Introduction
The 28th of August 2016 is a very important day for me.
That's the day I went Vegan and I've never looked back. Many people think it's crazy that I went Vegan overnight -but honestly it's not a big hassle.
In fact, for some people this could be the best way to do it. Just make a decision and go with it.
Perhaps the best thing about this approach is that you can truly evaluate for yourself the effects before being Vegan and after being Vegan.
The differences are astonishing and all positive.
So how did I go Vegan overnight? A lot of stems from finding your why.
When you find your motivation for this lifestyle it's very easy. I covered some of that in this blog post here.
But personally three major things compelled me to go Vegan.
1. The Veggie Meetup Group
I attended veggie lunch that was scheduled on Meetup.com.
The first thing that surprised me was just how diverse the group was. There were young people and old people, there people from different ethnicities, there people from different races and countries, there were people who where vegetarian and vegan and omnivores.
The diversity was very welcoming. You could chat to one very unique person and then hop to the other side of the table and chat to someone completely different.
I like that.
I like engaging with a different perspectives.
The second thing which surprised me was there weren't any hippies. I always assumed that the vegetarian scene would be overrun by militant vegetarians in sandals and tie dye. This certainly wasn't the case.
In fact, you would never be able to tell who was vegetarian and who was not.
These guys were a great bunch of people with interesting stories who were warm and welcoming. What's not to like!
2. Cowspiracy
Then a few days later I come across this arbitrary looking title on Netflix called Cowspiracy.
Unfortunately I am a highly judgmental person - so I'm watching this documentary and thinking this hippie host is talking garbage. But as I continue watching it, his arguments get more and more compelling.
At the end of the documentary I was highly convinced. At this point I really considering going Vegan. But I needed more.
3. Marco Springmann
I'm someone who is swayed by evidence and facts. I also consider the climate crisis to be the biggest existential challenge confronting mankind.
My search for an effective solution to the climate crisis has never yielded any positive results. Governments lack political will and corporations are all disingenuous in their green washing. I could find no meaningful action I could take that would help mitigate the climate crisis.
But then I came across a study by an Oxford professor called Dr Marco Springmann. His study was on the effects of our food systems(and the associated logistics) on climate change and health care costs.
What he found astounded me.
He found that if everyone on earth went Vegan, then by the year 2050 we would reduce Green House Gas emissions by two thirds and reduce global healthcare costs by $1.5 Billion.
That was it! I was sold. That was the 27th of August 2016.
On 28th August 2016 I went Vegan. Simple as that.
Conclusion
It was very simple for me to go Vegan.
I was open to hearing to the people, to their ideas and the facts.
For a while I was just listening, absorbing the information and mulling things over in my head. It takes a while to process the information and consider things carefully.
However there is one thing that resonates with you as a person.
All the facts and the reasoning can be given to you, but when you when that one thing that clicks - your decision is made and you never look back. Your course is set and you simply act.
That's how I went Vegan in a day.
There's many many reasons why should go Vegan - maybe it's animal welfare, maybe it's the climate crisis, maybe it's pandemics, health or income equality.
Find the reason that resonates with you, and you will find a reason to go Vegan inside of a day.
Photo by Ella Olsson on Unsplash