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We are heading towards a vegan world

02 Nov 2022

Profile of a vegan: Cat White's mind was opened after reading a book. Here is her vegan story.

Early in the relationship with my husband, I met two of his friends who were a couple. One was vegan and one was not, and I remember saying to my husband that I'm so glad neither of us is vegan because it would make being in a relationship really difficult.

Well, only 5 years on and my husband still eats meat but I'm now vegan, and we're making it work.

The switch for me came when I read Melanie Joy's book about the ideology of carnism, "Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs and Wear Cows" and it opened my mind to the hidden system I'd grown up within.

Of course, after reading her book I told myself it didn't happen in Australia - #onlyinAmerica 🙂 But a part of me also knew better, so I reached out to vegan friend at work who is a strong animal activist, and asked her about what happens in Australia. She pointed me to the documentary "Dominion" which was her vegan turning point. Trigger warning... if you haven't seen it yet, mentally prepare yourself, have tissues at hand, and be ready to pause it lots of times for a breather. It's intense, it's raw, and it's filmed with Australian footage.

So, ok, it does happen in Australia.

I have a lot to say about my transition, and the various resources that helped me, and the truth is that it's still a journey. I'm not a "perfect" vegan, but I believe that by sharing what I'm learning about, and posting inspiring photos of healthy and colourful plant-based foods that I whip up, I can hopefully inspire others to question their animal consumption too.

It's not going to happen overnight, but we are heading towards a vegan world, and I believe it starts with each individual doing their bit to reduce their demand on the animal industry so that less animals are bred into existence every year.

As for my husband and I, he's totally supportive of my veganism, and I'm compassionate for his choices. I can't force him to change, but I am noticing that his meat consumption has reduced, and he happily eats my plant based curries and delicious Buddha bowls!

Everyone is on their own journey, and while we all have different reasons, motivations and transition stories, the best thing we can do for this movement is simply, as Ghandi said, "Be the change you wish to see."

Vegan Australia is an animal rights organisation that campaigns nationally for veganism. 
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