I, also, did not really know how milk and eggs were produced until very late in life. Before being absolutely vegan, I avoided this stuff anyway (and I refused to buy leather, etc.) so I was "nearly vegan", and I was living in places like Cambodia, where the diet doesn't contain cheese (in fact, they use the word "cheese" to mean "fermented fish-paste"… I'm not joking!)… however, it is a bit amazing how easy it was to grow up oblivious to how things are made in the pre-internet era.
I knew cheese wasn’t part of a typical diet in Cambodia but had no idea it was used to mean “fermented fish paste”. Wow. But, this is so true! I can remember how appalled I was that I had lived so long without knowing the truth about eggs and dairy. I had already been drinking almond milk and trying to avoid eggs for a long time before I was vegan, but it wasn’t until I made the switch that I became conscious of the big picture, and what went into everything that I eat.
I guess we just have to tell ourselves that we had a lot working against us in the process of becoming vegan and at the time, we were truly doing the very best that we could<3
