The Decision

My name is Carrie Hall. I am a twenty year old college student majoring in Middle Childhood Education. I have decided as of April 6th, 2014, to adopt a vegan diet and lifestyle.

Going vegan was something that I never thought was possible. Let me reiterate the fact that I thought all vegans were crazy.. I was a "normal" American who indulged in trips to Steak 'n Shake, cake and ice cream feasts, and chicken nuggets galore. When I met my boyfriend, Andrew, a vegan of six years, I called him crazy and reiterated time and time again how completely insane he was to have given up so much food that was a part of my everyday life. He was so accepting of my non-vegan diet, but in the back of my head, I always wondered if it really bothered him. His choices were so radically different than mine and clearly they were very important to him (they must have been, he was so dedicated!). So, I became open to his way of life.

I started going grocery shopping with him. We ended up getting a lot of things I didn't know existed. Vegan cheese, vegan milk, vegan crab cakes, even! I began to use my love of cooking and baking in a way that met his lifestyle choices - I cooked vegan meals. Successfully. And, might I add - they were good! I was surprised at how amazing vegan mac and cheese was. We still went to all of my favorite restaurants on date nights, and during our Spring Break trip to Chicago, ate a completely vegan diet. I began to realize that it might not be convenient to be vegan, but it was definitely achievable.

This past weekend, we decided to watch a documentary about Veganism called Vegucated. Little did I know how much of an impact those two hours would have on me. By becoming educated about the food industry and the way animals are housed, "taken care of," used and slaughtered, my life had changed forever.

It is easy in our society to pretend that this horrible industry doesn't exist and to forget that most of our diet comes from it. American culture has allowed us to act in this way and for it to be considered "normal." It seems like such an impossible task to "give up" nearly everything you eat. So, I never did. For twenty years, I pretended that this industry did not exist. I disconnected the meat I consumed from the lives of the animals it took to produce it. By opening my eyes, my heart, and my mind to the idea that it is possible to change, I have. I can never go back to the way I was before.

I am striving to do what I can to ensure that people are educated about the meat industry and the way that animals are treated to produce food for us to consume. Through this blog, I want to be able to express my feelings, explore new ideas, explain my struggles and how I have overcome them, document recipes I've tried (and loved, hopefully!) and overall share what I find in my experiences with others. I believe that education is vital to progressive movement and reform in society, and I hope that through my education and decision to go vegan, I will be able to educate others about the food industry and its desperate need for change.


"People care about animals. I believe that. They just don't want to know or to pay... They're [chickens] packed body to body, and can't escape their waste, and never see the sun. Their nails grow around the bars of their cages. It's wrong. They feel their slaughters. It's wrong, and people know it's wrong. They don't have to be convinced. They just have to act differently. I'm not better than anyone, and I'm not trying to convince people to live by my standards of what's right. I'm trying to convince them to live by their own." - Jonathan Safran Foer.