why I stopped being a vegan

[@divemasterdavid595]

That's funny. I thought this was a scuba channel when I subscribed. Are you going to do more scuba content or should I unsubscribe?

[@OceanPancake]

Yeah heaps of awesome diving content coming up :) just had to address this issue for old subscribers

[@oldrichandrysek2709]

Very nice explanation you offer: In Czech your grandparents who never travelled further than a Church in the neighbouring village would say: too much of anything hurts (všeho moc škodí).

[@ivoryjohnson4662]

You do you …..you learn what works best for you

[@calebwear5748]

COME BACK TO ST LUKES 🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹

[@lethyciaaquino5917]

Thank you for sharing your experience! I'm going through the same situation! 😳 I'm also a diving instructor and I hadn't eaten meat for 3 years, but sometimes I ate seafood. I moved almost a year ago to an island and lost 7 kg in less than 2 months. I was feeling weak and getting sick often.. so I decided to go back to eat fish and chicken in the last 6 months… I was feeling very guilty and charging myself too much. I didn't want to eat these foods again, but my body was not well, now it's recovering and I'm feeling healthier. Where I live everything is very expensive and it's hard to find a variety of foods. So, the place interfere a lot in our lifestyle.. Besides, we need to eat a lot to be able to meet our needs due to the working day, sometimes with 5 or even 6 dives a day. In addition, we need to do weight training and cardio to avoid future accidents and problems... Now I'm calmer, accepting the moment of life I'm living. At the moment it's the best you and I can do! Thank you for sharing, I understand you! 🤗 Kat, keep making videos, I missed you! You are a reference for me and inspired me to became a scuba diver instructor and now plan the creation of a channel to share about diving with people who speak Portuguese. Wish me luck 🙏 I hope see you soon here 😊

[@OceanPancake]

I thought maybe someone else would be going through a similar experience. The amount of energy required to be in the water every day is extreme. After going plant based, eating fish felt so wrong and I definitely felt guilty. Which is why my channel has been quieter. I totally understand how you had to adapt your diet to meet your lifestyle needs. It's easy for others who have access to Western supermarkets to say that veganism is easy and achievable. Keep being mindful of your consumption and lead by example. Together we can make our planet better 💕

[@valorum999]

Sadly, it's often the loudest and most extreme people in any movement that get the most visibility. When appropriate, I try to encourage people to eat less meat, as even a small change like having one or two meat-free days can make a huge difference. Also like you said, there are communities which don't really have much choice, take the Inuit people for example.

[@OceanPancake]

Yes, I think it's always more welcoming and less confronting to do little steps at a time. They do say changing a persons diet is harder than changing their religion.

[@leopoldbloom4835]

That’s a perfectly all right, personal decision. I think some people overdo a good thing and thus damage their cause. A friend of mine owned a vegan/crossover restaurant and I‘m sure, many people came the meat or dairy options, tried the vegan options and were convinced by the experience. Still, my friend got a lot of harsh criticism from some hardcore vegans. It‘s better for the planet to lower the threshold a little bit and convince 100 people to reduce their meat by 50% than going all taliban and convince 5 people to drop meat completely.

[@OceanPancake]

That's definitely what I experienced over the years and was truly worried about coming out with this video. It's always been about minimising my footprint and making concious decisions. Definitely learnt a lot on the way and can see why veganism is the best route for many

[@richardgipson4023]

You did good Katt ! You need to be healthy first & foremost.. I knew a guy who went one step further & juiced everything he nearly died . For you to eat something has to die that is a fact . Even plants are aware, science has proven it . Your body is complex it needs what it needs & if it doesn't get it it will consume itself .....you will always find a certain amount of hate in some people if they disagree with you, dont be caught up in it . Keep teaching !

[@Motavian]

Slow and conscious living is the way. We just need to live more locally and in the moment, eat more rice/beans and prioritize friends and family.

[@EfeCemElci]

As a vegan, when asked "is veganism healthy?" I've always answered with a resounding NO and people are surprised. The fact of the matter is that it's very easy to eat vegan and not live healthy, it takes proper meal and lifestyle planning to maintain a balanced healthy diet. That being said, we are vegan for the animals first so however locally "sourced" an animal is, no matter how low the carbon footprint, you are still choosing to end the life of another living breathing feeling sentient being and that is something I can't do ethically.

[@OceanPancake]

I definitely found that veganism has made me a healthier individual. Especially when I lived in first world countries, (I do always prefer whole foods rather than very processed). It's definitely a key point to keep people mindful of what they eat and just because it doesn't have animal products in it doesn't mean it's not junk food.

[@jamiedyer7782]

​@@OceanPancakestatistically the healthiest people are vegan and always have been. India has been doing it since forever but us western people think we can eat bacon sandwiches and drink coffee because scientists tell us its OK

[@OceanPancake]

@jamiedyer7782 that's definitely the case!

[@Dralchemy]

what do you define as sentience where something like an animal is considered sentient?

