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I have really enjoyed reading everyone's personal vegan stories. I was a vegetarian since childhood and became a vegan three years ago after watching a documentary that had nothing (directly) to do with veganism. The documentary was called The American Dream and it dealt with the trouble a union was having with their employer, which happened to be Hormel. The movie was meant to focus on the issues /relationship between the union and the packaging plant they worked at however it reached me on so many levels. After watching that film I became a vegan and stopped eating ready to eat packaged food. I am sort of odd with movie tastes, and as mentioned before it wasn't even a movie meant to shock or enlighten as far as veganism is concerned, but it made me see how I could live my life more peacefully and respectfully.
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Hi!
I'm new here. I was a vegetarian in high school and dabbled a bit in/after college with vegetarian & vegan.
A couple of weeks ago, some family members of mine were talking about eating more vegetarian/vegan dishes due to family history health problems. So I started to look into cooking some vegan recipes, etc.
I then started reading "Eating Animals" by Jonathan Safran Foer during that time period.
What really made me decide to become a vegan was when I watched the documentary "Earthlings" narrated by Joaquin Phoenix last weekend.
I usually am not that affected by short video clips of animal cruelty on PETA and whatnot, but what has stayed in my mind for days after seeing this documentary was the Chinese fur camps in which they have a practice of skinning animals alive for their fur (and then leave them alive to die moments later in indescribable pain).
Watching that documentary is like having both a sledgehammer and a 2 by 4 hit you over the head; I had to pause the video several times and go spend a few minutes with my pet since the images were not simply brutal or disgusting anymore but just plain disturbing. I understand the basics of supply and demand, but its the sadism that I just don't get from these factory workers toward animals they're preparing for slaughter.
Since I had been a vegetarian before, it wasn't a big effort to make the jump from eating meat to eating veggies. Plus, I live in Portland, Oregon... which is probably one of the best places to live if you're starting out as a vegan :)
*I was glad to find out at the vegan grocery store "Food Fight!" that a lot of products I could find in my neighborhood grocery store, were available in "Food Fight!" as well. It actually made me really happy to go up and down the aisle in "Food Fight!" and know that I could enjoy eating food purchased from there that didn't harm any animals.*
I'm relieved to start cooking vegan meals and whatnot, but I do feel a little awkward in figuring out vegan-friendly products (for consumption and clothes, cosmetics, hygiene, etc) since I'm still reading several different books on vegan...
I guess my question is, when people here first become vegan, does it take awhile before they become comfortable figuring out what is/isn't a vegan product or item?
The obvious no-no's I can already tell for myself (i.e. eating poultry, wearing leather, etc) and I'm waiting to get the book "animal ingredients a to z" soon.
Any further links or book suggestions anyone has for this newbie vegan would be greatly appreciated! :)
Thanks for including me in this forum!
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My story was a gradual one that started in February this year. I always watch the Oscars and 'The Cove' won best documentary and after seeing the small clips shown of the doc I decided to get hold of it and see what it was about. So I watched and cried most of the way through at the brutality of the fisherman and that these beautiful intelligent animals were being slaughtered. From here I decided to cut out animal products, but wasn't sure if I would make it last at that point.
I then got led onto 'Earthlings'. Earthlings is the most horrific thing I have ever seen and it affected me emotionally for days after, and still does now to some extent. It is something I never wish to view again, once was enough. Earthlings really shook me up and made me realise just how ignorant I have been all my life, and I was very upset with myself and decided that I had to change for the sake of these innocent animals that are exploited for human 'benefit'.
From that point I have done a lot more reading regarding animal rights and veganism and I have realised that this is how I want to live my life, with respect for the animals that we share this world with.
This has come a shock to my family and friends as this was literally and overnight switch, but for me the reality was so strong I could remain ignorant no longer. Its been over a month now and its the best thing I have ever done, I wish I had realised my ignorance much sooner, but what I can do now will make up for my omni days.
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Quote:
TealClear
I'm relieved to start cooking vegan meals and whatnot, but I do feel a little awkward in figuring out vegan-friendly products (for consumption and clothes, cosmetics, hygiene, etc) since I'm still reading several different books on vegan...
I guess my question is, when people here first become vegan, does it take awhile before they become comfortable figuring out what is/isn't a vegan product or item?
