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Thread: How easy was the switch?

  1. #1
    enderbean
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    Default How easy was the switch?

    Hi all.. I'm newly vegan. I'm wondering how long it took you to switch from omni to vegan? Did you go omni > veggie > vegan? Or just stop all animal eating at once?

    I had an epiphany the other day when I switched. My friend had me try shrimp, and I've never been a fan of eating things that resemble what they looked like when they're alive. Guilt factor and what not. So I ate a bite of the shrimp. After eating it, I felt so guilty for supporting the inhumane catching of those poor little things by the millions that I decided I would never again support any of that industry. I've since found it sickening (both to my stomach and to my heart) to eat or even look at any sort of food that resulted from the mistreatment of animals.

    How was the switch for you?

  2. #2
    erfoud's Avatar
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    Default Re: How easy was the switch?

    My switch was piecemeal. Before becoming a vegetarian I had been reducing my consumption of meat&fish. Once I lived in my own flat, I´d hardly ever eat meat, but plenty of dairy&cheese. Then in 2002 after reading some books on animal rights I gave meat &fish up completely, and about three years later I realised my own inconsistency for taking milk&cheeese, and therefore I took the last step. The good books I read were absolutely decisive in my transition to veganism.
    I admire the ones who changed from carnivores to vegans. In my case, the "awakening" was far more gradual...

  3. #3
    cobweb
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    Default Re: How easy was the switch?

    i found going vegetarian very hard but that was because my parents were so anti it (i was in my early teens). Also, i really loved the taste and texture of meat so i did feel a bit deprived for a while.

    going vegan was also difficult at first because i had an 'epiphany' like yours and plunged right in without doing any research (plus there weren't accessible computers around then, not for me, anyway). For a good while i subsisted on pitta bread and mushroom spread, dry potatoes, dry toast and salads .

    Once i got to know a few other vegans i was suddenly introduced to this beautiful world of plant milks and spreads, gravies and seasonings, puddings and chocolates, tofu and homemade soups and cakes.............it's been easy ever since . It's only other people who try to make it hard by being so ignorant.

  4. #4
    cedartree cedarblue's Avatar
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    Default Re: How easy was the switch?

    hello enderbean & welcome!

    i ws 16yrs veggie and now 5yrs vegan. i phased the dairy & eggs out over about a month, that's what worked for me.

  5. #5

    Default Re: How easy was the switch?

    Hello, here's my tuppence worth ...

    I cut down eating meat over a period of time (maybe a year??) and was pescatarian but hadn't eaten fish in ages. I had a moment of enlightenment, when I was about 19: a friend had brought me some fish he'd caught that day. I cooked it, took one mouthful, and spat it out as I felt so bad that it had been alive only hours ago.

    I'd wanted to go veggie earlier (I used to get really upset as a young child in the fish market, seeing all the 'game' hanging up there .. poor rabbits and birds .. .but I wasn't strong enough to change myself in a household of meateaters.)

    I was veggie for about 2 or so years and gradually cutting down on eggs, but still eating veggie cheese and dairy.

    It was going on a hunt sab (where all the other sabs were vegan) that made me changeover, it took me about a month and I've never looked back. That was nearly 25 years ago. It was the best decision I ever made.

  6. #6
    sugarmouse
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    Default Re: How easy was the switch?

    My switch to vegetarianism aged eleven was funny, looking back.
    I love the fact i did it, because I seem to often hear the notion that 't is difficult giving up meat because 'ITs family tradition' or 'I coudlnt, I was brought up on meat'..etc etc.

    My father is a traditional Yorkshire country man, and angler, shooter, hunter who has beaten animals to death with his bare hands.
    He is also an ex bodybuilder and a protein fiend, although obvoiously it is known to me now that such things are unecessary.
    All his relatives and friends are the same in some respect at least.

    My mother loves meat. She would never serve a meal up without it when I was young. She just does not comprehend the idea that you do not HAVE to eat it.

    I had always loved animals. It took me pehraps a year or so to get my head around the fact that not eating meat was an option.When I did fully understand, I gave up meat.I didnt even tell my parents at first, I just stopped eating meat. We didnt eat togehter as a family anyway, because of issues between my father and I, and because my mother was never there, always working/teaching or at college.I had my own key from being 7years old so I pretty much got my own food anyway.

    My father gave me a talking to about protein, I told him I wasnt interested but would listen anyway, which I did.

    My Grandmother constantly served me up meat.Obviously I didnt eat it. I still get angry thinkin about the fact that she did this. She still speaks about it in surprise tht I stuck to it, saying things like 'I think she has done very well, it wasnt just a phase now was it?We all thought it was!'
    Phase?My strongest ****ing beleifs and morals a phase.Uh huh.

