Your reasons for becoming vegan

[veganchick]

I became vegan after 14yrs of being a vegetarian when I realized that there was as much cruelty in milk and eggs as in meat. what was it that made you vegan?

 

[Second Summer]

I had been a lacto-vegetarian for 8 years or so when I made the definitive switch to veganism. Although I knew there was cruelty involved in dairy production, I consoled myself with the idea that dairy could (I thought) be produced without cruelty, and in a sense it was the dairy producers who were to blame for the cruelty, and it was their job to correct the situation, not mine. But as time passed that kind of thinking started to seem less and less sound, and at the same time veganism started to seem more and more feasible. Eventually I switched. I still think dairy probably can be produced without cruelty, although some would perhaps still consider it exploitative, and I suspect it won't be viable as a business.

 

[mary1]

I watched Earthlings and that made me not want to take the chance that my grocery dollars were going to any businesses or individuals that would cause suffering to animals. Later on, I thought about how much I value my own life, and why wouldn't I want to help other feeling creatures keep theirs?

 

[Mr Crunchy]

To paraphrase Jules Winnfield, "My girlfriend is vegan, which pretty much makes me vegan".

 

[PTree15]

I became vegan after 14yrs of being a vegetarian when I realized that there was as much cruelty in milk and eggs as in meat. what was it that made you vegan?

This was basically me, but I couldn't seem to get my head around not eating cheese anymore. The guilt finally got to me, though, and one day I just stopped considering anything from an animal as food. I felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders. It will be five years in May that I went vegan.

 

[SummerRain]

I became vegan after 14yrs of being a vegetarian when I realized that there was as much cruelty in milk and eggs as in meat. what was it that made you vegan?

I think I was very similar to this too. Plus I also felt that it was impossible to produce eggs and milk ethically commercially even with the highest welfare standards, because it would never be commercial to take every calf born from an impregnated dairy cow, and every male chick born when breeding for egg-laying hens, and allow them to live to their full lives.

Also, even though I was aware high welfare doesn't mean ethical, I think I was also aware that even if the eggs you buy come from local free range hens, the vast majority of the egg you eat isn't. For example, eggs in ready-made food (such as cakes), eggs at friends houses, eggs in restaurants, etc. Eggs were the last thing I gave up (I didn't eat dairy for two years prior to being vegan) because my parent's weren't happy about me going vegan, so I think this played a part in me deciding I needed to stop eating eggs, and at the same time I stopped using all other animal products too.

I think I stayed vegan for slightly different reasons. Although animal cruelty and suffering is the main reason, I also believe that there is something inherently wrong in domesticating animals. Even if they aren't treated cruelly I still don't believe we should breed them.

 

[mary1]

Well it's kinda funny. I was teaching myself to make cheese, .

Have you made cheese out of vegan ingredients since? I mean cultured cheese?

 

[ledboots]

My son convinced us.

 

[Pickle Juice]

Have you made cheese out of vegan ingredients since? I mean cultured cheese?

So far I have only made fermented raw nut and seed "cheeses". My Dad got me "Artisan Vegan Cheese" by Miyoko Schinner for Christmas and I am looking forward to experimenting.

 

[thefadedone]

Before I gave up the idea entirely, I tried some goat milk. It was so strong and musky and reminiscent of goatly body odor, it was the first time I really realized what milk was: something that came out of an animal's body. Thinking of it this way began to put me off. It was almost as if I went through a kind of aversion therapy. Cow milk never had that effect on me. Neither did chicken eggs. It wasn't til later that I learned that there is as much suffering and death involved in the production of milk and eggs as there is in meat.

This description really makes me grateful that I never tried goat milk in my non vegan days.

 

[Pickle Juice]

This description really makes me grateful that I never tried goat milk in my non vegan days.

Haha! I used to know an intact male goat who liked to rub his scent glands on my knees, and goat milk tastes just like he smelled, though not as strong. One morning I saw him coming over while I was cleaning up after him, as was his habit, but that day I had just decided for once I didn't want to smell like goat all day, so I backed away from him and said "No Pan, I love you but I don't want to smell like goat today." I turned my back on him and continued sweeping, and he butted me! It was just as if I'd hurt his feelings by refusing to let him rub his forehead on my kneecaps.

