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Thread: Your personal vegan story

  1. #251
    Ex-admin Korn's Avatar
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    Default Re: Your personal vegan story

    Re diet and ADHD, I just found this:

    "A vegan diet for ADHD is truly weird and truly great!"

    I know I know, your thinking "I can't live without cheese" but faced with a life of the symptoms of ADHD. All while knowing that a change in diet could improve that.
    I had to try.
    Armed with the new recipes and knowledge I gained from my vegetarian diet. I needed to train a little before I embarked on another 30 days. It was going to be hard to make the switch. I had to know that there were some yummy things to look forward to eating every day.

    I learned a lot of new recipes and I set my timer again for 30 days I would stick to my vegan diet for ADHD.

    Then something interesting happened.
    My curiosity was rewarded!

    I was never a morning person, always grumpy, miserable. Once I finally made it to work it was very hard for me to get going. In the afternoons I would become sleepy and my ADHD symptoms would kick in. It was almost impossible to concentrate and get things done.

    Within two days of starting my vegan diet for ADHD I noticed a huge difference, especially in the morning. The second day I was jumping and singing in the morning.

    This was very encouraging.
    In fact it was way awesome!

    I completed the 30 days on my vegan diet for ADHD. I found huge improvements in my ability to concentrate during the day. I had more energy and was more vibrant.
    I was happier.
    Many of the ADHD symptoms that I would deal with every day of my life were lessened. In some it cases they almost completely disappeared.

    I was sure that my love of chicken wings was nothing compared to the gain in vitality, increased ability to concentrate, to pay attention and get things done that I achieved.
    And the ability to the control of my symptoms of ADHD that is gained.

    Although I did miss cheese to.
    I will not eat anything that walks, swims, flies, runs, skips, hops or crawls.

  2. #252

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    Default Re: Your personal vegan story

    Quote Korn View Post
    Re diet and ADHD, I just found this:

    "A vegan diet for ADHD is truly weird and truly great!"

    im on the site now , and i find it interesting to say the lease but not surprising .
    Now is a unque time in the evolution of mankind when you can make a choice what kind of creature you want to be BE THEE PRETTY OR BE THEE BEAST.

  3. #253

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    My story? A strange, long story.

    I can't sleep. Well, i should say i CAN sleep now, but it's still not as much as i want.

    Early last year i left Australia and went to work in the US. I was working at a summer camp, and spent the best part of 4 months teaching kids how to wakeboard, waterski and kneeboard. I also played in a band on Friday nights. Being a summer camp, i thought that the food would be good, because it's for children. Not a chance. The weekly rotation included tater tots, these mini hotdog things, BAD pizza, boneless chicken wings (it still boggles my mind) and Gatorade and soda for miles. There was some salad there, but i couldn't bring myself to eat peppers and lettuce for the 6 weeks the kids were there.

    Camp finished, and i felt sluggish. I thought i was just tired from 10 hour days of skiing and swimming. So i hitch-hiked across the states (east to west) in about 5 weeks and stayed with a girl (now my girlfriend) in Washington state. The diet got a bit better, but i was still feeling crap. I went home for a few weeks before coming back and living in Canada. When i came back, i attributed my low mood and lack of sleep to the season (winter). I tried melatonin to get me to sleep, but it didn't help too much. I just got to sleep quicker.

    Fast forward through stress, frustration and no sleep. I started searching for things to help me sleep based on diet. I found the Vega Whole Health meal replacement. I started having a smoothie for breakfast, along with fresh fruit. I searched the PETA website and found some ideas for vegan diet. After reading the Thrive Diet, i switched from eating a semi decent omnivorous diet to raw. After three weeks of eating raw, i was sleeping better, feeling less stressed, and i can sleep for 4 to 5 hours a night before waking up. Better than the 1 to 2 hours.

    Once i switched to vegan/raw, i started looking at things differently, and had a new found appreciation for my two pugs (even though i love them already). I also listened to the song "Potemkin City Limits" by Propaghandi (one of my favourite bands) and it caused me to look at the animal kingdom in an entirely different light again.

    http://www.plyrics.com/lyrics/propag...itylimits.html

    It's a song written in the second person about Francis the Pig. When you listen to it, it's just... well... i get emotional. My mindset has changed so much.

