anybody have advice on becoming a vegan?

Question

im already a vegitarian but i plan to become a vegan since there is soooooo much more cruelty towards animals other than killing them. any advice on what i can and cant eat or wear?

pleeeeeeeez.

Answer 1

There are SO MANY things you can do when you first become Vegan!!!
Where to start?
Well, obviously, you can start cutting meat out of your diet and take your first steps through vegetarianism instead of changing your diet dramatically. For me, I was a vegetarian for most of my life and the change to Vegan was still exhausting for me! I felt tired at first and frustrated with my lack of restaurant options but it's all worth it.
You can research!!! There are a lot of great books out there. I found some great recipe books like "How It All Vegan" by Sarah Kramer (she has a lot) and I read a book (I cannot remember the name) by someone on the board of the American Dietics Association about the history of vegetarianism/veganism and dietary needs,etc.
When you are thinking it's just too hard- remember why you decided to go vegan in the first place!!! To help me with this, I watched those TERRIBLE videos all over the web about factory farming, animal cruelty, etc. I had to remind myself a bit that it was worth all the lives I would be saving to say no to that piece of cheese or that glass of coffee with dairy creamer, etc.
Here's a BIG ONE! Get some support! Make sure your friends and family know of your new lifestyle and ask them to support you! Make friends with other Vegans and go out to the restaurants that will accomodate your lifestyle!
Speak out!!! Being Vegan is not just a diet, it is a WHOLE LIFESTYLE! It has inspired me and changed a lot of my views on life, spirituality, being a good consumer, etc. I started a myspace to attract and inform local Vegans and I joined groups like PETA.
Take cooking classes!!!!!!!!! This is a great start because let's be honest- unless you live in a vegan friendly location where you can eat at the bistro down the street all the time, you're going to end up cooking all or most of your meals. I have to drive an hour away to our Whole Foods to take the Vegan cooking class but it's well worth it!!! You might find out that you really love to cook. I find that most omnivores don't know the foods I've made are Vegan unless I tell them.
Welcome to being Vegan!!! It's an incredible lifestyle once you get settled in.

Answer 2

So you want to kill off all the animals and cause vegetable prices to go through the roof?

Think about it - if no one eats meat farmers will not keep the animals any more. If they cannot sell them, they will kill them. Without manure to spread on the ground for crops, more fertiliser will be needed bringing in more pollution and pushing up prices.

Not a well thought out strategy at all really then is it?

I do hope that if you are thinking of having children you will seek good medical advice - every medical research document produced warns of the dangers to small children from being fed a vegetarian diet. A vegan diet is even more dangerous. You will hear veggies and vegans rubbish those reports but not from any honest or reliable medical source.

Answer 3

My advice is not to eat vegan, unless you enjoy taking supplementary pills. Whether you like it or not, humans need amino acids, which comes from protein, for many processes in the body. There are 9 essential amino acids, and the only natural source for all 9 of them comes from animal products. If you don't like the way someone else prepares animals for the table, I suggest taking up hunting or ranching and killing them in a more humane fashion that suits your objections. Either that or deal with the disorders and deficiencies associated with the lack of adequate nutrition.

Answer 4

If you've never been vegetarian/vegan before, I would start by being a vegetarian. Being vegetarian is hard enough. (Finding things without meat in them) As far as meat substitutes, Morningstar Farms has several products you can purchase. They have things such as Veggie Burgers (that are actually good), "Chicken" Patties/Nuggets, Meat Replacer (things that you'd normally use meat in such as spaghetti or lasagna), etc. There are many vegetarian items out there you just have to look a little harder. (depending on where you live) :)

Answer 5

The only advice I can think of is to keep your beliefs to yourself.

Eat what you want, wear what you want, but refrain from announcing your beliefs to others in an attempt to shame them or to make yourself feel superior.

Many of us know all about the "cruelty" issues and choose to eat meat, wear leather (or fur) and spray poison on roaches anyway.

If you are not prepared to jump between a hungry lion and its prey, then all of your concern about cruel animal deaths is hypocritical anyway.

Answer 6

I have been vegan for about 2 yrs now. There are tons of resources out there! A good cookbook to start with is Garden of Vegan. It has easy, delicious recipes! Also, as far as clothing goes, there are starting to be more choices, even at lg retailers. Just check labels! veganessentials.com and mooshoes.com are also good places to look! Good luck :)

Answer 7

1.Stay away from processed foods,it can be a b*tch to read food labels

2.When you eat out go to Subway and get a veggie delite(cracker jacks,wheat thins,sun chips,fruit roll ups,or cereals like apple jacks are good to snack on)

3.Eat a wide variety of foods(beans,nuts,fruits and veggies)

4.Don't wear leather or suede(buy Vans,Geoff Rowleys signature shoe)
the shoes are here,or you can go to a Vans shoe Store at the mall and find them
http://www.activemailorder.com/Catalog/search.aspx?j%7E=&sr=vegan&gos1.x=14&gos1.y=8

5.Buy a simple cookbook,to keep yourself entertained and so you don't get bored

6.No bar soaps are vegan friendly,go here for vegan cosmetics
www.alternativeoutfitters.com/VeganCosmetics.html
www.vegancosmetics.org/
www.veganunlimited.com/

6.Come to Yahoo! answers for recipes for advice from other vegans and vegetarians,it is helpful

Answer 8

My advice is to not be militant about being a vegan. Make it your own quiet choice. The vast majority of people do not care why you are vegan.

Answer 9

First rule of advice...figure out what vegan style foods have the most protein ...this is really important for brain health and please what ever you do......be respectful and don't put some one down because they choose to eat meat or animal bi-products. Good Luck and remember you need to have protein. Educate yourself on food and how it works for your body before you completely adopt a life style.

Answer 10

I highly recommend checking out Compassionate Cooks' podcast http://feeds.feedburner.com/VegetarianFoodForThought, which demystifies what it means to be vegan, addresses many questions that arise regarding food, nutrition, and the social aspects of choosing vegan.