I was standing in front of my pantry today thinking about when I become a vegan and how I had to start looking at labels. I realized so many things had animal products in them - unnecessarily I might add.
I was never particularly a label reader but I started to see how all my small changes added up and would impact the lives of many animals. I realized too many times that I kept buying things assuming they had no animal ingredients.
I saw how many unconscious choices I had been making that actually mattered to someone else’s life.
For instance, cookies I once ate had milk products. Pasta sauce had milk as the last ingredient. Candy that seemed unrelated to anything that would have animal products had gelatin in them(upon researching gelatin I would never eat that again even if I was not vegan yuck!), soups had chicken bouillon or some seafood seasoning, etc.
Reminds me of how the sugar industry has gotten in bed with food companies and now sugar is in everything. The dairy industry seems to have done the same.
There are many options right there on the shelf, not in some special fancy store, that replaced my choices.
I chose a new pasta sauce that had no milk but tasted the same,
New bread items with no eggs,
Pasta that didn’t have eggs,
Beans without lard or animal oils
Coconut milk and tried a variety of plant based milks,
I used vegetable broth base instead of chicken
jams with pectin instead of gelatin
Many small choices added up and now its just a habit and I think how I saved an animals suffering for each decision I contribute to the whole.
Years ago I remember an ad about not using plastic straws and how people think that their choice doesn’t really matter in the big picture. The ad said “Its just one straw, said 7 billion people” … for me that’s how I look at each product that I choose consciously. Every time I choose something without an animal product, I appreciate myself and celebrate it like a small win that helps someone else.
What are the things in your pantry that you can change out for something kinder?
Resource: Forks over Knives Cooking Course - "Become a Plant-Based Home Chef in 90 Days" starting October 15th. Part of this course will spend time on "Resetting your Refrigerator & Pantry"..... forksoverknives.com
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