Chloe

I became vegan in June this year. I’d been thinking about it for about six months before that and had significantly cut down the amount of meat and dairy I was having (ie. everything in my house was vegan and everything I cooked was vegan, so I was only eating meat and dairy if I was out somewhere). I'd watched Lucent and had conversations with my friend who was vegan, so it’d been in my mind for a while.

 

Then I went to Vietnam and met a few people who were vegan - and remained vegan while they were there travelling despite the difficulty of getting vegan meals given the language barrier and most food over there has meat included. So I thought, 'well if they can be vegan over here when it’s so difficult, then I can totally be vegan when I get home!' So that’s what I did.

When I first went vegan it was quite overwhelming to think that other people were continuously causing so much damage to the environment and harm to animals on a daily basis by eating meat and animal products. But after a while I realised that some people just aren’t ready to hear that info yet and at the end if the day everyone is different and has the right to make their own decisions.

I only just started getting involved in vegan activism in August this year (2018). It was a march through the CBD organised by Sydney Fish Save and others. I got involved because my friends were speaking at the event and a few other friends were keen to go too.

The same friend who showed me Lucent was involved in the Cube of Truth and he told me about it - particularly about the one in Wollongong and how good it was.
 

There are a variety of responses to demonstrations. Some people just stop and listen or watch and some people start filming. But some people start yelling things like ‘plants have feelings too!’ or make comments about how delicious steak is, so there really is a large variety of responses. At places like the Cube, I felt feel there are more responses that are interested and open, but it is still not without its shit-stirrers.

 

But it makes me feel good to be spreading awareness - at the march it was really rewarding to see some people stop and listen to what we were chanting or read the signs we had. Just seeing those signs of interest from people was really validating and gave me hope that we were making some kind of difference.

I feel Veganism in the Illawarra is definitely spreading - more and more restaurants are adding vegan options or going entirely vegan and I think people are gradually becoming more open to the conversation. But there are certain groups that I think are very stuck in their ways and are very vocal about their opposition to it, so it can seem more hopeless and taboo than I think it is in reality.

Being vegan is way easier than I anticipated - and I’ve been able to explore so many different types of foods and flavours since going vegan. It’s definitely worth it, for anyone considering it.