Just say no to Hershey Kisses...and wine with honey...and...

While I did not transition into veganism cold turkey (there was still some yogurt and coffee creamer left over in the fridge - and I am a poor vet student), I did make a decision to choose new items that were vegan. Which is why, at 8am today, I passed up three (count them THREE) Hershey kisses. Our epidemiology professor passed around a bag to demonstrate a point about sample size, and we each took one. And then came the second bag. And the third. By the end, I had three kisses sitting in front of me (one of them was even caramel!). But what are they made of? MILK chocolate. And I thought, "Crap." I know there is vegan chocolate, but Hershey's milk chocolate kisses (some of my faves!) are not in that group. So I took mine from the bag (I'd hate to screw up a good class example) and passed them down to a friend. And the more I thought about it, the better I felt, until I started thinking...

I wonder sometimes...how much impact does my decision not to eat or use any animal products actually have? I passed up 3 Hershey kisses in class this morning. But the bag was already bought, the cows already milked to make the chocolate, their manure already in the environment. The system had already been supported. I'm curious as to how other vegans deal with this reality. The world is not vegan. There will be people who continue to eat meat, regardless of the environmental and social impacts (whether or not they are aware) until it becomes unavailable, or extremely cost-prohibitive. Does my conscious decision even matter? If I really think about it, I KNOW it matters - at least to me. I feel so much better about my life, health, and spirit, knowing I did not contribute in any way to the suffering of any creature, no matter how many legs. But still...I can't help but wonder if my choices will change anything. I'm sure this is something many vegans feel in the early stages. In the end I can only hope that there are enough of us to make a difference. Mother Earth needs help, and we have the power to give it to her, if only we stop thinking of ourselves for just a moment...