I’ve wanted to write about this for a while, but haven’t had the time to just sit down and write. After reading through a Facebook post in a vegan forum yesterday, and the multitude of comments, I thought perhaps it was time to just sit down and type.
I’m gonna just come right out and say it: I think one of the main reasons people struggle so much with transitioning to a plant-based diet is rooted in this psychological game of tradition.
“I’ve always done it this way.”
I have been in IT (information technology) since I was 21 years old. There is absolute detriment in the idea of keeping a system simply because “its what I’m used to using” …. not changing a business procedure because “we’ve always done it that way” can bring a company to its knees. The idea of NOT changing is foreign because, as we all know, technology released today is out-of-date tomorrow.
So why would we choose to hold onto a way of eating that is outdated? A way of eating that has not only been proven to be unhealthy, but proven to be deadly?
I have seen news clips of people standing in line at midnight to get the newly released game console or newest iPhone (or Samsung for you Android folks). The people are clearly asking for change – they NEED the change. The old product is no longer good enough.
But oh man, they sure hold onto the old tradition when it comes to eating animal-based products.
I cannot imagine asking an avid PS4 gamer to just stick with an Atari button console because “we’ve always done it that way.”
So why is there so much kick-back when someone notices I do not eat meat .. that somehow I’m weird for taking my health to the next level and choosing a change that goes against tradition?
What we know about an animal-based lifestyle is staggering. It contributes heavily to 1) the mass destruction of rain forests, 2) elevated morbidity rates for heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and cancer, 3) the obesity epidemic, 4) environmental issues in areas with mass industry farms and waste (North Carolina is a prime example), and 5) elevated health care costs.
Ya know, just to name a few.
If I was told I was going to support a software that caused customer complaints, crashed all the time, lost data on a regular basis, presented bad data when it was actually working, and was built on outdated code …. I would ask “and when do we find something else that works better?”
My body was crashing. My body didn’t want to work and when it did, it was not working well. My brain was foggy and I didn’t even know it. And the sad part is, even when I thought I was healthy years ago, I wasn’t. My body was suffering because I chose to eat animal products. And now – its not.
It’s time every person asked the same questions about their health and longevity that they ask themselves when buying a new car or a new phone. It’s time we, as a whole, choose to do something better … not continue to eat a certain way just because “we’ve always done it that way.”
The research is there. The time is now.
Delete food traditions associated to the meat, dairy, and egg industry. Upgrade your life to plant-based eating.
Willowbrook Farms Animal Sanctuary 