I Am Not a Tomb
(written by a vegan teen
in South Africa)

“We all live in a yellow submarine, yellow submarine, yellow submarine,” excuse me, this is my alarm, I shall be early out of bed without any doubt. “Time for breakfast,” my mother exclaims. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Therefore, I start with a fruit salad and then a healthy sandwich with vegan cheese. Normal breakfasts include bacon, eggs and yogurt. I do not kill or hurt an animal for my food, I am not a tomb. I am vegan.

Where are my wool-free fluffy socks; oh yes there they are. Can you believe, I am the only child in my whole school without leather shoes. I am gobsmacked by that, are the students not aware that leather is cruel? I do not want to carry the poor innocent cow’s skin with me everywhere. I love and respect animals therefore I do not kill them.

I squeeze the last bit of my vegan toothpaste out of the container. Vegan toothpaste is extremely difficult to find in South Africa – still this does not stop me from using it. Innocent animals are used to experiment whether the toothpaste is safe to use or not. Toothpaste and other products are smeared on them – often the product is harmful and burns or even kills the poor animal.

It is time to greet my lovely friends – six rescued cats and five rescued dogs. I know that they will be joyful when I return this afternoon. How do people hurt animals when they are so loving and loyal? Still people will ask me why I am a vegan; is it not a straightforward, obvious choice? Just think how many animals would be hurt or killed for just one person in a morning if they are not vegan.

Therefore, I am proudly vegan.

_{Special thanks to Butterflies Katz for including this in her compelling essay collection highlighting diversity amongst vegans:
I’M A VEGAN: One Movement, Many Voices.}