    Now, i'm feeling better in myself, and my girlfriend has decided to go vegetarian (she says she saw how i was feeling better and looking healthier) as an example to her family. They're stuck in their ways and laugh at her, but she just lets them be and enjoys eating and feeling better. I'm not 100% raw, because i do like cooking rice & beans, tofu (every now and again) and sometimes i have almond milk.

    One thing i will say. Going from a can of soda a day to nothing is eye opening. I was drinking them because i couldn't stay awake, but now i haven't had any in 3 months and i'm wide awake.
    Last edited by For The World; Nov 13th, 2009 at 05:12 AM.

  4. #254
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    Quote onfiregirl View Post
    hello all ,

    Im a proud 2nd generation vegan and my children are 3rd generation vegans and we are all very very healthy so i dont have much of a story to say except that my whole family, sister, brothers , father and mother are vegans as well.

    if anybody needs any tips advice , im sure that i can help.
    Like harpy, I hadn't heard of any 3rd generation vegans before. That is so amazing! Congratulations to your family.

  5. #255

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    How did you experience growing up as a vegan? What were the reasons your parents gave you for being vegan? How did you cope being a vegan teenager, when fitting in is so important? Nobody in the family falling of the wagon?

  6. #256

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    Quote wendy View Post
    How did you experience growing up as a vegan? What were the reasons your parents gave you for being vegan? How did you cope being a vegan teenager, when fitting in is so important? Nobody in the family falling of the wagon?

    it really never bothered me , as for anybody else in the family falling of the vegan wagon , no its never happened.
    Now is a unque time in the evolution of mankind when you can make a choice what kind of creature you want to be BE THEE PRETTY OR BE THEE BEAST.

  7. #257

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    Default Re: Your personal vegan story

    Can you tell a bit more about you handled being different? What you told the other children at school? What did your parents tell you were the reasons for being vegan?

  8. #258

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    I know this thread is a few months old, but I don't think I ever told this to you guys...

    I went vegan in April of last year...for the second time. I had tried once before. In 2007, I saw Meet Your Meat. I was horrified and went vegan overnight. It lasted for a few months. As a result of the diet, all the fruit and veggies I was eating caused my fructose malabsorption to flare up, which exacerbated my mental health symptoms.

    Long story short, I became severely depressed. I bought and ate whatever I wanted regardless of what living creature was killed for it. I stopped caring. About anything. Though my vegan knowledge still nagged at me a lot when I would eat an ice cream sundae. I knew it was wrong, but I just couldn't bring myself to care.

    I soon got out of my depression. But I didn't go back to being a vegan. I knew all the horrors of slaughterhouses and such, and yet I still continued to eat animal products (use Proctor and Gamble shampoo, etc). I was actually fitting in with my friends, doing whatever they wanted to do, eating whatever they wanted to. I was having fun. I had the vegan knowledge, but I dismissed it in the name of social acceptance.

    But by April 2009, I was sick of not thinking for myself, sick of feeling crappy all the time, and sick of the extra 40 pounds I had gained. So I picked up a little book called Skinny Bitch. It reminded me of why I had first become a vegan. I became a total veggie overnight. I wanted to stop there because of social pressure. Being a strict veggie is hard enough with omni friends in high school, let alone a vegan. But a few weeks later, I saw Earthlings and I changed my mind.

    I wanted to say this because although social pressure isn't an excuse to kill animals, it is a reason lots of people continue to (even knowingly). I was one of them. But I learned from this experience and it greatly humbled me. Now I've been thinking for myself since 4-25-09 . Go vegans!

