In today’s world, being vegan is getting easier by the day: new start- ups left and right, more options everywhere you turn, the decline in dairy sales, and so on. Overall, things are looking up for vegans.
But there are times where the options are limited (if not non-existent). So what’s a vegan to do?
Well, in those times, don’t abandon veganism. In those times, declare yourself “mostly vegan.”
Just like everything in life, there are levels to this.
Many in the vegan community consider it an all-or-nothing approach. If you even eat a cookie that was made using dairy milk, your vegan card will be snatched quicker than Kanye snatched the mic from Taylor back in the day.
But like then, is that really necessary?
I mean, at the end of the day, if the goal is to reduce animal product consumption, can we rejoice in the fact that an individual is making a valiant effort to reduce and eliminate the animal product consumption in their diet? That is not an easy feat, especially in today’s world where everything is made with milk (seriously, I turned the back of a box of friggin corn and it said contains milk. I was like, you’ve got to be friggin kidding me!).
And perhaps if the community realized that there were levels to this and embraced the progress instead of shaming the setbacks, there might be fewer “why I’m no longer vegan” people out there.
At the end of the day, health is a personal journey. I cannot sit here and tell you what is best for you and your body. I do not know. I might not share your genetic makeup. While I do believe there is a vegan diet for everyone, I do not want you to risk death in the pursuit of finding it.
So if you need to consume an animal product every once in a while, be my guest. My only hope is that in the meanwhile, you are still seeking and searching for a plant-based doctor that can guide you to the vegan diet that is best for you (because that type of doctor ain’t me!). Do not give up and say “ah well, guess I’m not vegan!” Hang in there. Consume what you must but continue to seek counsel that is best for your body. Veganism is a journey. We are all in different stages of this trip, so no need to be a roadblock in someone’s path. Take care of you and your body and encourage others to do the same. And then one day, we will have a world full of plant-based doctors who can counsel people no matter where they live!
Until then, keep it as plant-based and vegan as you can, dear friend!
Namaste 🙂