Yes I think it does take a while to figure out the less obvious things, but of course we tend to repeat-buy a lot of the time so when you've found vegan toothpaste or belts once it is a bit easier the next time :-) Exclusively vegan websites like veganstore and veganessentials can take some of the hard work out of it.
I think too that it is inevitable that you'll accidentally buy non-vegan stuff now and then so please don't get discouraged.
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Around the age of 14 or 15 i read the book Save the animals! 101 easy things you can do, and i immediately went vegan. It only lasted 6 - 12 months and in hindsight i was really only vegetarian. Eventually i gave up fighting to keep my sanity as a teen herbivore in an omnivorous parent's house and started back on meat again.
I always felt wrong about meat though and ever since was never a big meat eater. In my mid 20's i got cancer twice and beat it both times and that became a catalyst for change. I started looking at everything differently. My attitude towards money and politics, what is fair and just and all manner of other abominations became very apparent to me. They'd always been there but i hadn't had the courage to want to fight them before. I read fast food nation and gave up all manner of junk food. It also spurred a big interest in international politics and the underhanded financial backslapping going on, especially within the USA's corporatocracy.
Being a musician and mad keen on all kinds of music it was inevitable that i'd find a band like Rise Against. That band has really hit home some important ideas and i believe they are achieving what they have aimed to do, change an attitude at a time. I think if you asked them they'd say that if one person changes their lifestyle for the better as a result of their music then they've done what they set out to do. Well they had success here!
Within 12 months i'd gone from being uncertain to what i could do and just doing a bit here and there to religiously buying cruelty free soap, fair trade coffee and cruelty free shampoos and conditioners, etc. A bit over 2 months ago i went vegetarian and within a week i thought "who am i kidding?" and went completely vegan. It's been a difficult road but an enjoyable one. I love good food and that's the best part, i'm discovering foods and flavours i never knew existed.
Now if i can take my music and change one other person's mind....
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To Staffy:
Your story is so heart warming. You've been through a lot with your cancer, yet you found compassion from your experience. Congrats to you on being a cancer survivor. When things finally clicked for you, you became vegan. You are an inspiration to me and I am sure to everybody else here on the forum.
Welcome to the The Vegan Forum.
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I decided to be a vegan last year on November 5. I liked it because i loved animals , i became a vegan because i saw the vegetarian starter kit and it motivated me but i decided to do more research and i did. I saw the term vegan and i decided to try it out and it did work out for me... ever since then i'm a vegan and i am proud of it.
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Quote:
Staffy
In my mid 20's i got cancer twice and beat it both times
Holy shit. Good for you man...
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Staffy
if one person changes their lifestyle for the better as a result of their music then they've done what they set out to do.
Earth Crisis were my inspiration for going vegan. I'm better as result of their music.
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Earth Crisis hey? I've heard one or two things... will check em out a bit more...
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Good for you, Colleengirl95!
are those in your closest circle also proud or just baffled?
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I guess they're proud... well my mom actually :). My dad is a bit worried as much as everyone else.
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Hi - this is my first post here, so i thought I mights as well tell you my vegan story!
All my life there has been an emphasis on eating vegies. In fact our plates at dinner time had the tiniest amount of meat on them. Not really worth it actually! So I'm a vegie lover from way back!!
When it came time to move out, at 18, I decided that 1) it was a waste of money buying meat that I didn't enjoy and 2) I hated the thought of the animals being slaughtered.
fast forward over a decade and 18 months ago I was still eating eggs and cheese but feeling a twinge of guilt when I did so. I mean I knew how these products were produced but didn't really KNOW (does that make sense). One early morning at about 2 am I had an epiphany. I needed to become vegan. I decided to make it easier for everyone around me that I would wait until New year to do so but after a few days I was so sick of waiting that I decided to begin my journey then and there.
so about 18 months later, I'm still a vegan (well obviously!) and love that I made this decision but wish I made it earlier!!
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An adelaide Vegan! Welcome!
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here is my story:
I have been raised eating every kind of meat, hate seafood though just thinking they taste bad...and to see the intestines within shrimps makes me feel disgusted as a kid.
But I don't eat beef just because no one in my family eats beef, instead we eat pork and chicken and fish, on a everyday base.
As a child, I hate vegetables, but I also don't like meat, the only thing I like is the water left over of the dishes, they tastes good (but now I think about it, it's just a bunch of herbs cooked for flavours, didn't need the meat in there) I eat those with rice. My family used to tell me eat more vegetables lol.