  9. #259
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    (Warning: sad story) I flirted with the idea for many years. One day while in college, my boyfriend (still to this day ) and I were having a conversation, and totally off topic I said, "Have you ever wanted to try vegetarianism?" His reply was simple yet powerful, "Yes!" So from that day forward we were vegetarians.
    So about a year later we were eating at our favorite Chinese restaurant and I asked him if he would like to try veganism? He was a little less enthusiastic about this one. He wasn't quite sure on how he felt. He thought it would be really difficult. While still in the discovery stage of my vegan curiosity, I said ok and left it at that. A week or so went by and I was still contemplating whether or not to make the jump. So I decided, I would wait for a sign.
    And no more than a day later, I got my sign. We were driving back from the store with a delicious looking chocolate cake in hand. As we were rounding the corner to my apartment complex, I saw it. There was a duck that got hit and it was lying on the side of the road. And there sitting next to it was his friend, looking down at him, as if saying, "What happened to my friend?...Why?" It was the saddest experience that I have ever encountered! I cried for over an hour! And that was it! I went though all my cupboards and fridge, gave all my food, that had any trace of animal product in it, to any willing neighbor. And chucked the chocolate cake!
    To this day I still get choked up about that duck and his friend. But I am extremely thankful for that duck and his friend, because they showed me the way to a life that, now, I can't imaging not living:smile:
    It eases my heart to think that because of that duck, I have saved thousands of other animals lives, simply because I choose veganism.
    Rest in peace my little friends

  10. #260

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    ^ Wow, that's powerful. Thanks for sharing

  11. #261

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    Great stories. And I agree that it is hard to be vegan in a non vegan world, because of peer pressure. But not to be vegan knowing that you are paying for the suffering of animals for me is much worse

  12. #262
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    That's a lovely story ecovegan. I have never forgotten the sight of a mother duck looking on as most of her ducklings had just been run over by a car after she led them across a busy road. There were people helping her and some were saved but is an image that will haunt me forever. I was veggie at the time I think.

  13. #263
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    Wendy you are absolutely right! I wouldn't have it any other way! It a wonder to me how anybody could live an omni life with all the educational tools out there. It is our duty, as citizens and human beings, to ask questions and wonder why?!
    Its crazy, every time I sit down to eat with my omni co-workers, they discuss how to eat healthier or lose weight or watch what they are eating. And they're conclusion is to eat ,for example, pulled pork with the bbq sauce on the side!?! WHAT?! How about skipping the pulled pork altogether! As I try to control my urge to reach across the table and shake them, I passively continue to eat my hummus bagel or tofu sandwich. I have tried to explain the wonderful benefits of a vegan lifestyle to them numerous times...but it is so hard to get people to understand

    Thank you for sharing Helen It is very sad how some people just look the other way or don't even care. Just imagine what this world would be like if everyone thought and cared like the people on this forum The world would be such a beautiful and peaceful place!

  14. #264

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    I've been a vegan for one year today

  15. #265
    :) ecovegan's Avatar
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    Congrats turtle girl That is awesome!!!!

  16. #266

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    thanks ecovegan! This past year has been the best year of my life

  17. #267
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    At 22 (August of 2008), I saw 'meet your meat' on youtube and decided to read more about animal rights and stop eating chickens (I stopped eating mammals over a year earlier for health reasons). I still ate fish/marine invertebrates because I didn't believe they were sentient (or so I tried to convince myself). About a month later I stopped eating them as well.

    My interest in evolution softened me up to the pro-AR argument.

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    -
    Last edited by MCMLXXXVI; Jul 18th, 2013 at 03:42 AM.

  19. #269

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    wowwww, great story!
    and very well written, thanks

  20. #270

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    Quote ecovegan View Post
    There was a duck that got hit and it was lying on the side of the road. And there sitting next to it was his friend, looking down at him, as if saying, "What happened to my friend?...Why?" It was the saddest experience that I have ever encountered! I cried for over an hour! And that was it! I went though all my cupboards and fridge, gave all my food, that had any trace of animal product in it, to any willing neighbor. And chucked the chocolate cake!
    It was very similar for me when I went veggie - 2 or 3 signs in as many days you might say (that I wouldn't want to go into as they are equally sad tales ) suddenly I saw things differently and haven't been able to see things any other way since!

