I’ll never forget the first time I heard the word “vegan.” I had just moved from New York to Washington State and had never heard the term before. I asked the girl who had said it what it meant, and when she told me, I silently thought to myself, “Oh my God, what does she eat then? She can’t have anything! I could never do that.” Fast forward eight years, and there I was, chanting in the streets of Auckland for animal rights.
There’s a widespread saying that knowledge is power. And it is. Knowledge is what moved a woman who once used to eat anything into an outspoken activist for animal rights. But this process doesn’t always happen overnight.
Looking back, I can see a great deal of foreshadowing in my life that led me to who I am today. Once, as a child, a mouse got into my room and I couldn’t get the little creature out, so I started leaving the mouse cheese under my bed. Interestingly enough, the mouse wouldn’t eat the highly processed cheese and eventually died. Sad, I buried the mouse in the backyard. It hadn’t occurred to me that it was a sweet thing to do until my mom’s best friend at the time said to me, “You’re so good, Bonnie.” Good? It just felt like the normal thing to do… wasn’t it?
My whole life, I had never liked the idea of killing any living being. Even though I was deathly afraid of spiders, I still never killed them. The notion of killing any sentient being that wasn’t actually hurting me seemed wrong. And of course, that’s exactly what it is.
Often, as children, we tend to feel a natural empathy for non-human animals, something innate in us that understands the basic sentience of joy and pain. And we feel… a lot. Our emotions are big, and we have no problem expressing them in most cases. So of course in children’s stories, where other animals are often depicted as sweet and lovable, children naturally feel a strong desire for their well-being. For those children who grow up into adults and continue to carry that same empathetic heart that wants all animals to be safe and free, real life is no different than those stories, and veganism becomes the only reasonable answer. It’s the way to our collective happy ending for everyone.
Like in all stories, there are obstacles to face. Challenges along the way trying to prevent that happy ending. In our world, they come in the shape of conflicting financial interests, greedy industries, and a loss of that childlike heart. A seeming corruption of the mind through any means possible, whether by incentivizing false claims of health, tradition, culture, or the like. The countless ways the animal agriculture industry continues to push its narrative onto the hearts of the innocent is criminal. So who can stop them?
Veganism is an all-encompassing, better way forward. It ticks more boxes than anything else when it comes to making the world a better place, and I’m here for it. According to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, the largest nutritionist organization in the world, a well-planned vegan diet is healthful, nutritionally adequate, and appropriate for all stages of life, including pregnancy, infancy, lactation, childhood, all the way up to our senior years.
In terms of health, it’s not only safe, but a growing number of professionals would say it’s essentially the healthiest diet there is—lowering things like cholesterol, blood pressure, and the risk of one of the top human killers of our time: heart disease, to name a few.
A book called How Not to Die by Dr. Michael Greger came into my life during the COVID lockdown, a time where many people found themselves exploring new personal endeavors like health improvement and cooking, etc. I had no idea how amazing this book would be when I started reading it. Created as a comprehensive guide to show how plant-based living can increase your longevity, How Not to Die quickly became my new favorite book of all time.
Backed by countless peer-reviewed studies, the book provides an incredible look into the world of plant pairing and portion sizes to ensure the healthiest way forward for human health on a plant-based diet. Insightful, to say the least.
For some, personal health can be the gateway into veganism. Before we consider others, we generally consider ourselves, and in this case, I was no different. Five years prior to my going vegan, I saw a video of a woman in her 70s who looked at least 25 years younger. She explained her whole-food, plant-based vegan diet and how her husband wished he had done what she did because he was large and far less mobile in his elder years. I remember being mystified by her energy and youthful appearance. While it was mildly rooted in vanity, I said out loud, “I’m going to do that one day. I don’t know when. But I’m going to do that one day.”
Slowly, that idea planted itself like a seed in my mind, and my transition toward veganism began to take shape. First, I became pescatarian, and over time began using alternative milks in the things I bought. The more I learned about the environmental impact from animal agriculture, the more I sought to strengthen that journey. Little by little, the changes became real.
