What made you a vegan instead of a vegetarian?

Question

So I am hearing a lot of animal rights things... I hear the same things about chickens and cows. For that I want to become a vegan. But we also have our own cow and chickens, and they are all not even caged up and treated, well like friends. I want to eat their eggs and drink the milk, but i want to be called a vegan still because I dunno, it feels like people think they care about animals more. Should I call myself one or no? SHoudl I even care what people think?
should I just make a new name up?

Answer 1

I was vegetarian beforehand, and then I asked one of my friends the same question you just asked us. Actually, I asked him (and debated his answers) many times. In the meantime, I kept finding vegan versions of things (milk, butter, yogurt, ice cream, etc.) that were just as good or sometimes better than the dairy. It took me nearly a year of seeing how easily he lived his life, listening to his responses and counter-arguments (though, he was never pushy), and building up a collection of vegan recipes for me to change my mind from thinking veganism was something extreme and difficult (since I had seen dozens of 'examples' of vegans on TV, movies, etc. but he was the first one I'd met in real life) to thinking it was something I could easily do... especially because I had made the change so gradually.

Answer 2

Long before I went vegetarian, I refused to eat veal and got upset when anyone ordered it in front of me. I was angry at the way the poor calves are treated. Then I learned that these veal calves are the sons of dairy cows; a cow has to be pregnant to produce milk, and only females get pregnant. So the daughters join mom on the dairy line, and the sons go off to the veal crates.

Then I heard about the way hens kept for eggs are crammed in cages too small to move and the way male layer chicks are killed at birth because they don't grow big enough fast enough.

That did it, I went vegan.

Answer 3

i was a vegetarian first after seeing video documentaries of how most animals are raised for "food". witnessing the decrepit living conditions and downright cruel treatment these animals have to endure everyday made me a vegetarian.

then i started reading books, visiting vegetarian and vegan websites, and educating myself more not only on the animal aspect but also on the health and environmental benefits of eliminating all animal products from my diet.

after being a vegetarian for roughly two months, i transitioned to being a vegan. i've been a vegan for more than two months.

becoming a vegan has been the BEST health choice i've made in my life. :)

Answer 4

I was vegetarian, then I started learning a little about the way dairy farms do business. Then, I read "The Food Revolution" by John Robbins. That was it. Once I was armed with all of the facts, there was no other choice I could possibly make and still call myself "vegetarian", "animal lover", "compassionate", etc. After that, it was easy.

Answer 5

I was a carnivore/omnivore before reading "Skinny Bitc h" and now I am vegan and plan to be this way for life. - That book was a major eye opener for me!


call yourself a COMPASSIONATE VEGETARIAN....but not a vegan if you want milk and eggs from your animals.

Answer 6

Milk is for babies.
Period.