    Funnily enough, when I went from veggie -> vegan it was much less dramatic - I was staying with a friend of mine, and because she is very health/allergen conscious (though not veggie/vegan) she made my porridge with soya milk. It occurred to me that it still just tasted of the skimmed milk porridge I was used to, and that there was no excuse for me to carry on eating dairy & eggs. I've been vegan ever since
    "I am not mystical: it isn’t as if I thought it had a spirit. It is simply in its element. That gives it a kingliness, a right." [Sylvia Plath]

  21. #271
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    Default Re: Your personal vegan story

    @ MCMLXXXVI -

    Wow, indeed as Wendy said, great story and very well written.

    It's amazing what so called 'health experts' say in regards to diet, particularly in the case of someone like your cousin isn't it?

    I really, really hope that you can teach those 'doctors' a thing or two in regards to your veganism and all the best for your studies!!

    P.s the world needs more people like you! (and everyone else on this forum of course!)
    I hate it when I'm studying and a velociraptor throws bananas on me.

  22. #272

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    my story is a bit different, and I am fascinated by the stories above.
    it tells me I am also doing the right thing, but here goes.

    in my teens I went vegetarian (lacto because they told me I "needed" the dairy), went on until in my mid-twenties.
    suddenly became omni again for a few years, dunno why, probably frustration.
    in the time I was vegetarian, I had considered becoming vegan but decided it was way too extreme and hard to do ...
    when I became an omni again I did notice at first the taste of the meats, and had a hard time not thinking where it came from but the longer it lasted (four years) the more numbed I became.
    but in the back of my mind that little voice was still there.

    last october, 2009, I bought a cookbook (I like cookbooks, especially nice ones styled well, with pics) and went out the shop.
    one hour later I was having a coffee and browsing the book.
    I found out it was VEGAN!!!
    suddenly, it all came back, from long ago...
    one week later, I found myself eating vegan without even actually thinking about it.
    now it's almost five months ago.

    since becoming vegan, I feel more "open", have become more sensitive, in a lot of ways. also in ways I thought I had lost (spiritual/ paranormal depending on how you look at it), and feel more relaxed in general.
    the longer I am eating vegan the more I start thinking about other things I do.
    I am taking it further and further without even considering whether it's logic or not, it just FEELS right and I am starting to see more points of veganism that I didn't consider at first.

    to top it off: I am a foodie, I love to cook.
    I am learning to cook in new ways and I am finding out how EASY it is to cook vegan meals most of the time at home.
    how EASY it is to have just storecupboard ingredients that don't spoil so fast, and make a meal out of it.
    how much money I am saving.
    and that I am NEVER EVER, feeling heavy or fully after having eaten a meal, no matter how substantial it is.

    yes, in my country netherlands, it's rather hard on vegans when trying to eat out.
    you have to be REALLY wary...so I try to pick places which do have some items on the menu I CAN eat but I rather would like to go to a restaurant which knows what to make for vegans.

    what I am happy about is that veganism is becoming more into the open, more public, and that more and more people become aware, that veganism is the way to go for a better planet, be it sustainability, environment or for the people or the animals...

    and to each their own, whatever reason you had to become vegan, it is good in itself THAT you turned vegan!
    so for me, it was just something happened and when I look what's happening in my life now, I also see the logic of it.

    what do I say when someone asks why I have become vegan.
    I honestly tell them it happened overnight.......and how much I LOVE it and for me, sustainability, environmental and the people are good enough reasons.
    and that all directly affects the animals too........in my way of thinking.

    no need to kill living beings because we need food, no need to test on them because there are other ways to do so, no need to kill animals for fur or leather.

    I will be interested to see where it takes me, further down the road.

