This Vegan Thing......?

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Well, it is never too late for anything, as they say, and today, March 5th is one year exactly that my husband and I have been vegan. Cannot believe it has been a year already. We are both in our late 40's so it is never too late to start! We have no plans on ever going back to meat, dairy or eggs. Our bodies just feel too good and we want to continue our non-participation of animal misery and cruelty. So for anyone who has ever thought of giving it a try, I say go for it! You will never look back. :lotsohearts:
 
It is really nice to see all the vegans / vegetarians here. I really get shocked by how many people elsewhere "love animals"... but only certain types, don't care about the kind that end on their plates!

If I had the money, time, and space I would love some day to adopt rescued farm animals. Pigs, cows, sheep, chickens... they are all such lovely creatures that deserve compassion.

As for me, for a long time I do not buy / consume animal products. It started before I fully knew the horrors of the animal product industry... since learning about them I am more strongly convicted in it. However technically I am not vegan. I live with people who are very wasteful... they will buy giant packages of eggs, eat four of them, and let the rest expire and throw them out. I can't STAND waste, especially since living sentient beings suffered to produce that food, so in that situation I will eat the eggs if otherwise they will be thrown away.
 
Fox, yes, people put on blinders or do just not think about the irony of cuddling their puppy or cat or other pets, then eating other animals and not knowing or caring that these other animals have just as much a right to be free from harm, fear and cruelty as domesticated pets. I leave brochures out in public from Mercy for Animals that show a puppy and a piglet on the cover. The title reads, "Why Love One but Eat the Other?" :suspicious:
 
What I don't understand is the uproar from people about the Chinese capturing and slaughtering cats and dogs but yet, we do the very same thing but with cows, pigs and chicken and other sentient beings.
 
I don't know why I haven't posted in this thread yet, I have been vegan for over a year!

I do it mainly for the animals. I don't know about you guys, but for me, having rats has helped me appreciate all animals. As we know, rats are seen as dirty and not fit for pets by a lot of people. But the moment I realized that rats are so loving, intelligent, and human-like, I also realized that cows, pigs, and chickens are worthy, too. Thus, I cannot bring myself to knowingly harm any animals. Can anyone else relate?
 
Yes, I can totally relate and you are right. Humans have no right to decide which animals should be respected and cared for and which are "okay" to slaughter or treat with cruelty. It is monstrous. And Jorats, you are right, the same thing applies the "uproar" of Westerners to eating cats and dogs in Asian countries, yet it is okay for us to slaughter and eat pigs, cows, chickens, lambs, etc? Selective compassion at its worst.
 
I have to add a P.S. to my last post....for those of you fellow vegans who, like me, can get so frustrated at the rest of the meat and dairy consuming folks out there...I have to remember to state that my husband and I were completely guilty up until only one year ago of being regular carnivores and milk guzzlers and I was even on Atkins for ages!

I suspect that most people, like myself, simply do NOT KNOW or even think about the cruelty and horrors to animals behind the eggs and milk and meat that we eat (not to mention how horrible it is for our bodies and health). You know the saying..."If slaughterhouse walls were made of glass, we would all be veggies/vegans." How true.

I didn't think about it or know what I know now. So if I can go from being a meat freak to a preachin' vegan (!) that kind of lets you know that anyone can do a 360 turn around and get educated and enlightened on what we put into our bodies (dead animal corpses and breast milk intended for baby cows, not grown humans) and start fresh.

Just wanted to point that out. Yes, I learned my humble lesson. I wish I had gotten educated on this 20 years ago. That is my only regret. Peace. :grouphug:
 
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fumblesquid said:
I don't know about you guys, but for me, having rats has helped me appreciate all animals. As we know, rats are seen as dirty and not fit for pets by a lot of people. But the moment I realized that rats are so loving, intelligent, and human-like, I also realized that cows, pigs, and chickens are worthy, too. Thus, I cannot bring myself to knowingly harm any animals. Can anyone else relate?
Click to expand...

I totally agree. Rats helped me to realise how precious all creatures are. I think it's coming up to a year for me too being vegan. I've had my ups and downs but it's been a great journey and feels so right.

And very exciting news is that there is a cooking class in town who have been here for a while, I checked their website last week and they have a monthly vegetarian class. I called and booked in and when I explained to the chef that I was vegan, he told me he was vegetarian so I was pleasantly surprised. He will show me how to adapt the recipes to be vegan. That's my biggest problem I love good tasty food but have no idea how to cook them or what flavours go together or how to create a good flavour from scratch, so I am really looking forward to this as I think it will expand my skills and make cooking vegan meals a lot more exciting and a real joy. I'm looking forward to these next few months.
 
That is great Bundyrats! I bet you will get so many great pointers from the class! Over the year, I have done lots of poking around and experimenting with looking up different ideas and dishes, via either library books or the internet and just checking out the vegan options at my local grocery stores and I am amazed at how easy it is to make my own vegan versions of things like mayo, sour cream, salad dressings, cookie recipes, even vegan tacos made with delicious veggie protein "crumbles" that I buy at the grocery store. These days, anything that someone loves to eat can easily be substituted with vegan versions. I bet you are super excited for your cooking lessons! Let us know how it goes! :)
 
Is Veganism Really Healthy? Interview with Michael Greger M.D

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p43tTvD3anM"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p43tTvD3anM[/ame]
 
Great new video out


From Table to Able: Combating Disabling Diseases with Food
http://nutritionfacts.org/video/from-table-to-able/
or [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DCjwIVJmMw"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DCjwIVJmMw[/ame]


previous videos:
2013 More Than an Apple a Day: Combating Common Diseases
http://nutritionfacts.org/video/more-than-an-apple-a-day-preventing-our-most-common-diseases/


2012 Uprooting the Leading Causes of Death
http://nutritionfacts.org/video/uprooting-the-leading-causes-of-death/
 
I am currently transitioning to a vegan lifestyle.. I'm not all the way there yet, but I'm working on it!

A few pages back, people were discussing being outraged over eating dogs and cats, but no one bats an eye at eating chickens and cows.. I've recently read a great book that was recommended to me by a vegan acquaintance, titled Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat by Hal Herzog. He is a psychologist that studies human-animal relationships. The book is all about the ethics of our various relationships with animals.

I love the cover of the book as it features a puppy, a rat and a pig, 3 animal species that I love.

Here's a link for anyone interested! http://www.amazon.ca/dp/0061730858/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

For any other bookworms like myself, I thought I'd include some other related books!

This book was also recommended to me. I purchased it but I haven't started it yet (Eating Animals, Jonathan Foer)

http://www.amazon.ca/dp/0316069884/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

This book is basically an expose of the pork industry, centered around the largest hog slaughter plant in the US. I just ordered it today off amazon (An American Trilogy, Stephen Wise)

http://www.amazon.ca/dp/0306814757/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

And finally, not so much a reading book, but a visually stunning picture book that depicts the miserable lives of the various animal species we abuse. There is some text, but the pictures speak for themselves. It's by Joanne McArthur. She also made the documentary 'The Ghosts In Our Machine' but I've not yet had the stomach to watch that...

http://www.amazon.ca/dp/159056426X/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
 
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Great video SQ. Thanks. I've just subscribed to NutritionFacts.org.
Marissaceleste, thanks for the book links. I'd like to send the last one to every meat eater on the planet.
 
I've heard of that book and I really want to get it some day.
And same here, I can no longer watch those films but I feel like I don't need too since I'm already there. :)
 

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