Trust me when I say that it is always the right time to go vegan. There is never a perfect moment, but it is always a good time to choose compassion over torture, equality over inequality, and love over ignored guilt.

I chose to become a vegan for many reasons: the animals, our beautiful planet, and my own health (but my health just kinda comes along with it). I cared about the animals' welfare way before I cared about my own health, though. It may seem odd for me to say that, but I can't help but feel deep sorrow and sadness for the way farmed animals feel. I am one of those people who feels everyone's pain, no matter if it's a human being going through hard times or an abandoned puppy on the side of the highway or a calf and its mother grazing in a field (and I know their real, not-too-happy ending). It is all equally felt in my heart. I do not see animals as an inferior being compared to the human race. That would be egotistical, narcissistic, narrow-minded, and closed-hearted of me to think I am better than any other living thing on our planet. I am no more important than the person beside me or the turkey baking in the oven at my grandma's house.

The thing we all need to realize and think about from time to time is how our food choices are affecting others and what the actual reality of our choices say about ourselves. When we choose to buy a package of hamburger at the grocery store, we are literally paying another person the charge of having to kill another innocent being. Never forget about the life on the other side of your fork. Just because slaughterhouse work is all behind closed doors does not mean that it is not happening every second of every day. We tend to forget or ignore the reality of our "food." We need to fully understand the truth behind it. If you don't want to admit who your "food" really is, then choose plant-based.

I would also like for others to think about the experience of the farmed animal in a personal way. Put yourself in their position. If you wouldn't want to die in the same way they are forced to die, then why support that industry with your hard-earned money? Your dollar is your vote. That is the choice that we all have to make.

All I can really tell someone that I meet who wants to try veganism is that I am glad that I finally found a lifestyle that matches my inner beliefs and values. I no longer eat a "someone" but a "something."
(pig vs. an apple; chicken vs. chickpeas)

To see my journey in real time, visit my Instagram page @ounceofjess

Thanks for reading,

Jess