  23. #273

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    A year and a half ago, I read Martha Grime's Biting the Moon and then Dakota. I began thinking hard about the truth regarding the factory farming industry. I soon lost my taste for meat and rarely ate it. I began researching Peta's website. One day I received an e-mail from Peta promoting Ingrid Newkirk's Practical Guide to Animal Rights. The book had a picture of a mother pig and her piglet and I saved the e-mail and kept pulling it back up to look at the picture. Every time I craved pepperoni pizza or anything else, I pulled up that e-mail and stared at that picture. A few days later, I ordered the book and gave up meat forever. I began to learn the truth about the dairy industry and quickly decided that I was going to be a vegan. When my dog died, I promised her that I would do something great in her honor. I now attend anti-fur and anti-puppy mill demonstrations for In Defense of Animals on a regular basis. I e-mail my legislators regarding animal welfare laws and I write and e-mail businesses that are not cruelty-free. I leave literature behind me wherever I go and now my mom and my husband have made big changes to their diets! They are not vegan yet, but I predict they will be. Several of my neighbors have switched to soy milk on my recommendation. Now that I know the truth, I want everyone to know it!

  24. #274

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    I became a secular humanist at around 12, came out as gay, and eventually began to develop a highly liberal perspective. I went on a flex/OLV diet for a year and lost 142 lbs that I had gained from emotional eating past the divorce of my parents and decided to port my immense awe and respect for the natural world into a logically consistent manner of life. I have been a strict dietary vegan for exactly 2 days now, and intend upon making my lifestyle match within the next couple of weeks. I'm so new to everything that the learning process is just fascinating to me. The whole process has been wonderful.

    Currently I'm looking for allies/helpers in my new journey. Hope this place is a good place to relate with people 'cause I live with 3 unhealthy meat eaters and it's very difficult to keep myself together with them around.

  25. #275

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    Quote NuVegNC View Post
    I became a secular humanist at around 12, came out as gay, and eventually began to develop a highly liberal perspective. I went on a flex/OLV diet for a year and lost 142 lbs that I had gained from emotional eating past the divorce of my parents and decided to port my immense awe and respect for the natural world into a logically consistent manner of life. I have been a strict dietary vegan for exactly 2 days now, and intend upon making my lifestyle match within the next couple of weeks. I'm so new to everything that the learning process is just fascinating to me. The whole process has been wonderful.

    Currently I'm looking for allies/helpers in my new journey. Hope this place is a good place to relate with people 'cause I live with 3 unhealthy meat eaters and it's very difficult to keep myself together with them around.

    Hey, good for you! I've been Vegan for about 6 months and I love it. Don't let the meat-eaters frazzle you. I was really surprised how quickly and totally my cravings for meat, sugar and junk food disappeared. The hardest part for me is discovering animal ingredients in products you'd never even think of! Eating out was a challenge at first; my husband is not Vegan and is pretty picky. My dog, however, begs for veggies and will do tricks for tofu!

  26. #276

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    My story is rather simple, but before I became vegan, I never would have thought it. In fact, I never heard of the word vegan until I became vegetarian.

    I always "loved" animals. In other words, I always had a sweet spot in my heart for all animals, yet I ate meat, dairy and honey, wore leather, silk and angora, went to the Barnum and Bailey Circus, and the list goes on. Well, back in 1997, my husband, who never really liked eating meat, was working overtime. I was alone and watching TV that night. I was clicking through the channels until I passed one channel, and immediately, returned back to it. It was a documentary that was being shown on a new cable channel. It was an undercover exposure of experimentation on animals. I watched it and what I saw not only shocked me, but made me cry, and I don't cry much. I will not go into detail of what I saw, but I actually purchased the video of this documentary because on the bottom of the TV screen they gave you a phone number. It was 9 p.m. when my husband came home from work. He found me upstairs in front of the TV crying, and I said to him: "I never want to eat meat again". And he said: "Good". And the rest is history. It did not take us long at all to find out the rest of the story, and after 3 months, we became vegan in every way. Unfortunately, only recently, my husband gave in to his love of pizza, so he eats cheese, but that is it.

    What is odd about my story is that this documentary was not about eating meat, but somehow my brain immediately clicked to not eating animals anymore. I consider myself very lucky that I found out everything, and I feel so much better about my life and now when I say I love animals, I really mean it. And I feel very lucky that my husband said "Good" that night, because he is a very kind person and that is one of the many reasons that I love him.

