I'm a self confessed carnivore and a chocoholic. I also have a ridiculously high metabolism, which means I eat pretty much whatever I want without any repercussions, so I would be the last person you'd expect to announce that they are going vegan...
Most vegans (Not all, but a high percentage) I have met are simply intolerable. They have an air of arrogance about them that you can literally feel through their energy. They also are quick to announce that they are better than you because they are vegan, and then list ridiculously obscure facts that are impossible to prove in everyday conversation. And when you are understandably so confused to the point where you have no idea how to react, they smugly look at you as if to say, "See, I'm right, you have nothing to say to that, do you?" Surely I don't want to become one of those people...?
I've always said that veganism makes a lot of sense if you present it the right way. For example, in what world would you see someone drink another animals' milk? Of course it makes no sense, but the way that most vegans come across puts most regular people off even listening to what they have to say, so even if they had valid points no one would listen to them...
However there is one thing that everyone can agree on; the suffering of animals is unnecessary and unfair. Yes, we are omnivores, and meat is a natural source of protein so I do think eating animals is perfectly OK in a world where we need to survive by eating. (Just because humans' brains have evolved so much that we don't really need to fight or hunt to survive anymore, we still have to survive by consuming food...) But capitalism has created mass slaughtering of animals in inhumane conditions, and in some cases genetic mutation (e.g. Chicken breasts for chicken nuggets), solely for profit. Which is very easy to ignore it because:
(a) We don't directly see anything happening, so it doesn't affect our daily lives. and
(b) There's not exactly much we can do about it anyway
So what is the answer? We all want animals to stop being tortured, but we all need to eat. Veganism makes sense in some ways but ultimately we are omnivores as previously mentioned. We can consume animals and gain natural nutrients. I can't eat wood from a tree and get nutrients, so where is the middle ground?
So I came up with an idea: Go vegan, but not forever. Of course I'm not saving the world, but let's call my own bluff and see what the fuss is about. Let's see how it affects my body (good and bad). And above all; let's see if this chocoholic can physically do it...
If it goes well then I plan to do this every year for a month. I can't go vegan cold turkey (pardon the pun), but this tiny little sacrifice isn't that much on the grand scale of things. The dream is that this catches on, and more and more people start going vegan for a month. Then the knock on effect can lead to less animals being slaughtered. In theory if everyone went vegan for a month every year (as long as the months are scattered) then that would lead to 1/12 less animals being killed for profit.
I'm very aware of how hard this is going to be, not to mention how expensive (Even in Thailand, as a lot of these vegan places are aimed at middle class hipsters) and there'll be a few horrific meals being consumed by yours truly. But I'll be documenting it here on Steemit for you all to point and laugh at me, cry with me and hopefully cheer me on.
I need to make sure that I have a one year visa for Thailand before I begin this, but if everything is fine on the visa front then I will be going vegan for the whole of October. Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below.