If you live in a southern state, every road is lined with cattle, hunting is taught to youngster days out of the womb, and you grew up being taught that beef jerky is more than a yummy gas station snack, but a freaking way of life.

In a land where meat rules, it seems veganism would be an impossible task for a human being to take on. I mean, what a stressful way to live — always wondering if you were consuming even a small particle of some innocent animal. And what about clothing? How can a person be a die-hard Judas Priest fan without a real leather jacket, torn off the back of some hellhound and woven with the hair of Cerberus himself? Hair products? Body products? What about the horsehair used for my fiddle? IF YOU’RE GONNA PLAY IN TEXAS, YOU GOTTA HAVE A FIDDLE IN THE BAND! Who in the world are these warriors taking on the war against animal by-products? How are they still in one piece? How have their heads not exploded? Please send all the vegans my way and let us create an army to take over the world because holy hell, these must be the toughest human beings to have ever walked this earth.

And so my journey began.

Amanda Kemper Thoma-Rowland became a vegetarian in the sixth grade. Amanda lived a meat-free life until 2011 when she decided meat-free just wasn’t enough.

“Many vegetarians assume that if the animal doesn’t die, they aren’t harmed,” she said. “This couldn’t be farther from the truth. After burying myself in books and documentaries, I came to the clear conclusion that if I could not merely survive, but dramatically improve my health and well-being by transitioning to a vegan diet, it was my moral imperative to do so,” adding, “Within weeks of going vegan, I noticed a marked improvement in just about everything. I have honestly never felt better – both spiritually and physically.”

It seems that all of those I interviewed — though sympathetic for the animals who die on a daily basis to feed our greedy butts — mainly chose to become vegan out of a need to become healthier.

Local musician K-Tea Callahan decided to become vegan in 2012 after her health began to take a downward spiral. Callahan developed an autoimmune disorder that led to daily bouts with physical pain and eventually turned into major depression.

“Basically, my body was beginning to destroy itself and I could feel it,” Callahan said.

After doing some research Callahan came across the documentary Simply Raw. Inspired, she went out and found herself a juicer, got started making smoothies and raw food dishes at home, and the girl has never looked back. “Can I get a kale yeah?” Why, yes, you can!

Dr. Jack Ward of Pair O’Docs Bio-Rejuvenis is a local physician who specializes in lifestyle medicine, including nutritional counseling. Dr. Ward has been vegan since 2011 after a bout of food poisoning caused by ham led him to do some research, which included the documentaries Food, Inc. and Forks Over Knives.

“While I am against the unethical treatment of animals, my choice to be vegan is from the health aspects,” Dr. Ward said. He added that his best advice for someone who wishes to become vegan is to eliminate one food at a time, suggesting dairy and beef as good starters.

Dr. Ward also added, “The real challenge for an ethical vegan is that most places cross-contaminate.”

Which leads this cat to her next area of curiosity: Where in this wonderful city of ours is it safe to eat as a vegan? (Anyone else imagining a tropical oasis with trees dripping fruit where our local vegan warriors are gathered under the shade, riding elephants, petting tigers, and feeding one another grapes? No? Just me? Okay. Moving on.)

Thoma-Rowland said that Indigo and Yeero Yeero are two of her local favorites, though, “Truthfully, I cook way more than I eat out because I can just make the vegan version of whatever I want as opposed to ordering the spaghetti for the millionth time because that’s the only thing I can eat there!”

Other favorites from those interviewed included: Danh’s Garden, Jason’s Deli, Don Juan’s, El Jimador, Blue Southern Comfort Foods, Boneheads, Healthy Chef Meals, and, of course, Sunshine Health Foods. Everyone agreed that pretty much any restaurant can be vegan-friendly, but it requires lots of questions and lots of patience with the staff (and lots of hope that they return this patience!).

“The only negative experience I have had locally is the lack of knowledge on what veganism is,” said Callahan. “Being vegan means NO animal products. Animal products are found in bread, white sugar, gelatin, and more. Most people do not understand that vegan means no honey. So the worst thing that happens is that your server is uninformed and tells you something is vegan and it is not. Therefore, eating out as a vegan, you must be prepared to question everything.”

Emily Mills, owner of local raw vegan business Sacred Strawberry, added, “Because there aren’t any dedicated vegan or vegetarian eateries in town, you still have to feel like a pain in the butt asking questions, you are still subject to whether or not your server knows or can be bothered to ask the chef about ingredients, and you still have to leave a little bit up to faith every time you eat out as a vegan in such circumstances.”

Mills hopes to help curb this through her local business which originally specialized in kale chips, raw chocolates, and superfood truffle sales at the Farmers’ Market, local festivals, and with a raw vegan lunch pop-up — but has since switched gears in hopes to further educate our locals. Sacred Strawberry hopes to show people how to incorporate more raw vegan food into their lives through educational workshops, wild edible plant walks, and making their goodies available through custom orders.

Veganism is alive and well here and seems to have some amazing people leading us toward healthier living. The knowledge and dedication it takes to live this type of lifestyle is awe-striking. These guys are anything but the feline-related derogatory comment that tends to be flung about when discussing those who opt out of consuming the flesh of another living creature. In fact, I’m pretty sure most of them are going to out-live a majority of us flesh-eaters by at least twenty years. And I know for darn sure they could kick some butt without hardly losing their breaths. And basically, what I’m saying is — I support the local vegan army. And you should, too.

Image: Nettle Brownies with Pine Pollen White Chocolate from Sacred Strawberry.