I was never very health, get cold for like a long time of the year, it just doesnt go away. I hate exercising, my mark of PE is a disaster.
Then I moved to Canada. On a trip back to China my grandmother had suddenly turned to buddism and she is like she doesnt eat meat for certain days of the month. Because I always thought my grandma is so cool so I copied what she did.
And then as I read more about buddism, I thought that I shouldn't really eat meat, I don't want go to hell. so I became anxious at changing my life. But not anxious enough to do anything. I still enjoy eating chicken. but stopped eating pork just because the pork in canada tastes bad. but meat in canada tastes bad anyways, according to my mother. Because they don't kill the animal fresh. (so I knew about where meat come from, I wonder what's wrong with me as I never recognized the connection although I knew it?!?)
Anyways, then I turned veggie after I met my bf(present one). It just seems something right to do. I've been telling myself to do this since I learned about buddism when I was 16. Felt great on veggie diet, only eat cheese when I'm out with friends. As a chinese family, my mom hates cheese. So yea, but we drink milk and eat eggs because my mom thinks they are good for us. My bf though is a totally meat freak, so at first he used to be all sad about I don't eat meat. He is sad because he can't enjoy going out with me anymore, he thinks veggie doesnt fill him up. So then I got pressured and I remember the very last time I ate meat is at my 18th birthday. I decided to go to a steak house because my bf wants steak very badly. So I told him maybe I will eat meat, occasionally, just for him. But when I put that steak in my mouth, I felt so disgusted that I cannot eat one more bite. So then I knew I can never ever eat meat ever again, even if I was on a deserted island and theres no other food than meat. just simly cant stand to eat it.
and then I started university and meet other veggies :) some of them are vegan.(although the club stopped going because the leader went away to study abroad, so I don't really know those people) So then I checked out what vegan means and read a bunch articles on it. that did it for me. I gave up milk and egg and honey and everything else. Although I still have old clothes that might not be vegan just because I don't think I can afford all the new clothes and I don't want to buy clothes because I also learned about green movment while reading about vegan.
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Hello hello, my story is probably the same as some other peoples, bt i turned vegan about a month & a half ago. I've been a vegetarian for about 10 years (on & off unfortunaltey) & i have tried being vegan before but i was young & didn't eat properly & finally caved into the lures of chocolate & cheese. But i've always wanted to turn vegan again & this time to do it properly. I started listening to Colleen Patrick-Godreau's podcasts from Compassionate Cooks & she just made it sound so simple & so right. So i suddenly decided, right, from today i'm vegan! I always thought of being vegan as being tricky & in some ways it kinda is, but i relish the challenge. It's not as easy as being a meat eater & being able to buy a maccy d's when you want or whatever. But i like it. The peace of mind knowing that you're not harming any other living animal is fantastic. I like to cook new foods so this is perfect for me because i can experiment with new recipes. Luckily my fella- who was a rabid meat-eater- has turned vegetarian when i went vegan which makes things so much easier, because i make the meals so he's mainly eating a vegan diet.
But of course, i did this for the animals, they are not ours to use or eat, and i feel happy that i can help them in a small way.
It's surprising that i don't miss cheese anymore, although i do still buy the occaisional dairy-free choccie bar! I'm so glad that i've done it. Even though i get stupid questions asked of me like " But cows produce milk naturally so why don't you drink it?" But at least i have the knowledge to answer them now, and hopefully inform them to a better way of living.
Anyhoo, that's my (rambling) story!
x
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I've never really liked meat, I enjoyed the family time that went along with it, such as Christmas roast or camping bacon. When I was around 10, I decided I wasn't going to eat the chicken that was on my plate, Mum got so angry...I was forced to sit at the table until 12 at night until Dad finally came along and put me into bed. While I was living with my Mum I don't think I could have ever gone vegetarian, it wasn't until the last few weeks before I left home that I ditched meat from my diet.
I remember driving along the freeway and a truck passed me packed with sheep. I don't think I ever ate meat after that.
