For those of you who missed it, in last week’s article I discussed some thoughts on climate change and ended with a promise to alter my lifestyle for the week in as many ways as possible in order to reduce my personal footprint. (If interested you can find it here) So, as promised, I have spent the last week limiting my water use, my driving time, and I have encouraged my roommates to recycle everything possible. Most importantly, I have also stuck to a vegan diet.

The first day of my little experiment, I found myself craving pizza like I never had before. It wasn’t so much that I eat pizza on a daily basis, but knowing I couldn’t have it made it all the more desirable. The second day was also hard, and the pizza cravings did not stop. So, on day three I decided to give in and buy vegan cheese and make my own pizza. I have to be honest, I was incredibly nervous to try this product, and I thought for sure I’d hate it and end up throwing the bag away, but it was worth a shot to quiet the little voice in my head yelling “feed me pizza” almost hourly. The verdict: it was actually really good. I was surprised that the cheese had such a similar texture and familiar taste, and I would honestly eat it again even while not eating strictly vegan.

After being pleasantly surprised by the vegan pizza, I decided to further my research on just why it is that so many people are adopting vegan diets and lifestyles. So I went to Pinterest, (duh) and found lists of documentaries I could watch in hopes of educating myself further on veganism. I decided to check out Cowspiracy on Netflix, and honestly, my mind was blown. I won’t give too much away in hopes that you will all check it out for yourselves, but my mindset all of a sudden shifted from “only one week, only one week,” to “I’m doing something really important for my body and the environment, and this isn’t something I’m going to forget when the week is up.”

Overall, I can’t say this week has been entirely easy, but it definitely was not as difficult as I thought. I honestly thought I would end up caving, and it feels good no matter what the goal to stick to your plan and achieve what you set out for. Looking at the statistics made me feel even better about committing myself to this lifestyle for a week. In seven days time, by avoiding any animal products in my diet, research shows I saved 7,700 gallons of water, avoided 140 pounds equivalent of CO2 emissions, and saved the lives of seven animals. I honestly was so astonished by these facts that I checked nearly ten sights before I was able to believe the reality of the positive impact vegans have on the environment.

Although I cannot say that this week has prepared me to fully commit myself to a transition to veganism, I can say with confidence that it is now a goal I am striving for. This week humbled me in such a way that I began to realize how hard it is to change things that are so rooted in culture, tradition, and everyday life. I was able to put myself in the shoes of someone, let’s say a CEO of a company whose business is causing environmental damage, who relies on their own traditions, expectations, and norms in spite of the impact they are having on the environment. If I am unwilling to face the things in my life that seem impossible to change, how can I expect anyone else to? This journey started as an angry attempt to get people to give a shit about climate change, but has morphed into a personal journey on rethinking what I consider “normal” and challenging myself to live less out of habit and more out of intention.