There are two reasons why I am vegan: for the animals, and for the planet! Recently I was reading a post on One Green Planet that mentioned eating vegan junk food still lends itself to a pretty hefty footprint, so I started thinking seriously about why I am vegan. Every day animals are found with plastic lodged in their stomachs from consuming what they thought to be food in the ocean, but turned out to be trash. Consuming oil in the quantities that VOMD and I do also has a pretty negative impact on animals and the planet. Olive oil production creates waste biproducts that are not biodegradable and can seriously harm the planet if not treated properly. Producers in less wealthy countries like Morocco (where lots of our olive oil comes from) can't afford the pricey treatment necessary to protect the environment. And then there is the production and packaging of all the other crap we eat - from Daiya cheese to Yves veggie meats, to vegan Becel. While we recycle almost everything around here (we produce maybe 1/2 a grocery bag of real trash per week) even recycling has a huge impact on greenhouse gas and makes our carbon footprint unacceptable by environmentalist standards.
Switching to a whole foods diet would mean eating more fresh fruits and vegetables, and less processed packaged foods, which would together have a fairly huge impact on the planet.
But aside from the whole good for animals, good for the planet angle... I am also starting to think about my own health. Here's a little TMI: after three years of having perfectly healthy menstrual cycles, I have started getting really messed up timing-wise. Where I used to have a steady 29 day cycle, now it ranges from 26 to 45 days. I have to think that this has something to do with my lifestyle. Since starting my relationship with VOMD I have eaten more processed foods than I ever had before - things like Daiya and olive oil and veggie burgers. I also have more acne than ever before. Since the age of 20 I have has mild acne issues - flare ups at certain times of my cycle and in times of stress and so forth, but never so bad as it has been for the last year. I also have to assume that has to do with changes in my diet.
I don't like being the type of person who hates the way they look, but we live in a culture of makeup and photoshop, so having bad skin is unacceptible. Even with the whole #nomakeup trend, it is pretty uncommon for a woman to post a picture of her acne covered bare face for all to see.
This is me (right) in 2010, on a mostly plant-based, whole foods diet without any concealer or powder on my face. Look at that glow! (also...my crazy beautiful sister!)
This is me a couple weeks ago on a 100% vegan, but not whole foods diet sans make-up of any kind. Takeaway: being vegan doesn't magically cure all of your ailments...the internet lied to me!
I am ready to start choosing healthy, unprocessed foods instead of what has now become the norm in my household - i.e. VEGENAISE. Being vegan is about protecting the animals...so why do I treat myself so shittily? Aren't I an animal?
I would love any advice on go whole from anyone willing to offer it, and I will be sure to update you on my whole foods journey!
Happy Wednesday!
-J
My dermatologist told me to reduce fries and pickles (I had same skin problem). You can always cook vegenaise at home, there are tons of recepies online. And Lush has really cool anti-acne gel, totally love it.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the suggestions! I love Lush, but I've recently stopped washing my face with anything other than water altogether, as I've found that its basically the only thing that stops the flare-ups. The picture above is from a couple weeks ago and since it has calmed down significantly.
DeleteI should look up a vegenaise recipe. VOMD loves it waaaay too much.