It was in 2018 that I saw a video of an animal rights activist who had been periodically popping up on my social media feed. It was one of these videos that would open up my mind forever, and not necessarily in the way you’d expect.
The video featured a human rights activist who was very upset about advocacy for animals that did not also include people. The response in the video shook me to the core. Essentially, it explained how speciesism is the first form of discrimination we teach children. That we’re taught some beings are here for loving and others aren’t, based on their appearance. And how, if we raised every child from a young age to believe that all animals, regardless of what species they are, had a right to live their lives without our interference and exploitation, wouldn’t those same children grow up to treat our own kind in the same way?
The human rights activist in the video was completely disarmed. It was like an epiphany had struck him. He became curious instead of defensive, and by the end of the discussion, he admitted to getting “schooled” by the animal rights activist, who had also pointed out that minorities were frequently targeted to work in these horrific animal industries, often resulting in long-term mental health issues over time.
I was dumbfounded. I began to see the intrinsic connections between racism, sexism, and speciesism; that learned belief that some are here for loving and some aren’t, based on how they look. It was a complete revelation. The next day, I watched the rest of that video series addressing every excuse against veganism and I was completely sold on the idea. He was right. There were no excuses. And I… had no more excuses.
It’s not often that someone turns vegan for the human rights aspect, as it tends to be the most commonly overlooked. But it is undoubtedly an important factor that should be acknowledged as fundamentally connected to this harmful system. Thankfully, the animal industries are slowly running their course with humanity as people grow more informed. I know I certainly was done supporting it.
A couple of months after I had been vegan, I finally worked up enough courage to watch my first farming exposé video. I got about 15 minutes into it before I turned it off, crying. Seeing the suffering of my fellow animals screaming, being tortured, abused and the like felt like watching a horror film. I hadn’t been ready to see it until then, to confront myself fully, and see the atrocities I had been financially supporting all those years. Knowing I had already made the switch, it was easier to hold, but the guilt from not having had the accountability to watch it while I was still paying for it ate at me.
As a naturally empathetic person, I have always stayed away from things that made me feel such intense emotions. But at that point, I knew it was my responsibility to see it for myself and know firsthand what I was holistically advocating for. All the other reasons were important, yes. But this… this was far more important than the lot, because there were direct and innocent victims involved. Something I would never consciously choose to support.
There is a common belief among vegans that says, “The only thing I regret about veganism is not doing it sooner.” And that was never more true for me than in that moment.
From there forward, my advocacy became first about the animals. It had always been about my health, the environment, and humanity as a whole. But now, my understanding felt clear and complete. It was the last remaining piece of a puzzle that would complete my ethical advocacy. The thing that would simultaneously have the greatest impact on the world through changing just one personal action, and ultimately help shape the happy ending I so desired to see on Earth. A new beginning for us all, where love and respect for our fellow animals, each other, the planet, and ourselves was the new norm. I wanted it more than anything.
For me, veganism is not about doing no harm. It’s about doing the least amount of harm possible, to the best of your ability. Perhaps humanity will be fully vegan one day, and honestly, I believe we really have no choice if we want to ensure our survival. It’s a kind of satirical irony that would seem quite obvious to an observer looking in. But that would be as basic of a life lesson as there could be: Do unto others as you would want done unto you. Otherwise, we will have to endure the consequences, whether you consider that fair or not.
It seems simple. And it can be, when we embrace the emotional maturity to see that our choices and actions have real consequences that harm innocent beings for no good reason. The question really does lie in this: How do we morally justify taking the life of, or using and exploiting, other beings, recognized legally in many countries as sentient, who do not want to and do not need to die for our survival?
The answer is clear: There is no justification for this. Not for any adult who values role-modeling just behavior towards others.
Many of us haven’t made the connection yet, but it is my strong belief that over time, much like for myself, humanity will be guided to the increasing knowledge of veganism that can help aid in seeing where their values may be inconsistent. Surely it is the reason I write to you now in hopes that it reaches the hearts of those ready to see. It may be hard, but I pray that people will have the courage to hold themselves accountable and bear witness to the reality we live in today, ultimately joining the good side of history, forever.
