Calling all Vegans and Vegetarians...etc...
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i watched a movie (last week? the week before?) called "Earthlings". i was horrified to the point of tears and sickened - i cried through the entire thing. after that, i decided i just couldn't live that kind of lifestyle. that being said, if i was stuck on a desert island or something with only wild boar to hunt and eat to survive, would i eat it? yes.
it's a transition for me - i was in fact aware of how animals were treated on factory farms, etc. but seeing those images sorta burned a hole in my mind. my body already feels better, as well.0 -
Well, in May of this year (2011) I had been hearing things on television about a vegan diet & how it was something to consider if you wanted to drastically improve all kinds of health conditions. It was interesting, because actually my Mother was the main one considering the vegan diet because of her diabetes but I was thinking more of just sticking to my lean healthy diet. Well, around that same time, I also read Alicia Silverstone's book "The Kind Diet" & from that day on my mind was made up. I gave away anything in my home that wasn't vegan & I was off! I didn't start out being vegetarian, I just jumped right into veganism.
I'm a huge animal lover & I truly hate hearing about anything that is done to any animal unkindly, but my main decision to become vegan was for my health. I was hearing about so much good that came from a vegan diet (regarding health) that I was hooked! I'm over weight, I've got rheumatoid arthritis & some family history that I don't want to make mine, so I became instantly interested! Also, in her book, Alicia mentioned the human body & evolution as compared to animals, like tigers. She compared our intestinal structure, our teeth, etc. & it made very much sense to me that I'm just not meant to eat meat. When I read that it takes a human 72 hours to digest a piece of meat & that it basically sits in my stomach & rots while it waits, totally grossed me out! I instantly thought, no wonder I feel like crap!
So, from then on I've been completely vegan, with a few minor accidents here & there. Each & every day I find new reasons why I love being vegan & it makes me so happy & I feel great! My body feels so much more energetic, clean & things just work so much smoother!
Like some others, I've also had people tell me that I couldn't succeed in being vegan. I've had very little support. I live in a location where it can be difficult to buy vegan items. But, I am vegan anyway! By sticking to my new ideals I've gained supporters & proven myself as well as gotten a firmer stance in my beliefs. I've also learned a lot more about food, what's really in it, where it comes from, how to use it to better my body, etc. I've even learned about a lot of places to purchase items that I never knew about! I've entered a whole new world that I love & will live in forever!
I became vegan for my health, but I'm vegan for so much more than that now! It's nothing I'm interested in pushing on anyone, but it's definitely what works for me! And along the way, if others see my example & become interested, (which is what's been happening) I'll share anything they wanna know!0 -
Well, in May of this year (2011) I had been hearing things on television about a vegan diet & how it was something to consider if you wanted to drastically improve all kinds of health conditions. It was interesting, because actually my Mother was the main one considering the vegan diet because of her diabetes but I was thinking more of just sticking to my lean healthy diet. Well, around that same time, I also read Alicia Silverstone's book "The Kind Diet" & from that day on my mind was made up. I gave away anything in my home that wasn't vegan & I was off! I didn't start out being vegetarian, I just jumped right into veganism.
I'm a huge animal lover & I truly hate hearing about anything that is done to any animal unkindly, but my main decision to become vegan was for my health. I was hearing about so much good that came from a vegan diet (regarding health) that I was hooked! I'm over weight, I've got rheumatoid arthritis & some family history that I don't want to make mine, so I became instantly interested! Also, in her book, Alicia mentioned the human body & evolution as compared to animals, like tigers. She compared our intestinal structure, our teeth, etc. & it made very much sense to me that I'm just not meant to eat meat. When I read that it takes a human 72 hours to digest a piece of meat & that it basically sits in my stomach & rots while it waits, totally grossed me out! I instantly thought, no wonder I feel like crap!
So, from then on I've been completely vegan, with a few minor accidents here & there. Each & every day I find new reasons why I love being vegan & it makes me so happy & I feel great! My body feels so much more energetic, clean & things just work so much smoother!
Like some others, I've also had people tell me that I couldn't succeed in being vegan. I've had very little support. I live in a location where it can be difficult to buy vegan items. But, I am vegan anyway! By sticking to my new ideals I've gained supporters & proven myself as well as gotten a firmer stance in my beliefs. I've also learned a lot more about food, what's really in it, where it comes from, how to use it to better my body, etc. I've even learned about a lot of places to purchase items that I never knew about! I've entered a whole new world that I love & will live in forever!
