Today is day one of my transition to reasonable veganism. Let me tell you how I got here....
I first toyed with the idea of vegetarianism in the late 90s when I was in highschool. May have lasted a day or 2, can't remember. I tried it again in 2001 when I was at university but was living on campus; all I got from the college cafeteria was cheese, cheese and more cheese. I went buddhist in my final year of uni to overcome a drinking problem I had; I went the whole hog and went veggo too. Until, that is, I would binge on junkfood that contained, yes, meat. This ceased at xmas 2005 when I dropped buddhism after 18 months of observance. I attempted it again this time last year when I had a solid 10 day go at it out of reasons for health and environmental issue concerns.
However, this week on facebook a friend who is a die-hard vegan posted pics of the aftermath of animal testing. The pic that really got me were the shipping pallets that had rows of deceased kittes who had been force fed bathroom cleaner (am a cat lover btw...). The penny dropped. I read up about animal testing, vegan living, vegetarian cuisine, and after trialling it for a day yesterday made a firm decision to lead a life that would have minimised impact on my animal friends.
There are 2 more hurdles; have 2 xmas parties over next week and a half; may not have veggo options available. But after that should be clear sailing.
There are a few more hurdles, though, that are ongoing. I take regular prescribed medication to treat a mild medical condition I have; this is probably tested on animals, and will need to stay on this for the forseeable future. In addition I live in a regional centre where quality leather substitues for footwear, belts and wallets are hard to come by, so may have to stick with leather shoes etc. for now.
Well done. Might be a bit hard at first but you will soon get the hang of it!
Surely the drug wouldn't be still getting tested on animals? Sure they probably did a lot of animal testing before, but they likely don't still test the drug on animals, and if you need it there is no way getting around it. If you arean online shopper, you should be able to get all the leather alternatives online as well.
Don't beat yourself up about the small things like medication. If you need to take medication that possibly was tested on animals or may have some animal derived ingredients, then so be it. Unfortunately we can't be 100% cruelty free but we can only try our best.
hey man. good luck. liked your story, you are definitely a deep thinker! like the others say, don't beat yourself up too much about the medication etc, or if you have a few 'slip ups'. the main thing is that you are having a crack. the best result i always hope for when trying to influence friends and associates regarding living more compassionately is that at least they think about what they are doing. hopefully, from there, they will go on to at least partially move toward a more 'cruelty free' lifestyle. meatless mondays is one of the best ways to get everyone thinking!
For me, though these days I don't slip up nearly as much, it's about being aware of what is happening and trying your best. No one should put themselves down when we slip up or must have something iffy (ie. medications that we're not comfortable with the way it was tested). Many people like to deny there is even an issue that needs to be discussed when it comes to animal rights so good on you for making the transition in your life!
