In retrospect, becoming a vegetarian was relatively easy for me. Becoming a vegan was not. As soon as I attempted to eliminate eggs and dairy (especially cheese) from my diet, I started craving faux meats in abundance – in other words, heavily processed soy products. When I really thought about this, I realized that I had indeed taken a step downhill. Vegan or not, is not the healthiest diet to be the one that is simply and unprocessed?

With this thought in mind, I abandoned the idea of being a vegan. After all, would it not be healthier for me to be a “good vegetarian” than a “bad vegan” (I use these terms lightly). Instead of eating 2 “fake chicken breasts”, perhaps the better option would be to enjoy 2 free-range, hormone-free eggs, or a piece of raw, unpasteurized cheese? Would the better option (for myself) be a diet that is meat-free, but contains some unprocessed and natural animal products, along with a majority of raw fruits and vegetables?

The result has been interesting. After my initial feeling of “failure” for my egg purchase, I began to marinate on these particular feelings. Why failure? What have I actually failed at? Absolutely nothing. Personally, I find that I set a particularly high bar for myself – sometimes downright ridiculous – and then feel despondent when I don’t reach my goals. However, this is emotion is only based in reason, when the goals are based in reason. I believe that there is nothing wrong with the consumption of animal products, when done consciously, and that I am making a conscious choice to avoid heavily processed items that resemble meat, in favour of simple and healthy choices that an animal helped to produce.

I am very comfortable with this choice