I didn't know about all the issues and soon as I started reading, I felt guilty about not being vegan. I felt even more guilty because my parents had me believing that all vegans are skinny, unhealthy and pale people. Over the next 6 months, I started cutting out milk and eggs. And then it took me a couple more hurdles to get over cheese. I finally feel that I am at peace with my diet, that I know longer have to question if I'm a good or bad person at my plate. I can look at animals without guilt, without contradiction. I feel like I am actually doing something with my life. :)
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My mother brought me up to always love and respect animals. My father had similar attitudes and also brought me up to love nature and the environment. Still, everday I was given meat and never truely told were meat came from. When I was 8 years old the foot and mouth crisis hit the UK, and the news was full of video clips of cows being slaughtered and sheep being rounded up to be killed and set on fire. Then I realised were meat came from. I remember I gathered all my stuffed toy animals together because I was scared someone was going to come and slaughter them :D At the point I stopped eating meat, with no support what so ever from my seemingly 'animal loving' parents. In fact my family gave me the whole 'you wont get enough nutrients and you'll be ill'. So I was on and off with being vegetarian as I had to eat what my mother brought for me. As I got older she did start to be supportive of vegetarianism and even stopped eating meat herself. I never knew what a vegan was untill I was 13 years old, I read about it online and decided I wanted to try it. My first attempt was not sucsesful, and I kept going in and out of vegan. I then went back to vegetarian as I didn't research veganism enough and didn't plan my meals very well so I had a very crappy vegan diet. A year later, I randomly went onto the vegan society website and saw they did a vegan pledge that offered support and information to help you. I decided to do the pledge for the longest amount of time (30 days). Now I was well prepared I sailed through being vegan and found it really easy. About a week into the pledge I decided I was not going to ever look back, and I was going to live as cruelty free as posible from that point on. I thought it could be tricky as I am a regional level competitive Rhythmic Gymnast, but actually my sport preformance has increased greatly now I am vegan and I'm physically much better than before
Here I am, still doing as I promised myself :D I feel a much greater sense of connection to the Earth and all it's life! Through being Vegan I have also found Paganism, which has changed the way I live my entire life. I would never look back :)
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Quote:
I feel like I am actually doing something with my life.
Absolutely! With every bite you eat!
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Lovely, glad you are reaping the rewards of going vegan!
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Hi all
I became vegetarian in 1978 when I got involved with the Hare Krishna. Then after a few years I went back to eating meat again and then back to being vegetarian.
I was a vegetarian for total of almost 15 years then vegan for a couple of years now.
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I went vegetarian when I was 14, inspired by a great teacher at my school. We were talking one day and for whatever reason she mentioned that she didn't use Parker pens because they were (at the time) made by Gillette. On asking her why she told me about their R&D policy and so I began avoiding their products too and then gradually started boycotting more and more and became veggie about 6 months later.
A few years later when I was 18 I went through my cupboard in the student house I lived in and binned everything that had an animal product in it and declared myself vegan! That was 8 years ago!
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I have spent my entire live determinedly avoiding all information about animal abuses and slaughter, leaving the room or covering my eyes and ears if it came on tv. Then a few months ago, there was an item on the news about pigs and how they're treated, and I refused to watch it, and my mum (a pescetarian) told me "you can't just pretend it isn't happening!". I went and holed up in my room, then later that night looked up the news item and watched it on my laptop. From then I decided that I would become pescetarian, like my mum, and that would be enough. This lasted about 2 weeks, then, while snooping on this forum as a guest, saw mention of a video called "Meet Your Meat". I went and watched it, cried a lot and nearly threw up, and became vegan from then on. It really amuses me how I started out thinking that pescetarian would be enough, and now I'm a strict vegan!!
It's now been 3 wonderful months :)
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Ok, my first post here :)
I am vegan for 1,5 year now and I absolutely love it. I've been vegetarian for all my life (raised in a vegetarian family), and slowly we started changing our habits- some of my closer siblings went vegan which led me to start thinking about going one as well. So right now in our family, my mother is the only one vegetarian left. :D But she's eating almost only vegan food, since well, there are more of us, hehe. I am thinking about trying raw veganism for a week or so, to see the difference in my body and mind, I'm thinking now in summer, since the weather is hot and all. Anyway, my story as a vegan is pretty boring. <.<
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Not boring, Morellius - it is wonderful that you were raised vegetarian, and even better that you have an almost entirely vegan family now! Lucky you! :)
Oh yes, and welcome to the board! :)
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I became a pescetarian when I was 13, mostly (unfortunately) due to a desire to loose weight. Before that, I'd eaten chicken and turkey as well as seafood, milk, and eggs, but I hadn't eaten red meat since I was younger--maybe 9 or 10. My mom didn't, and still doesn't, eat red meat, and though she never forced the lifestyle on me, it felt like a more natural and convenient way to go, since we never really had red meat in the house. Pescetarianism was really easy for me, but after a couple of years I began to think about what exactly I was eating. It no longer felt right to eat the flesh of any living thing, so I slowly began cutting out seafood as well. By the winter of my junior year in high school (this past January), I was fully vegetarian. It was July when I began seriously considering veganism, after reading Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer. Though the book says little about egg and dairy production, it got me thinking, and I realized I didn't feel right about ingesting any animal products or using anything that caused the harm of an animal. My 1-month "veganversary" was last weekend, and I can think of few decisions in my life that have impacted me as positively as this one. I am enjoying the learning process immensely.
