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Writer's pictureXiwen Yeoh

Earthlings - Why Have I Gone Vegan?

Forks Over Knives, Cowspiracy and Earthlings are the three main documentaries that campaign for veganism from the perspectives of health, environment and ethics respectively. I watched all three of them after turning vegan and Earthlings was the last one among the all three. Released in 2005 (the other two were released in 2011 and 2014), Earthlings hit me the hardest, right in the heart. It is the most graphical documentary I have ever watched, covering the industries of pets, food, clothing, entertainment and science using footage from puppy mills, slaughterhouses, fur farms, circuses and laboratories. It's heart-wrenching to see all the pain and suffering inflicted onto helpless and innocent living souls, which are hidden behind concrete walls as the industries do not want us to see the ugly truth happening behind the scenes of cute kittens in pet store, cold cuts in the freezer, sparkling leather shoes, happy-looking jumping dolphins and medications that we are taking. On the other side, consumers might be ignorant about all these issues, refusing to look at the reality, or pretending to not seeing it because we still need meat on our plates. As mentioned in the film, everyone will become a vegetarian if slaughterhouse has glass walls.

Coming from an ordinary Asian family in a suburban area, I spent my childhood playing in the backyards, observing the wonders of life through caterpillars and damselflies. Maybe it is some kind of natural instinct that I was born with, I hated to eat meat. It gave my mum a hard time trying to make me eat meat as I literally gagged whenever the fatty part of meat reached my throat. Thanks to years of practices, I finally tolerated meat, but I only eat the leanest meat that can be found on the animal, which is the least tasty part, and I would bring it to the next level by picking away skin, thin layer of fat or even blood vessels visible in naked eyes before eating it after thorough inspection. However, as I grew older, I had gotten used to eating meat (still limited to some kind of meat) that I could enjoy doing it for every single meal without feeling revolted. After I got into the university, I would eat as much vegetarian meals as possible with occasional small portion of meat. If I was unfortunate that I had to stay in the campus during semester break, the only food that can be found in the campus was chicken rice (imagine having to have chicken twice a day). As I was exposed to internet day after day, I realised the dark sides of the egg and dairy industries, so I cut down the consumption of egg and milk, but did not totally refuse them if they were mixed in fried rice or my favourite coffee.

I did not remember clearly, but I believe that it was the chicken in the campus that made me feel so sick of meat that I was determined to move out for the final year of my bachelor degree so that I can cook my own meal. Then, I got addicted to a vegan Youtube channel named Mommy Tang that features Asian vegan food (too bad I cannot survive on salad or western cuisine) that brought up my interest in cooking (not having to clean up bloody meat is definitely a bonus!). The last straw that broke the camel's back, I mean, the thing that made me realise that I must become a vegan is a video made by Gary Yourofsky called The Best Speech Ever (if you are a vegan you probably have heard about it). You will have to watch it yourself, to see how powerful the speech is in changing people's diet, so no spoiler here!

How could you shoot such a gentle being in the name of sport? (photo taken at Taiping Zoo, Perak, Malaysia)

My decision of going vegan is pretty difficult for my family and loved ones (even vegetarianism is not very common here), so I did go through a month or so of transition period (don't be ashamed of that) and eventually I am now one-month old as a vegan! I feel regretted that I did not make this change earlier (22 years! I had been contributing to animal holocausts for 22 years!), but everything feels good now. I am happy with this biggest decision I have ever made in my life and will speak out for animals to spread awareness (or guilt, hahaha) to more people in the community. I am aware that vegans are not the most favourable people in our society, but it will be a burden to bear, a burden that you are willing to take because you know, from the eyes of our fellow earthlings, it is the right thing to do.

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