Why weren't you vegan before you became vegan?

[pavotrouge]

just like not thinking, taking things as they are, and taking things for granted, sadly...

[UnibrowSmith]

Well, as most americans, I was raised on a meat diet and especially when I was younger, did not enjoy veggies one bit. Growing up I started hearing of vegetarians from the media and so on and once I remember my mom talking about how she couldn't believe my aunt wanted to raise her kids vegan. This was the first time I heard of a vegan but my mom explained it to me. I thought "how strange to not eat cheese or drink milk" since I was raised thinking that milk was so good for you (it does a body good, etc.) though I always had to be forced to drink it cause I never liked it much. When I was a freshman in high school my mom joined PETA and that's when I first started thinking about vegetarianism as an option, but vegan never came to mind, because I never associated eggs and dairy with cruelty. So in high school I became a vegetarian but stopped after about 6 months or so because an emotionally traumatic experience forced me to seek "comfort food". The following years I turned my vegetarianism on and off, but my ex did not like the idea of me not eating meat, saying it was "unhealthy", so he did not "allow" me to stop eating meat. Now that I am with an awesome supportive boyfriend I have chosen the path that I have wanted for years, being a vegan!!!! It's so awesome....I just could not justify being a vegetarian yet still eating animal products...it just wasn't right. So here I am, and now I really enjoy fruits, veggies, and other delicious vegan foods. It's hard doing it without any other vegans around, but that's why I have this forum.:D:p:D

[Klytemnest]

We have 'why r u vegan', so i thought we might like to speculate on the other side of the coin?

When I was a kid, when my mom explained to me that the meat on ym plate came from animals that had to be killed and cooked, I felt really bad. I remember tearing up (I was a sensitive child ;)). But when you are a kid , that is just not at the top of your priority list. Other things are much more important to you at the time. Besides, everybody was doing it. And it tasted so good! Besides, I was not really in control of what I ate. My mom prepared my food for me and I ate whatever was on my plate. My first year in college I ate whatever was in the cafeteria. Like I said, it wasn't until I was 23 that I really considered being a vegetarian -- and not out of concern for the animals, but out of concern for my own health. I did not actually become a vegetarian, if one could call me that, considering that I occasionally ate cheese, eggs and fish, until the age of 29. And it wasn't until the age of 37 that I actually considered the issue of animal suffering and the environmental impact of raising animals for food. I suppose my mindset now is the result of a long process of development. But the thing that was the "final straw" was that discussion on the "Do You Believe" message board, raised by a Christian who was trying to make the Jews look bad by posting a link to the animal cruelty in a Kosher slaughterhouse. I bet you he did not intend to turn anyone vegan, but he did. I guess that was the right time for me. I was already a vegetarian. All I had to do was give up fish, eggs and dairy. But by doing so a whole new world of wonderful vegan food opened up to me. And I love it.

[Jewels]

Hi Everyone,
I am 4 days young vegan. It has been a long journey to reach the point where I could fully commit myself to a vegan diet. I ate meat especially fish (sushi) because that was the environment I was raised in. My husband is a meat and potatoes man. I kept eating meat even though I had developed an adversion for it and didn't really like it any more just to keep the status quo and not cause confrontation. No more! The knowledge that I had of slaughter houses just made me feel ill everytime I took a bite of steak. Finally, four days ago I watched a R.A.V.E. video that a friend gave me. That was it. I decided I could no longer go with the status quo and decided from that point I was done with all animal products. Last night my husband made himself a ham sandwhich and I ate a boca burger with rice and black beans. I don't feel deprived, and I don't feel like I have had to give anything up. I just wish I had made my decision years ago.

[howdawg]

Good for you Jewels!

[laserblast]

I suppose this one is pretty easy. Born into and raised on a diet my parents felt was suitable.

I hadn't even heard of vegetarianism/veganism until I was in High School. Even then, after switching to a vegetarian diet, it took me a good 10 years to go completely vegan (mostly because of my spoiled taste and ignorate ways).

[steven1222]

Well, is he in danger of dying soon? My dad died suddenly at the age of 56 after years of ill health--and I ended up worse off.
Go on. You once said that you never liked your parents. The man in question is not in danger of dying.


In this world, you're a vegetarian if you say you are. She's even been a vegetarian "longer than you--so there!"
I do not know what world you live in, but in this one, nobody who willingly eats fish, poultry, or other meat is a vegetarian. It is also completely irrelevant how long someone has been one. New converts are often more devoted than people who have been doing something for many years. I have not eaten meat intentionally in nearly 2 years, which is apparently longer than that faker.


if they don't see a conflict in what they do, then who am I to tell them they're wrong?
Anyone can tell them they are wrong because the dictionaries and vegetarian societies are not on their side.


that's a fine and mature attitude to you have toward your father who pays you way for you
Who ever said I wanted anyone to pay for any of that?


