Why Did YOU go vegan?

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kelCshea
kelCshea Posts: 16 Member
No matter the reason, we're all in this together!

My reasons for going vegan are the animals and the environment. I went vegetarian after watching "Vegucated" and afterwards, continued to educate myself by watching Forks Over Knives, Food Inc, Earthlings, Fast Food Nation, etc. I still struggle with a few things like cheese and chocolate on occasion, but I am steadily phasing them out for good.

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  • Florameow
    Florameow Posts: 5 Member
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    My reasons to be vegan are sooo many! But I think the most important of all is my practice of yoga "Ahimsa" which in my practice means Non-harming. And after I did a lot of research I found how much pain ad suffering I was creating around the world and in other living beings by eating animal flesh and products.
  • LostAngeleno
    LostAngeleno Posts: 8 Member
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    In retrospect, I'd have to say because I was mega co-dependent and also had a major eating disorder- buy hey- I wasn't even 14 yet. Now, I just thinks eggs are yucky and I'm lactose intolerant.
  • xpanda70
    xpanda70 Posts: 20 Member
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    I saw Food Inc. which planted a few seeds about how animals are treated in today's modern farming practices. A year later I saw an image on Facebook of baby cows, only hours old, at a veal farm. So I spent the weekend watching videos online and was vegan by Monday.
  • kelCshea
    kelCshea Posts: 16 Member
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    Love the answers, everyone! We all have our reasons for living this lifestyle <3
  • kuftae
    kuftae Posts: 299 Member
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    I'm concerned about the environmental effects of mass-ranching operations. I'm less concerned about animal welfare than I am about the toxins being dumped into the oceans, rivers and atmosphere from livestock operations. Also, I was inspired by a few bodybuilders that got diesel on vegan diets and thought, "hey, if they can compete without animal proteins, then I can atleast maintain an impressive physique on a vegan diet."

  • BrandyHinchman
    BrandyHinchman Posts: 3 Member
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    Hello!
    I'm currently in transition mode from eating lots of animal products daily.
    I don't want to fail at becoming and staying vegan so I am gathering insight, recipes, protein ideas and general knowledge about a vegan lifestyle. I lift weights and I also use IIFYM (counting macronutrients) to achieve the physique I'd like to.
    I recently watched some food & health documentaries and I am interested in lowering my chances of getting ill....also during one of the documentaries I saw people pulling a minutes old calf away from its mother so human could get milk...among many other disturbing images, and I cried my eyes out.
    I have exactly zero support from home on my journey.
    It'll be a tough road I'm sure.
    Thank you for adding me to the group.
  • CallMeCupcakeDammit
    CallMeCupcakeDammit Posts: 9,375 Member
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    I feel bad for the animals, and then I realized the impact factory farming had on the environment. I watched Cowspiracy and Earthlings back to back one weekend, and that was pretty much it for me where meat was concerned. Then I told my vegan smoking friend that I would go vegan if she quit smoking. I'm fine not eating meat. I went days without eating it before, anyway, but it's really hard for me to resist cheese and dairy products (not milk itself) when I'm at a family get-together. After struggling with binging and emotional eating for most of my life, and finally being able to change that, I'm not beating myself up if I slip up and eat something that contains dairy on the rare occasion.
  • itzmytime2B
    itzmytime2B Posts: 12 Member
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    I am not yet vegan. I have been making the transition to vegetarian over the past week for health issues. I have been eating "clean" for the past couple of years following the Paleo diet guidelines but not in it 100%. I am 52 and cannot lose weight and I just got blood work back and my cholesterol is 228. I am fed up with being over weight and nothing I do is working and now my cholesterol is getting higher by the year. I HAVE to make a drastic change and eliminating animal products from my diet is the only way I see it. I am here to get started and to learn. Any one can add me.
  • Coolhand1969
    Coolhand1969 Posts: 833 Member
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    Watched same documentaries as OP. After the 1st one ("Cowspiracy") I decided I should try giving going meatless another shot. (I had tried around 25 years ago, and didn't know what I was doing, ended up with big boils all over me, and gave up)
    With the wonder of the modern age (internet), I find educating myself on how to properly go without meat to be much easier..
  • Grantjitsu
    Grantjitsu Posts: 1 Member
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    I watched Stargate Atlantis when it came out. The Wraith (who feed on humans, and treat them as cattle) really resonated with me. It was like a light switch was flicked, and I went vegetarian the next day. My friends said it was a dumb fad, back in 2004.

