

An occasional series in which ordinary people

talk about living a plant-based life

I’m Debby Montenegro, I’m 53 and I was raised in Torbay in Devon. I’ve lived in a few places around the world but I always gravitate back to Devon; it’s the sea, I love living near the beach.

I have a daughter who’s also vegan and she’s at uni studying nutrition. I’m currently single, and this is the hardest part of being vegan – finding a compatible vegan Tom Hardy lookalike… I live in hope (lol).

I started my vegan journey in August 2017. It wasn’t a difficult decision to make. Prior to going vegan I had periods in my life where I was a vegetarian and then due to pressure from various people – my partner, parents, friends and health professionals – when I was pregnant I would start eating meat or fish again.

It was also lack of understanding as to why I was a vegetarian; I didn’t know just how cruel the meat and especially the dairy industry was and still is. There was no internet at this time and I was just ignorant and afraid to practise my beliefs. I didn’t know any other vegetarians but what I did know is I never enjoyed eating animals; I always had a deep-rooted guilt that I couldn’t explain.

The world is a different place now and the information is out there. My daughter sat me down and asked me to watch Cowspiracy, What the Health and Forks over Knives, and instantly my eyes were opened. I practically made the decision to go vegan overnight.

I feel more different as a vegan than I ever did as a vegetarian. It’s difficult to explain, but I now feel an overwhelming compassion towards all life, which is constantly growing on a daily basis.

I always laugh about vegan jokes where the punchline suggests we let people know about it within five minutes of meeting them. I always tell people I’m a vegan: I’m vegan and proud and people usually know it within three minutes, never mind the five minutes that all the jokes refer to.

My work colleagues have days when they like to insult my way of life. I just come back with “Yes, I’m saving the animals and just look how healthy I am, I haven’t had a cold, a sniffy nose or any days off work since turning vegan”.

I’m a health-conscious vegan and a great cook, but I do have the odd chickpea burger and chips. I work out five mornings a week at 6am before I start my 8-5 job as an administrator.

I am aware of the horror show videos on social media and the reality of what happens. Some are really brutal, but this is what happens and people need to see what is going on. I do share some of those videos, but not all.

What I really can’t get my head around is when people believe that there is such a thing as humane slaughter, or they say something like animals are here for us to eat, and then I want to slap them and show them what really happens. Then we have the so-called meat-eating animal lovers, who just love their pets!

On the plus side, veganism is here to stay; it’s not a fad, it’s a reality, and more and people are changing their habits and seeing the world through the eyes of all living beings.

I have a dream of opening up a vegan cooperative cafe in the near future, with which I hope to make enough profits to support and fund an animal sanctuary/rescue centre.

You can see more of Debby here at Instagram.

If you are interested in sharing your thoughts in our Everyday Vegans slot, please get in touch and we’ll let you know what to do.