Stop Failing to be Vegan and Embrace Flexitarianism

Why is eating animal products a problem?

The world is under threat from global warming, deforestation, erosion, desertification, habit loss, species extinction, and plastics. That’s just naming a few.

Most of it, if not all, can be linked back to eating meat, fish, or the related products.

The science is crystal clear. The verdict is unanimous. You need not deliberate.

If you’ve been living under a rock for the past few years, and are unaware of the peril the planet faces and the impact of eating animal products, then please, please add these to your reading and watching menu:

• Cowspiracy

• Seaspiracy

• We Are the Weather: Saving the Planet Begins at Breakfast

Okay, enough of our planet’s doomed fate. I’m presuming at this point, if you are still with me, it’s because you agree that eating meat, fish, and animal products are bad for the environment. Great, I’m glad we got here.

Are you a failed vegan too? Don’t blame yourself, it’s not helping

If you’re struggling with the commitment that is veganism, stop upsetting yourself. It doesn’t mean that you’re an unredeemable person; you need not condemn yourself to hell. There is hope for you yet. I have the salvation that you require. It’s flexitarianism.

The vegan journey begun

I don’t know about you, but once I had absorbed all the information about the impact of eating animals, I knew I had to change.

I felt immense guilt about every cheeseburger and tuna sandwich. So I went fully vegan. I compiled a list of vegan recipes. Brought all the appropriate ingredients. Then gave away any foods that would not be suitable for me to continue using.

I felt good. I was doing the right thing. For the first few weeks, I embraced it with relative ease. I ate imaginative salads and vegetable curries. All was well.

Reality hit

I had cooking disasters left, right and centre that had vile results. My attempt at vegan baking is likely the most horrific. With a taste and texture akin to rocks.

I went out for meals with friends and family and in some instances, all that I could consume on the menu was fries with a side order of peas., leaving me disappointed with my culinary experience. Which was made worse by the tasty delights that I was subjected to watch my friends eat. It was similar to a recovering drug addict living with drug users. The temptation was real.

Then it got bad

So I trundled on. Struggling immensely until eventually, I quit. My willpower was done.

I went out and ate whatever I wanted. Steaks stacked to the ceiling.

I had some short-lived joy. My taste buds were tingling, but my heart was breaking. I knew that I had done wrong, and I felt incredible shame. Which led to more comfort eating. This time my focus was on the sweet stuff, ice cream. The cycle continued for weeks. Not only did I gain considerable weight, but also a strong sense of self-loathing. I had to do something. This could not continue.

Salvation

I felt overwhelmed by the idea of veganism. Until I stumbled across the notation of flexitarianism. My interest was peaked. I found that there was a dietary lifestyle that was compatible with my lack of self-discipline and my desire to do good.

On day one, I committed to just one vegetarian (not vegan) meal a day. This was easy. Literally anyone can do this. You could have cheese on toast, Greek salad, vegetable stew, mac ‘n’ cheese, or scrambled eggs. There is so much to choose from. It’s like eating the diet of a regular person, with a small amount of conscious decision-making, but not so much that you would feel at all limited or tested. For weeks, I continued on this path with great success. I felt positive again. I was meeting my goal. The Improvement had begun.

It lifted the pressure immensely. I didn’t have to search for hours for a restaurant that would be suitable for me and my friends to attend, just to find that someone wasn’t happy with the choice. I no longer had to go shopping to multiple stores to get all the ingredients for my list. I was on to a winner.

Taking flexitarianism further

Despite my relative triumph, I had a nagging voice in the back of my mind. It was telling me to do more. To try harder. So I upped the ante.

I decided to have one vegan meal a day, and one vegetarian meal. This was harder, but after months spent with one vegetarian meal a day, it was easier than my first attempt. The transition came more naturally. I had built up an arsenal of tried and tested vegetarian recipes, which I was able to easily adapt to become fully vegan. Take the typical Greek salad, all I need to do is swap out the regular feta cheese for the vegan equivalent. Simple. I was now finding myself exceeding my goals, some days I would eat no animal product at all. Other days I might have just a snack containing meat or cheese.

So at this point, I was eating an approximately 80% vegan and vegetarian diet. I was proud. I felt comfortable with myself again; I felt I needn’t reserve my table in hell anymore. I was changing, I was becoming a better person, and I was enjoying my food.

The future will be animal-free

Now 3 months on from being 80% vegan and vegetarian, I’m about 95% vegetarian and most of this is vegan. Every week I seem to eat fewer animal products, simultaneously feeling better and better, in both body and mind.

I have a long-term goal of becoming completely vegan. When this will happen? I don’t know. It has to be a natural progression. I know with time it will be easier. Not only because I will become more experienced in how to be vegan, but also because society is gradually becoming more and more inclusive of vegans.

Almost every week I notice a new product in the supermarket or another restaurant adding vegan meals, even McDonald’s has a vegan menu now. With time I imagine the vegan section to be huge, and vegans will have options in every restaurant.

To quote an old adage, Rome wasn’t built in a day. So your vegan journey need not be completed in one either

Delilah Brass

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN COPIED FROM MY MEDIUM BLOG. SEE ORIGINAL HERE.