Many people who are not vegans acknowledge that exploiting animals in the manner we do is seriously wrong, but because of their misconception of vegan living as sacrificing almost half of the foods they eat, they protest that going vegan is just too difficult. This notion that vegan living is primarily about sacrifice or giving up many of our favorite foods without adequate substitutes is understandable, but it is false. Forgoing animal products does not mean that we sacrifice without replacement. On the contrary, vegans replace many of our formerly favorite animal-based foods with vegan versions of similar flavors and textures. Additionally, we learn of many new delicious foods, too numerous to mention here, of which we weren’t aware prior to being vegan, and many of them become our new favorites. Because there are so many new options, there is very little or no sacrifice. If anything, it’s a new adventure rather than the same old choice of what kind of animal flesh and what pile of gooey animal fat (cheese) to go with it. After a while, for many of us (myself included), the idea of consuming animal products is at least unappealing, and more likely, repulsive.
One of the best ways to de-bunk the unfortunate myth that vegans are limited to “rabbit food” and an apple for dessert or something similarly ascetic is to publish pictures of delicious vegan food with recipes to prepare it. Fortunately, there are dozens, if not hundreds of such blogs now that do exactly that. Even more fortunately, judging by the number of comments to the posts, these vegan food blogs (unlike this blog you’re reading) are very popular! They are also quite good at linking to each other, so you can surf away and find your favorite recipes. I’ve linked to enough vegan food blogs on the side bar to get you going on your vegan food journey. If it is feeding the kids that you're curious about, try Vegan Lunch Box (see link on the side bar).
In addition to vegan food blogs, there are some excellent vegan cookbooks available and most of them can be easily found on-line at Amazon or in a large bookstore such as Barnes and Noble or Borders (see the side bar of this blog for suggested links). Alternatively, your local library or bookstore can order one of these books for you.
If there is anything difficult about being vegan, it is certainly not the food choices, it’s our culture. But even our mainstream culture is starting to adjust. “Vegan” is now a household word, and although there is still some comical confusion about “what vegans eat”, more and more people are learning. It is culturally and socially much easier now to be a vegan than it was ten or more years ago, and as the trend continues, it will be that much easier from a cultural-social standpoint in another five years. But don’t wait! Surf for yummy vegan recipes, and start your vegan adventure now. It’s the right thing to do, and the more of your life that is spent as a vegan, the better a life it will be.
