I was born and raised in Argentina, a country where beef is worshiped just as chicken is in T&T. You are bound to eat any kind of meat every single day for lunch and dinner. “Asado” which is the Argentine version of BBQ, is a Sunday meal shared with family and friends. I grew up eating meat and dairy every single day.
As far as I can remember, I had a milk allergy. My grandmother, who of course thought she was doing the right thing, would make us drink a big glass of chocolate milk every day. I would rush to the bathroom afterwards because my body just couldn’t digest drinking it. However, I was able to tolerate it if it was mixed with food.
MY FIRST ENCOUNTER WITH ANIMAL CRUELTY
At the age of 14, I had my first encounter with animal cruelty. My biology teacher at school, showed a very graphic video about chickens. The video showed how they are treated and killed for consumption. I couldn’t watch the whole clip. I left the classroom in a hurry and angry at the teacher for showing that to the class. She was not vegan.
Of course, went home and declared boldly to my family that I will stop eating meat. Their reaction? Laughter and more laughter. You out of all people would stop eating meat? But you love it! And they were certainly right, I loved the taste of meat. My desire to stop eating it lasted for about 8 hours. And then I returned to eating meat and dairy.
Things started changing when I moved to Trinidad many years ago (I am a Trini too!) I started experimenting with vegetarianism for about a year. After that I was on and off a vegetarian diet for many years.
THE FIRST SIGNS
One of the first things I started noticing when I was off meat (But not dairy yet) is that my energy levels increased dramatically. I was able to work more efficiently. I liked that and thought this was something I needed to research further.
Then I decided to start educating myself about veganism for a couple of years. I started reading blogs, watching clips and forced myself to watch documentaries such as “Earthlings” and “Forks Over Knives”.
It is my wish and purpose that I can help and inspire others to make the “switch” to veganism. So they can be able to enjoy healthy and wonderful meals without having to hurt anyone.
