31-Day Vegan Experiment – Planning

Real Life Adventures-Gary Wise & Lance Aldrich 4/19/11

Being vegetarian was never difficult, at least for me. I didn’t like a lot of meat in the first place, and once I decided to cut one out, I figured I’d go all-out and kick them all to the curb. Aside from the very rare and random craving (typically for some condiment rather than the meat itself, like BBQ sauce… mmm…), this whole vegetarian thing has been pretty easy.

The question then becomes: How can I challenge myself in a way that will make me happier, healthier, and stronger overall? I was contemplating this the other day, and I decided, Why not try going vegan?

This idea actually shocked me, not because I didn’t think I could do it, but because of my current perception about vegans. Veganism is something I’ve avoided in the past because I tend to associate that group with the insane ones that lurk in vegetarian communities on LiveJournal and the like, the ones who practically call us vegetarians devils because we consume eggs and/or dairy products. As a maintainer of two fairly active vegetarian LJ boards (vegetarian and nice_vegetarian, if you’re interested!), it makes my life very difficult at times, haha.

Granted, it’s a silly way to look at things — after all, extremists are not representative of a group as a whole — but they’re already a small group, so the vocal ones appear the majority.

Walter Edmund Bond, Vegan Terrorist
(no, I’m not kidding)

But this idea isn’t about them. It’s about me, my diet, my overall well-being. That may mean that I’ll be lumped into the “crazy” group, even if for a month, but it’s not like this is new to me: After all, I’m Pagan, and there are some crazy ones out there giving the rest of us bad names… names that I’ve dispelled over the years.

So, knowing I’d be taking on the crazy, I decided to give myself a 31-day vegan challenge, starting on 1 July. I already avoid many animal byproducts such as leather and gelatin, but I still consume products made from dairy and eggs. Straight milk isn’t a problem as I actually strongly dislike the stuff, but cheese is a weakness, and eggs are a main component in a lot of my baking. It’s not hard to cut these out, really, when you think about all the things that have come to replace them… but for a very long time, I didn’t want to cut them out. I was content knowing I wasn’t eating any meat or using any direct byproduct of slaughterhouses, but I didn’t want to take the next step.

Then I saw this video. I’ve heard all of this information before, of course, from discussions with vegans and independent research. But for some reason, when I watched it a couple weeks ago, it hit me hard.

And that’s when I decided.

(The opinions expressed in this video are purely his own, by the way. I have some criticisms on the speech, including the use of “shock therapy” as in the beginning.)

Honestly, during this experiment, I’m not sure if I’ll refer to myself as vegan, since that involves a bigger change than I can manage (I talk more about the different types of veg*ns here), but the perk to calling myself would be simplicity: Vegetarians are typically associated with eating eggs and dairy, while vegans are not. Saying I’m strict vegetarian, while most accurate, might confuse people into thinking I’d eat eggs or dairy, while saying I’m vegan would eliminate that possibility. Most people I’ve come across seem to know the difference between vegetarians and vegans!

I’ve started preliminary research on recipes, health benefits, and challenges that may be presented, and I anticipate learning much more during this month as I prepare for the challenge. Starting on 1 July, I’ll not only be trying out veganism, but I’ll be taking you (and a somewhat reluctant Matt) along, including to the various vegan-friendly restaurants in the area! I hope that month will prove to be a fulfilling and educational one.

And who knows, maybe y’all will try it out, too. Even if just for a day.