A Plant-Based Diet Makes Perfect Sense

by Deborah
(Denver)

I watched the documentary Forks Over Knives and I finally got why a plant-based diet makes perfect sense.

I have decided to follow vegan diet, and will cook mostly vegan meals for my family. My husband and son have not decided to join me - yet. I hope they will someday understand why eating a plant-based diet is important on so many levels.

So, here are my reasons for finally becoming a vegan:

--Improve my health and well-being
--Longevity for my children and grandchildren
--Weight loss
--Lessen my impact on the environment and on living creatures
--Support farmers and organic producers
--Improve my athleticism
--Force myself to become a better cook
--Re-educate my palate
--Challenge myself to become a better person
--Feel lighter, better, healthier
--Save money (by not buying expensive cuts of meat and cheeses)
--Set an example for my family




Editor's Note:

Thank you for this post, Deborah. What I appreciate about it is that so many people are just like you; they recognize veganism as being valid, but don't quite get why a plant-based diet makes perfect sense. Sometimes it takes watching a poignant video on the animal industry to really internalize how eating animals affects each of us personally.

Your reasons for becoming a vegan are all amazing, and there are a few I want to touch on.

1. I love that you said you'll re-educate your palate. I find that I actually appreciate the subtleties in food more than I ever did before. I think my taste buds were numbed by the common flavors of cheese and dairy, and once I removed those, I found that there are so many flavors I could never really pick up on when my food was covered in animal products.

2. Saving money isn't something that most people associate with veganism, but it's so true. I would regularly spend $5-10 on a small chunk of good cheese before, and that is simply gone out of my grocery budget. While I'll occasionally get some good vegan cheese (you can find my recommendations in my ebook Cut the Cheese), it isn't a regular part of my budget. And, meat is super expensive. Compare the cost of a pound of beans that you can eat off for weeks to a pound of steak that is gone that night, and you will see the difference.

3. Many people like to say, "Life is short, so I want quality of life by eating what I like now." What they don't understand is that by eating all those animal products, they are reducing their quality of life. They will be bigger, slower, and much more prone to illness than if they stopped eating those things. You can't be around and energetic to enjoy a long, full life unless you aren't sick. And, as we talked about, you can enjoy amazing food that is animal-free.

Thanks so much!

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