    My mother just doddled along as always she did, and still does.Pays very little attention unless to do with her business.

    My going vegan I think about 5 years ago now, was easy.
    I had had spells of it before and as a vegetarian very rarely ate dairy, and always bought animal-friendly products.
    Veganism to me was simply a matter of reading a few more labels than usual, and vowing to not contribute to the dairy industry.

  7. #7
    enderbean
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    Default Re: How easy was the switch?

    One of the things that I love about veganism is that it spawns out of knowledge and compassion. I regrettably used to be ok with "ignorance is bliss," but now I'm tired of being so ignorant when there are so many things wrong with this world and those industries especially.

    I used to work as a line cook for about 3 years, so I was able to learn what different types of foods had animal products in them. It's incredibly mind-boggling how many animal products are used in foods. And after eating my first few vegan things, I wonder why omni-ism is seen as such a necessity in society.

    Also, come to think of it, I had been sort of weaning myself off I guess. I didn't eat beef very much unless it was of a higher grade (I don't say quality because it's all just dead animal) because I couldn't afford it. I was never a big fan of seafood and, like I mentioned, things that resemble their former lively selves.

    After my shrimp episode I had no problem converting (though in fairness I have to admit that being a line cook taught me about what might or might not have animal products, so that made the switch easier). Now I can hardly stand looking at eggs and cheese. They are so abundant and the thought of what could be and what people do to these animals for money just breaks my heart.

  8. #8
    cobweb
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    Default Re: How easy was the switch?

    sugarmouse it seems it was easier for you to take the decision when you were a kid because you were already given a lot of independance. In my family's home meals are a huge deal, everyone sits together at the same time and everyone has to be thankful for what has been cooked, and to eat it all up. Wrong but true.

  9. #9
    sugarmouse
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    Default Re: How easy was the switch?

    Yeh you are probably right. I was alone a lot of the time.
    We did eat togehter as a family sometimes and I have nothig but bad memories of that time. Forced to eat, scared, upset I have a history with my father and a lot of it stemmed from mealtimes, he was so aggresive.
    I dont agree with making a child eat everything on the plate bad in so many ways.
    But then, I am sure family mealtimes can be a pleasant bonding experience for some families aswell

  10. #10
    cobweb
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    Default Re: How easy was the switch?

    yes, i agree. I my own little family (me, husband and son) we always eat our evening meal together but only what we want to eat and i don't insist on silly table manners, etc. As long as everyone eats with their mouths shut i'm happy!.
    My mum used to make us eat up all our food, and would withold drinks, etc til we had. She used to hit our hands if we didn't hold our forks 'correctly'. She tried similar things with my son but i told to back off.

  11. #11
    sugarmouse
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    Default Re: How easy was the switch?

    Quote cobweb View Post
    yes, i agree. I my own little family (me, husband and son) we always eat our evening meal together but only what we want to eat and i don't insist on silly table manners, etc. As long as everyone eats with their mouths shut i'm happy!.
    My mum used to make us eat up all our food, and would withold drinks, etc til we had. She used to hit our hands if we didn't hold our forks 'correctly'. She tried similar things with my son but i told to back off.

    lol!
    glad to hear it how do you mean, whilst you were eating together or whilst your son eating with her?
    I know it must have been something I was prone to anyway, but I certainly beleive my issues with food are related in soem way to how upsetting and on edge mealtimes were for me when I was young. I dreaded it, had terrible anxiety but I was a wimpy kid anyway, just one word shouted by my father and I was in tears!
    But I do like the idea of families eating together as a bonding time together, same reason as people go out for meals, to relax and have fun and be together. That's how family mealtimes should be

  12. #12
    AnneCE's Avatar
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    Default Re: How easy was the switch?

    I went from omni to vegan in September 2006 - it was easy enough to give up meat, dairy, eggs etc. but what was harder was all the vegan-seeming stuff which had animal products in it - still learning!

  13. #13
    enderbean
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    Default Re: How easy was the switch?

    Quote AnneCE View Post
    I went from omni to vegan in September 2006 - it was easy enough to give up meat, dairy, eggs etc. but what was harder was all the vegan-seeming stuff which had animal products in it - still learning!

    I know! It's so sad how many animals there are out there that are forced to give whatever they have. I hate it when I see something I used to like and find out that it has animal products in it.. but by not buying it or using it I feel better and I know I'm not contributing to it anymore. There sure is a lot to learn.

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