To bee or not to bee: my vegan manifesto

It's the Fourth of July and yesterday, as we were hanging the bunting and flag, my husband said that the Fourth of July was not a military holiday.  I argued that it was a military holiday as we declared our independence from England, and then fought them for it.  

But, I was wrong.  At the writing of the Declaration of Independence, we were already embroiled in the Revolutionary War and had been for about a year.  The battles of Lexington and Concord happened on April 19th of the previous year.  Jefferson, tasked by the Continental Congress to draft up the statement, holed up in a room, away from his family and home, was really writing about why we were already at war.  I wonder if that in someway helped him to articulate the national sentiment...this wasn't writing about something we were going to do, it was about what we were doing  and why.  

That national sentiment included the idea that, We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

Did I mention I teach English and History? 


Today I'm thinking about the concept of Liberty.  According to Merriam Webster, liberty is: the quality or state of being free...the power to do as one pleases...the power of choice.  For me, being vegan came out of, and is empowering, because it is an expression of liberty.  And because of this fundamental belief and orientation toward practicing veganism, I don't expect or suggest that others should become vegan...even those who are in my immediate family.  

Take, for example, my daughter who will tell you at lunch that she is vegan and then eat a hamburger (see above photo).  My husband will eat vegan food with a steak on the side.  One day, maybe either or both will choose to join me, but it's okay if they don't.  If they do, if anyone takes up the practice of being vegan, I hope it comes out of this liberty, this freedom that I experience. 

For me, it's about the power of the choices I can make.  Also, it's about the liberty inherent in a modern lifestyle that affords me the health benefits of nutritional science, including supplements, so that I can be vegan and still be very healthy.  

Interestingly, within the choice to be vegan I find there is a whole host of freedoms.  I have freed myself from the feeling of carrying in my digestive system, animal products.  Animals and insects, unlike plants, are sentient beings and their by products, milk, eggs, honey, are imbued with something different than the wheat stalk or strawberry.  I didn't realize this until I stopped eating milk, eggs and yes, even honey.  I felt powerfully different.  Also, as I began to explore the world of vegan food, I found so many new ideas and options.  So many, in fact, that I started this blog a few days ago to keep a record of this discovery process.

For me, being vegan is a real and profound way to experience liberty.  I wonder why you make this choice or other food choices.  Please leave me a comment and tell me why you make the food choices you do....