I hope he dies soon (for many reasons, including some that are not related to this)
Why did you say that? That comment was completely off-topic and had no place in this thread.

I am sorry for the delayed response, but I had no internet access for seven days.

[Holly78]

I suppose this one is pretty easy. Born into and raised on a diet my parents felt was suitable.



Same here. I first went vegetarian when I was 11 but my parents were not at all supportive and (wrongly) I gave it up a few months later I guess because I wasn't prepared to cook all my own meals etc. I actually think if I had stuck at it my parents would have caved but I didn't.

When I moved out and went to university I went vegetarian during the petrol shortages of 2000 when I saw pictures and read reports in the newspaper about chickens loaded onto lorries that had died from dehydration and starvation due to the petrol shortages and delayed journeys that resulted. It really hit home that those chickens should never have been on those lorries in the first place and I never ate meat or fish again.

Nearly two years ago I got to know a vegan who enlightened me about the dairy industry and much more and I went vegan - and have never looked back! I wish I had done it years ago.

[Cup'O'Tea]

I always found that vegans were really 'in-your-face' about being vegan, and I didn't want to be one of them. I also didn't know a lot about nutrition, and in my family, even being a vegetarian is seen as weird.

Long story short, I matured a lot over this summer, realized I don't have to abide by the stereotypical view I had of vegans, realized I'm healthier avoiding animal products, and realized that although some friends and family might not agree or understand my reasoning for the change, that if they love me, they'll at least respect my choice.

[TheAlterEgo]

I wasn't a vegan before I became a vegan because I was a pretty uneducated vegetarian in regards to the treament of animals. It makes me shudder to think now of all the years I spent being veggie when I could have been vegan. When I began to learn of what the poor animals had to go through just so I could eat their eggs, milk etc, I would (selfishly) put it to the back of my mind. Thankfully this only went on for a few months and I was then able to stop being so selfish and become vegan. Best decision of my life! :)

[rxkitten]

I always kick myself for not becoming vegan years ago, I put it down to a lack of knowledge. All the adverts for how good dairy is for you drives me nuts now, give people the choice, let them know there are options.

I went Veggie when I was about 12 my mum was dead supportive being a bit of a hippy and joined me for a while, I tried going vegan when I was about 19 but I was living on my own and going out all the time, my diet consisted of vodka and bananas and I burned out in no time, I got ME when I was 20 and was ordered a balanced diet, so I added donuts into the equation! It wasn't until I met my boyfriend and he found out he was diabetic that I decided to sort myself out, so started eating more vegetables, but I didn't go Vegan untill about a year and a half ago, I took much more of an interest in food and was absolutely disgusted by all the unnecessary animal by-products, I was always a cautious vegetarian but there was so much I didn't know, it wasn't until I met a practising laid back happy healthy vegan that I realised this was the life choice I wanted to make. I've never felt better :D

[ClawsyWP]

I went veggie as a teenager, i loved it and a pretty short time after I wanted to go vegan. My mother at the time said I would actually die if I stopped eating eggs and cheese.. i wasn't allowed to stop eating them. She was serious and I (and the rest of the family) believed her.

Stupid me but hey it was NZ and that country is pretty backwards IMO and it was before the internet so I never came across any vegan information. I remember at the time being a vege I was told I would need to mix my proteins at each meal and other stupid stuff.

Anyway so I didn’t go vegan then, and then I didn’t for another 10 or so years (no excuses now)….. and then i got involved with an AR group and found out about veganism proper. and then after a bit I tried to go vegan, but it took me prolly another couple of years trying but not quite making it. Has been gradual.

I think when I was younger it just seemed such a normal thing to do.
I don’t know why I didn’t turn vegan sooner later on, except I was locked into being selfish and blocking from my mind the suffering I was causing. I wish i had done it sooner and not taken so long about it.

[Poppet]

I believed what I had always been taught growing up, that we need animal foods to survive and be healthy.

When I was younger I told my parents I wanted to be a vegetarian, they convinced me it was not a good idea. I thought it was horrible to kill and eat animals, especially as I'ld always been very close to our pets growing up, my best friends. But I accepted the "fact" that it was necessary for humans to do it, and considered my meat eating the same thing as a tiger hunting in the wild because s/he needs to do it in order to survive, nature can be cruel but it's just the way things are, yada yada.

Once I learned the truth of the matter, I went Vegan. I wish I'ld looked into it earlier, but I never even thought to question the validity of what I'ld been told until I came across some Vegans in cyber space, and realised that they seemed normal, and healthy, and not dead, and had been vegan for a long time, which contradicted what I'ld always believed, so I had to investigate.

