What made you decide to become a vegetarian/vegan?

Answer 1

5 years ago, my commute between work and home was about 45 min. I would usually get home between 7-9 pm. I started going through drive-thrus every night, because it was really too late for me to prepare food that late in the evening. Yes, I super-sized my meal every time, usually with a 9 pc nugget added to the order, or at the other place, I would get two singles and a biggie fry. I got so burned out on that crap, which I knew wasn't good for me any way.

My best friend and his gf were vegetarian and vegan (gf), so I had encouragement from them. I've always loved vegetables as well.

In any case, I dropped about 40 lbs in 3 1/2 months, my skin wasn't oily, and I felt great. I still consider myself vegetarian (ovo-lacto), but every now and then (about every 2-3 months) I do eat seafood of some sort.

I also saw a baby cow being cleaned (licked) by its mother while driving to work, and i thought, How could I even think of eating that?

Answer 2

I think this one has been asked SO many times but I'll answer it anyway... athletic performance. I did research on what foods are best for athletic performance and altered my diet slowly as I read more and more and very quickly I was vegan, although I had never heard the term vegan/vegetarian at the time. But that wasn't enough, I kept reading more and more... took the meat out, and replaced it with vegetables, then read about vegetables, orange juice, or whatever I was eating at the time and kept refining my diet to eventually exclude white flour, sugar, preservatives, etc. The more I investigated, the more I found a huge food conspiracy of creating food products from ingredients which shouldn’t even be considered food at all. I never met anyone else like myself or found any books that completely met my new standards until I found some vegetarian cookbooks. But still, they were using dairy and eggs etc.; not good enough for me, but at least I could augment those recipes easily. I discovered EarthSave Canada [http://www.earthsave.bc.ca] at a fair; they had an information booth, and I met people who were very informed and educated and could answer questions I couldn’t find answers to in books. I signed up, and went to potlucks, and got educated. The first training book I found that made any sense to me was “The Nautilus Book” by Ellington Darden. All the rest were written by idiots just to make money. Later I found an old Dave Scott training book and that guy also did the same sort of thing; experimenting with food and taking out the bad and replacing it with the good – he became vegetarian then later vegan just like me. Over the years I started finding some 100% vegetarian books and cookbooks then eventually the term vegan started popping up. It just went on from there and my recent discoveries are books: The One Straw Revolution by Masanobu Fukuoka, and Immunization, The Reality Behind the Myth by Walene James. I’m telling everyone about these.

Answer 3

I became a vegetarian when I was 11 years old. I didn't eat any meat or fish until 7 years later, when I went to college and started playing collegiate level sports. Honestly, at the time I decided to stop eating meat, it was because my best friend was a vegetarian and I thought it was cool. After a while, as I got older, I felt good about my decision because I was very passionately concerned about the treatment of the animals we eat. I has been 10 years since I started eating meat again, but I don't do it often...I go meatless probably more days than I eat meat. I do crave red meat sometimes now, and I'll have a burger. I do eat a lot of seafood now, too. I'm glad I did it, I think it was a great way for me to believe in a cause and do something about it during my adolescence.

Answer 4

I officially became a vegetarian my freshmen year in high school. However I stopped eating meat when i was seven. I was diagnosed with hepatitis, and was bed for about three months. My stomach hurt constantly, the last thing i ate before my symptoms began were breakfast meats. Since then i lost the taste for meat.
However not until i was in high school did I realize that I was essential a vegetarian. As I learned more about the health benefits and the mistreatment of animals I became passionate about my choice.

Answer 5

When I was 10 or 11 I started to really think about what I was consuming. Before then, I never really thought of where the food was coming from (other than the store and my refrig). I began to realize how disgusted I was at the idea of eating meat. My older brothers of course used this to tease me any chance they got.

My dad's mid-life crisis had him buying a farm and raising cattle on the side. I cheer everytime he tells me a story about how they gave him a hard time or escaped. Especially the two that broke out and spent weeks on the "lamb". Eventually they did find one in a corn field. The other one is still on the loose. Small victories I guess.

Answer 6

Health. I was at the highest weight in my life, and I had always been heavy - so I have both past lifestyle choices as well as family genetics (including diabetes and various types of cancer) hanging over me.

My naturally-skinny hubby was very supportive of me, and it's even improved his junk food habits, though he still eats meat. Within a week it was clear it was the right choice for me - the weight was slipping off, but I was more active, glowing, more satisfied. It was so silly to hear the concerned comments from others, "Are you sure you're getting enough protein/B-12/etc/etc/etc?" I was eating far more nutriants from whole foods than every before, without the artery-clogging side effects that meat and dairy have. Plus I started taking a multivitamin in a fruit smoothie for breakfast. I think it really just made me more aware of what every little thing I put in my body does for (or against) me.

I did develop my own feelings regarding the treatment of animals and so forth, but I've always been a firm believer in letting one's morals be for oneself alone so I don't really talk to others about it. And I have to admit, when I first started, it was for the entirely selfish reason of health - if a pig got to live because of my choice, then that was just a very pleasant side-effect.

Answer 7

I had originally became a vegetarian for health benefits, but a few weeks afterwards, we went to the state fair, and my dad's friend was getting a polish sausage and we went and saw the pigs afterwards. We saw all of the ones in the front, and we walked out of the back and I saw a huge pig. The pig was laying in a small pin all by it's self in the back of the barn and I swear as I was looking at it, I could see the polish sausages cooking. It was awful :[.

Answer 8

Born Vegetarians-not on health reasons-in our families past 1500+ years,we have not taken meat products at all-only Animal source food is Milk and Milk products.

Answer 9

I was 15 years old, walking on my granpa's farm. When I came closer to the barn, I saw my Dad holding a gun. I didn't know that it was slaughter day so I stood and watched behind the crowd. When the gun fired and the cow feel dead I screamed.

My grandpa was mad at me and chased me back to the house. That night as I sat infront of my steak I realized what I was eating and couldn't stomach it. From then on no more meat.

My grandparents are still mad at me saying "if everyone was like you we wouldn't have any money...."

Answer 10

I read that I'd have a clearer mind and be healthier not eating meat since it's so diseased. So I tried it and gradually dropped off eggs & milk, too.

I used to get sick all the time in winter, now I rarely have a cold.