Do you know what a vegan is?

“A vegan is simply someone who removes the pepperonis from its pizza right?” Nope.

“Oh sorry, I meant a vegan is someone who doesn’t eat gluten right?” Again: nope.

Sound like you? Sounds terrible! Let’s fix that.

Not to be confused with a vegetarian who doesn’t eat meat, a vegan pushes it a little bit further. According to The Vegan Society, a vegan is “a person who does not eat or use animal products.”

Meat? Gone. Honey? Gone.  Eggs? Gone! CHEESE? Throw that out the window!

The typical answer I receive at that point is: “I COULD NEVER GIVE UP CHEESE!!!”

Well here at We’re Vegans, we don’t miss cheese, because we know that when done right, vegan recipes are simply delicious. We eat all kinds of fruits, vegetables, nuts, grains, seeds and legumes. By combining all of these you can literally make thousands of great dishes.

To prove my point, take a look at the dishes below and you will probably be salivating like me:

Vegan Burger - www.veganbreak.com

Vegan Pasta - www.freeheelvegan.com 

Vegan Cake - www.vegetariangastronomy.com

Look fantastic, right? I can hear my inner fat kid screaming for food after looking at these pictures. 

Back to reality, being a vegan is way more than eliminating animal products from our diet, it’s a lifestyle. We are vegans for many reasons such as:

To be healthy 

Some people believe the vegan diet is naturally better for our health since our body is not made to consume that much animal products. Others think that the harm of an omnivore diet doesn’t come from the animal products themselves, but rather by the added chemicals and antibiotics that animals are exposed too. One way or the other, the health benefits of a vegan diet have been confirmed many times by scientific studies.

To help animals

Already heard the old saying “we vote with our wallets”? We can ask for regulations all we want, in the end if there was no demand for animal products, there would be no industries. The real way to affirm your position against animal cruelty is by leading by example and stop buying animal products.

To help the environment

We often blame cars and businesses for breaking our ozone layer, but did you know the meat industry is responsible for 18% of annual worldwide greenhouse gas emissions? Do you want to stop climate change? Not eating meat is a great way to do your part.

To help people have food

Did you know that if the whole world adopted a vegan diet there would be food for everyone? That’s right, it takes a lot of grains to feed the animals people eat. If people would eat directly the grains and not use animals as biological filters, there would be more food for everyone.

To save money

Being a vegan can be really cheap! What are the most expensive products you buy at the grocery store? If you answered meat and dairy products, you're right. If you really want to push this to the extreme, you could only buy beans, rice, pasta, vegetables, and fruits. It would be dirt cheap, healthy (you may need some other aliments from time to time to get all the nutrients), and vegan.

Those are the reasons why, we avoid animal products not only in our diet, but also in our clothing, and in many other products like makeup. 

That’s not always easy! For example, finding a good wallet or a good pair of shoes that are not in leather is a challenge. Thankfully, more and more companies are joining the trend and are starting to manufacture vegan products. 

If you’re thinking of becoming a vegan, here’s the secret: Slowly make your transition instead of  making a drastic change. Most people try to become vegan by imposing themselves strict rules like “Starting Monday, I will cut all dairy and meat from my diet!” Although some exceptional people might succeed this way, most people will fail.

Becoming a vegan is something good and therefore you should feel good about it. Make a plan, and make sure you are getting all the essential nutrients, because if you don’t your body and your brain will starve!

You also need to know that becoming vegan might affect your social life depending on where you live. If you live in a city that’s not friendly to vegans, you might be looked at like you’re from another planet. Don’t get mad if it happens to you, it’s simply because people need to be more educated about the subject. If you have the possibility and the desire to move, here are a couple of cities that are vegan friendly according to happycow: 

• Berlin 
• New York City 
• Portland, Oregon 
• San Francisco, CA 
• London, England 

Being a vegan can really change your life in a positive way and allow you to make a difference in the world. I hope this article helped you, and if it did don’t be greedy and share it with others!