For the five months of my life that I was vegan, I absolutely loved it. I felt such a huge sense of pride, accomplishment and satisfaction from omitting all animal products out of my life. It suited me.
Last winter I made a new year's resolution to run in a marathon. With my new healthy diet and intense workout regime, I became ultra fertile and got pregnant.
To say I was surprised would be an understatement. It wasn't a bad thing. We were absolutely thrilled because pregnancy hadn't come easily to us.
Then came the morning sickness. It was miserable. I couldn't eat anything, and then randomly I would crave something so off the wall but I just had to eat it. This included anything from a bagel with cream cheese to a fried egg, a cadbury egg (so glad it was around Easter time!), and many other things that weren't vegan because they contained animal products. Thankfully I never have craved meat (other than shrimp and tuna) and have still been able to avoid in entirely. I decided to be ovo-lacto to allow myself the liberty to eat what I craved.
I'm lactose intolerant but it mysteriously vanished during the first part of pregnancy. It came back with a vengeance about a month ago. I thought was having Braxton Hicks Contractions and they were happening so frequent and close together. At times I was scared that I was going into preterm labor. Thankfully the pressure would release and it was followed by a cute pregnant fart (sorry, too much information). I remembered my past struggles with diary and once I took it out of my diet again I have been feeling great. No Braxton Hicks for me!
Not only am I lactose intolerant, but to be honest with myself, I am very opposed to dairy. I mentioned earlier a little bit about my obsession with breastfeeding. It's natural and beautiful to see a baby latched on to his mother's breast or to see a calf suckling from his mother's teat. Natural and beautiful! It's unnatural and even sick to see a diary farm.
My husband and I lived in Clovis, NM before we moved here and the town's major industry was dairy farming. Driving by the poor cows was absolutely disgusting. They had very little room to move around and they had to stand in a mountain (literally it was a mountain in the middle of the paddock) of their own feces. Twice a day they were brought into the barns for milking. They were hooked up to machines and their utters pumped for the consumption of humans who are supposedly weaned from mother's milk. It broke my heart and at the time I didn't realize A) that people DO NOT need dairy and B) that it upsets my digestion so terribly. I wanted to have my own dairy animals so I wouldn't have to pay for a product that had such a detrimental impact on the environment and the animals themselves.
I am opposed to the egg industry as well because the hens are treated more poorly than the dairy cows. However I find myself craving a hard boiled egg quite frequently. I'm not opposed to the egg itself as it is just a byproduct of the chicken's reproductive cycle. If the egg wasn't fertilized it's layed anyway. If it's not used by people or another animal it just rots. If I were able to find a backyard farmer who loved their hens, then I would buy from them and not feel any remorse. If I were to have my own chickens someday and treat them with love and respect, then I would feel no remorse. Maybe others don't feel the same as I do, but the beautiful thing about life is we are able to define our own values.
The problem with veganism is that it is a set of rules defined by another person as to what you can and cannot do. Vegetarianism really only applies to what you don't eat, but veganism is a lifestyle.
First of all you cannot consume any animal product. This is not just talking about the obvious dairy and eggs in a meal. It's everything you can possibly imagine that's derived from animal product. If you look closely at any product label, sure enough you'll find something in it. Honey, gelatin, diglycerides (found in chocolate syrup, shortening, most peanut butters), and so many others. This severely limits what you are able to consume.
Veganism doesn't just stop at what you can't eat. It's everything! No cosmetics unless they contain no animal derived product and weren't tested on animals. Normally this isn't a problem because of course I don't want to pay for something that has been used to enslave an animal, but vegan cosmetics are incredibly expensive. I can't imagine why a company who claims to be so compassionate towards the animals would charge so much making it unavailable to regular people who live on a budget. This does not help the animals because it makes it so there really is no choice but to buy the animal tested products. So who are they really helping but themselves? They're not even helping themselves!
You can't wear leather, wool, angora, or any other animal fiber. Technically you can't use animal waste to fertilize your garden. Technically watching a movie in the theater is off limits because the film is made of gelatin. Technically you can't read a book because the binding on it is made from glue which was derived from an animal byproduct. Look into all the technicalities and you can't do anything but lock yourself in a box eating nothing but raw fruits and vegetables that were veganically grown.
Ok, maybe this isn't fair. I know that you have to find the balance so you don't drive yourself mad. But that's what I'm getting at. In order to label yourself as a vegan you have to follow a strict set of rules, and I don't believe that should be necessary.
My personal beliefs are simple. I do not believe in the unnecessary death or exploitation of animals. I will not ever buy leather, eat meat or any product containing gelatin. Dairy is morally disgusting to me. I don't mind eggs if they were farmed out of love. Honey is the same, Bee keepers tend to adore their bees (seriously, talk to a hobby bee keeper and you'll understand what I'm talking about). Wool does not directly aid in the death of sheep because it's just using the product of a hair cut. In fact it's the best material for diaper soakers and I plan to use it.
So I guess if I did have to label myself I would be an ovo-vegetarian. But I don't want to label myself as anything. I'm just someone who is following my personal moral compass.
The point of this was not to offend anyone. I apologize if I have. I am just saying that labelling yourself as something and following a set of defined rules and limitations can be oppressive, especially if you don't strongly feel that way. I don't believe I will ever call myself a vegan again, even if I exclude all animal products from my life. It just has way too much responsibility placed on it. I don't feel strongly about certain things so allowing myself the freedom to do what I feel has been incredibly liberating. I just want to put my thoughts out in the universe and encourage others to get in touch with their own set of morals and follow them.
