Being a vegan means avoiding all animal foods, including diary, eggs, etc. This means that in my diet, meat, fish, chicken, and eggs cannot be found. Also, consuming milk is far from it as a vegan because milk is an animal product, right? Now take a closer look at these products I can't include in my diet as a vegan; they are food products rich in vitamins, Omega-3 for fish, iron, and the rest of the of the nutrients. To be sincere, avoiding these food products completely in my meals can limit the nutrients my body needs to function effectively.
Vegan diets are more plant-based foods, fruits, veggies, grains, and even nuts. These are also healthy products devoid of chemicals one can find in processed food. Vegan practices are healthy, but I feel they don't make up the complete nutrient requirements our body needs, and that's why I will remain a partial vegan. Besides, practicing veganism can be quite expensive. It's hard to maintain those fresh veggies all the time considering the cost nowadays. This reminds me of the time I tried keto. Keto is quite different from vegan, but they are somehow related. My experience with keto gave me a sneak peek of what vegans go through without compromising. Nothing beats eating those healthy fruits, veggies, grains, etc., but for the sake of what our body system requires, I can't practice veganism for a long time.
Although being a vegan has health benefits such as reducing excess weight in our body, lowering our sugar levels, and more, I believe that non-vegans who eat intentionally about their health can equally achieve this.
I have come to understand that a lot of people practice veganism for different reasons. Some people practice veganism due to health reasons, just like when a doctor advised my husband to abstain from meat for a health reason. Some people embrace veganism for religious reasons; this set of people believes that killing animals for food is morally wrong. They believe that it's cruelty to kill a living animal; they are so compassionate to animals and avoid its products. Discovering this at first through my university roommate back then sounded so strange to me. This lady came from a rich family, but yet you will never see any kind of animal products while she is preparing her meals. At a point, I became curious about it and asked her. That was when I realized that some vegans practice it due to beliefs and religious reasons.
It's still hard for me to be convinced on why killing animals is regarded as cruelty, which is a strong reason for some practicing vegans. I grew up to see animals as human meat, and I am not aware that killing animals is a sin or cruelty. For God's sake, animals are not humans, and it's given to us for consumption and to nourish our bodies, so I can't overlook it's product for vegan practice and lack the supposed nutrients I should get from it.
However, vegan practice is something I can attempt, but obviously for just a short while, let's say just one week,lolz. Imagine consuming fresh vegetables, fruits, grains, legumes, nuts, etc.; the nutritional value can keep one's immunity healthy and free from hospital visits for some time, but I am of the opinion that such practice is not a totally healthier way of living as one can't get all the nutrients the body needs from vegan diets only.
This is my response to the #HiveLearners community contest on the topic titled, "Going Vegan".