Before I became a vegan, but after I stopped eating meat to quell my conscience’s incessant diatribing on climate change, I was a cheesebreather for about 2 years, during which I had an inkling that veganism was the right thing to do, but I was still eating and buying cheese and ice cream because I am a lazy piece of shit sometimes (I’m working on it). I am tremendously grateful for a dear friend who taught me about what really goes on in the dairy industry and was willing to bully me into accepting the discomfort that came with critically examining the hypocrisy of my practice

I had two cognitive-dissonance-riddled and frankly shameful emotionally fraught shopping trips because I knew buying cheese was wrong but was struggling to overcome casomorphin cravings and pressure from my family. The intensity of the cognitive dissonance had been ramping up for weeks by the second of these. Something from that vegan friend’s words on animal liberation mechanically clicked into place in my mind. It was a physically electrifying epiphany before I very suddenly became dizzy and a bit nauseous that I was even considering buying cheese. I realized that my conviction that people have a right to (among other things) food, clean water, and the full product of their labor is in actuality a consequence of a budding belief in the correctness of a much more general form of that principal that applies to any aware being.

Suddenly, it became relatively easy to resist social pressures to consume animal products or use animal slavery except where absolutely unavoidable (the family car probably has tires that aren’t vegan and idk where I could get eggless flu/covid/other vaccines). Suddenly, I could simply let go of treats I used to enjoy because now any thoughts about those treats are accompanied by a burning resentment for the animal torture and exploitation industries, those that profit from them, and our meat-brained sociopathic society that cheers them on and deludes so many into disconnecting from their own scruples. For a few weeks I still got casomorphin cravings, but they were paired with such a distinct sense of anger and disgust that resisting was a cinch.

I can’t believe I feel compelled to be so explicit here, but when I travel, I do a shitload of bean-based meal prep so I can quickly make my choice of sandwiches with veggies + bean protein (lentil loaf, pea-fortified hummus, or just spiced garbanzos) out of the cooler while carnist relatives make blood and flesh sandwiches. I bring enough nut bars and nut butters that even if I find myself famished and too tired to cook or prep a sandwich in a small town with no vegan options and no real grocery stores, I can get a quick 600+ calories and feel extremely full with minimal effort.

Depending on the length of the trip and my expectations for groceries and restaurants in the destination, and also as a backup in case I run out, or we have a cooler failure, or some other extenuating circumstance occurs, I also pack a good number of dehydrated vegan meals that can be rehydrated with hot water. These aren’t hard to prep at home but they require a food dehydrator. I don’t know if there’s a way to buy packaged dehydrated meals in the style of mountain house without supporting PBC.