The Why Behind My Vegan Journey
By Dennise Cortés
Throughout my life, I have encountered so many decisions to take; some were easy, and some were not. There is not a simple way to know how the future will present itself; nevertheless, my decisions have always felt right when I had strong reasoning behind them, and I could use the ‘why’ of my choices as fuel to keep me motivated and committed. This was particularly important when I chose to live a vegan lifestyle. I’ll walk you through my why’s, and maybe this can help you find yours.
When I started my training as a yoga teacher, I was introduced to the eight limbs of yoga, including the Yamas and Niyamas, the code of ethical rules to follow to live with more awareness towards my surroundings, towards others, and towards myself. Ahimsa, known as the non-harming, non-violence, or non-injuring principle, helped me question what I was putting on my plate and how those dietary choices were harming other living creatures without me even acknowledging the fact. It was shocking and made me change my lifestyle. I went through a vegetarian phase, still eating eggs and cheese only from “humanely and kindly raised” animals. Later on, I realized that I couldn’t be 100% sure about those statements and that I didn’t need them in my diet, and I was still contributing to keeping animals away from their real environment just to indulge my palate.
The next layer was the environmental impact from meat production, such as the number of resources that are needed to produce a single pound of meat, all the energy needed to process, store and deliver that pound of meat to our plates, and the pollution generated from stage one to final product. A little over 70% of all soy that is grown in the US is used to feed stock animals – all of the water and energy used to grow massive amounts of soy is not even close to feeding humans once it’s harvested.
Nutrition is considered to be a “new and changing” science; therefore, not everything is set in stone, and new ideas and new paradigms are always available. Considering this, the idea of humans needing meat to survive doesn’t seem accurate, sustainable, and, in my personal opinion and experience, doesn’t feel true. There is a lot of research done about the benefits of a healthy and well-balanced vegan diet, information that comes from reputable doctors and experts. We all should take responsibility for our health and make informed decisions about what we are putting in our bodies. In the end, we only have one body, and it is our only true home, our sanctuary; let’s care for it!
They’re many more reasons out there to follow a healthy diet, so make sure that you find yours. Question it and read, ask and talk to others about it, because together we can enrich each other’s points of view, learn and grow to a more conscious, mindful, and aware society.
Hi, my name is Dennise Cortés. I am a yoga teacher, also certified in prenatal yoga, vegan, animal lover, and a human trying to find its path on earth and to connect with others.
To learn more or connect with me please send me an email dennidecf@live.com.mx
and follow me on Instagram @dennisecf
