Tell Us Why YOU Went Vegetarian

Pickle Juice

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I wanted to when I found out where hamburgers came from. I was already pretty fond of cows, and my undeveloped five year old pea brain couldn't see any difference between cows and our dog.
 
Because my mom decided to birth a vegetarian baby. :p

Seriously, though, I've stayed vegetarian because, like you said, the difference between a dog and a cow isn't enough to justify loving one and eating another.
 
I knew it was wrong. I'd known since I was about 7 and we learned in school about vegetarians, but my mum wasn't very supportive and I couldn't shop or cook for myself. When I was in college an online friend went vegan and it rekindled my interest. I knew I would have someone to support me so I decided just after Christmas to be vegetarian for 30 days, and then never went back.
 
After I adopted rabbits, and started getting bombarded with "jokes" about rabbit stew, it really made me stop to realize that there is no difference between companion animals and "food" animals.
That's when I stopped eating ALL animals.
 
I ate Peter Singer and digested what little ethical fibers were in his system. what passes as Singer now is what passed through my digestive tract.
 
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For the animals. Definitely for the animals. I tried off and on for about five years,but after two minutes into "Meet Your Meat" it was a done deal.Made the switch at age 50 six years ago and have never looked back.
 
I'd been wanting to for quite a while but then one day I watched a particularly graphic fur video, of all things, and that did it for me.
 
Since I learnt what a vegetarian was, I wanted to be one. I loved animals and didn't want to eat them. it really used to hit home whenever a pet died, I couldnt eat meat as it just reminded me of their dead body. I also couldnt eat food that looked like the animal, like drumsticks. But my mum never let me go veg or made up some BS excuse like "Wait until summer then you can eat salads". In the end I just stopped eating meat and she caved in. Woo.
 
I was hanging out one day with my cats and dogs and suddenly realized that it didn't make sense to treasure these animals and eat others which were at least as intelligent. Didn't eat pigs after that moment. A couple of months later, I was pulling out of a gas station and came face to face with cows looking out of a cattle truck. Didn't eat cows after that. That was followed in relatively short succession by first birds, then fish, then all other *seafood*. The process started 23 years ago, and I've been fully vegetarian for 22 years.

I continue to be puzzled why it took me so long to see.
 
Cancer - my husband's. I quit smoking and went vegetarian because I thought I was going to have to raise my kids by myself. That was in 2000.
 
Because my mom decided to birth a vegetarian baby. :p

Seriously, though, I've stayed vegetarian because, like you said, the difference between a dog and a cow isn't enough to justify loving one and eating another.

That's awesome. I'm envious of people that were raised vegetarian/vegan since birth. It's great that you stuck with it and never went to the dark side.

I became vegetarian when I was 12-13 yrs old. I was doing a research paper on slaughterhouses and all the information I read was enough to traumatize me for life. I never touched a piece of meat after that.
 
my parents always say that I loathed meat from the time I was really little....I always put up a fight and just didnt wanna eat it and they didnt force me....I just never could stand the taste, texture, smell ect and didnt like the idea of eating animals...when I was very young I would always say we dont eat Banny or Haimster (my dogs) why would we eat chicken, steak ect.....so at 15 I went Vegan and was Vegan for two years and then I went Veggie and have been Veggie ever since....it will be 23 years this Dec:)

have a hippie day:)
 
I gave up animal tested products before I gave up meat and fish.
I was doing reaserch for a University project on vivisection and met an animal rights group and got talking to a few of the members, after talking to them I had a facepalm moment when I thought 'I boycott tested produced...but eat meat...WTH am I doing?!?'
So I gave up meat, then fish for 4/5 years and now Im cutting out dairy too.
I dont want to be one of those people who says they loves animals, but still contributes to their suffering. Yes some people may have just gone straight Vegan but for reasons I dont want to get into, bit by bit is working for me and one day Ill be 100% vegan!:D
 
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I watched the film Fast Food Nation. At the end of the film a cow gets slaughtered. I didn't want to contribute to that anymore.
 
I have had Fast Food Nation (the book) on my shelf for years. I really should get around to reading it. I acquire books faster than I can read them, though.
 
I recently read Fast Food Nation, was a good read.

The reason I went veggie though was due to Forks over Knives, China Study, Prevent & Reverse Heart disease etc. I do feel now that I've gone over completely, zilch on the animal products, I feel like I'm living a little more in tune with my belief systems over animals and how they ought to be treated... if that makes any sense.