Like a lot of people who've chosen to forfeit an omnivorous diet in favor of a kinder, animal-friendly way of life, I do it for ethics. I was born in the Brazilian countryside and witnessed firsthand the killing of animals for food – as well as their mistreatment for fun. I'll be forever haunted by the squealing of pigs as they were seized for slaughter and then had their throats slashed. It made a lasting impression on me and probably sowed in my psyche the seeds of what would take over three decades to sprout into fully-fledged veganism. When I became an adult, I tried to become a vegetarian but for many years I found it difficult to stick to it. When I look back at my aborted attempts to abstain from meat, I can now see clearly why it failed. I was trying to do it for health reasons and that is, I think, the weakest motivation. As a person who used to drink and smoke occasionally, I couldn't see a reason not to have the occasional salmon steak on the grounds of good health when I had spent a whole night drinking and dancing in a smoke-filled London club. It was all-too-easy to relapse and hangovers seem to make us particularly vulnerable to the lure of flesh-eating. However, the vegan gene was always there, waiting for the right moment to take over. And it finally did in 2008 once I got an education on how animals are treated on farms by forcing myself to watch undercover videos which are widely available across the web. Of course I already knew those things, but seeing them afresh in full video color created an impact which I could no longer ignore. There's considerable debate whether exposing people to images of animal suffering is a constructive tool of vegan education and I can see where detractors come from. However, it did it for me and considering how many times I've seen people mention they became vegan after watching videos like Meet Your Meat, I have no doubt that those videos do work. We don't need to watch them forever, though, and these days while I may still share them on my blog or on social networks, I rarely peek at them. Having put all the focus on the ethical aspect of veganism, I could now mention how much healthier I feel as well. At 41 I weigh the same as I did when I was 17. A vegan diet keeps me lean, which is good news in a word plagued with heart problems and diabetes. There is also the environmental factor. As a dedicated tree-hugger, I know that a vegan diet has a much lower carbon footprint compared to those diets that include animal products, as a much publicized 2006 UN report confirms. It doesn't matter at which age a person goes vegan. What is important is to make the transition and stay vegan. The advantages by far outweigh the perceived disadvantages. At the end of the day, when I lay my head on the pillow, I feel I'm contributing towards a kinder world to all sentient beings and the amazing nature we share the Earth with. ** Antonio Pasolini writes about alternative energy for Energy Refuge and contributes to ANDA, Brazil's leading animal rights news agency. He's also a writer and videographer. ** This is the first in a series looking into why people go vegan. Are you vegan? Tell your story to the world: [email protected] BM
