Why Every Vegan Is A Hero!

If you are vegan, please give yourselves a hand ladies and gentlemen. Celebrate! Why? Because you are true heroes! Seriously. I’m not kidding.

What´s a hero?

Let’s have a look at the definition: A hero is a person admired for their courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities. Ok. Let´s see:

• Courage. As a vegan you still are a leper in a way. In a good way. Choosing to swim against the current requires a lot of courage, so yes. Courage: Check.

• Outstanding Achievements. You made a huge shift in your habits. That’s quite an achievement in itself! You also educated yourself enough to know why a vegan lifestyle is our best choice. That’s like a whole college degree, because this information has not been given to you freely. Companies, media and even governments are making an effort and spending a lot of money to hide the truth from us. However, vegans are making a huge difference in the world every single day.

• Noble Qualities. Saving lives every day – that’s noble. In a world where most people don’t give a second thought about what they are putting into their mouths, that’s already something to be proud of. Very proud, in fact.

But why it is so darn difficult to be a hero?

As soon as you openly say you’re a vegan, people start pointing fingers at you. “Look, she’s still driving a car with leather seats/ wearing leather boots.” The vegan police are all over the place. That makes it harder sometimes, but you know your reasons “why”, so you stick to it. Just like a true hero.

We are heroes because with every meal, we make this world a better place. And if you were just shaking your head, telling yourself: “I’m not that significant,” I would like to bring to your mind a very small insect: the mosquito.

Have you ever tried to sleep with a mosquito in your room?

This tiny creature can keep you awake all night. Does it affect your world? Every vegan is a little mosquito and every now and then somebody who is still eating dead animal corpses, wearing animal skin, or drinking animal growth-juice will hear the words they need to hear – from you!

Not everybody is ready to listen – keep watering!

A lot of my friends watch me and don’t say anything. Sometimes one of them gets angry and I know it’s because I’ve struck a chord. The seed is planted and that makes me happy – secretly happy. Just like a little snowball holds the potential to start an avalanche, more and more information will stick to them and they will eventually become ever more aware of what they are doing to themselves, to others, and to our planet. Probably not today, or tomorrow, but someday they will.

Life as a vegan – unless you are lucky enough to be surrounded by like-minded people only – can be difficult. Often, meals with non-vegans come with a side-dish of sentences like: “But it tastes so good.”

Now, that’s where it can get a little tricky:

I have to take a deep breath when this one comes up, because most people have never tried really amazing vegan food. They tried tofu, didn’t like it, and so they think they know that vegan food is horrible. Well: IT ISN’T! It tastes the same, guys, plus it’s sustainable & cruelty-free. In these moments I always have to remind myself: Heroes don’t give up on those who are still blind. Yelling, screaming and pushing have never led to change.

BUT!

The thing is this: right now – the world needs us more than ever before. A vegan life style is (according to the UN) the only way to save this planet. Everyone of us and those on the path of turning vegan are a big part of the solution to this problem.   

Screenshot Google.com/trends worldwide

Is it easy?

No – you still see so many people that are not aware of what they are doing to the animals, to themselves and to our environment. They will say: “What I eat is none of your business.” But really, isn’t it?

They are destroying our living space, creating multi-resistant germs and murdering other beings in front of our eyes. However, one thing is true and always will be:

YOU can’t change THEM, but we all have to take massive action.

I just finished watching the film “Cowspiracy” by Kip Andersen and Keegan Kuhn and I’ve come to realize: Being vegan isn’t about personal beliefs anymore. It’s about saving – excuse my French: our asses. I mean – the world we are living in.

So what can I do?

If people ask me these days why I am vegan or want to start another argument with me, I challenge them to watch Cowspiracy. It’s as simple as that. I’ll promise them not to say another word, if they agree to watch it.

Vegans of the world unite!

Now back to my plea and why I think we, as vegans, need to be more active. If you haven’t watched that documentary yet, please do so and then share it! As often as you can!

It’s a documentary about a man who thought he was doing everything he could to save the planet. He took short showers, recycled and went everywhere by bike. Until one day he found out that he’s wasting horrendous amounts of water with what he eats.

Just ONE BURGER is the equivalent in water consumption of two months of showering.

So if you meet somebody who says he or she is an environmentalist – ask them if they’ve watched the film yet. Make your friends, your children, your parents watch it … it’s not one of the hardcore, shockingly bloody films that meat eater don’t want to see (like Earthlings). Cowspirac’´s an eye-opener!

Why us?!

If not the people who understand and manage to take this important step – who else is going to? The carnivores?! Hell no. The environmental organizations? Apparently not (<- watch movie!). They all seem to fear the consequences of going against the grain (which in this case means the milk and meat industry) and of losing too many supporters. The politicians? Definitely not – they either don’t care or don’t know better. So there is only us. We need to start spreading the word!

I know, it’s terrible to kill animals just to eat them. It’s heartbreaking. On top of that: yes, it’s been proven more than once that meat and dairy products are seriously harmful for our health. But there is something even more frightening, more worthy of sharing:

Our world – WE ARE GOING TO GO EXTINCT. Resources are going to dwindle and evaporate. We are going to have wars over food and water in the future – just because nobody talked about the facts and made sure we know a truth that is already out there.

It is our duty to share this truth. To spread it far and wide. To save this planet!

Because with the help of a vegan diet – we can!

(via Cowspiracy.com. Click HERE for full size)

About the author: Barbara is a german Mallorca-based vegan blogger/radio-journalist/ocean lover/traveler. Her blog www.mallorca-talks.com focuses on vegan life and the hidden treasures of her beautiful Spanish home.

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