Why am I Vegan? A Man’s take on Plant Based

​It’s a question I receive a lot, mostly from friends who used to plan nights out for steak and scotch in my younger days but also from coworkers and society as a whole.  There are obviously numerous reasons for becoming a vegan but what I normally tell people is that coming from a family who has a history of high blood pressure and cholesterol and showing signs of this same trend in my 20s and 30s today my vitals have never been better.  Not only that but I am stronger and more muscular at age 40 than I have been since the days of high school.  ​​I was always interested in being a vegetarian or at least testing the waters but more so just as a way to lose weight as like everyone else I thought that meant eating salads for lunch and dinner.  What I didn’t know was the benefits and expansive universe of foods and brands and substitutes available to people to move away from the meat obsessed society we live in today.  Don’t get me wrong I try not to tell anyone how to live and I respect everyone’s individual opinion but I will promote becoming a vegan to anyone that will listen. 
​I think as man in today’s world there is a lot of pressure to be that strong, steak eating, scotch drinking, macho man society has attempted to mold us into and I’m not going to lie I was always reluctant to come out and tell people that I was a vegan.  I don’t know if I was embarrassed or if I thought people would think differently of me but until recently I tried to hide it.  I think what helps these days is the amount of options we have, you want to eat steak?  There are vegan options.  You want hamburgers and hot dogs?  There are vegan options.  I dare anyone to eat a Beyond Meat Hot Italian sausage and tell me it’s not better or equally as good as your deli sausage.  Not only that but having a child has helped me realize even more so the importance of living a clean, healthy, safe lifestyle so I can be there for them as long as I possibly can and that’s all the reason a parent needs right?