I had actually had a couple encounters with vegans in real life prior to this, one boy who I thought was really sweet but he never ever tried to explain veganism to me (I understand that now, I can't be fucked trying to convince anyone anymore), and the other was some lady who told me that meat rots in your stomach for 7 days and she was trying to disgust me, but I thought it was perfectly normal and that the longer food is in there probably the fuller and healthier I would be (I was 16). Also it didn't help her health-plea for her to be holding a glass of wine in one hand and a cigarette in the other at the time. I thought she was mad.

[xrodolfox]

When I was a kid, I refused to eat meat because I would ask my mom what the name of the cow was. I had gone to a dairy farm and a cow had stepped on my foot, and I fell in love with cows as individuals. I couldn't eat an individual.

That subsided. My ethics and logic wasn't that developed, so I thought that eating meat was my "right" as a wild animal doesn't have ethics of eating, so i should be able to behave on the same plane (ie. a bear wouldn't hesitate eating another animal, or even me, so why should I hesitate eating another animal?). I also didn't know vegans personally, so I thought it was difficult if not impossible. The idea of "natural" had no appeal, as I was figuring that appeals to natures were logically inconsistent, and socially appalling, and the few vegan or vegetarian arguments I had heard were along those lines, and thus completely unappealing. However, I still applied an appeal to Tradition argument to my actions, which is also fallacious.

That changed as I dated a vegetarian in HS, and then started reading the AR arguments and learning formal and symbolic logic. Quickly, all my reasons for meat consumption lost steam, and I found myself not being able to ethically support my actions. The day I realized that (around at 11am), I changed my diet on the spot from Omnivore to Vegan.

[Tibetan Snake]

I was totaly asleep when I ate meat.
I was half awake when I was a vegy.
One day I woke up and I was a Vegan.
I shall stay awake till I die.

[Linxie]

For many years I was naive enough to think that cows and chickens were treated ok - looking back now I can't believe I was so dumb!

I also thought that being vegan would be just too hard and didn't think I was capable of doing it. I didn't want to try it and then give up as I like to stick to things once I have made the decision.

But over the past two years my conscience started to really bother me. Plus the fact that I don't really like dairy products anyway! So I finally decided that I needed to be vegan and was so surprised and pleased by how easy it has been!

Occasionally I do crave things like my favourite biscuits or crisps that I can no longer eat but on the whole I have enjoyed it. And I haven't craved dairy products themselves once!

[dwooten]

I thought that by going vegetarian, that was enough - no animals were dying in order for me to eat. Besides, I "loved" milk and cheese and chocolate - how could I give them up? But the more that I learned, the more I started asking myself, "How can I not go vegan?" Did I really believe in showing compassion? Was my enjoyment of certain foods more important than the suffering of other sentient beings? Which would rule, my stomach or my heart and mind? Did I really want to be a hypocrite? Pretty much sealed the deal.

[Zero]

Silly as it sounds, because everyone else eat animal products, it was the "norm". We are often raised to believe that it is "the way of things" and because I didn't understand that plant based diet was so damn good!

[Klytemnest]

dwooten: I thought that by going vegetarian, that was enough - no animals were dying in order for me to eat.

Yes, that is how I felt too. I mean, the issue of animal suffering and killing was not the reason I went veggie, but the fact that my diet was not contributing to the demand for animal killing was a nice side effect. I really did not care much, back then, but it gave me a good feeling nevertheless.


Besides, I "loved" milk and cheese and chocolate - how could I give them up?

Oh, I know! Milk and yogurt I could do without easily, but ice-cream? Chocolate??? I mean, please... Besides, I honestly had no idea the kind of suffering animals have to undergo in order for us to have ice-cream and milk chocolate. And most people don't. I think if they were better informed, many of them would care. That's what did it for me. As soon as I was better informed, I made a conscious decision to become a vegan.


But the more that I learned, the more I started asking myself, "How can I not go vegan?" Did I really believe in showing compassion? Was my enjoyment of certain foods more important than the suffering of other sentient beings? Which would rule, my stomach or my heart and mind? Did I really want to be a hypocrite? Pretty much sealed the deal.

Wow. Those were the exact same thoughts I had during my own "road to Damascus" experience. Are you sure you are not me? ;)

It's nice to know I am not the only one. It gets lonely sometimes, you know? Most people in my life are omnis. My own partner is on the Atkins diet!!! My friends try not to hurt my feelings, but they think I am just being silly, extreme and ridiculous for being a vegan.

Anyway, I appreciate this board and its members. Just thought I'd say that.

Rami

[Klytemnest]

Linxie:For many years I was naive enough to think that cows and chickens were treated ok - looking back now I can't believe I was so dumb!

