I decided to share a personal story with this blog post. I’m going to share why I’m no longer a vegan and how my faith plays a role in that decision.

To be clear, I have absolutely nothing against vegans. I was totally consumed by veganism when I was doing it and I don’t regret it.

All scriptures are from the NKJV unless otherwise noted.

How I Became A Vegan

In 2019, I began reading a lot of nonfiction books. I came across a wonderful book called “Fast Food Nation“. This book is about the fast-food industry and how it changed America. One of the areas in American life that was changed was the meat industry. There was now a high demand for meat which meant meat had to be produced, packaged, and shipped out faster. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone because it was such a great read.

As I was learning a lot about different things in that book, I also researched them to learn more. One of those subjects was ‘animal farming’. I type that keyword into the google search bar and was absolutely horrified at what I saw. I never knew what kind of cruelty was going on in order to create food.

There was a girl that worked with me who was a vegan so I asked her what documentaries she recommended. She gave me a list and I watched many movies about veganism and animal farming.

I was completely traumatized and couldn’t sleep so I decided I was not going to eat meat anymore. The connection to meat and the animal it came from was so strong. I wouldn’t look at meat and not think of all the things I’ve seen.

If you want to read my entire story on my vegan journey, you can check out my post on another website called, “Going Vegan: Why I Am & So Should You“.

What Changed?

Believe it or not, the time I spent as a vegan was actually time I spent backsliding. I had still prayed and believed God, but I wasn’t actively reading the Word or spending time developing wisdom in God.

I had told everyone who would listen about animal cruelty and veganism. I truly believed in it. Then, one day I was praying in the shower. All my research had led me to a stress point. I believed in the gloom and doom story that the world was going to end from climate change and that something had to be done.

I expressed my concerns to God because I knew that He knows everything and can do anything. However, He didn’t respond the way I thought He would. I was overly consumed by veganism and while praying that day, God spoke and said, “You’re fighting the wrong fight.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing and it ended in me being humbled and repenting for neglecting Him and His Word.

What would happen if I was preaching the Word of God as hard as I was veganism? In fact, all those months I barely spoke about God at all.

He was right. I’m not God and it’s not reasonable for me to try to save the world. In fact, revelation tells us how the world will end. If the world is still standing when Jesus comes back, then it’s not going to be destroyed from climate change. How foolish I was!

Later, I asked God what I should do with the knowledge I had learned. He told me to live responsibly and do the best I can with what I have. I also asked God why does His Word allow people to eat animals if it can cause cruelty. He didn’t answer that question right then, but He did eventually.

Another thing that changed my perspective and efforts a bit was when I began working at a large retailer. At home, I always tried my best to not create much waste and recycle what I can. Yet, the store I worked at had huge amounts of waste, especially plastic. I realized that they create hundreds of times more waste than I do. My sacrifices weren’t going to do much for the world if these big stores had so much waste.

Eating Meat Again

I probably would’ve stayed a vegan for a very long time. However, in December 2019 I was around 4 weeks pregnant. At that time, I was craving chicken like never before. I thought the craving would go away if I just ignored it, but instead, it got worse.

Since it felt like I was going to lose my mind if I didn’t have chicken, I did some research. Turns out, some women with strict diets loosen them during pregnancy. There was nothing wrong with my body craving chicken. Therefore, I decided to go ahead and give in.

I thought that I would feel conviction when I took my first bite. Yet, I didn’t. After I finished eating, I felt wonderful. Ever since then, meat became part of my life again.

There are still some things that have changed since my life before veganism. For example, I still recycle what I can and I don’t eat pork. I choose healthy meat options and cook them myself instead of fast food.

The Bible

I’m a Christian. Therefore, it’s no surprise that I get all my answers from the pages that lie within the Bible and use the Holy Spirit as my guide. When I was a vegan, my heart was broken for the animals that had to suffer the consequences of animal farming. However, there are many humans suffering in this world.

While I was a vegan, no one that I was listening to had talked about the problems going on in the world that affected humans. It was always about the planet, the environment, the animals, pollution, plastic, the ocean, waste, and so much more.

My mind was always thinking about these things and was concerned with how to fix those things. That’s what I believe God meant when He told me I was fighting the wrong fight. The things of this world will pass away. The Word of God promises to destroy this world and create a new one.

If that’s the case, then what fight should I be fighting? I believe the answer is the spiritual battle we all face while trying to preach the gospel to others so they can spend eternity in heaven, not hell. To God, what’s more important: an animal or a human?

I think the answer is evident.

Related: Why Does God Value Humans More Than Animals?

Humankind

“Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.“

– Genesis 1:26-28

Humans are the only creatures God made in His image. That being said, they’re also the only creatures God sent Jesus to die for. So does God see the killing of a human differently than the killing of an animal? Absolutely.

The 6th commandment out of the 10 teaches that humans are not to commit murder. This commandment is talking exclusively about the murder of another human being. To prove it, we’ll examine Matthew 22:34-40:

“But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?”

Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.“

Jesus tells us here that if we love God with all our heart, soul, and mind, and love our neighbors as ourselves, then all the commandments will be obeyed. Killing another human being is a sin, but killing an animal is not. God gave humankind dominion over every animal and creeping thing. Whatever man desires to do with animals, God gave them that authority (with restrictions). (See Leviticus 20:15-16)

That’s just the truth according to the Word of God.

“But food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do.”

– 1 Corinthians 8:8 NIV

You May Also Like: Yes, God Cares About How We Treat Animals

Conclusion

After being a vegan for 6 months, I began to eat meat again when I became pregnant. I did not feel any conviction about it and decided to keep eating meat. Afterward, I learned that God is not concerned with the life of an animal the way He is with a human.

That’s because humans are made in the image of God and animals are not. Also, animals are not at risk of going to hell for eternity like humans are. Therefore, we are to make preaching the Word of God and the gospel of Christ our mission to save as many souls as possible.

While we should live responsible lives on earth, we must remember that earth is not our home.

If you want to be a vegan or a vegetarian, that’s fine. If not, that’s also fine. I believe people should pray first and make a decision based on the wisdom that God gives them.

That’s my story about how I became a vegan and why I stopped chasing veganism and started chasing God again. I pray you’ve found this article enjoyable. If so, please share this content. Also, feel free to leave a comment below. As always, thanks for reading!

Thanks for sharing!