I am vegan, but I’m not much of a princess – I just thought it was a funny name. I did choose Princess though because although I’m not (too much, I hope) a spoiled, bratty, high-maintenance rich-bitch, I’m also not what many people think vegans are: a dredlocked, unwashed, patchouli-wearing, pot-smoking, preachy, feral wearing hemp. I don’t like mung beans.
I would really like for this blog to able to show that veganism is totally compatible with the mainstream. I hope to show that vegan living, while it requires more forethought and planning than that required of omnis or even vegetarians, is much easier than people may think. When I was vegetarian I thought not only was veganism totally extreme Nimbin-only, but that it would also be far more difficult than I could do. It’s not.
I went vegetarian at 9 1/2, when I decided that if I loved animals then I didn’t want to eat them. Over the years it became almost more of a habit than an ethical choice. I said I objected to the ways animals were treated, but I didn’t really think any more about it. I happily (and greedily) wore leather, I’d not worry about the fish sauce or chicken stock in my food, and I swore on my life that I’d rather die than give up cheese.
So what prompted the ‘upgrade’ to being vegan? Was it a deep ethical disquiet, a moment of moral awakening, a light shone upon my conscience?
Nup.
It was a diet book.
It’s a bit sad, but Skinny Bitch changed my life. Not the ranting about giving up Diet Coke and coffee (I shall never surrender!), or the processed food-heavy Americanised recipes, or the eating disorder-inspiring tone, and certainly not the injunction against alcohol (although the comment “Beer is for frat boys” made me giggle), but the description of research about what really goes on in slaughterhouses.
I had a Moment.
Hormones flowed, blood pumped, cheeks flushed – my eyes opened. I knew I just couldn’t be involved any longer. I spent time reading and learning, replacing food, cosmetics, clothes and accessories (being lucky enough to be able to do so, and having total respect for those who choose to use up their pregan things), and absorbing everything I now allowed myself to know. I will never go back.
I would really like for this blog to able to show that veganism is totally compatible with the mainstream. I hope to show that vegan living, while it requires more forethought and planning than that required of omnis or even vegetarians, is much easier than people may think. When I was vegetarian I thought not only was veganism totally extreme Nimbin-only, but that it would also be far more difficult than I could do. It’s not.
I went vegetarian at 9 1/2, when I decided that if I loved animals then I didn’t want to eat them. Over the years it became almost more of a habit than an ethical choice. I said I objected to the ways animals were treated, but I didn’t really think any more about it. I happily (and greedily) wore leather, I’d not worry about the fish sauce or chicken stock in my food, and I swore on my life that I’d rather die than give up cheese.
So what prompted the ‘upgrade’ to being vegan? Was it a deep ethical disquiet, a moment of moral awakening, a light shone upon my conscience?
Nup.
It was a diet book.
It’s a bit sad, but Skinny Bitch changed my life. Not the ranting about giving up Diet Coke and coffee (I shall never surrender!), or the processed food-heavy Americanised recipes, or the eating disorder-inspiring tone, and certainly not the injunction against alcohol (although the comment “Beer is for frat boys” made me giggle), but the description of research about what really goes on in slaughterhouses.
I had a Moment.
Hormones flowed, blood pumped, cheeks flushed – my eyes opened. I knew I just couldn’t be involved any longer. I spent time reading and learning, replacing food, cosmetics, clothes and accessories (being lucky enough to be able to do so, and having total respect for those who choose to use up their pregan things), and absorbing everything I now allowed myself to know. I will never go back.
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