Hello and welcome to Eight Years In! You’re probably here reading this because you want to go vegan and you’re not sure how to tell your parents. I was in this same situation back when I was 15. I was nervous and frustrated, but I knew what I wanted to do. But I was worried about what my mom might say. Would she be angry with me? Tell me that I wasn’t allowed to? But I knew I needed to have this conversation.
Continue reading How to tell your parents you want to be vegan
When you first go vegan, you just know that it’s going to be forever. You have probably heard of people that went vegan and then went back, and there might be endless parades of people telling you it’s just a phase. But that’s not going to happen to you. You’re not going to let that happen. Here’s how to not let that happen.
Continue reading How to stay vegan long term
Hi everyone, and welcome to Eight Years In. (Or, if you’ve been here before, then welcome back!) Thank you for joining us today, because we’re talking about something pretty important.
Continue reading What to do with the “vegan anger”
I’ve heard it said before that veganism is an eating disorder, and I couldn’t disagree more. So let’s talk about it, right here and right now.
Continue reading Veganism is not an eating disorder
I’ve been vegan for eight years now. 3 of those years, I worked in a nonvegan kitchen. And today, I want to talk about it.
Continue reading What to do if your job isn’t vegan
Today, I want to talk about vegan replacement foods, such as faux meats, plant based milks, cheeses made from nuts, etc. In fact, I’ve wanted to talk about this for a long time. If you’re looking for a quick summary of this post, the title says it all, really. But I think this is a topic that we don’t talk about much in the community. So let’s, right now. Because there’s surprisingly a lot to say.
Continue reading Vegans, it’s okay to eat faux meat!
Hello, and welcome back to Eight Years In. And if you’re new here, welcome in! Today I wanted to talk about something that more vegans should think about, and that’s the different reasons why people don’t go vegan.
Continue reading Why people don’t go vegan
We often find, as vegans, that people are surprised when they find out we are, or that we’re deciding to go vegan. This can be frustrating, and even astounding for us who have done reflection, and see it as not only a viable option, but the obvious choice when we consider the realities behind the products we’re taught to see as normal. Today, we’re going to talk about why. Or more specifically, we’re going to outline the plight of a vegan.
Continue reading Why people go (and stay) vegan
Dear Reader,
This is the only time I’m going to tell you why you should go vegan. Because let’s be honest, there are already a lot of resources out there.
That being said, over the years I’ve gotten the question a lot. “Why should someone go vegan?” (Or sometimes, “why should I go vegan?” if someone is interested.) And to be fair, that’s a pretty normal instinct. When someone makes a decision to live any lifestyle, asking them why is the first thing we want to do. However, when it comes to veganism, people tend to not just ask us why, but why they should be doing the same thing–even if we haven’t outright told them that they should.
And so, for this reason, I’ve devised a plan. I want to write this out, all at once, even if it’s long. (And it probably will be.) For anyone who is on this site and interested in veganism, they can find this conversation and use it for their own edification. And in my own personal life, too, I plan on using this as a tool. The next time someone asks me why they should be vegan or why I am vegan, I will send them here. Because I’m a little bit tired of the elevator pitch, and curating it on the spot for each new friend I meet. I know that being vegan is a deviation from the societal norm currently, and I feel that both the people I meet and the subject of veganism deserve the respect of a full and honest answer.
Continue reading The only time I’m going to tell you why you should go vegan
So veganism isn’t about purity. You’re not better than other people for being vegan. (We talked about that here.) But that doesn’t mean that you’ve got to give up and pretend that slaughtering animals for the pleasure of your tastebuds is okay. There’s another side to the story.
Continue reading Making boundaries with nonvegans