- I had tofu for the first time,
I was like, "What is this? Like, no."
Hey, what's up guys?
My name is Brandon Brown,
I am a full time actor, an oil painter
based in Los Angeles, California.
And I have been a vegan for three years now.
I used to think of veganism,
I was really unsure of what it was specifically,
I heard of vegetarians, and I kinda thought
that they were the same thing for awhile,
I didn't know the differences of each of them
and I just really just thought that
it was people who ate salads all day long.
When I tell people I'm vegan, they usually react with,
"Wow! Really? How do you even survive?"
"How are you even alive?"
I grew up in Buffalo, New York,
on the East side of Buffalo, New York.
I remember eating McDonald's every single day
like as a child.
It was just the quickest thing for my mom,
my aunt to get when we're on our way home.
I remember I had a summer youth job,
and every day I was just kinda buying McDonald's,
eating burgers every day.
It was just really unhealthy.
I didn't grow up like eating a lot of greens or plants,
I just kinda ate a lot of processed foods
'cause I was unaware of what it was like eating healthier.
And so I kinda, you know, like ate a lot of comfort food,
soul food, macaroni and cheese, collard greens.
I remember eating pork chops and chicken
and stuff like that.
Stuff that I would never touch now, unless it was vegan.
A guilty pleasure of mine,
would have to be macaroni and cheese.
Like I used to love me some macaroni and cheese
Like man, I really liked turkey and liked ham too.
It's so weird because I'm just like,
I could never eat that now.
So I really started to think about veganism
a couple of years ago.
I remember I was watching documentaries on Netflix,
such as "What the Health" and "Earthlings"
and stuff like that.
And I was just like, "Whoa, what?"
I remember that night like I watched the documentary
and I cleared out my refrigerator that night.
I got rid of everything.
I had to slowly get rid of things like little by little,
because I couldn't go cold turkey.
I stopped eating pork a long time ago.
Then it was just eat chicken and beef.
Then it was just turkey.
Then I was eating seafood for awhile.
And then I was vegetarian for a year before I became vegan.
And it was really hard for me at first.
I remember going to places like Veggie Grill
and I tried to eat like a vegan chicken fruit sandwich
for the first time.
And I was like, "What is this?
Like I cannot rock with this."
It was an acquired taste.
I remember I had a lot of mistakes,
when I first became vegan.
I didn't know that I couldn't eat honey
until a friend called me out on it.
And all I was really was trying to do
was make myself aware of things
and then better myself every time I found out something.
And then after that,
I started to really appreciate being vegan for the plants.
I started not buying clothing with leather in it,
not eating honey and stuff like that.
I started to really focus on,
okay, I'm vegan for my health reasons.
I've had family members die of heart attacks
from eating all of these meats at like 38.
I just really wanted to prevent that
and, you know, do better for myself internally,
but it became about the environment
and animals, everything else afterwards.
The first few months going vegan was dreadful.
It was like, "Okay, I can't eat meat.
I can't eat cheese. What do I eat? Salad.
Okay, I don't wanna just eat salads."
It was rough.
I had tofu for the first time.
I was like, "What is this? Like no."
I was just trying to resort to a lot of pasta.
I was eating pasta all day long.
And then, you know, I started finding out about things like,
Oh, impossible meat, beyond meat, things of that nature.
And even though it's a processed food,
I try not to eat too much of it actually.
But it was an easier alternative
when I started eating things and just doing more research
and watching more videos.
What do vegans eat in a day?
And I was like, "Oh, okay, it's so many things.
Things that you're already eating
that were technically vegan."
So it was very hard at first, but it became easier,
the more and more I did my research on it.
When I tell people I'm vegan,
you'll get half of the people who take it serious.
Like, "Wow, I really admire that.
It takes a lot determination and dedication."
And then you'll get people who (clicks)
"Are you really vegan?
Or are you just saying that cause its a trend?"
In all actuality,
I have been the same weight as I was before.
So I'm probably not one of those people
who lost a ton of weight.
One thing I did notice when I became vegan,
I used to run and play basketball every day,
and before, I was like out of breath.
It felt really harsh.
And then now when I play and exercise,
I have so much energy.
I go to Runyon Canyon and I hike
and I'm just like, you know, jogging the whole way.
Internally, I'm in better shape.
Like I feel really healthy,
I have a strong immune system.
Grocery shopping now is completely different.
You know, you go to Whole foods,
you go to Trader Joe's, they had every option.
You had meat alternatives like jackfruit, oyster mushrooms,
which are my favorite, beyond meat, soy chorizo.
You have all these alternatives that are just amazing.
I love grocery shopping now It's like the best.
Before I was vegan,
I never looked at ingredients or anything
Then I became vegan, and I had to watch out for everything.
And I didn't realize how much stuff have
milk, egg, and just like some form of gelatin
or animal product in it. It was like, unbelievable.
So now every time I go grocery shopping,
I'm looking at the ingredients on everything.
Even some brands will try to, say like "plant-based this"
and you look at the ingredients
and there'll milk or something.
You just gotta read the back of things and read ingredients.
And you'll learn a lot of information from that.
I am a full-time vegan diet.
I don't cheat at all, you know, and it's for myself.
And I think that it's important
because I just kind of want to be true to myself.
And I try not to judge people
because I realize if you're posting content
and you're like judging people for eating meat
and all of that stuff, they don't respond to it well.
They respond to it very harshly
because they feel like you're attacking them.
And so they will attack back.
I just tried to basically show like,
"Look at this delicious meal I made.
Would you believe it's vegan?"
And then naturally, organically inspire people
'cause people always ask me,
"Wow, that's vegan? You inspired me to go vegan."
And then it, you know, it becomes maybe more than that.
I'm not sure or not if a vegan diet is good for everyone.
But I do know that everyone who I personally told
to become vegan or who have told me that they were vegan,
they have definitely had more beneficial health factors.
Everyone, even my mother, she had a stroke and she,
I told her to get on a plant based diet
and she recovered very quickly. She lost a lot of weight.
Like making half of your week,
at least half of your week, plant base,
you know, no meats, you know, no dairy.
You just try and do your best.
One of my favorite things about
being a part of the vegan community
is we have vegan everything.
We have vegan food trucks, we have vegan sundaes,
vegan street fairs. I went to a vegan prom.
We all dressed up and we ate a ton of vegan food.
Like the vegan community is so strong and I love it.
Like it's like being in a fraternity or a organization.
I've had some of the best experiences
and meet the best people because we all have great energy.
There is no such thing as a perfect vegan.
Don't drive yourself crazy. Trying to be the perfect vegan
that criticizes everyone else that eats meat,
or if you even slip up.
The best thing that you can do to become the best vegan
is to essentially just make yourself aware of things
and just try your best, you know. We're all gonna slip up,
whether it's intentional or not intentional,
but really just try to be the best you.
And the more that you can influence more people
and save the environment, save the animals
and save yourself.
Go for it, try it.
You know, there's no, you're going to make mistakes,
but try your best. Try day to day.
Give yourself a week, a month, you know,
see how you feel after and if it does
make a difference, keep going with it, you know.
I promise you It's not that hard. We have so many options.
Just watch videos, do your research online,
everything is free and available for you.
And to the naysayers, you know,
I just don't know what to tell you.
If you're confident about what you believe in
or not changing your ways, that's okay,
but don't criticize or come at another person
for wanting to better themselves.
And that's all I gotta say.
Peace and love.
Thank you so much, God, for tuning in.
Brandon Brown out.
(upbeat music)