In 2014, I somehow started watching vegan “what I eat in a day videos”. I was interested in the vegan lifestyle for the health reasons, but after watching documentaries such as Food Inc. and Cowspiracy, I became interested in how veganism promotes animal rights, protection of the environment, and compassion in general. My family was used to eating and cooking a lot of meat and seafood at home and at our restaurant. At first they were resistant to the new diet. I’d cook my own food, while they ate their own meals. My dad came around at one point and thought it would be good for our family to eat vegan dinners a few nights every week. It was really easy for him to come up with vegan dishes because Vietnamese cuisine is abundant with veggies. I stayed vegan until I went to Vietnam in the summer of 2017. I was set on being maintaining my diet there, but it was nearly impossible to resist the food. I remember feeling extremely guilty when I had my first meal with meat in it, pho beef. I didn’t go back to a full vegan diet when I returned home. I’m not sure why because I still agree with it. I was so passionate back then, but now I feel more ignorant when it comes to what my food is made out of and where it comes from.
