0:00:03.520,0:00:05.420 For anyone who isn't yet Vegan, 0:00:05.938,0:00:08.468 it can seem like an unnattainable lifestyle 0:00:10.187,0:00:14.027 We've been raised to eat animals and most of us become addicted to their taste 0:00:15.137,0:00:19.487 When an action has been repeatedly normalised, it can feel impossible changing to something else 0:00:20.605,0:00:22.845 But being Vegan in itself is easy 0:00:23.550,0:00:27.120 Veganism is just about not exploiting and consuming animals 0:00:28.833,0:00:33.783 After a few weeks of experimenting with new foods and products, new habits form and it becomes effortless 0:00:34.897,0:00:39.247 We discover new tastes and recipes we hadn't tried before, find Vegan versions of our favourite meals 0:00:39.247,0:00:44.517 and most of the time we find a whole new appreciation for food and nutrition and love it more than we ever had before 0:00:45.772,0:00:48.722 The real difficulty in being Vegan doesn't involve food 0:00:49.487,0:00:53.417 The hardest part about being Vegan is coming face to face with a darker side of humanity 0:00:53.417,0:00:55.117 and trying to remain hopeful 0:00:55.543,0:01:01.643 It's trying to understand why otherwise good and caring people continue to participate in needless violence against animals 0:01:01.643,0:01:04.183 just for the sake of their pleasure or convenience 0:01:05.489,0:01:09.959 When you first discover Veganism, you have to deal with the fact that you've been lied to most of your life 0:01:10.749,0:01:14.889 You have to accept that as you were growing up, the people you thought you could trust, stole your compassion 0:01:14.889,0:01:17.259 and taught you that it was okay to harm others 0:01:19.070,0:01:24.310 They corrupted your mind without you realising and gave you justifications to stop you from thinking about it 0:01:26.136,0:01:31.186 And you have to realise that the adverts that made you smile and laugh were just tricking you into giving the money for products 0:01:31.186,0:01:33.546 that make you sick and destroy the planet 0:01:33.932,0:01:40.022 You have to deal with the fact that they used happy cartoons and loving slogans to sell tortured, slaughtered animals 0:01:41.008,0:01:42.278 And you fell for it 0:01:43.716,0:01:48.757 And when you start to realise this, you naively think that you've discovered a secret that the world needs to hear 0:01:48.757,0:01:52.087 so you do everything you can to share the new truths you've learned 0:01:52.227,0:01:54.317 You tell everyone you know about Veganism 0:01:54.432,0:01:58.252 hoping they'll understand and change like you did when you made the connection 0:01:59.427,0:02:00.427 But they don't 0:02:01.220,0:02:04.880 They give you excuses that don't make sense and refuse to listen to reason 0:02:05.236,0:02:10.226 You find your family and closest friends defending animal abuse because they're too scared to change 0:02:11.070,0:02:13.810 And you don't know how to react to their indifference 0:02:14.596,0:02:18.426 You're trying to help them and help innocent animals but they accuse you of attacking them 0:02:18.426,0:02:21.316 and become defensive everytime you talk about Veganism 0:02:22.269,0:02:25.849 You have arguments and start to lose respect for those you love the most 0:02:26.482,0:02:27.982 And you become isolated 0:02:28.752,0:02:33.422 You can't stop thinking about the images of animals being queued up to be systematically slaughtered 0:02:33.787,0:02:36.947 You feel so powerless and just wish people would listen 0:02:37.373,0:02:41.373 And at the same time the people around you start to mock you and ridicule you for being different 0:02:43.045,0:02:47.045 They make insensitive jokes and you do your best to see the funny side of what they're saying 0:02:48.773,0:02:52.893 then come home and realise that they were laughing about animal abuse as if it was acceptable 0:02:56.572,0:02:58.912 It's been said that enlightenment is bittersweet 0:02:59.137,0:03:03.227 because in one hand it is wonderful to know the truth, live the truth and share the truth 0:03:04.065,0:03:07.845 But it is also maddening to realise how cruel and ignorant our species can be 0:03:09.486,0:03:12.176 But that's not a reason to shy away from doing what's right 0:03:12.532,0:03:16.532 All throughout time the ones on the right side of justice have always faced resistance 0:03:17.312,0:03:18.952 But it's always been worth it 0:03:19.363,0:03:23.363 Becuase what is the hardest part about being Vegan is also the most rewarding part 0:03:24.561,0:03:29.521 The longer you're Vegan, you find better ways of explaining to others and sooner or later someone will listen 0:03:29.744,0:03:32.744 And more people will open up and listen to what you have to say 0:03:32.974,0:03:36.974 And people you thought you'd never get through to will thank you for changing their life 0:03:37.221,0:03:42.791 The seeds you planted from the beginning will start to grow and you'll understand the importance of patience and persistance 0:03:43.746,0:03:46.626 You find other Vegans and learn to love humanity again 0:03:46.814,0:03:49.284 realising that there are good people out there 0:03:49.863,0:03:55.493 But through the process of letting go you welcome so many beautiful people into your life who share more in common with you 0:03:56.403,0:03:58.843 And as hard as it is to move on from the past, 0:03:59.358,0:04:01.308 you become happier in the long run 0:04:01.773,0:04:04.053 And it gives you a reason to get up everday 0:04:04.270,0:04:06.190 It's no longer just about you 0:04:06.381,0:04:10.131 Veganism teaches you to look beyond yourself and think about others 0:04:10.437,0:04:14.177 And through your activism you learn to never apologise for speaking up 0:04:14.447,0:04:16.327 Because if you're right and you know it, 0:04:16.559,0:04:18.119 you have to speak up 0:04:19.231,0:04:23.351 Even if you're just one person against the whole world, the truth is still the truth 0:04:24.203,0:04:27.423 Exposing the lies and injustice becomes your purpose 0:04:27.654,0:04:32.584 And you become such a shining version of yourself that you inspire others arouund you without even trying 0:04:33.005,0:04:38.585 You inspire compassion through your fearlessness and uncompromising passion to make the world less selfish 0:04:38.942,0:04:43.482 And the best lesson you'll ever learn is that life's not about feeling amazing all the time 0:04:44.982,0:04:47.302 It's about accepting the pain and fear 0:04:48.436,0:04:50.276 And doing something anyway 0:04:51.692,0:04:53.342 not because you want to 0:04:54.155,0:04:55.745 but because you have to 0:04:57.200,0:04:59.360 There's so much evil on this planet 0:04:59.743,0:05:01.433 But that shouldn't make us sad 0:05:02.286,0:05:04.476 It should make us desperate to help 0:05:05.370,0:05:09.370 ”Because this is not some mundane diet choice 0:05:09.370,0:05:12.990 This is the difference between enslavement and freedom 0:05:13.408,0:05:15.548 Between torture and peace 0:05:16.004,0:05:19.424 Between death and life 0:05:19.981,0:05:21.261 This is serious 0:05:21.261,0:05:24.811 And you understand it and you are part of this revolution ” 0:05:24.931,0:05:28.691 ”The people that think Veganism is hard are thinking about themselves 0:05:28.691,0:05:32.181 And the people that think Veganism is easy are thinking about the animals 0:05:32.842,0:05:37.402 So if you think it's hard to not eat meat, think how hard it is for them that you do eat meat”