My father was a butcher his entire working life. He started before he turned 18 and did it until the day he died. My mother also worked in “industry”.

When I grew up - in the 90s, it was normal to bring your kids to work. My primary school was close to my parents' workplace, so I spent countless afternoons there, waiting until we could all go home together.

From my experience I know what slaughter looks like. I know how animals are led to their death. I know how rivers of blood look like. I know what fear and suffering sound like in a place like that.

And I know the scent of it all…

A wonderful environment for a sensitive child…

The denial kicked in early. It had to. For over 30 years I carried it without question. I had been telling myself I was an animal lover - I had a dog and loved him. I admired his intelligence, I was genuinely moved by his capacity to feel.

And I ate his cousins for breakfast.

Then one afternoon, my dog looked at me.

Not the way dogs usually look at you. I mean really looked at me.

In his amber-like eyes I saw something I couldn't unsee: a soul. Not a pet. A being. And in that moment something cracked open - because if both of us could have souls, I had no logical or moral ground to deny that same truth to any other creature.

He's been gone for almost five years but I still see our exchange of glances every time I think of that moment.

I didn't go vegan overnight.

First came flexitarianism - I didn't even know the word yet, I just drastically cut my meat consumption. Then vegetarianism came, which felt like a huge personal achievement. Me - the butcher's son, the home cook, the guy who spent a lifetime mocking vegans eating "grass and rocks." Me…

It took a few more years to understand that vegetarianism wasn't enough. That it still funded the wicked system. That what is being done with sentient, thinking, empathetic beings in that industry makes word "cruelty" sound like an understatement.

In June 2024, I became vegan.

One of the best decisions I've ever made. When the time came - the decision itself was easy. Although the road to it was rocky and took nearly 40 years.

I'm not sharing this to lecture anyone. I know how absurd vegan arguments can sound in a world built by industries with enormous financial power. I know how long it can take to connect the dots.

It took me almost 40 years. And I was lucky enough to have the best dog in the world help me get there.

If you're somewhere on that road - I see you.

Below is one of our last photos together (and one of my favourites). His name was Bundz and I miss him to this day...

https://preview.redd.it/3r9t4xd9qfah1.png?width=1024&format=png&auto=webp&s=96d4304e80d0bbe2433d6e303e8c8044998c5dd0

Hi everyone!

Years ago I lived in UK for 5 years. I moved out right before Brexit. At the time I wasn't vegan yet but now I am. I've been thinking about sentimental road trip around UK for my long overdue holidays.

One of key factors would be vegan options availability. As far as I remember UK didn't particularly strike me as plant based country back then. But maybe something changed?

Tell me please if one decides to go there for vacations will have anything to eat on the road or rather I need set my mind towards cooking by myself?

Are there any apps that are helpful besides HappyCow?

Hey everyone,

I recently read a post from a frustrated vegan dealing with a massive mouse problem in an old house. They’ve tried everything: hired pros to seal holes, used humane traps (waking up at 3 AM to relocate them), tried peppermint, etc., but nothing works. They are exhausted, terrified of the droppings, but absolutely refuse to use poison or get a cat.

It got me thinking about the permaculture approach. Instead of fighting a losing battle inside the house, how would you design the outside environment to handle this?

How can we manipulate the surrounding ecosystem to draw them away from the house? I'm thinking of things like encouraging natural predators nearby (like owls) or designing the perimeter/garden in a way that creates a natural barrier or changes their travel routes.
How to get them "out of the house"?

Any ideas?

Hi everyone,

Last year I bought a piece of land in Lower Silesia, Poland. About half a hectare of it had been used as an intensive monoculture for decades—most recently, it was a conventional rapeseed field. After the harvest, I decided to just fence it off and leave it completely alone to see what would happen.

One year in, and the results are already blowing me away.

As you can see in the attached photo:

• Left side: My plot after exactly one season of doing absolutely nothing.
• Right side: My neighbor’s active, conventional monoculture field.
• Far Left: Another monoculture

Around 30–40% of my plot has already been taken over by a beautifully diverse mix of native plants—I've spotted bedstraw, St. John's wort, lady's mantle, brambles, thistles, chamomile, goosefoot, and a ton of different grasses. The rest is still mostly volunteer rapeseed and crumbs of cereals left over from the previous crop.

The Dilemma: Legal Constraints vs. Rewilding

My ultimate, long-term plan has feelings of full rewilding and afforestation—essentially, planting native trees and getting completely out of Nature's way. However, I’ve hit a bureaucratic wall: Polish law requires me to maintain official "agricultural use" for at least 4 more years before I can legally change the land designation and plant a proper forest.

I am trying to figure out a transitional strategy for these 4 years that satisfies the legal paperwork without destroying or resetting the incredible biodiversity that is already waking up.

The Ideas So Far:

• Rotational Horse Grazing: A local farmer already grazes his horses on a few private plots in our village. Letting them onto my land would easily satisfy the "agricultural use" requirement and would likely knock back the volunteer rapeseed. My concern: Will horse grazing at this fragile, early stage help the native succession along, or will the heavy hooves just flatten and destroy it?
• Starting a Permaculture Forest Garden / Food Forest: I could start establishing a woody structure early. A food forest or agroforestry setup legally counts as agricultural production here, which ticks the bureaucratic boxes while giving me a massive head start on the canopy and shrub layers.

What am I missing?

Has anyone faced similar legal hurdles while trying to rewild old agricultural land? If you were in my shoes, how would you navigate these next 4 years to maximize biodiversity and prep the site for its ultimate wild future?

Looking forward to your insights and advice!

https://preview.redd.it/fht6wvu2929h1.jpg?width=4000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d9a1313a032e84a6e2199c238207d03de1bfdec9