At least you thought about it. Concern for the way the animals were treated never even crossed my mind. And this is how I spend over 7 years of being a vegetarian.


I also thought that being vegan would be just too hard and didn't think I was capable of doing it. I didn't want to try it and then give up as I like to stick to things once I have made the decision.

Funny you should mention this. Just yesterday a friend of mine and I went to Whole Foods. As we were checking out, the cashier said "Oh, I could never go vegan". My friend said "Me, neither! I am a total "meatatarian". [to me] Sorry, honey." The cashier continued chatting with his co-worker about how he could never eat "just vegetables."

Oh, I was so ready to let my vegan ire take over me! I mean, this poor kid had no idea that we vegans eat so much more than cucumbers, bell peppers and radishes! And I bet you most people think this is what our diet consists of. And they think we are feeble, pale little weaklinks, undernourished and on the brink of starvation!

But considering how much time I spend bitching about religious evangelism, I decided that spreading the good news of veganism at the check-out stand would not be appropriate or effective. Maybe I should have said something... I don't know...


But over the past two years my conscience started to really bother me. Plus the fact that I don't really like dairy products anyway! So I finally decided that I needed to be vegan and was so surprised and pleased by how easy it has been!

Yes, my conscience got to me. But, unlike you, I loved dairy products. I love cheese, ice-cream, chocolate, yogurt-covered raisins, etc... Luckily at Whole foods they have vegan cheese, Nacho-style, which I adore! It's great on vegan burgers!


Occasionally I do crave things like my favourite biscuits or crisps that I can no longer eat but on the whole I have enjoyed it. And I haven't craved dairy products themselves once!

Just today my mom had cheesy toast with her dinner. Oh, it smelled so good! But hey, now that I have "seen the light," I cannot bring myself to contribute to the suffering of animals - just to satisfy my taste buds.

[dwooten]

Oh, I know! Milk and yogurt I could do without easily, but ice-cream? Chocolate??? I mean, please... Yep! Fortunately I found some great substitutes.:)


It's nice to know I am not the only one. It gets lonely sometimes, you know? Most people in my life are omnis.I definitely know what you mean. I'm the only one here too - I don't know any other vegetarians, much less vegans. I've had to explain to DH and the kids several times now that I'm not demanding that they change their eating habits or judging them. How could I? I ate the same way for most of my life. I'm hoping that by making great tasting vegan food and being healthy, happy and understanding that I can encourage them to at least cut down on their meat consumption and maybe even someday giving it up altogether. A long shot, I know, but worth it.

A little aside: I've been reading bits of "No Logo" by Naomi Klein and "Nation of Rebels" by Heath and Potter aloud to DH because some of what I'm learning about brands and culture and conditioning is amazing. He doesn't mind, even when he disagrees with the author, mostly because he was a marketing major and is genuinely interested. Advertising and culture are a major part of why people eat meat, and most people don't give it much thought because that's how they were brought up and that's what our Western society reinforces. So I'm interested in how that works and how to effect change. But when I read bits of "The Sexual Politics of Meat" last to him last night I got an almost instant negative response. "Sounds like an angry feminist". Well, duh!

[Haniska]

Funny you should mention this. Just yesterday a friend of mine and I went to Whole Foods. As we were checking out, the cashier said "Oh, I could never go vegan". My friend said "Me, neither! I am a total "meatatarian". [to me] Sorry, honey." The cashier continued chatting with his co-worker about how he could never eat "just vegetables."

You were checking out with YOUR groceries and he said he could never eat just vegetables??:confused:

[Poppet]

Doesn't wholefoods have lots of Vegan stuff like cakes and biscuits(erm..cookies for the Americans lol) and everything? (I've never been to wholefoods the one here is in GreyLynn , so yeah). The cashier should know it doesn't have to be just salad and potatoes.

[Klytemnest]

You were checking out with YOUR groceries and he said he could never eat just vegetables??:confused:

Sorry, I was trying to keep it simple. My friend was ahead of me in line. When she was checking out, she made a comment about one of the products she was buying and I misheard her, I said "Oh, is it really vegan"? She said "No, it's not vegan! I'm a meatatarian; sorry, honey..."

So that's how the cashier got draw into the conversation. He was just a young kid. I don't think he was even aware of the fact that just about everything I was buying had "100% vegan" on it.

Oh, I wish I had said something... I don't want to be a vegan evangelist. I mean, I actually really do, I really want people to be better informed. But considering how much I detest religious evangelism, I find it difficult to engage in spreading the Vegan Gospel according to Rami to unsuspecting strangers... This is why there will never be a book called "The Acts of Rami".

[littlewinker]

I knew it was the right thing to do since I was like a really little kid but i put it to the back of my mind as i thought veganism was really hardcore.