Change the way you eat, change the way you live!

After the Easter holidays, at the start of May this year, I came back to uni with the resolve to be a vegan - or at least try it.

The decision to change my diet came from a health perspective which is read about but as I became more aware of what veganism was, I began to realise the benefits and feel good about what I was going into my body. However, as we broke up for summer, I was back to my normal ways.

At first, I was reluctant. Every time I put a piece of meat to my lips, I felt guilty. The taste of milk was refreshingly creamy, but it felt wrong. 

It didn't take long, however, to eat without even thinking. 

Recently, though, I've seen a lot of posts about animal cruelty and the benefits of cutting meat from your life. I spoke to one of my friends a couple of months ago about how I'd become vegan. The meat debate is a bit of a toss up. 

When I think of the world, I think that everything is designed for purpose. So chickens lay eggs that aren't poisonous or toxic or don't fertilise soil because the purpose of them is for us to eat. They are provisions from God. 

But, this is where religion comes into it because Christianity believes that the earth was made for humans, whereas, Buddhists believe that everything is equal. I guess what it comes down to is how you view humans. What is our purpose? And how do we function or rank in relation to other animals? 

It's difficult because, if there are nice ways of providing food then why shouldn't we use this bountiful supply and appreciate the things that we have. If we take the example of chickens, what I mean is that, if there is a more humane way of egg production (free-range hens), then why shouldn't we take advantage of the fruits of the hen? 

But I realise when I write this, that the word: 'production' maybe shouldn't exist. Perhaps the problem lies when animals become a product or simply mechanisms and parts to a production line. Everything, animals and humans, should be free. Or maybe, you believe different. 

I suppose that the solution, I often think, might be to go completely back in time to a hunter-gatherer era, where you only catch the food that YOU and your family need, WHEN you needed it and, if you're unable to catch anything, then you must eat the fruits off the land. 

I've read that veganism can end world hunger, but another article reminds me that hunger is a multi-faceted problem which has a number of factors which do not just include removing meat from our diets. (You can read the article here.)

I don't have the answer to whether veganism is the way forward and apparently no one else does either. It is a personal choice and the world probably benefits from all of being different. It needs the blood-thirsty carnivores and the plant eating vegans. 

So whilst I know that something has to change, I won't feel so guilty about willing going back to meat. 

When I go back to uni, I can't see myself becoming a vegan again because I'm such a massive foodie and cooking is what I do. I am, however, going to make changes. 

At ASDA, you can be fooled by low prices and forget about the quality of the products. So that is the main thing I'll be changing. But there are other things that I thought I would share and here are a few. 

Buy local produce

This is something that I don't really take much care about. Especially in Dubai. At the moment, as I've said before, peaches are my new found love. And though the best ones, I believe, come from Jordan, the next choice is American peaches - from, literally, the opposite side of the world. On my part, this is a bad choice. By reducing the demand for produce that is flown from many hours away, contributes to the green house effect. Local produce means a significant reduction in green house gases.

Stay away from beef

This has to do with carbon emissions and health factors. An article published by the Guardian says: 

"The popular red meat requires 28 times more land to produce than chicken, 11 times more water and results in five times more climate-warming emissions."

Based on this, it would seem that chicken is the way to go, which leads me onto my next change factor ...

Free range eggs

I never used to worry about eggs. I always went for the cheap eggs in supermarkets to reduce the cost of my overall shop, not wanting to spend a few extra pence on free range eggs, allowing hens a better life.

Dairy-free products

Until recently, I believed that cows produced milk on tap. I have now learnt, however, that milk is taken from lactating cow mothers who are separated from their calves. This is a step towards eradicating animal cruelty.

Responsibly sourced fish

Prevent over-fishing and allow edible ocean fish the chance to reproduce. Eat: crab, hake, halibut, mussels. AVOID: bream, cod, haddock

Meat-free Mondays

Meat-free Mondays is something I saw Jamie Oliver do. It's actually relatively easy to live vegan or even vegetarian for 1 or 2 days a week. Try tofu stirfry, meatfree 3 bean chilli, quorn sausages. 

I hope that you've enjoyed this post. I wanted to write it partly because I wanted to engrain in my own head how important it is to be a good citizen when it comes to food but also because I thought others would benefit and appreciate information which can help change lives. (--- maybe that statement is a bit bold!)