We asked South Bend reader and recent raffle winner Francis McDonald to share about his and his wife’s lifestyle change to veganism. Here is his story.
My Journey to veganism began with my wife. She went Vegan for Lent (40 days) back in college which really changed her perspective on food.
She had a couple cousins who were vegan and would hear them talk about it many times throughout her life so it was always in the back of her head. It wasn’t until our first daughter was born that things changed for her. She was home all day with our daughter so she decided to watch documentaries. She saw “What the Health”, “Cowspiracy”, “Forks over Knives”, and many more. After explaining to me about the environmental impact, the animal living and farming conditions (even in “organic” animal farms), and the health benefits, I decided to look more into it. I had never thought of it before. So I decided to watch all the movies she watched with an open heart and that was it. I decided to become vegan. That was about 3.5 years ago. We are constantly learning more and more about how to live more sustainably and ethically in this world and we still have a long way to go but we are enjoying the journey!
Francis McDonald is a Doctor of Physical Therapy at McDonald Physical Therapy in South Bend, IN. He lives in North Liberty, IN with his wife Mary and 2 children: Flora (age 3) and Pax (age 1). They live in a little farmhouse on 2 acres that has been in his wife’s family for 6 generations. Their dream is to grow enough organic food to sustain them for the year and donate the rest to those in need.