3 Years Ago, I Went Vegan:

Rack of lamb, mint jelly, and a glass of red wine. That was my favorite Christmas eve dinner with my family. Every year, at Jim’s Steakhouse downtown Peoria, I’d order it.

I’d eat it.

I’d love it.

Oh, and then there was the all you could eat Lobster dinner at the New York Athletic Club, where Thomas Cook would kindly treat every holiday season.

One year, I ate 6. Melted butter, salt, perfection.

I spent a summer living in Argentina, salivating at the thought of a Milanesa, or looking forward to the infamous Blueberry Steak in Florence.

I. Loved. Meat.

I would never, NEVER, be vegetarian, much less vegan, or so I told myself for my first 35 years. I was generally aware of the health benefits, of the environmental protection, the global warming case to be made for being plant-based. But nothing resonated.

I felt healthy as a carnivore. I had a lot of energy.

I had a respect for nature but wasn’t moved to make such a massive lifestyle shift for her.

It would take “something” else, something more tangible, something more connected.

Three years ago, that “something” happened. I visited an animal sanctuary called Goatlandia in Northern California. Thanks to the owner Deb and the sanctuary wizard Alana, I had the opportunity to play with the baby goats, cuddle them, meet their mothers, and see them interact with their siblings.

The next day I returned to New York City to eat dinner with my friend Charlie in an Indian restaurant in the East Village.

“Goat curry” was the first thing I saw on the menu. My heart skipped a beat. My mind made a connection. My life changed. At that moment, I became vegan. Yes, that exact moment.

Year 1 was a lot of research. People like Eloisa Trinidad and Earthling Ed helped me effectively communicate and navigate conversations I’d never had before about where I’d get my protein, if vegetables also had feelings, and the food chain fallacies. I visited slaughterhouses, did outreach in the streets and over the phone, and shared my newfound passion with anyone that would listen.

Year 2 was about dialing in the nutrition and fitness, most notably competing and completing my first ever triathlon thanks to the coaching and guidance of Melissa Trusty. I wanted people to see you can be strong and plant-based. I wanted to see it myself.

Year 3 has been about fully embracing the joys of cooking and using my new chef skills as a way to introduce folks from all walks of life to the exquisite tastes of creatively prepared plant-based meals. As a vegan, I have quickly realized that we give up almost nothing, but gain thousands of plants, spices, nut milk and cheeses, burgers, and literally anything you can imagine or desire. It has been a true unlock creatively to recreate vegan versions of all of our favorite and beloved dishes.

I’d like to share a couple of stories that have truly impacted me, and I am hopeful they have some resonance for you.

A few months after I decided to go vegan, about 20 of us were sitting at a table in Pittsburgh for a Rashid family reunion. One of my cousins asked me why I didn’t eat meat.

“Because I don’t want to participate in the suffering of animals,” I replied.

My dad looked at me and said, “That’s why you are vegan?” and shook his head in disbelief and seemingly disagreement.

A year later, I was in Vancouver with my parents celebrating their wedding anniversary. I had ordered a sweet potato dish, and it was, to this day, one of the most delicious and flavorful dishes I’ve ever tasted. My dad asked me how my dinner was, and I shared my contentment. He looked at my mom, and said, “Did you hear that Kath, it’s one of the best dishes he’s ever had.” Uh-huh, I remembered thinking, so clearly. It’s not that my dad rejects me being vegan, it’s that he was worried that we would not be able to bond over food as we had for all of those years. From that moment on, my dad’s curiosity and openness to my food choices have been positive and supportive. If you are afraid of losing the culture of food and the community around it, I promise you won’t. You will find your tribe, some new, some existing, but you will find community.

One of my greatest inspirations on this journey is my plant-based workout partner and cherished friend, Alex Eckhart (happy birthday!) He gave me the shirt you see in this photo.

You could put anything you want to replace “Kill the workout,” because this is my why — saving the animals. I’ve heard many of the rebuttals like “sustainable meat, free-range eggs, pasture-raised cows, etc, etc.” And maybe you also use those terms and have those beliefs justifying your consumption of animal products, just like I did for 35 years.

But I leave you with this challenge. If you really believe those labels to be true, or if you’ve never even thought about this topic before, please go visit a slaughterhouse. Please observe the conditions. Please watch a calf stolen from her mother cow minutes after birth so we can drink the mom’s milk and make cheese. Please hear the cries, the screams, the fear, and the protective movement of these sentient beings. Go watch how eggs are actually produced. Go play with an animal that is a popular item on your local menu. And see if something changes for you.

And if you can’t bring yourself to do any of these things, well, that may just be the clearest sign of all that shift in consciousness is already brewing inside of you.

I can’t tell you what to do, but I can speak from my own experience over the last 3 years and say this,

If you feel that shift, and honor it, listen to it, and explore it, it may just be the best decision you’ll ever make. For me, it is certainly one of the single biggest and most practical impacts I can have daily. Because the moment that my Christmas rack of lamb, or lobster buffet, or prime rib had a face, it had a heart, a kid, a brother, a central nervous system, a personality, a joy, and a desire to be free. And to my surprise, this became more important to me than their taste, seasoning, or decadence, and I made a choice.

A choice of peace for animals without sacrificing pleasure for myself.

And in that choice, I feel peace, and I taste pleasure, all at the same time.

Today, and every day for the last three years.