I recently wrote about some changes which have taken place in my life and one, a major one, was becoming a vegan.

My journey to veganism began when during July 2021, I saw a trailer load of newly born calves. Barely a week old, they were in a trailer being towed behind a 4×4 on the highway. At the time, it was winter in South Australia and this particular winter was bleak! Below zero temperatures, bitterly cold winds and driving rains.

These seven tiny souls should have been with their mothers but instead, they sat huddled together on the cold metal floor of the trailer. They were soaking wet, bewildered, terrified and no doubt freezing cold. This miserable sight absolutely broke my heart because if their journey wasn’t brutal enough, what awaited them was even worse……..although at the time, I did not know their fate.

My decision to become a vegan was simply about my ethical reasoning that I no longer wanted to contribute to the needless slaughter, exploitation or torture of any animal. All animals feel love, happiness, joy, fear, pain and terror and they are not on this earth for humans to eat, abuse, torture or experiment on.

The change to veganism was not easy as overnight I went completely meat, seafood, poultry, honey and dairy free but my decision to change was entirely about the lives of all animals. Sure, I have slipped up on a couple of occasions by assuming something didn’t have dairy or fish sauce in it but education is the key and I am so willing to learn all I can.

I do not ascribe to vegetarianism! Vegans and vegetarians are polar opposites. Vegetarians consume dairy (which includes eggs) and the dairy industry is one of the cruelest of all with the chicken and egg industry not far behind. And if you think you can’t live without milk, cheese or yogurt (and eggs) then please watch Milked and more importantly the documentaries COW and COWSPIRICY.

All in all I have found my vegan journey heartwarming and the vegan community to be kind and generous. They have sites offering wonderfully flavoursome plant based recipes, tips, information and they publish inspiration, love and hope for the ethical treatment of all animals. I actually don’t miss any kind of animal product and although eating out can sometimes be a disappointment, if that is the worst I can experience then bring it. On the upside I feel great, my skin looks amazing, I can still enjoy my dirty chai’s and dark chocolate and I am shitting like an absolute champion 🙂

I became a vegan because I love all animals, because I care deeply about our environment and because kindness and love matters above all else. My happiness comes from living my life in line with my beliefs and in turn, my heart is grateful and full…… x

What happened to the baby calves in the trailer……..

The flesh of those seven little souls became veal! As soon as calves are born they are taken from their mothers. From a couple of hours old to the age of five days old, male calves are sent to a saleyard then on to an abattoir where they are inhumanely slaughtered to become veal.

Slink veal is where stillborn or unborn calves are collected from cows that are pregnant when slaughtered. That is correct, once the use by date of a dairy cow is up, they are also sent to slaughterhouses. A cow should live for 20 years plus but the lifespan of a dairy cow is around 5 years and in her time she has been continually impregnated with each of her calves being taken from her.

At dairy farms, when a calf is born it is immediately separated from its mother. Can you imagine the utter grief, trauma and heartbreak every mother cow and baby calf experiences. Cruelty truly does exist at every single dairy farm.