    I lasted about six years as a vegetarian before going vegan, thanks to a blogger Shelley Williams, who opened my eyes re veganism. It has been six year since, and, going strong.
  • lolosensan2
    lolosensan2 Posts: 28 Member
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    I went vegan for the stupidest reason: My boyfriend went vegan. He never said anything or pressured me but basically I just felt weird eating animal products in front of him and eventually I felt weird even eating them without him. I started this thing where I always made my lunch vegan even though I was not 100% yet and I'd take pics and send him the "vegan lunch of the day". It was like a challenge for me.

    A few online images and videos later and I was sold on the diet for ethical/environmental reasons. I am not perfect and have more steps to take like making sure all the non-food products I buy are vegan too but I am liking where things are going. I can't imagine sending him a "vegan lunch of the day" pic now :D it would just be a pic of my lunch lol.
  • claudiaramos1310
    claudiaramos1310 Posts: 38 Member
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    I'm turning to vegan for health and saving animals along the way. I want to be healthy for my son and future babies to come. I have been good but sometimes I get my moments and tend to slip a little. But with great support I know I won't slip anymore.
  • littlebabekitty
    littlebabekitty Posts: 384 Member
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    Because I detest abuse. I think animals are sentient gentle beings that don't deserve to be killed the way they are for a small amount of pleasure in the tongue seeing as there is other foods can eat.

    Second I believe we are better and healthier without consuming animal flesh. I choose to put live goods in my body.

    and third because I care about the earth and Gods creation. I also see the effects it has had on the earth and it shouldn't be that way. We have to take care of the earth.
  • RonDon_TX
    RonDon_TX Posts: 1 Member
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    I first went vegetarian to try to get healthy. I went vegan shortly after and have stayed vegan for the animals.
  • moonbeamgirl
    moonbeamgirl Posts: 4 Member
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    i went vegan three years ago. i had been vegetarian most of my life. I was sick and watching documentaries on netflix. I decided to do it again. I had tried and didnt stick to it in my teens. I am vegan for health and for ethical reasons. I am a huge animal lover.
  • newvegdi
    newvegdi Posts: 9 Member
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    I went vegan mainly for health and environmental reasons, but having done that using animal products just seems unnecessary. I've found that once you make the change, even if it wasn't for compassionate reasons, that starts to set in anyway. I also felt like the dairy was screwing up my hormones and my weight loss efforts. After 6 years as an ovo/ lacto pescatarian, I had become too reliant on cheese as a dietary staple. I have better choices now.
  • TxTiffani
    TxTiffani Posts: 798 Member
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    Stumbled across vegan culture looking for weight loss avenues. After watching some youtube videos and some documentaries I was appalled at the way animals are treated. I love animals and although I realized they had to die to become our food I guess I always had the happy family farm picture in my head. Factory farming is hell for the animals and I just can't contribute anymore. I'm still eating some cheese, but looking for a vegan alternative currently. It can be hard for socially because people seem to get so defensive and almost angry if you say anything about animal welfare being your reason for eating vegan....it's weird, but I guess I get it...that's the reason it's been hard for me and I've gone back and forth being vegetarian because I get push back. My husband still eats meat, but is fine with me being vegan as long as dinner is still yummy;) My dad has a ranch and even has cows....and everyone has food tied to their family memories etc like turkey for Thanksgiving, trips to get burgers etc when we were little, ham at Christmas, mac n cheese, chicken soup when we were sick....so I totally get it that saying eating meat is bad makes people feel like you're saying their history/memories whatever is bad. I'm totally rambling but I just hope it gets easier:)
  • hjdvegan
    hjdvegan Posts: 1 Member
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    Hi all! My husband and I went vegan in June when we almost lost him to heart disease - the cardiologist said his LAD was 95% blocked during the angiogram! Our cardiologist is vegan as well and he had us read The China Study, and it changed our lives! We're still "baby vegans" but we're learning every day! I'm down about 15 pounds so far and he's down more than 20! Best decision of our lives, we'll never go back! :smiley:
  • VeganRaptor
    VeganRaptor Posts: 164 Member
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    I saw Food Inc and realised that even the most humanely killed animals are not truly humanely killed... as the concept doesn't exist. I went vegetarian the next day.
    After that, I looked into the treatment of animals in the food industry and the environmental effects of the food industry- was horrified- and started transitioning to veganism! :)
  • Alexistigerspice
    Alexistigerspice Posts: 10 Member
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    I went vegan to get healthy, I've cheated a few times in the past 6 months or so but it's a once every few weeks type deal so I try not to feel too bad about it. I am recovering from a really bad few years of b/p followed by restriction and then just binging and I'm hoping to get to the point where I can just eat and be satisfied and get my cravings (for cheese and candy) under control.