I knew going vegan would be much harder than going vegetarian, but it was even tougher than I imagined. At first, it seemed cool to eat only plant-based foods, but the novelty wore off quickly. Sure enough, I found myself staring longingly at milk and cheese in my fridge as soon as day two hit.

Taking meat out of my diet was much easier than removing dairy products. I had to pore over the ingredient lists of everything I ate, searching for anything that mentioned milk or eggs before setting it back onto the shelf. While it was eye-opening to see exactly what went into everything I ate, it was discouraging to see just how much food of which I was restricted. Many soups, pastas and other food staples included some sort of dairy product, which gave me a much smaller selection.

While there are tofu burgers, soy milk and other vegan substitutions that exist, these substitutions were quite expensive and difficult to find. Therefore, I had to get creative with my meals. I learned how to cook quinoa, which is a grain high in protein and I became a “pro” at scouring the cupboard for food to throw into a new vegan recipe.

Because of my restrictions, I did end up eating a lot of fresh, natural foods. I ate fruit often and added lots of vegetables to my wraps and sandwiches. Since my diet was solely plant-based foods, however, I found that a lot of the meals I made were not very filling. Even piling tofu, beans and quinoa onto all of my meals did not fill me up the way meat and cheese did. Due to this, I had to make sure I packed vegan-friendly foods with me throughout the day.

Because I was so focused on trying eat vegan meals, I was not thinking about the impact of eating vegan. While I found vegetarianism to be a nice way to remember my impact on animals, going vegan only made me irritated with the impact it had on myself. I found it to be less inspiring and instead, more inconvenient.

Eventually, I had to realize the real problem of the situation — how meat gets to our dinner tables. We should not have to resort to eating only non-animal products because of how animals are abused in the food industry. Loose government regulations “protecting” farm animals force us to change our entire lifestyles to feel ethical, which is unacceptable, in my opinion. If animals were treated well in the food industry, people would not have to be vegan.

Overall, it was a very challenging lifestyle that I will not be continuing. On the bright side, it did make me realize just how many options are available to incorporate non-animal products into our lives. I give a deep bow to everyone who lives a vegan lifestyle. Even if going vegan is too difficult and expensive for daily life, I encourage everyone to try eating more fresh produce and more non-animal products, not only to help their health, but to play less of a role in the non-ethical food industry of today.

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