[@jamiedyer7782]

@@Dralchemy so animal can feel and percieve for example a cow knows when it will be slaughtered, they experience pain and the suffering of their babies taken away. Animals are concious beings, they are concious of how to just be, unlike humans who have ability to discuss complexities of conciousness, they don't know how to just be

[@romeomike5375]

So, non-violence is not sustainable or right for you? Owning old stuff is fine, I just would never ever buy shoes made from the skin of tortured beings. Alternatives don't come only in plastic. It seems you didn't get the difference between vegan and plant-based in the first place. Plantbased is simply a diet, Veganism is a mindset - it recognises the basic right of every living being not to be harmed or murdered. And of corse nobody talks about remote places in Africa or Asia... If you have the choice, fine, if not: Be as vegan as you can. As said, it is a mindset that sees animals not as food but as living, sentient beings that can suffer and want to live, as we do.

[@OceanPancake]

Non-violence is definitely right. But in the world or fast fashion, it's definitely sometimes unsustainable. Veganism is so much more than a diet as you mentioned and a whole ethos to protect and treat all living beings with compassion and love. The world would be a much better place if everyone considered sentient animals as worth protecting.

[@romeomike5375]

@@OceanPancake And what makes you think fish are not sentient? I'd understand your concerns regarding your diet in Africa, but aside from the fact that fish do feel pain and want to live, the ocean is already overfished. The last thing it needs is more people eating it to extinction.

[@OceanPancake]

@@romeomike5375 I never said they were not sentient. Fish are definitely sentient.

[@Nestor.555]

Kudos for making this vid. Must have been tough to make it and have it in the back of your mind for such a long time. However, I already suspected why you changed the name ;) I must admit; I'm always a bit disappointed whenever I hear that someone has stopped being vegan. Yet, you're reflective and don't come across as someone who eats pasta all day and then blames their health issues on that damn vegan diet ^^ and like you said, it's better to be 99% plant based, than 0%. Totally with you. I'd like to quote 'The Vegan Society's' definition of Veganism: "Veganism is a philosophy and way of living which seeks to exclude-as far as is possible and practicable-all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose; and by extension, promotes the development and use of animal-free alternatives for the benefit of animals, humans and the environment. In dietary terms it denotes the practice of dispensing with all products derived wholly or partly from animals." "As far as is possible and practicable" is key here, IMO. I can't really ask everyone to live vegan, when it's next to impossible to do so in certain regions of the world. For me personally, there is no excuse to not be vegan, as I live in a "first world country" with plenty of vegan stuff around me. Since most of the of environmental impact is caused by first world countries, I think it is totally fair to demand a more environmental conscious lifestyle from our fellow "first world" citizens. As for eating fish, if I were to temporarily live in such an area as you described, I probably couldn't, as the thought of ending someone else's life to benefit myself has become really repulsive to me, even if it meant I would temporarily suffer. I know you can probably argue that it does more harm to get a tofu in such an area, but still, the intention is just different for me. Greetings from Europe :)

[@OceanPancake]

Thank you for your insightful and thorough comment. I truly appreciate you taking the time to watch and then let me know your thoughts. Unfortunately in the past few years, it felt like many vegans forgot that fundamental mission as the vegan society eloquently describes it. I was definitely plagued with guilt for a long time and also struggled with keeping up with this channel because it did feel so... wrong. I fully agree that as people with choices and the privilege of living in a first world country, it is up to us to lead the way in eating plants and meat alternatives. Thank you❤

[@janin6764]

Tip my hat to you.. 😊

[@D.H.CE_FL]

Interesting video, thank you. I was vegan for a few years (though I rarely used fhe term since most vegans were the most awful people I've ever met). I've since went back to eggs and fish, which is where i originally started. When you mentioned finding something sustainable, you are 100% right. I went to "no land animals" back in 2005, and it's where im at 18 years later.

[@OceanPancake]

I'm glad I'm not the only one that experienced the black and white nature of the term vegan and

[@mutantmangoman]

Great video. We won’t be able to create a sustainable culture in the world by asking people to do things that are harmful to their bodies. What you’re doing is a fantastic example to set. So many friends of mine think that if you’re not a vegetarian then you should just have meat for every meal. We need more people to see that you don’t have to be perfect with your diet in order to make positive changes. Every animal based meal you can eliminate is progress.

[@OceanPancake]

Yes exactly. Choose plant based when theres the option. In so many western countries there are a myriad of delicious, sustainable selections available. Ostracizing and extremes doesnt work to help bring people together. And we need everyone to try.

[@elisabethbue5666]

[@alefcastellanos5283]

Your channel was called The Vegan Experiment, right? Your decision to eat fish was a logical result from that experiment. You don’t do an experiment to prove a preconceived idea, but to discover new things. You discovered that in certain circumstances you needed to eat fish. And you acted based on that discovery instead of trying to follow a dogma that would be dangerous for you. That’s being smart, open and wise. You did great.

[@OceanPancake]

I appreciate your positive comment. It was definitely an experiment and a journey