My story

Since a young age I have been an animal lover. I grew up in the countryside in the southwest part of Sweden. We had horses, cows, cats and rabbits and I loved riding and being outdoors. I have always felt very connected to the nature and to animals. But like most of us, I grew up eating everything; which in Sweden is called “husmanskost”. As soon as I became old enough to question why we eat animals, I did. I had been to close too animals to disconnect that the pork on my plate had previously been a happy little pig with feelings just as us! We don’t eat our dogs, how can we eat pigs?! It didn’t make sense to me. I stopped eating meat, I became vegetarian (but still ate fish, aka pescetarian). 

​

The older I became the more interested I became in health and wellness in general, and again, I started to question how the things we eat affect us. This led me to pursue a Bachelor of Science in Dietetics at Gothenburg University. I worked six years as a clinical dietitian, in hospitals and in primary care, as well as for Nestle Health Science.

 

The transition from eating dairy, egg and fish to eating plant-based was something that came later in life. Sweden is a country very fond of dairy. Eating dairy is so deeply rooted in my culture that I didn’t start questioning this properly until a decade later, when I moved to the United States. No matter how hard I tried to find the most humanely produced milk on the whole of Manhattan, I realized it wasn’t good enough. The pretty picture on the milk package couldn’t be further from the truth. I moved over to soy-milk and nut-milks instead and at the same time started studying Plant-based Nutrition via eCornell University. Soon everything became very clear to me, milk is for baby cows, not for humans. No matter how many vitamins or complete protein it has, we don’t need it. In fact, we do better without it. 

 

Giving up fish and seafood was harder, as some of my absolute favourite dishes were spaghetti vongole with clams and lobster roll. I thought I could never stop eating these! But the more I learnt about all the antibiotics and unnatural foods that were routinely given to farmed fish, the heavy metals and toxins that are found in wild fish, and even more importantly; how we are depleting our oceans by overfishing and how we poison the sea by pouring fertilizers straight into fish pools in the sea, the less appetizing it was to eat any of it.  

 

After learning about all the benefits with a plant-based diet, it was an easy move for me to become a plant-eater. I felt better in my body even after a few weeks, which I was surprised about! I didn't expect to feel much of a difference since I was already a pescetarian. But plants have more power than we think, and I only can just begin to imagine how amazing it would feel to transition to a plant-based diet from a standard american diet.

​

I prefer to call myself a plant-eater rather than a vegan, since even though I choose to live on plants 99% of my time, I make exceptions sometimes and don't feel like any food is forbidden. For instance if I order Pad Thai with tofu, and it happens to come with fish sauce, I will still eat it. If I am at a holiday resort and I am dying to have an ice cream, but all they have is regular ice cream, I will probably have one anyway. From a nutrition perspective I know one ice cream is not going to kill me, and from an ethical perspective I know that as long as I ask the shop or restaurant why they don't offer a dairy free alternative and explain why I think they should, then I feel like I have at least made my voice heard. In the grand scheme of things I think promoting an animal friendly diet is more important than being 100% vegan all the time. 

 

I think it is very easy to be a plant-eater, I really love and thrive on it, maybe because of my attitude and philosophy on food. I don't want to be too rigid and feel guilty if one day I have something non-vegan, if that's what I crave, and I certainly don't want to make anyone else feel guilty for what they eat. I know I can and am allowed to eat whatever I want, I just don't want to! Animal products are just not very appetizing or flattering for me anymore.  

 

Although this way of eating fits me very well, this doesn't mean that it will fit everyone. Most important for me, is that people have access to information and knowledge about all the health advantages of a plant-based diet, so that they can make their own empowered decisions about what to eat. This is one of the main reasons I started this blog and I hope to inspire you along the way. It is worth mentioning once again that it doesn't need to be all or nothing, even just increasing the amounts of plants in an overall omnivores diet is very beneficial for the health and the planet, and you really don't need to become a vegan or plant-eater to enjoy more greens!  

 

Personally, I see my new way of eating as lifestyle change rather than a diet (btw you never need to diet on a whole food plant-based diet!). This way of living aligns most with my values and who I am; I care a lot about my health, I care a lot about the environment, and I care a lot about animals. This way of living kills three birds with one stone!

(although I hope not to kill any birds....)

​

Now you have heard my story. Hopefully you will enjoy my blog as well, I am very happy you are here. Welcome!

- Karin 

​

​