I became vegan for my health, but I'm vegan for so much more than that now! It's nothing I'm interested in pushing on anyone, but it's definitely what works for me! And along the way, if others see my example & become interested, (which is what's been happening) I'll share anything they wanna know!
I've been thinking about reading "The Kind Diet"! I heard its a great book.0 -
For me it started out with some super funky tasting chicken. When I checked the package it said "chicken with rib meat" and I was curious as to what exactly that was. So I looked it up. That was gross. Then I started seeking more and more knowledge about the food I was eating, and it didn't take long before I decided that vegetarian was the way to go. That was 6 years ago, and since then I've read countless books on the issues surrounding modern food and watched a lot of documentaries. I learned about issues with animal treatment at slaughter houses, on dairy farms, political issues surrounding those industries, GMO food companies trying to take over the world with their franken-foods and all of the health issues too. Even now, I'm constantly reading about this stuff and learning new things.
For a while now I've felt that I would eventually become vegan, but only recently did I finally decide I want to transition to a 100% vegan lifestyle. I'm not perfect at it yet, but the majority of the time I eat vegan, and I try to include as many raw foods as possible, especially greens. I've even started learning how to garden (I have a brown thumb so this is a really big deal for me!). I do it out of compassion for animals, as a vote against poor industry practices that harm workers and ignore the health of the general public, as a vote against political leaders that make decisions about public health based on who is lining their pocket book, to support more ecological and sustainable ways of life, and to reconnect with the Earth by listening to my instincts instead of listening to cultural norms about food. For me, i'm probably doing it for almost every reason any one has thought of before.
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I became veggie at the age of 11.
I had seen a programme on battery hens and slaughterhouses and decided that I didn't want any part of killing animals.
So at the dinner table one Sunday I refused to eat the meat. I was told that I had to sit there until I had eaten it.
8 hours later I was still sat at the table.
Thankfully my parents got the hint and after much discussion cooked me veggie grills and I would have a veggie product when they had a meat or fish one.
I think having a visiting uncle that was a vegan Buddhist monk helped as it meant that my mother could ask her brother about his diet in order to get mine right. Otherwise it would have just been a precocious 11 year old refusing to eat her 'little lambs'
I'm 32 now and apart from in my early-to-mid teens (if you went out to eat it would be chips or nothing), I have found it is fine to be veggie and most places are accommodating.
Good luck!0 -
I was deeply appalled by the annual dolphin slaughter that goes on in Taiji, Japan every year. When i got researching on it, i found a lot of 'pro dolphin and whale meat people' would say 'it's just like you eating pig, chicken, cow etc..'. So i decided that I couldn't be a hypocrite any longer and gave up meat. I've always been passionate about animal welfare and finally grew up and took responsibility. A few months later i was exposed to the cruelty behind the dairy industry and cut out dairy. I don't eat anything with eggs in it either. It's almost been a year since giving up meat. Do NOT miss it in the slightest. I feel fit, clean and guilt free
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Sure, I've been vegan for over a year and a half now, and I was vegetarian for about 9 months prior.
It basically stemmed from my curiosity- I love animals and I'd heard of people being vegan and vegetarian and I wanted to find out why. So, I went online, watched various videos and read information about how animals are really treated when producing animal products and I was absolutely disgusted to say the least. There was no way I could ever go on eating animal products knowing what I'd be supporting, so from that day on, I worked towards adopting a vegan lifestyle.
I went vegan for ethical reasons, but the health benefits don't hurt
It's not hard to follow a vegan diet, it just takes practise and experimentation- besides, it's not hard to resist foods you know cause cruelty and suffering. That's the way I see it anyway You should totally look into a vegan or veggie diet and lifestyle, you might be pleasantly surprised! 0 -
I was deeply appalled by the annual dolphin slaughter that goes on in Taiji, Japan every year. When i got researching on it, i found a lot of 'pro dolphin and whale meat people' would say 'it's just like you eating pig, chicken, cow etc..'. So i decided that I couldn't be a hypocrite any longer and gave up meat. I've always been passionate about animal welfare and finally grew up and took responsibility. A few months later i was exposed to the cruelty behind the dairy industry and cut out dairy. I don't eat anything with eggs in it either. It's almost been a year since giving up meat. Do NOT miss it in the slightest. I feel fit, clean and guilt free
That's awful! I had no idea that occured
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Initially in my teens I became a vegetarian because I was that rebel activist who didn't like what was happening to the animals that we were consuming rather than because I didn't enjoy the taste of it. However being a teenager and having parents who figured it was a phase they did not do anything to accomodate my desires so I basically lived on junk food
Now that I am 30 I have gone back to being a vegetarian because I no longer like the taste (plus because I don't like the unethical treatment of these animals). However I am only a vegetarian....I still consume cheese, eggs, and honey. I do not drink cows milk though (prefer water or herbal tea and I get tons of calcium from veggies). Because I do the shopping I have no problems like before and junk food isn't an issue because I greatly limit my sweets (they're my down fall but my body is intolerant to the GINORMOUS amount of sugar).
