Dear reader!
I have changed all my habits at home and also when I have been eating out.
I have been on several trips as vegan (both abroad and domestic)
I have been on several trips as vegan (both abroad and domestic)
I have stopped buying leather.
I have started to buy ONLY cruelty-free make-up & household products.
I have read tons of awesome vegan blogs and gotten lots of great advice.
I have read and seen lots of the abuse we put our fellow earthlings through.
I have participated in my first demonstration against the fur industry in Norway.
I am a better cook after being forced to learn to make new & exciting things.
I have visited a vegetarian/vegan food fair & learned about new products.
I have gotten to know some fantastic vegan people.
But I have also felt that I can't be "perfect".
When I am at home I have had few problems living strictly vegan. Also if I am to go somewhere and I could plan my stay well in advance. But I am not getting much time to plan things when it comes to work. As a singer I travel a lot, and sometimes on really short notice or places who are extremely ill suited for vegans. Also I need to be eating correctly and enough if I am to be able to perform. It is a hard job being a singer, you use your whole body, not only your vocal chords. And the level of concentration is crucial.
When I am at home and can plan (and bring) my own food it isn't a problem. But often I live in hotel after hotel, days, a night, a month, this varies. What also varies is the standard (and hospitality) of the hotel I stay in. But worse the lack of possibilities when on tour or airport to airport etc.
For example
Last night I was in London for a day. The breakfast was great for a meat eating person. Bacon, sausages you know. If you were not a vegan you could eat danish pastry, croissant and so on. I am allergic to several types of fruit, so then I could eat white toast with beans or fill myself with sugar with orange marmalade. I didn't have the time to go somewhere else and I needed to eat well before my audition. I still ended up with eating toast. And pray that I could find something else straight after singing. Also when going to the airport I was in a hurry and didn't find anything I could eat. (Of proper food, not chips etc). After being vegan I am amazed on the availability of fast and trashy food. But if you want healthy food you must look much harder.
With my lifestyle I need to be eating proper food when on the road. And after trying it for a while I realize that if I want to continue to be healthy I need to make sure I get enough nutrients and calories.
Bottom line: I need to be vegetarian from time to time, just to make sure I can be working and remain in good health. It's not a matter of having to think beforehand and plan sometime. It means planning all the time. I don't mind eating a boring salad with tomato once in a while, because the restaurants/gas station don't get what a vegan is or don't have alternatives. But when you have to do it for months I don't think it is safe for me.
And secondly, the only way I can think of getting vegan food all the time, is if I had more money. That meant that I could buy spreads and bring to my hotel breakfast. (But then again, most hotels are now removing the small fridges, so where could I have it?
SO, back to the part where I don't feel perfect. That means that I can't keep calling myself vegan after realizing that I would need to eat vegetarian from time to time when on tour or traveling. It is really a matter of terminology. I haven't met the militant-condescending-vegan-people yet, but I know some is out there. So to not be a failure & skulk around I have decided to admit defeat now and call myself a vegetarian. I know several other people who lives mainly as vegans, but from time to time eat cheese, and they call themselves vegetarian to avoid being looked down upon. But in reality they are 98% vegan in their diet. I think that is awesome, brave and honest.
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| To be judged - Hard enough to deal with vegan/vegetarian-haters. I couldn't stand judgement from vegans as well! |
And that is what I also want to be. I want to be a vegan at heart and as much as I possibly can without it becoming a threat to my health. And I have decided that THAT is GOOD ENOUGH. That is what I am willing to do. And I feel much better for being honest and write this on my blog and not to feel extremely guilty every time I would need to grab a cheese sandwich because it was either that or a sausage in bread when the tour bus stops for refreshments and there were no shops in the area.
Before you want to look down at me I remind you that you don't live my life. You might be able to be strictly vegan and have a easy and wonderful life. But I can't. Not at the moment at least, not before the world wants to becomw more vegan friendly. And another note regarding that: The world will not become vegan very quickly if militant-vegan tells you that what you do is not good enough.
I hope the world follows soon and gives us vegan alternatives every where!
Love from me
