Ten Years of Green(s)

Jennifer Dutton's reflection on her decade vegan-versary

It all started by chance. I was very annoyed hearing about the views of a vegan in my life, so I started an investigation into veganism with the intent to prove them wrong. It turned into the biggest own goal; I was researching to argue with someone, and instead, I wound up convincing myself. My partner and I went on a learning binge. A few days later we pulled a huge u-turn on our lives. Overnight we switched from diehard meatheads to entirely meat-free vegans. It was August of 2014.

I'd had a fantastic childhood of happily spending school holidays on the dairy farm and enjoying family fishing trips in the summer. My husband and I served Canterbury lamb and Akaroa salmon at our wedding. Between us, we had one vegetarian friend. So this change was monumental.

Looking back, I'm thrilled we took the plunge so hard and fast, albeit perhaps it was a slightly risky route. We were closeted vegans for a few months before we fessed up to our families.

By no means do we qualify as long-service, OG vegans who really blazed the trail. To them, 10 years is likely a bit cute. But to us, the experience of going from eating everything (and almost everyone) to slashing our range so drastically felt a bit uphill. Veganism at cafes and shops in 2014 felt kinda bleek. There was only one coconut yoghurt in our Auckland supermarket. The only NZ vegan cookbook I had was the trendy eatery Little Bird's Unbakery raw vegan soaked and sprouted bonanza (delicious yes, but very labour intensive).

Now 10 years later that reality is fading in the rear-view mirror. Even in small-town regional Aotearoa, we have a plethora of alternative plant-based meats and a selection of sub-types of vegan cheeses at our local. We have veg takeaway options, vegan pies at the servo, dairy-free ice creams at the Foursquare.

The biggest change in the last decade is it isn't just us we choose for anymore, it's our family. We have two delightful vegan children. Of course, I'm as biased as every parent, but I'm especially proud of our two minis being walking myth-busters. Our 5-year-old daughter is so wonderfully strong and tall she is set to pat me on the head before she's 10, and likely throw me over her shoulder while she's at it. I low-key but also high-key love a medical or child development interaction, as it brings me great joy to have people connect the realisation this thriving kid in front of them is exclusively vegan. I'm even 'That Mum' who gets the kids (and myself) blood tests every couple of years so I have the hard data to gleefully wave about if needed.

I love to think how they've never known anything else. Veganism is their given, their default, their baseline reference for how they see the world. I was vegan through it all, from their pregnancies, breastfeeding them, first foods. They've never seen me gut and fillet a fish, never had food poisoning, never had to air the house after a rotten egg.

But all these happy nevers aren't devoid of the worries.

I imagine a day will come when they'll eat meat. Perhaps it'll be an accident. Something eventually slipping past the goalie, maybe at a party when the age comes you don't stay with them. Or maybe it'll be deliberate. Classic teen angst of doing the forbidden thing. Part of me hopes by the time they are old enough to storm off to McD's and order a quarter pounder, it might all be precision fermentation, lab meat anyways. In which case, I'll be asking them to order for me too.

I'd be lying if I said I didn't occasionally worry how it will be, when (or if) the day comes for some pointed rebellion. Hubby and I want to shoot for being cool, calm cucumbers. We'll have to sort out the balance between house rules vs accommodating development and personal choice autonomy. We're lucky right now our house is unified in our commitment to veganism, but what will happen if one day.... it isn't?

I never want to give my children pause to think my love for them is conditional on approval. I might be overthinking it, but it already occurs to me we are walking a fine line by on the one hand preaching and teaching some pretty binary ideas about what is right and wrong, in terms of ethical veganism. But then we also encourage them to be welcoming and respectful of their extended family, and friends, who eat animals. Holding that tension where we don't love someone any less when we disagree.

I tell them before they go to sleep "Do you know?... That I will always love you? I love you forever and always, no matter what". One day, we may together have to navigate the duality between my strong views and unconditional love for them, with whatever their future views and choices may be. Of course, we hope just to build the vegan foundation so deep it never fully crumbles.

One day will our children look back and feel triumphant that their parents and their childhood were exclusively vegan, or deeply embarrassed? Will it be an origin story for us as cult-like villains, or will it be a point of pride, their parents saw the writing on the wall early, before it was the cool done thing? Regardless of which lens they will look through, they'll at least know it was motivated by kindness, justice and non-violence. A desire to protect animals, the planet and their health. They'll know their Dad and I grew up believing and living one way, and then we changed together. Our kids will know we did the best we could, for them and for society, with what we knew. I think those are notions that age well, no matter the detail.

Embracing a committed vegan life isn't always easy. It often isn't convenient. At times it's more expensive. It's a lot of work to smooth over the food logistics, socially. Perhaps this is saying the quiet parts out loud, that veganism isn't all a thriving green happy glow.

But discipline makes us stronger. A good stiff backbone grows with load. Being unrelentingly vegan in a carnist society keeps our compassion muscles firing and I'm so proud we are teaching our kids their kindness and caring is a strength to be tended. Use it, or lose it, as the saying goes.

So here's to our ten year vegan-versary. Onwards, for the next ten.

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