Choosing from Want, Not Need

“I can’t eat that because I’m vegan.”

When I say that, people sometimes make assumptions.

 

“Do you have allergies?”

“Is it for religious reasons?”

“Is it a health issue?”

“Is it about animal welfare?”

 

Of course, many people choose a vegan lifestyle for those reasons.

But for me, it’s a little different. And for a long time, I found it difficult to explain why.

I’m vegan not because I need to be, but because I want to be.

 

The Difference Between Need and Want

A need is something essential for survival.

Water.

Air.

Sleep.

A safe place to live.

Without these things, life becomes difficult.

 

A want, on the other hand, comes from our values.

It is the voice that says:

“This is how I want to live.”

“This is what I want to honour.”

“This is the world I want to choose.”

 

For example:

I want to live by the sea.

I want to play the harp.

I want to write books.

I want to share my life with this person.

None of these may be necessary for survival.

Yet they can be essential to living as the person you truly are.

 

For me, the distinction between Need and Want is quite clear.

 

Choosing not to eat out with friends because I want to maintain my vegan lifestyle is a choice I sometimes make.

That does not mean I dislike spending time with friends.

 

It simply reflects my priorities.

I am not someone who makes decisions based solely on the emotion of the moment.

I value keeping the promises I make to myself.

 

Yet people often respond by saying, “That sounds difficult.”

Moments like that remind me how differently people can experience the world.

 

Veganism Is a Want for Me

If I consume dairy, I do not become seriously ill.

If I eat meat, my life is not in danger.

So veganism is not a Need for me.

Technically, I could eat meat if I wanted to.

I simply choose not to.

Because the world I wish to participate in lies in a different direction.

 

“Can” and “Want” Are Not the Same Thing

As adults, we often confuse what we can do with what we want to do.

I can eat meat.

I can eat fish.

But when I ask myself,

“Do I actually want to?”

the answer is no.

This is not a question of right or wrong.

It is not a moral judgement.

It is simply not the life I wish to live.

 

Want Creates Freedom

A life driven only by Need can become filled with obligation.

 

I must do this.

I must own that.

I must earn more.

Of course, Needs matter.

 

But much of what makes life meaningful comes from our Wants.

What music do I want to listen to?

Who do I want to spend my time with?

What kind of world do I want my money to support?

And what do I want to eat?

 

For me, veganism is one answer to those questions.

 

I am not trying to persuade anyone to become vegan.

Nor do I believe everyone should eat the same way.

People who eat meat,

people who eat fish,

and people who are vegan—

all of them can have valid reasons and values behind their choices.

What matters most is understanding why we choose what we choose.

Are we choosing from Need?

Or are we choosing from Want?

 

The Challenge of Different Values

Of course, values are complicated.

When people with fundamentally different values spend a lot of time together, it can become exhausting for everyone involved.

There are limits.

For me, trying to accommodate everyone and embrace a universal, all-inclusive approach was never realistic.

Human beings naturally accept what aligns with their own worldview.

In many ways, we have to.

Otherwise, life becomes impossible to navigate.

 

So How Long Will I Continue?

One question I am often asked is:

“How long are you going to stay vegan?”

Whenever I hear that, I realise something.

People often mistake my choice for deprivation.

For restriction.

For self-denial.

But that is not how I experience it.

This is not an act of endurance.

It is an intentional choice.

So yes, I am vegan today.

Not because I have to be.

But because this is how I want to live.

 

Because this is my Want.