Newly back in the fold, I should add here :0D....Any fellow veggies/vegans feel free to friend me! I'd love to get some new recipes!!!0 -
Honestly, I was at an Hr block office, and there was a PETA magazine. It was learning about factory farming that did it. I'm probably the only vegetarian I know that was converted by PETA. My husband and I did it together, came home, gave our meat away and never looked back.
In hindsight, I could see events leading up to it. I was getting slowly grossed out by certain meats.
Now you know another!! PETA is what got me when I was a teenager. Now I keep up on this "knowledge" of abuse by checking out documentaries on Netflix and HuluPlus0 -
I didn't like the taste of meat either. I went vegetarian 6 years ago, but before that I would only eat chicken and tuna. I hated the taste of all other meat.
I also believed that it was better for the environment and I was doing my bit. And I felt very strongly about animal rights.0 -
My aunt and uncle had a cow named Bumper. And I was 7.
I had never really been around cows before. They would let us go see the cow, pet the cow etc...
Then the cow was gone. They said the cow ran into the woods and got lost.
Later that night, I heard my mom say (after Easter dinner) "wow, Bumper was really tender."
To my mom's credit- she didn't know I was in the room.
However, I have not ate meat since.
True story
When I was little, my grandparents had a pig named Annie. They bought her to eat her. But her personality turned out to be so charming that no one could slaughter her and she lived to a ripe old age, and when she finally passed on naturally, our whole family came to her burial. She was smart, and liked to play with people, especially little kids. She used to even make jokes in her own pig way and laugh at them!0 -
My aunt and uncle had a cow named Bumper. And I was 7.
I had never really been around cows before. They would let us go see the cow, pet the cow etc...
Then the cow was gone. They said the cow ran into the woods and got lost.
Later that night, I heard my mom say (after Easter dinner) "wow, Bumper was really tender."
To my mom's credit- she didn't know I was in the room.
However, I have not ate meat since.
True story
When I was little, my grandparents had a pig named Annie. They bought her to eat her. But her personality turned out to be so charming that no one could slaughter her and she lived to a ripe old age, and when she finally passed on naturally, our whole family came to her burial. She was smart, and liked to play with people, especially little kids. She used to even make jokes in her own pig way and laugh at them!
Sadly, it didn't end that way for Bumper. They too bought the cow to raise it for meat, but no one explained it to me. So it was quite a shock! I am glad Annie got to be part of the family!0 -
When I was little, my grandparents had a pig named Annie. They bought her to eat her. But her personality turned out to be so charming that no one could slaughter her and she lived to a ripe old age, and when she finally passed on naturally, our whole family came to her burial. She was smart, and liked to play with people, especially little kids. She used to even make jokes in her own pig way and laugh at them!
Sadly, it didn't end that way for Bumper. They too bought the cow to raise it for meat, but no one explained it to me. So it was quite a shock! I am glad Annie got to be part of the family!
ME TOO. I'm sorry Bumper didn't have the same fate =(0 -
I've been vegetarian since I was a kid (10ish) and have never looked back. I want to be vegan someday but for the short- term I'm going to try to give up cheese because I am a total cheese addict & like a previous poster said I'm pretty sure its making me fat. I've always hated all fish& all dark meat. I did like chicken but it was not hard to give up and now I couldn't imagine eating an animal.
I strongly encourage you to do research and see all the benefits of becoming vegetarian. I can't think of a single person I know who regrets becoming one and sticking with it.0 -
I was deeply appalled by the annual dolphin slaughter that goes on in Taiji, Japan every year. When i got researching on it, i found a lot of 'pro dolphin and whale meat people' would say 'it's just like you eating pig, chicken, cow etc..'. So i decided that I couldn't be a hypocrite any longer and gave up meat. I've always been passionate about animal welfare and finally grew up and took responsibility. A few months later i was exposed to the cruelty behind the dairy industry and cut out dairy. I don't eat anything with eggs in it either. It's almost been a year since giving up meat. Do NOT miss it in the slightest. I feel fit, clean and guilt free
That's awful! I had no idea that occured
MamaKatel, there's a documentary about the dolphin thing that you might want to watch (though it is very difficult to), called The Cove. http://www.thecovemovie.com0
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