© Emma Levez Larocque
Becoming vegan is a process, and it extends to much more than the food we put on our plates – although that’s a great start!
I think part of the reason we slowly become more and more vegan is because it’s painful to learn about all the ways our society abuses and exploits animals. It’s very difficult to take it all in in one day. So we learn about meat one day, and we move away from meat eating. We learn about dairy another day, and we move away from dairy. We learn about animal testing on beauty products another day, and start to find new favorites that are cruelty free. Then it’s the leather in our closets, then the wool. This sounds like a process of restriction, but with every restriction, we find new, better replacements. So it’s a learning process, and an adapting process.
As long as you are learning and growing, this is a healthy thing. The danger comes when we find a comfortable place and stay there. Remember, no matter how vegan you already consider yourself to be, there is always room to grow, more to know, more ways you can live compassionately and without harm in this world. Challenge yourself today to face something – perhaps a barrier you are aware of, or perhaps something completely new, and move forward to address it in this, your vegan journey.
Emma Levez Larocque is an author and photographer living on the west coast of Canada. She has been veg for 18 years, vegan for 3. Her passion is working to make veganism mainstream to promote a better, kinder world for all beings. 
