There is often much judgment around our food choices and not just from our peers and wider society. We may also give ourselves a hard time when we eat things we do not approve of, either in terms of our health or our ethics. We may know and agree with all the reasons to be vegan and yet when we try, only to fall off the wagon a little while later, we tell ourselves that veganism is not for us. But we do not believe this is true at all!
And so this is our letter of compassion and support to everyone who has tried veganism and knows in their hearts that they would like to be vegan again.
You Have Not Failed
First of all, if you are no longer vegan, you have not failed. The combined power of our cultures and communities, family traditions, emotional ties, lifelong habits, and the enormous marketing and lobbying efforts made by the meat, egg, and dairy industries can make transitioning to a vegan diet challenging. Against that kind of backdrop it is little wonder you fell off the wagon, but this lapse is not the end of the story. Every day, with every meal, we get the chance to choose wisely and compassionately again. Many people find that it can take time—as well as trial and error—to make veganism stick, so you don’t need to give up just because you slip up.
Accentuate the Positives
Not only are our brains evolutionarily hardwired to protect the food sources we know and enjoy, but we are culturally conditioned to love and crave certain foods too. So, when we focus on all the things we won’t have, can’t have, and will never have again, the level of self-sacrifice required seems too enormous to bear. And it would be if it were true that you were giving up all the things you love. But the reality is we do not have to give up very much at all when we become vegan. We can still have pizza with cheese, a burger with fries, or a piece of cheesecake or some ice cream. We just have to make or buy plant-based versions of them, and there really are vegan versions of almost everything. Yes, this will take some effort, but it is worth it, and it is nowhere near as difficult as the emotional and psychological struggle of thinking you are losing something forever. Because you’re not!
It’s Not Food
Try to see things as they truly are, not as the marketing portrays them. When you see a piece of meat, remember it is a part of an animal who was raised inhumanely, suffered loss, fear, and pain, and did not want to die. It is not food; it is a dead animal. When you see eggs, think about the birds in cages whose lives are so important to them but who are considered worthless by the profit-hungry industry. The eggs they laid were intended to house and nurture a chick. They are not food! And when you see cheese, yogurt, or cream, what you are seeing is the fluid taken from the mammary gland of a cow which was intended for the calf she gave birth to. These products are not food for humans.
It Gets Easier
Research shows that the longer we are vegan, the longer we will stay vegan. And that is because as new habits become ingrained, the lure of the old falls away. It is an extraordinary thing to wake up one day and realize that the cheese we have been missing actually smells like rancid milk and is not something you would eat if you were paid to do so. In the first year of veganism, however, there will be cravings, but finding ways to beat them today will reduce their power tomorrow.
Beat the Cravings
Those cravings can be dealt with if we know what they are and can pre-empt them! If we know milk chocolate is our weakness, for example, we can make sure there is a source of vegan milk chocolate readily available. Another danger point is when we are hungry. If we get to the point where we start to feel a bit wobbly before we think about what to eat, we are likely to reach for anything at all simply to stop the pangs. Again, this scenario can be pre-empted by ensuring we have snacks in our homes, bags, and glove compartments so that we never just reach for something non-vegan out of necessity.
Expand Your Horizons
So many new vegans are astounded at how their culinary repertoire expands when they had assumed it would shrink. This is because when we become vegan, we start to focus on all the new foods available to us. We find that, as well as exchanging like-for-like—oat milk for dairy; vegan sausages for meat sausages and so on—there is an absolute wealth of products, recipes, and cuisines we have not tried before. Seek out some of these and enjoy the adventure, creativity, and outright deliciousness of eating plant-based.
Experiment with Food
Not every plant milk you try will delight you. Not every vegan cheese will send you into raptures. But there are many different kinds of vegan meats, milk, cheeses, creams, yoghurts, ice creams and more available, and you will love some more than others. Keep trying them until you find the ones that make your taste buds sing.
Meet the Animals
There are lots of reasons to adopt a vegan diet, but people generally find their commitment to veganism is much more solid when they embrace its ethical component. So, whatever your primary reason, we recommend you spend a little time getting to know some farmed animals. This may be by following some sanctuary accounts online or by visiting in person. When you meet the animals, look them in the eyes, and see the joy they have when able to simply live their lives, you are likely to find all the commitment you need.
Find a Vegan Community
Being the only vegan in your friendship group can be a challenging role. It may require us to keep restating and defending our beliefs when really we would just like to enjoy a night out with friends. To combat this, we recommend finding a vegan tribe, whether that is online or in person. Joining a vegan community helps normalize our choices, reinforces our veganism, and allows us to be fully ourselves without having to justify or explain. Veganism does not mean giving up your old friends, but growing your circle of friends to include some who are vegan can be a source of great joy.
Be Honest With Yourself
A little soul-searching can go a long way, so in a quiet moment, ask yourself: why did I stop being vegan? Try to be as honest with yourself as you can. It may be as simple as craving a particular food, missing out on a special family meal, lack of provision in your area, or perhaps you struggled to cook in a different way. There are lots of challenges and knowing which ones tripped you up allows you to find solutions so they do not trip you up again.
Stay Healthy
Rest assured you can get everything you need without eating animals or their biological by-products but it is not enough just to remove meat, eggs, and dairy from your plate and eat only vegetables. Our advice is to read up on nutrition, eat a wide variety of plant-based foods, and supplement daily with B12 and iodine. We would also caution against purity of thought and deed! It is still fine to treat yourself to a few vegan goodies. Enjoying your food is a powerful incentive to stay vegan.
Veganism is the place where social justice, environmental protection, animal rights, good health, and compassion come together. For all those reasons, we hope you find your way back to veganism.
