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