So… why am I starting a blog? In short, because last February, I switched to a vegan lifestyle and it has been an unbelievably fascinating adventure full of trials and tribulations and lots of people have asked me to blog about it so today I’ve finally plucked up the courage to give it a go.
So welcome to my first ever post!
Here’s a bit of background for you…
I am probably the MOST unlikely vegan you will ever come across! I was bought up in rural Herefordshire and spent a lot of my childhood perched on a river bank out fishing, standing with the guns out pheasant shooting or on top of a horse out hunting – never happier than when galloping lickety-split across beautiful Radnorshire countryside in hot pursuit of a fox…
I told you… a very unlikely vegan… My dad and uncle farmed sheep and we used to help out at weekends and in school holidays with whatever needed doing. So I’ve done my fair share of de-licing, lambing, fleece wrapping and castrating. I’ve eaten meat all my life (I’m now 31) and had never given vegetarianism or veganism a second’s thought. The only vegans I’d ever really met to be honest were very ‘hippy-looking’, talked about ‘crystals’, ‘spirituality’ and ‘themselves’ too much and looked a bit smelly so I never took any notice of much they said.
Then, last February, a friend of mine’s brother came to dinner and he was the first ‘academic vegan’ I’d ever met (highly intelligent, hugely articulate, passionate, well-read and delightfully clean!) and I spent the evening grilling him about his choices, his diet, his lifestyle and his reasons and literally over night I was converted.
Following that meeting, Ed (husband) and I decided to switch to a vegan diet for the duration of Lent (I’m not religious but I love certain aspects of religion!) which was starting the following week and said that we’d spend the month researching as much as we could into all the different issues surrounding the vegan debate – both for and against.
So we read as much as we could (see library for some ideas) and watched as many documentaries, ted talks, lectures and whatever we could get our hands on and, suffice to say, 40 days later – we were both pretty committed to veganism. When taking into account all the environmental issues, the animal welfare issues and the health issues, (all of which I will talk about later) it seemed like the right thing for us.
And so far, I can honestly say it’s one of the best things I’ve ever done. I’ve never felt healthier, had more energy, enjoyed food and cooking more and I’ve certainly never felt as engaged and switched on to the world around me. It’s also much cheaper (when I’d imagined it would be more expensive) so that’s a huge added bonus. But it certainly hasn’t been without it’s trials and tribulations – many of which I will share with you here. I also hope that anything we can do to encourage debate and discussion surrounding these issues is a good thing so please join in the debate.
So lastly… welcome to my blog and I hope you enjoy!
Are there chicken sheds in heaven? 