try and walk on the path of veganism or give up certain animal products like I am doing I would say that go for it.And even if one person gives up meat and it helps the planet, it is worth it.