Veganism; When You Lack Support With Your Decision.
I have never really understood why it is so difficult for people just to support the decisions of others. I mean, if they are not telling you that they want to become drug lords or addicts or go and do wrongful things in society, why can’t we just be supportive. For example, I have been a vegetarian since I was around eighteen years old. I sat in a nutrition class and saw a video (no, not those horrific farm videos that show you how animals are killed) but a video with extremely sad animals inside cages and deprived of so many things.
I walked out of that class and I said that I would NEVER eat meat again…and I didn’t! Of course, when you are a child of a Cuban mother and you come home and say that you are not going to eat her carne con papa or arroz con pollo, she automatically dismisses you as crazy. She starts questioning what kind of an education am I receiving or what new friend is influencing me in this absurd new way of thinking. She thought that this would be a passing stage in my life but 24 years later and I am still a vegetarian.
People have adapted to my style of eating but it hasn’t always come with positive experiences. There have been many times where I’ve been to a party and I literally had nothing to eat but I really didn’t care and I still had a great time. I’ve also been to Cuban restaurants where the waiter hears me order plantains, rice and beans (a complete meal if you think about it) and was questioned what kind of meat I want with that order.
When I state that I don’t want any, they continue to tell me about all the different meat options I can select and that’s when I have to tell them that I don’t eat meat. I get the look; you know the “que le pasa a esa chiquita” look. Most of the time people have been nice enough to have vegetarian options for me but when they don’t, I don’t make a show or complain I just enjoy myself. I don’t have expectations that the world should cater to my choices just like I don’t instill my beliefs on others. It was a personal choice I made many years ago and I have stuck by it because it is important to me and that is all that matters.
Fast forward to this year when a few weeks ago I decided it was time to make the change to veganism. In my heart, I felt that if I indeed wanted in some tiny way to make a difference in the lives of animals, cheese had to go. That was the real reason I was never vegan…the cheese. I mean, I occasionally had ice cream and milk products or eggs are hidden ingredients in about everything but for me it was cheese. But then I started to think, cheese is so full of fat and usually constipates people and that is definitely an issue that I had my entire life.
So, why not? I mean there are so many amazing products now geared towards vegans that making the switch is so much easier. We have cheese, butter, milk and meat alternatives that provide so many selections for vegans. So the switch was an easy decision for me but what is not so easy is getting the support from my husband. When I told him my decision he looked at me in a way that felt like if I had just confessed to having an affair. He questions me that why would I want to further limit myself that I already sacrifice so much. He just went on with such negative connotations but yet finished it with “but I will support you.” Come on’ really?
I just wonder why it is so difficult for people just to be happy with the decisions others make. I still have a lot of options when I eat at home or go out but it feels that he is watching everything I eat with such negativity. The few times we have gone out to eat since being vegan, he looks angry and disappointed as if I am doing something so wrong. I really don’t get it? I don’t look at people who eat meat with disgust. I respect the decision others make because they are the ones that live with it. I feel empowered by becoming vegan, even if my choice has no positive result in the life of an animal, I feel good in my heart. I am not contributing in any way pain in the life of an innocent animal whose life matters as much as mine.
I don’t buy any makeup, skincare, clothes or shoes that come from animals even if the famous celebrities or designers are raving about it. Life is about making choices, making the choices that feel right for you and if those choices make the lives of living things better…how can you not choose that route. It is the smallest most minute decisions we make that have the greatest impact… “One person can change the world” – Rosa Parks
