Ethics, animals, environment, conservation, health and to feel generally better about being a living creature
Ethics/philosophical reasons: Compassion for animals, reverence for life
Environmental reasons
Personal / human health
Political/economical reasons, world hunger
Spiritual and/or religious reasons
Because there are no valid arguments pro using animal products
Veganism feels right/works best for me
All of the above
Ethics, animals, environment, conservation, health and to feel generally better about being a living creature
I used to try it for health and fitness reasons, and miserably failed. I choose to be a vegan because I am not just a pet, animal, nature, or human lover, I am a life lover, I have a deep love and respect for all life, and I have come to know that we, as humans, do not rule over the creation, we are part of the creation.
With that, we do not usually eat our fellows, right? So why eat fellow sentient creatures? Every time someone offers me a meat dish, it feels like cannibalism.
This time, my cause made my commitment a success!
I am new here by the way, few days, and I am learning a lot
You can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals - Immanuel Kant
I went vegan for health and environmental reasons. More and more I appreciate that I'm reducing cruelty to living creatures. Ethical/spiritual concerns are now a major factor in my lifestyle.
I think that question should be, "Why shouldn't I be vegan?"
because when i look into the eyes of an animal... ANY animal, i cannot fathom how anyone could maltreat an animal for ANY reason.
because, in my opinon, evolution didnt make us capeable of this degree of mental development to distroy the earth...... but rather to be able to save it.
the aim of life is to live, and to live means to be aware, joyously, dunkenly, serenely, divinely aware.
-henry miller
Wow, great point! I agree. We now have the mental capacity to try to undo our many mistakes eg. unsustainable farming practices and change everything as a result of our intelligence. I can't stand it when people use the "humans are smarter" routine to try to justify their omnivorous ways. So, does that make it okay to eat/kill/maltreat those with mental challenges? People just kill me sometimes.
Excellent answer kaitlinkaitlin
I was a vegetarian for two years because I didn't see anything wrong with eating dairy and eggs because at least I was not eating a dead animal. Now i realize how wrong I was. Vegan seems the only way to be. I don't understand how someone can drink milk and eat eggs. It grosses me out. I don't think many people actally think about it and realize they are drinking ANOTHER SPECIES MILK!!! yuck! I used to love cheese and thought I could not live without it so it took me a while to become vegan. I guess i am still trying to be vegan because i only started a few weeks ago and am now paying more attention to ingredients and cooking at home a lot more! I am just glad I found this forum because everyone around me thinks I am crazy for trying to be vegan!
When you are guided by compassion and loving-kindness, you are able to look deeply into the heart of reality and see the truth.--Thich Nhat Hanh
Hey All,
I am doing a presentation for my "Food, Bodies, and Power" course at my college. I would like to give the class (myself being the only vegan member) an idea of what motivates people to go vegan. B/c I don't yet have 100 posts, I am unable to make a poll. I was wondering if someone would mind making this poll for me. If so, I would be greatly, greatly appreciative!!
I would like to have people to check all of the reasons that they went vegan, including the following:
-health
-environmental concerns
-animal rights
-world hunger
-other
And if those who check other could elaborate below, that would be awesome! Thanks everyone!
Last edited by flutterby; Jan 21st, 2007 at 11:06 AM. Reason: this was the 1st post in a similar thread
Hi,
we had a similar poll in 'Veganforum 1' back in 2004, but it got lost when we changed to a new server/software.
I'll set up a new one soon.
Here are the answer option I plan to include:
Animals/ethics/reverence for life/compassion
Better for the environment/planet/nature
Health
World hunger/political-econimical reasons
Religious/spiritual/philosophical reasons
Because there are no reasons to use animal products
Intuition: veganism feels right/works best for me
Since veganism is about more than just diet, personal health can't be an only reason to go vegan, but it's going to be a multiple-choice-poll.
Any comments before we start the poll?
I will not eat anything that walks, swims, flies, runs, skips, hops or crawls.
Distaste of animal products? As with health this can't be an only reason.
"I don't want to live on this planet any more" - Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth
That's a great idea for a presentation kaitlin!!! Good luck with it
Since we're not prioritising reasons can we have an 'all of the above' option?
I can't see where, say, 'health' ends and 'environment' begins - or similarly disentangle any other permutation of these options.
Thank you
We are saved in the end by the things that ignore us. Andrew Harvey
The environment starts where your skin stops...I can't see where, say, 'health' ends and 'environment' begins
I'll add 'All of the above'.
I will not eat anything that walks, swims, flies, runs, skips, hops or crawls.
But skin is semi-permeable...Korn
And the lungs are inside and kind of outside too. And the psyche is at least partly 'of the community' and much of the rest is unreconstructed nature ...
And the body and mind can't flourish in a dodgy environment...
Thanks again.I'll add 'All of the above'.
We are saved in the end by the things that ignore us. Andrew Harvey
Terrace Max, I think you'd get on with Whalespace. Come to VBB's party and meet him
Edit... Ooops, forgot to vote! I picked for the animals but as time goes on I think about other people and most of the reasons in this poll all merge into one.
"Do what you can with what you have where you are."
