When we heard from her mother that 12 year old Kira had become vegan, we assumed she was being supportive of her family's need to become more plant based as a result of various health challenges. But that part of the story only served to persuade Kira that becoming vegan was entirely doable. Her realisations started earlier and her convictions have led to her redirecting her life with a level of understanding and self-assurance that is rare in someone so young.
We hope you will enjoy reading Kira's Story.
Ever since I was a young child, I loved eating loads of meat. All I ever asked my mum for was a dinner with loads of meatballs, bacon, sausages, beef etc…
I even went to the Rattle Owl for my 5th birthday with my family and ordered a huge steak probably larger than my own head!
I had always been a huge meat eater. I also adored loads of cheese and dairy foods, but I definitely preferred meat.
I remember when I finished my drama on a Saturday, I would go to a little burger shack not far from there and order a hotdog with lots of cheese on it. I never realised how much damage it was causing to the environment and who was getting the profit out of it as I was only very young.
A year ago (when I was eleven), we were looking at globalisation and food miles in Geography and discussing the issues with the meat industry and how food miles affect the world. I saw who was at a disadvantage and who was making all the profit out of it. I was amused at how bad I thought it was (I thought then that it wasn't that bad) and actually how bad it really is! I saw how all the high income countries were making the highest profit and the lower income countries were having to provide.
Not to mention, the year before that, I learnt about what fair trade was and how people buy products from poor people for an unreasonable price so they can sell it for more and they can be at profit.
I also found out what happens in the dairy industry and how they make cows breed and if any of the babies are male, they are killed and if they are female, they are taken away from their mothers to produce more milk and babies when they are older.
All this disgusted me and I couldn’t face the fact that I was part of that, and it’s a circle that just continues. I hated to know that I was involved, and felt really sorry for the people that were not at benefit and all and the animals being slaughtered for money.
So I made my final decision in becoming a vegan, and it’s not actually quite bad! I learnt that there is a lot of delicious food that doesn’t have any meat or dairy inside it, and that I can easily live without.
Do you have a plant based or vegan story? Get in touch! www.henryandhenryeu.com/yourstory