 

[PTree15]

Haha! I used to know an intact male goat who liked to rub his scent glands on my knees, and goat milk tastes just like he smelled, though not as strong. One morning I saw him coming over while I was cleaning up after him, as was his habit, but that day I had just decided for once I didn't want to smell like goat all day, so I backed away from him and said "No Pan, I love you but I don't want to smell like goat today." I turned my back on him and continued sweeping, and he butted me! It was just as if I'd hurt his feelings by refusing to let him rub his forehead on my kneecaps.

Awwwww, too cute. It always kills me when omnis say animals don't have feelings or personalities. If they just opened their eyes for five minutes, they would see it.

 

[mary1]

ew I tried goat cheese once, years ago. Couldn't wash the taste out my mouth! It was the most awful thing.

 

[Pickle Juice]

Awwwww, too cute. It always kills me when omnis say animals don't have feelings or personalities. If they just opened their eyes for five minutes, they would see it.

Goats are no different from dogs really, if they know you well. I used to take a break from my chores and sit down, and they would come over and poke me with their front legs for a scratch on the chin. Whenever I got tired of scratching and stopped, they would poke me again. And the chickens used to like to sit in my lap and get their necks preened. Not much different from cats who like to cuddle. Thinking about chickens really breaks my heart. I think of all the animals people exploit for food, chickens suffer the worst. Except maybe for ducks.

 

[Werewolf Girl]

It was a long process for me but what made me stick with it was a combination of watching Earthlings, getting a lot of support from people online and in real life, and petting a dairy cow on the nose.

 

[Snowcone]

Took an ethics course at a community college. When we got to a section about factory farming and animal exploitation, I got irrationally angry and worked like a man-child possessed trying to destroy the animal welfare argument for a couple of weeks, but I didn't know why I was so ****** off. Eventually, I realized it was because I knew deep down that the person making the argument was right(Peter Singer), and the opposing stances had nothing but petty rationalizations (Michael Pollan) and outright sociopathy (Tibor Machan). I knew that I couldn't keep living the way I was and then I went from omni to vegetarian.

That lasted for about nine months, and all the while I stuffed my face with cheese and other dairy products, telling myself that I was doing the best I could. Sometimes I'd even mentally attack straw-vegans my mind would conjure up to help me rationalize. Then one morning I just woke up really frustrated with myself, decided that I was done with the excuses, and went vegan.

That was about two and a half years ago and I regret nothing about the lifestyle change.

 

[CrazyCatLady]

It all of a sudden occurred to me that I was being a hypocrite saying I was an animal lover yet eating them. I set a date that I decided I would be vegetarian from. In the mean time, whilst researching how to stay a healthy vegetarian, I came across vegetarian / vegan forums and had a little nosy into veganism (on the premise all vegans were crazy hippies...coz cows needed to be milked right? *embarrassed*) and realised that with my reasons for giving up meat, I needed to be vegan. So on the date I set, I went vegan overnight xxx

 

[Pirate]

I was vegetarian for a few years, the only one I knew. Being vegan seemeed to be the right thing/admirable, but this big scary hardcore thing that was something I'd never be able to do because it was just so hard.

Every time I googled was a certain food vegetarian, this bloody website kept coming up. Veggieboards - you my have heard of it . I joined as a vegetarian, and quickly realised that veganism was nowhere near as hard as I thought it would be. also readhow hypocritical eating egg/dairy products were when I was against killing animals for food.

I then kept the mindset that there were foods I'd really miss, like cheesecake so itd be impossible. Then my then-boyfriend bought me one as a present, and as I was eating it I said to him how I couldnt remember the last time I ate cheesecake, it was years ago. I realised its not worth not being vegan, for a food I eat every few years, so there and then told then-boyfriend I was planning to go vegan. Obviously he thought I was mad haha. And the rest is history!

So yeah basically ITS ALL YOU GUYS FAULT!

 

[veganchick]

Thanks to every one who has replied it seems we all got there in the end and that is the important thing.

 

[Clueless Git]

I was persuaded to try a vegan diet on the recomendation that switching veggie to vegan gives you about the same 'brain kick' as you get from going omni to veggie.

Found it to be true to this degree: Once you remove the need for wrong to be right then the mind has one less obstacle to seeing right from wrong more clearly.