I always cringe a little when I first tell someone I’m vegan. Flashes of “That Vegan Teacher” videos from TikTok and the mildly disturbing PETA campaigns come to mind. What comes after my initial statement is worse.
I usually get “But don’t you miss bacon?” or “How do you live without cheese!” I then have to explain that I’ve never actually eaten meat before, and the closest thing to cheese I crave is Goldfish. I then smile and nod while being told how hard my lifestyle must be. They don’t realize how easy it has become.
While some people might see it as a “bummer” that I don’t eat the regular tacos or cheese pizza at lunch, trust me when I say that I light up when I see the vegan chorizo and cheese-less pizza sitting next to its meat and dairy counterparts.
Some days are better than others when it comes to plant-based food, especially at school. I have my likes and dislikes, but anyone could say the same about non-vegan food. Rice and salad can sometimes be bland, but the options are usually more exciting the next day.
Good vegan choices are becoming more accessible over time. As more people become vegan or vegetarian, more people will understand the diet and what vegan people want to eat.
I like to say that an Impossible Burger on a menu isn’t really for the people who don’t eat meat but for the people who are trying to be vegetarian or want to feel better about themselves. I have never met a vegan who would rather eat “fake meat” over a black bean or tempeh patty.
As a self-proclaimed professional at eating vegan, it isn’t that difficult. After a while, you overlook what you miss and see what you can still have. I can make a vegan version of practically anything. That includes coconut cupcakes, lemon bars and tomato bisque soup. The secret to making anything creamy is cashews.
Junior Adele Erk has been a vegetarian for almost two years now. Cutting an entire protein source from your diet can seem jarring, but when you focus on other foods instead, your body and cravings adapt. “I think you get used to it pretty easily,” said Adele.
Some days, I might randomly blurt out, “I miss hot Cheetos,” but that minute of yearning only lasts until I remember that Trader Joe’s chili and lime chips exist and don’t contain dairy. For every dairy-containing snack, there is an equal or superior equivalent.
Menus become a significant object when you are vegan or vegetarian. A restaurant usually has options or can accommodate any diet, but a Google search is typically necessary when you want excellent vegan food.
Upper Campus teacher Ryan Bowden just started his journey as a vegan.
“When you’re on a road trip or something like that, you really have to plan your trip,” noted Mr. Bowden.
A simple McDonald’s stop won’t cut. That being said, other fast food restaurants like Taco Bell and Burger King have made an effort to provide plant-based menu items.
People become vegetarian or vegan for many different reasons. My mom grew up vegetarian, and when I was a kid, I got to decide if I wanted to eat the meat that my dad was eating or not. When your family directly tells you that the food in front of you is cooked flesh from a chicken, your mouth doesn’t exactly start to water.
When I was 13, my mom burst into my room telling me that she was going to try to be vegan because of a documentary that she just watched called COWSPIRACY. Her decisiveness motivated me to try being vegan, too. After a while, it stuck, and now I don’t see a future for me and dairy. I don’t need it, so why would I return now that I have come so far?
Mass media containing dairy and meat industry information has made many people rethink their diets. Seeing the truth laid out so blatantly is hard to ignore.
Commercially, cattle farms abuse their animals and are not worth the human and environmental health risks. An article by The New York Times pointed out that meat and dairy farms account for 14.5 percent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions annually.
I am fortunate to have the health and financial ability to follow a plant-based diet. The United States has made meat and dairy a necessary aspect of every meal. I like to show people another side to food and why it’s important to me and the plant-based community.