The Environment and Veganism: Sarah Cain
Take a second and think about the first thing that comes to mind when you hear about veganism. Do you think about the overly outspoken people who try to convert you with fire and brimstone? Maybe you think of the people who can’t stand to see any sort of animal killed? Maybe you know someone that you associate with the idea of being vegan and your opinion on veganism is shaped by them?
For me, it has recently become the latter. I’ve never really put much thought into what I ate or cared too much about what vegans had to say, but this year I met a girl named Sarah Cain, an environmental science major at UVM. She doesn’t really fit the typical stereotype that people associate with veganism. She isn’t overly outspoken or actively trying to get you to convert. She doesn’t cry every time an animal is killed. Instead, she keeps to herself and holds steadfast to her love of nature. For her, veganism is another way of being environmentally conscious, just like using reusable bags or recycling. As she puts it, it’s another small thing that she can do to play her part in helping to save the environment against climate change.
So Sarah has become the person that I have associated veganism with, and she’s led me to begin a journey of learning the intricacies of what is and isn’t made with animal products. I tend to find myself checking menus for animal products when I go to restaurants, even when she isn’t there with me. Her overwhelming passion for the environment and the lengths she takes to stick to that belief has begun to rub off on me, and it has opened my eyes in a way that I hadn’t before. Instead of passively watching the world implode and saying “Welp there was nothing I could do. I’m just one person.”, I feel a need to contribute in my own sort of way. It might not be by going completely vegan, but Sarah has shown that anything and everything that you can do to make the world a better place is something that’s worth doing.