From femalefirst.co.uk
My journey to veganism wasn’t perfect. It started when I was young, around 10 years old, on holiday in Ireland. I stayed on a family farm for a week and struck up a friendship with a cow (whom I named Freddie). On the way home, I was saying goodbye to Freddie when it clicked what was going to happen to him - he was being bred for meat. I couldn’t shake that uneasy feeling, so I became vegetarian.
I then continued to learn more about the meat and dairy industry through documentaries and became vegan in my teens, somewhat clueless as to how I’d maintain it but driven by anger and sadness at the industry.
It wasn’t plain sailing! I struggled with cooking, proper nutrition and staying vegan in a family of omnivores. Eating out while travelling was a nightmare and always caused tension with the people I was with. I shortly burnt out and gave up, feeling completely unmotivated and unsupported, believing veganism was just too difficult for me.
The next few years involved a lot of self-development and introduced me to a host of interesting people and opinions. I travelled to Italy, then to northern India, to train as a yoga and meditation teacher. During my training, I lived and ate with the other students and teachers, where a predominantly vegan diet was provided, in alignment with the yogic principles. It was a revolutionary period for me as the new diet and practice taught me to listen to my body, follow a healthy routine and work on my mental health. I didn’t realise how uncomfortable and unhappy I was in my own body and lifestyle until I was introduced to this new one.
My time in India involved staying in the town of Rishikesh (where meat and eggs are forbidden) and there were so many amazing places to eat vegan food. I felt such clarity upon returning that I knew I had to stick to veganism, but this time I was completely confident that I could do it right. The vegan scene in the UK had come on leaps and bounds and I had also recently met my partner, a vegan environmental scientist. I learnt more about the effects of the meat & dairy industry on the climate from him, giving me a third reason to go vegan: (1) for the ethics, (2) for my health, and (3) for the planet.
Nowadays, veganism feels like second nature, and I absolutely love cooking for friends & family who wouldn’t usually opt for a vegan meal. I especially enjoy cooking Thai food – my mum is from Thailand and has always been a huge meat and fish lover, but she has recently started to vegan-ise our favourite meals (think tofu pad thai noodles, green curry with soya chick’n, veggie spring rolls and more) - we’ve even made fresh soya milk together!
I truly believe that when people see you thriving on a vegan lifestyle, it has a positive effect on them, and I can see the tangible changes with so many friends either going fully vegan or greatly reducing their meat & dairy intake. Of course, I’m also surrounded by a bunch of great vegans since I started working in the Trademark team at The Vegan Society. My favourite Trademarked products must be the beauty products from The Body Shop – I was so happy when they came onboard, because now I know that very soon, I’ll be able to pop in and get anything I like without having to worry about it being vegan!
Hopefully, my story of my imperfect vegan journey can reassure someone who is perhaps struggling to make the transition – trust me when I say it’s so worth it!
https://www.femalefirst.co.uk/features/my-journey-to-veganism-by-mary-barry-1333680.html
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