Veganism makes me happy

I’m Susanna, also one of the writers of this blog (obviously) and there’s a lot of things that make me happy. Today I’m going to talk about one of them.

I used to eat a lot of animal products. My favorite foods were meatballs and steaks and chicken wings and boiled eggs but still I’ve given all of them up in order not to cause as much harm to the world as I used to.

People say they can’t go vegan or vegetarian because they love meat so much but that’s just a matter of committing. Sooner or later your tastebuds will change and the idea of meat or milk or eggs will seem not that interesting. People also think that the only things you can eat when you’re vegan are tofu and raw vegetables or that you’re going to eat less foods. But that’s not true.

When I used to eat animal products I ate the same things every week. Maybe it was partly because I was younger and scared of everything that was a little different from my normal. But I’ve seen people of all ages act this way. Every week I’d probably have chicken and rice, pasta bolognese, macaroni casserole and steak. When I made a sandwich it would usually have pretty much the same things in it. I said I hated beans and lentils and sweet potatoes before I even tasted them. I would always order the same foods in the same restaurants. I remember going to a vegan buffet with my mom and everything looked and smelled so different and scary that I turned out only eating some raw pineapple because I knew what it tasted like. Of course this eating habit of mine turned out to be a problem when there wasn’t foods available that were familiar to me. Also that kind of a diet wasn’t the healthiest.

So when I slowly started to eat less meat I also slowly started to eat more different foods. I had to give beans and lentils a shot and realized they were actually really tasty. I had to educate myself about what foods have iron and protein and which supplements I should take or should have already taken when I did eat meat. Now I have an instinct of what is a healthy meal and I don’t really have to think about those things anymore.

So I’m already saying all these arguments and trying to promote veganism although no one has said anything against me. But why is this passionate subject under the topic: ”Happiness”? Why exactly does veganism make me more happy?

I’ve always cared for the world and it’s beings. Who wouldn’t? As a little kid I was very educated about climate change and always wanted to help to slow it down. At some point in school we started to talk and watch documentaries about it a lot and I got very anxious because I felt so bad about myself as I was living this life full of consuming. I thought that I couldn’t do all these things I should do to make this world a better place. When my sister decided to stop eating red meat, I decided that I could do the same thing. I didn’t think i would turn out to be a vegan, but accidentally this year-long road full of ”I can do it” led me there. Now when I hear about climate change I still get anxious for a bit but I can remind myself that I’m doing a lot to stop it. This way I also stop worrying about it and start thinking about what else I could do. And sometimes when I feel like I’m worthless and can’t do anything right I remember how I’ve already once succeeded at making myself a better version of me.

I’m not saying that everything about changing into a different lifestyle was easy all along. I never really missed animal products but the people around me wanted me to miss them. I understand that they were worried about my health but I still didn’t enjoy listening to my mom’s cousin’s endless rant about how the Finnish animal agriculture is totally compassionate. Facing people like that was difficult but it taught me a lot about how to communicate and talk about things that people have big opinions about. I used to fight a lot with my family but nowadays I really don’t and that makes me really happy.

Lastly, why I’m happier as a vegan is because I can eat whatever I want and not feel any guilt. Pretty much everything is healthier without animal products so I don’t really have to think about what’s healthy and what’s not. Overall, my life just feels a lot easier this way.

Susanna Ahonen