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Welcome to the board Maddy! Great to hear that you're feeling so positive about your decision to go vegan. Don't listen to anyone who says that it restricts your choices - I have found that it has opened so many doors to amazing new worlds! Enjoy!
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I was an omnivore up until early 2009. I moved out of home and decided that I was going to stop eating so much meat and try to just eat fish. So I pretty much a pescatarian up until 3 months ago.
I've always loved animals and wanted to become vegetarian, but living with a controlling/abusive father made it pretty hard. Anyway, I was set on staying pescatarian because I thought it would be way too hard for me to be vegetarian/vegan... until 3 months ago i was bored and googling veganism.. looked at the PETA website.. watched 'Meet Your Meat' and decided this is enough, I felt sick to my stomach and I haven't been able to touch any meat or fish since then. I have to admit, I have slipped up a couple of times and had some dairy products, maybe 2 or 3 times. I'm not going to beat myself up about it though. I'll get stricter with myself in time. I'm really proud of myself to have made it to 3 months anyway, I feel like such a better person now :)
So jah, that's it.
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My story goes like this...
When I was 13 years old (Now 24) I decided I did not want to eat meat any more after years of my elder sister telling me horror stories of how they put crushed bones in to sweets etc so I became a veggie...
But I was young at the time and open to temptation so I soon faulterd and went back to eating chicken, though I never was a fan of red meat or fish just chicken anyway after anoter few years I decided once again to go go veggie and once again it did not stick I was an 'on and off' veggie for about 3-4 years until I turned 20 when I thought to myself enough is enough stop eating these poor animals and 'helping' the 'killing trade' so I decided to become a dedicated veggie and have not touched meat 'that I know of' for 4 years and last week I decided to become vegan! :satisfied:
To which my huuby is not to pleased as we find it hard enough to eat out as it is as not only was I veggie but I also have a lot of allergies and now being vegan it throws yet another spanner in to the works!
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Good decision, Rachael-Louise. I'm sure you will find ways to eat out given time, although the allergies must complicate things.
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I became vegan overnight. I'm a philosophy student, so invariably I eventually came around to the ethical question: is it wrong to eat meat?
It didn't take much research for me to decide the answer. I'm an ethical nihilist, that is, I do not believe there are any objective ethical truths. There's no fundamental right or wrong. But I do think that a consequentialist system of ethics, close to utilitarianism wherein we attempt to minimize suffering, is our best shot at progress as a human race (a bit of a circular argument there, but we can't do ethics without some emotional appeal... the is/ought problem stands). Arguments for why that principle should be exclusive to humans are questionable at best. Hence, we ought not to cause needless suffering to animals. We need not consume their meat or any animal products to survive. Whence, we ought not to consume animal products.
That's the gist of a longer paper I wrote, and unlike most philosophers I know, I was actually compelled to act on my conclusion. One day I was enjoying the taste of crisp bacon. The next day I was whole-heartedly against the idea of ever consuming another animal product.
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Quote:
Rachael-Louise
To which my huuby is not to pleased as we find it hard enough to eat out as it is as not only was I veggie but I also have a lot of allergies and now being vegan it throws yet another spanner in to the works!
I'm sure your husband will come round to the idea and be very supportive. When you love someone, you support them and the choices they make.
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As I sit here stuffing a few too many bites of vegan pancakes into my mouth, I'm thinking about my rats. They died several years ago, but I still remember the disdainful tone of the people who referred to them as "things". I spent thousands of dollars on their veterinary care. I carefully dosed one with narcotics every four hours when she was in pain towards the end of her life. I made up a potty song for them. They shot up the walls of their cage like two little monkeys every time I entered the room. They shot up my pant legs just to hop into my arms. They even cuddled me when I was sick. "Things" don't form emotional attachments.