    Has anyone seen the documentary I am talking about? It is called "Lethal Medicine". www.all-creatures.org/book/r-lethalmed.html
    Last edited by VeganLu; Mar 27th, 2010 at 07:07 PM. Reason: Added name of documentary
    All about the animals, Lucia

  27. #277

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    I spent over 2 hours reading all of the postings and I enjoyed it very much. So many stories, many different, many alike. I am pleasantly surprised at how many of you turned vegan because of PETA's "Meet You Meat" video. To all of you - CONGRATULATIONS!
    All about the animals, Lucia

  28. #278
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    In 1986 I became a Buddhist and similar to the 10 Commandments we have 5 Precepts as our basic moral guide, now the very first Precept is to refrain from harming all living creatures intentionally and I just could not do this and eat animals or know that they had been harmed in any way for my benefit, at the same time, so I became a vegetarian overnight. I am sorry to say it took a lot more years before I realised there was so much more I could do, eventually I became a vegan 10 years ago and my only regret is that I did not do this much earlier. I made sure I read all the advice on vegan healthy eating and watched dvds, the best one I have seen to really show what goes on behind closed doors is 'Earthlings' it makes me cry every time I watch it and my meat eating husband says to me, 'why on earth do you watch it if it upsets you so much?' but for me it is a way of reinforcing to myself why I became a vegan, its not something I want to do just out of habit, it really means so much to me and I feel really happy that I have chosen to live my life like this. In a funny sort of way I feel honoured to be part of a very special group of people and the job now is to try and get others to at least question for themselves, where does their food come from, how did it get here and under what conditions, how do you get fur and exotic skins to make fashion items etc etc you all know the answers but so many others do not.
    May all creatures be well, may they be happy and may they be at peace.

  29. #279
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    I'm pretty sure I read that about chicks in Farm Sanctuary by Gene Baur...so horrible

    (that was the book that made me go vegan the very next day!)

  30. #280
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    http://planetgreen.discovery.com/foo...r-ordered.html

    this guy is inspirational....read what he says about the blood! ugh....

  31. #281
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    Default Re: Your personal vegan story

    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.

  32. #282

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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!

  33. #283
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    Default Re: Your personal vegan story

    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.

  34. #284
    baffled harpy's Avatar
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    Default Re: Your personal vegan story

    Quote TealClear View Post
    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.

  35. #285
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    Default Re: Your personal vegan story

    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....

  36. #286

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    Default Re: Your personal vegan story

    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.
    All about the animals, Lucia

  37. #287
    Staffy's Avatar
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    Default Re: Your personal vegan story

    Awww, thanks. VeganLu

  38. #288

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    Default Re: Your personal vegan story

    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.

  39. #289
    Barry's Avatar
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    Default Re: Your personal vegan story

    Quote Staffy View Post
    In my mid 20's i got cancer twice and beat it both times
    Holy shit. Good for you man...

    Quote Staffy View Post
    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.
    Todays empires, tomorrows ashes...

  40. #290
    Staffy's Avatar
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    Default Re: Your personal vegan story

    Earth Crisis hey? I've heard one or two things... will check em out a bit more...

  41. #291
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    Default Re: Your personal vegan story

    Good for you, Colleengirl95!

    are those in your closest circle also proud or just baffled?
    the only animal ingredient in my food is cat hair

  42. #292

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    I guess they're proud... well my mom actually . My dad is a bit worried as much as everyone else.

  43. #293

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    Default Re: Your personal vegan story

    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!!

  44. #294
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    Default Re: Your personal vegan story

    An adelaide Vegan! Welcome!

  45. #295

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    thanks Staffy!

  46. #296
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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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    Last edited by MCMLXXXVI; Jul 18th, 2013 at 03:41 AM.

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    Last edited by MCMLXXXVI; Jul 18th, 2013 at 03:41 AM.

  49. #299
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    Default Re: Your personal vegan story

    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

  50. #300
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    Default Re: Your personal vegan story

    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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