The Little Spider That Could

                                 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ulteriorepicure/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

My biggest hurdles to becoming a vegan: chocolate and ice cream

I've been mulling going vegan after watching videos on the horrific treatment of dairy cows and chickens in egg farms. To say the videos were disturbing is a gross understatement, they were a real eye opener as all this time, I had thought that my commitment to not eating meat or seafood was actually benefitting animals and the environment. That was before I saw how these innocent creatures were kept in torturous conditions before being killed for their meat.

It seems logical that to be consistent with my beliefs, I should give up all animal products, including dairy, eggs and honey. After all, I've already stopped wearing leather, wool and other animal-derived clothes. I also use cosmetics and personal care products that have not been tested on animals.

Reality however, is a huge butt-biter. To "test" myself, I walked around the frozen foods section at the supermarket today to see what I would be missing and the vegan alternatives available in the market. This is what I found: 

1. Milk (the most affordable vegan alternative is soymilk. I found one type of oat milk product and another rice milk one in the organic section, but they weren't adequately fortified).
2. Cheese (no soy cheese or fresh nutritional yeast in sight)
3. Ice Cream (no dairy-free alternative, even the popsicles had traces of milk solids in them upon inspection)
4. Chocolate (the dark chocolate had traces of milk solids, no vegan option)
5. Pastries (all the pastries were milk if not egg based)
6. Four cheese pizzas (no vegan alternatives available)
7. Eggs (the supermarket does not stock egg replacers).

I wrote it all down and when I got home, I reviewed the list.It occurred to me that the only animal product I consume on a daily basis is milk. I eat eggs and cheese only on alternate days. And I usually make my own pizzas and am learning to bake, so I'll still be able to eat cakes and chocolate chip cookies.

And then I came across this oddly inspiring article from Canadian news site Toronto Star about a pure vegetarian spider from Argentina named after Bagheera, the panther from the Jungle Book. (Note: The majority of spiders are carnivorous, but then you probably know that already). The Bagheera kiplingi spider apparently eats acacia buds. Makes me feel a little peeved (and humbled) that I, a human being blessed with higher cognitive powers, can find it difficult to reign in my lust for milk and eggs when a tiny little spider is redefining its own species. Something to keep me motivated as I transition to a pre-vegan diet....:)