Isis was independent and mischievious. Raisa lived to cuddle and mostly did what she was told. Sometimes when Isis would try to sneak away to explore where she wasn't allowed, Raisa would pounce on her and a squabble would ensue. Tell me these aren't self-aware creature capable of creative interaction. If rats can have separate personalities, surely they have some sense of self. That is not a quality of a "thing".
Rats make the most horrible sound on Earth when they're in pain. Let's just say it's between a loud squeal and a loud squawk and will split your ear drums. They obviously have nerves and a sense of pain, which again, a "thing" doesn't have.
What is the difference between rats and the animals we typically eat? Not much. A rat is about as smart as a dog, which is smarter than a chicken, or a cow, or a sheep, but do we deny mentally disabled people their right to life and to some base level of quality of life just because we're smarter than them? Usually not, and the people that do are generally painted as monsters.
I can no longer accept the killing and degrading circumstances of other animals any more than I could ignore those conditions foisted upon my rats, so I sit here and eat my lovely pancakes with canola oil instead of butter and extra baking powder instead of eggs.
This is copied from my blog, but it basically sums it up, so I thought I'd use it. It took me three years to fully conceptualize that abstaining from meat was the only logical outcome of loving my rats.
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Quote:
cailean
I became vegan overnight. I'm a philosophy student, so invariably I eventually came around to the ethical question: is it wrong to eat meat?
It didn't take much research for me to decide the answer. I'm an ethical nihilist, that is, I do not believe there are any objective ethical truths. There's no fundamental right or wrong. But I do think that a consequentialist system of ethics, close to utilitarianism wherein we attempt to minimize suffering, is our best shot at progress as a human race (a bit of a circular argument there, but we can't do ethics without some emotional appeal... the is/ought problem stands). Arguments for why that principle should be exclusive to humans are questionable at best. Hence, we ought not to cause needless suffering to animals. We need not consume their meat or any animal products to survive. Whence, we ought not to consume animal products.
That's the gist of a longer paper I wrote, and unlike most philosophers I know, I was actually compelled to act on my conclusion. One day I was enjoying the taste of crisp bacon. The next day I was whole-heartedly against the idea of ever consuming another animal product.
That actually makes quite a bit of sense. Good for you for going through with it. I hope you did well on your paper.
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I was vegetarian for 13 years before becoming vegan only a month ago. Finally woken up and smelt the coffee!
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So I used to LOVE eating meat. I even used to say that I could never be vegetarian (oh, and forget vegan, I mean how can anyone live without cream and butter???). Although somewhere deep inside I felt there is something wrong with eating other beings. This feeling goes way back to my childhood and seeing animals on my grandfather's farm and then just knowing, as only a child can know, instinctively that it is wrong to eat them and use them. But I pushed that away, buried that down as a silly thought. Then as a young adult I attempted to stop eating meat, twice I think. But it just didn't work. I never did any proper research to find new kinds of food, so it was mostly trying to replace the center of a Polish dinner- big chunk of meat with sth else. Well, not a right approach. So, lots of "cheat meals", lots of dairy products and then, eventually back to eating meat.
Around five yrs ago together with my husband we've decided to cut our meat and dairy consumption, mainly for environmental reasons. If we bought meat or dairy it was organic. It went on like this OK until our daughter was born last year. I read two books "The politics of breastfeeding" and "The Baby Bond" which wrote in detail about effects of milk and dairy products on human health. I decided my daughter will not eat dairy, not until she is weaned from breast (so around 2-3 yr of age). Which is damn hard, 'cause health professionals and parents in this country (we live in Finland) literally PRAY to dairy. With introducing solids we decided to go with Baby-led weaning approach. So inevitably, I had to start looking for vegan recipes and bought two vegan cookbooks last spring. Loved it. Every single dish i made I just loved, but I wasn't thinking about going vegan. Just eating healthy and still some meat, every once in a while. It was only after my daughter started being enthusiastic about animals- cows, horses, our dog, that I thought... "damn, how can i EVER tell her that this cow is what we eat?". I mean, kids are such innocent beings, so in tune with what is right and what is wrong... I realized that moment that if I feel bad about telling her where meat comes from there must be something bad about it. The same evening I did some quick research on the net, came across "Earthlings" and this was it. That was three months ago, so not a very long time, but I just cannot imagine going back.