Why Veganism, Minimalism and Zero Waste?

May 14, 2023. In the morning, before heading to the café, the soap dish was picked up. While having breakfast in the kitchen, I had the idea to turn off the kitchen radio that I always had on during breakfast. This way, I wanted to further reduce my constant input and not overload my mind with unnecessary information first thing in the morning. I didn't want to be entertained but rather consciously choose which information I wanted to consume.

After a productive time at the café, I had lunch at McDonald's because I didn't feel like cooking. After a short walk in the Welfengarten after lunch, I pondered why I wanted to live vegan, zero-waste, and minimalist.

For veganism, the why was obvious: I dreamed of a nonviolent society that includes all species in nonviolence, and veganism was an important building block for that.

For minimalism, I thought of many personal benefits I experienced: more money, more time, better concentration and creativity, a more relaxed life, a tidy home, more independence from material and immaterial things, more space, easier moving, sustainable living, more courage to let go, and better mental well-being.

For zero-waste, the why also came relatively easily because all I had to do was look around to see the chaos people caused with their trash. The entire Welfengarten was full of empty packaging, crumpled paper, dog feces, empty alcohol bottles, and broken glass scattered everywhere on the lawn. The trash cans were overflowing.

It often looked like this - after a weekend behind my university. Whenever the sun was shining and people didn't have to work, they crawled out of their holes and polluted nature. I was so angry when I saw these mountains of garbage in that moment. I definitely didn't want to be a part of this throwaway society, so I aimed for zero-waste.

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