I am a full-time student, working part-time and making shit money. My boyfriend makes just as little as I do. We reside on our own, without anybody’s financial support, and live primarily off of staple foods like rice, tofu, vegetables, oats, bulk foods, and beans. I acknowledge that I’m not impoverished, disabled, living in a food desert, or strained by some hideously extreme condition, but I refuse to let anyone believe that it is some horribly difficult feat to be vegan or that they, at the very least, can’t do their best in the circumstances that they’re under.

As stupid as it sounds, before I was vegan I truly believed that there was no way that I could afford to be vegan. This idea was based almost entirely off of posts that I saw on Tumblr. Every social justice blog that I followed claimed that veganism was this elite privilege bestowed upon those who could afford to make regular Whole Foods visits for their expensive imitation meats, organic produce, fancy cashew cheeses, and juice cleanses. Knowing that I couldn’t afford those things allowed me to write off veganism entirely for almost a year (that and the fear that if I became vegan then others would think that I didn’t care about people, which is another discussion). Finally, after I dedicated some time to actually reading about veganism, I learned about what a toll animal agriculture was taking on the planet, the animals, and the poor, often “illegal” workers who are abused for their cheap labor and vulnerability. Further, I came to a real understanding about the greed and corruption that exist within our current food system, and the government subsidies created to ensure the cheapness and accessibility of low-quality meat and dairy foods.

Since I’ve been vegan I have never been above the poverty line. I literally do not care if I have to lie, beg, and steal, I will never voluntarily eat an animal product for the rest of my life. You can cite my race, physical abilities, or location as a privilege, and I won’t deny any of it, but please don’t create another post that gives people with more than me a pass to not be vegan, or people who are in the same situation as me a reason to believe that they can’t do their best. The planet, the animals, and the workers cannot afford it.