Last winter I made a new year's resolution to run in a marathon. With my new healthy diet and intense workout regime, I became ultra fertile and got pregnant.
To say I was surprised would be an understatement. It wasn't a bad thing. We were absolutely thrilled because pregnancy hadn't come easily to us.
Then came the morning sickness. It was miserable. I couldn't eat anything, and then randomly I would crave something so off the wall but I just had to eat it. This included anything from a bagel with cream cheese to a fried egg, a cadbury egg (so glad it was around Easter time!), and many other things that weren't vegan because they contained animal products. Thankfully I never have craved meat (other than shrimp and tuna) and have still been able to avoid in entirely. I decided to be ovo-lacto to allow myself the liberty to eat what I craved.
I'm lactose intolerant but it mysteriously vanished during the first part of pregnancy. It came back with a vengeance about a month ago. I thought was having Braxton Hicks Contractions and they were happening so frequent and close together. At times I was scared that I was going into preterm labor. Thankfully the pressure would release and it was followed by a cute pregnant fart (sorry, too much information). I remembered my past struggles with diary and once I took it out of my diet again I have been feeling great. No Braxton Hicks for me!
Not only am I lactose intolerant, but to be honest with myself, I am very opposed to dairy. I mentioned earlier a little bit about my obsession with breastfeeding. It's natural and beautiful to see a baby latched on to his mother's breast or to see a calf suckling from his mother's teat. Natural and beautiful! It's unnatural and even sick to see a diary farm.
My husband and I lived in Clovis, NM before we moved here and the town's major industry was dairy farming. Driving by the poor cows was absolutely disgusting. They had very little room to move around and they had to stand in a mountain (literally it was a mountain in the middle of the paddock) of their own feces. Twice a day they were brought into the barns for milking. They were hooked up to machines and their utters pumped for the consumption of humans who are supposedly weaned from mother's milk. It broke my heart and at the time I didn't realize A) that people DO NOT need dairy and B) that it upsets my digestion so terribly. I wanted to have my own dairy animals so I wouldn't have to pay for a product that had such a detrimental impact on the environment and the animals themselves.
I am opposed to the egg industry as well because the hens are treated more poorly than the dairy cows. However I find myself craving a hard boiled egg quite frequently. I'm not opposed to the egg itself as it is just a byproduct of the chicken's reproductive cycle. If the egg wasn't fertilized it's layed anyway. If it's not used by people or another animal it just rots. If I were able to find a backyard farmer who loved their hens, then I would buy from them and not feel any remorse. If I were to have my own chickens someday and treat them with love and respect, then I would feel no remorse. Maybe others don't feel the same as I do, but the beautiful thing about life is we are able to define our own values.
The problem with veganism is that it is a set of rules defined by another person as to what you can and cannot do. Vegetarianism really only applies to what you don't eat, but veganism is a lifestyle.
First of all you cannot consume any animal product. This is not just talking about the obvious dairy and eggs in a meal. It's everything you can possibly imagine that's derived from animal product. If you look closely at any product label, sure enough you'll find something in it. Honey, gelatin, diglycerides (found in chocolate syrup, shortening, most peanut butters), and so many others. This severely limits what you are able to consume.
Veganism doesn't just stop at what you can't eat. It's everything! No cosmetics unless they contain no animal derived product and weren't tested on animals. Normally this isn't a problem because of course I don't want to pay for something that has been used to enslave an animal, but vegan cosmetics are incredibly expensive. I can't imagine why a company who claims to be so compassionate towards the animals would charge so much making it unavailable to regular people who live on a budget. This does not help the animals because it makes it so there really is no choice but to buy the animal tested products. So who are they really helping but themselves? They're not even helping themselves!
You can't wear leather, wool, angora, or any other animal fiber. Technically you can't use animal waste to fertilize your garden. Technically watching a movie in the theater is off limits because the film is made of gelatin. Technically you can't read a book because the binding on it is made from glue which was derived from an animal byproduct. Look into all the technicalities and you can't do anything but lock yourself in a box eating nothing but raw fruits and vegetables that were veganically grown.
Ok, maybe this isn't fair. I know that you have to find the balance so you don't drive yourself mad. But that's what I'm getting at. In order to label yourself as a vegan you have to follow a strict set of rules, and I don't believe that should be necessary.
My personal beliefs are simple. I do not believe in the unnecessary death or exploitation of animals. I will not ever buy leather, eat meat or any product containing gelatin. Dairy is morally disgusting to me. I don't mind eggs if they were farmed out of love. Honey is the same, Bee keepers tend to adore their bees (seriously, talk to a hobby bee keeper and you'll understand what I'm talking about). Wool does not directly aid in the death of sheep because it's just using the product of a hair cut. In fact it's the best material for diaper soakers and I plan to use it.
So I guess if I did have to label myself I would be an ovo-vegetarian. But I don't want to label myself as anything. I'm just someone who is following my personal moral compass.
The point of this was not to offend anyone. I apologize if I have. I am just saying that labelling yourself as something and following a set of defined rules and limitations can be oppressive, especially if you don't strongly feel that way. I don't believe I will ever call myself a vegan again, even if I exclude all animal products from my life. It just has way too much responsibility placed on it. I don't feel strongly about certain things so allowing myself the freedom to do what I feel has been incredibly liberating. I just want to put my thoughts out in the universe and encourage others to get in touch with their own set of morals and follow them.