- Theodore Roosevelt
Great. We could compare ecopsychology textbooks. What a party.Red Wellies
Seriously though - they don't let me out after 7 pm so I'll have to refuse. Thanks anyway
We are saved in the end by the things that ignore us. Andrew Harvey
Hey All,
Thanks to all that participated. My presentation went well and most if not all of the students were unfamiliar w/what I was telling them about animal agriculture's impact on the environment, health, etc... So thanks to everyone for helping me speak my truth. Viva la revolucion!
Glad to hear it went well, kaitlin
I have never liked eating animals, feotuses, animal pus, bees puke, insects other terrestrial creatures really, it's evil and unnecesary.
Putting two fingers up at the multi-nationals!
Silent but deadly :p
that´s a good one! hahaha
For myself, the environment, and the animals (not in that praticular order)
Cruelty Free is the ONLY Way to Be!!!
For the animals - once I had my "awakening" as I call it, there was no other option. One thing I dont understand is how some meat-eaters have realised its wrong to eat meat and yet they still do it. I think there are huge differences in peoples personalities and its hard to explain why.
Me neither, I have a couple of friends who have been either vegan or veggie and gone back to eating 'meat' and get upset when I use the term 'dead animal' ... weird ... and sad
were do i start!!
first and foremost AMIMALS
2 RELIGION
3 WORLD HUNGER
4 ENVIRONMENT
5 AMAZING FOOD!!!
6 HEALTH
.....theres more, but i wont list them all now
I became vegan because I feel that animals do NOT need to be so over-exploited and cruelly abused as they are (mostly farm animals such as factory hens, etc). This is ridiculous and inhumane!
ahem...those are my reasons
"If you are what you eat, does that make you dead meat?"
I'm going to have to say all of the above. I definitely believe that I have always felt that it is the right thing to do, a long time before I had any real substantial philisophical motivation to be vegan. I was 13 years old at the time. Eventually, my reasons evolved to include: ethics/philosophical reasons, compassion for animals, reverence for life, environmental reasons, and personal / human health
The good man is the friend of all living things. -- Mohandas Gandhi
I became vegan for the animals, to do my thing for the hunger in this world, to improve my general health, to be free of guilt regarding hurting animals for food or clothing reasons, it just feels right and I can help the environment a little, too.
Mirjam
defenitely all of the above...people eat meat and dairy out of ignorance...
I'm a vegan for the majority of reasons above but the top reason is for the animals
Go Vegan, stay Human
first and foremost animals!.. then just because im eccentric
I do it 'cause it's cool.
...
Just kiddin! It isn't cool.
Okay. Enough of bad internet humor on my part.
I do it for the ethics first, then political, then because there is no compelling reason to consume animals (isnt' that w/in the "ethical" rubrik?), then the other reasons.
As someone already said, I'd be vegan even if it wasn't healthy or good for the environment, although all those reasons are certainly nice side benifits.
context is everything
I did it firstly for the animals too
. . . .But I have recently learnt that the meat industries are a major cause to the planets destruction and probably most world hunger, so I am with most of them although i only ticked the first 2 choices.
I am not religious or anything....maybe some inner spirituality though!
Last edited by Darky_; Dec 23rd, 2007 at 01:37 AM. Reason: spelling mistakes!
animals....
everything else is secondary.
..... but still important!
I first did it for animals.
But the bigest reasons now are:
1. Environment
2. Animals
3. My personal beliefs
4. Health
+ all the other reasons in the poll but these are the main ones
i started when i someone in my local town centre showed me info on animal testing and the companys that are involved.i was deeply distressed.i spoke to a friend who told me about viva! so i phoned them up and they sent me loads of info.i then saw the cruelty of factory farming and how unhealthy eating meat was so i became veggie first and then vegan.
I'm doing it to promote animal rights.
Cannot complain about the health benefits :P
I became a vegan because I'm opposed to killing animals (except in self-defence).
Animals are not food, they are our friends.
animal rights. 100%
Originally for me, it was for the health benefits. But now those are just a bonus. I do it because I don't want to hurt animals. I love them, don't want to use them and could never, ever eat them.
For the environment, which for me, most certainly includes animals.
for the animals foremost
"The conventional view serves to protect us from the painful job of thinking." -byron
I went vegan for the animals, and along the way i've distributed my veganity throughout most of the above causes.
Animals have rights.
..but what would they do with all the cows?..
All of the above, however ethics more than anything else.
I became vegan for health reasons. It's really helped me to eat the healthiest I can. I've always been really interested in nutrition.
I've stayed vegan for the animals and environment. It's the only ethical choice.
“I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship.” ~ Alcott
Really? If I were to be completely honest with myself I'd probably say that a raw, locally produced fruitarian diet (or as close to as possible whilst remaining healthy) was the only ethical choice. As vegans we're still killing plants, wasting energy on cooking processes (that in most cases removes nutrients) and transporting food round the globe, wasting both fuels and packing materials. Sure, veganism is certainly way more ethical than a non vegan diet in the other direction, but where as some people call veganism the extreme and vegetarianism the more easily obtainable ethical choice, i think i'd view it one step further over.
"Mr Flibble - forum corruptor of innocents!!" - Hemlock
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