As a vegan chef, cooking class instructor and vegan recipe developer it is my mission to inspire both professional cooks and homecooks, bakers and pastry enthousiasts to explore all vegan culinary possibilities. We teach online classes worldwide, and live cooking classes and Masterclasses in Europe.

Age 16-67 I rotated between vegetarian to pescatarian ...at age 68 I went vegan excluding throwing out all my leather goods since my fixed income does not afford me the ability to repurchase other items
Sharon

I have been a vegan as long as I can remember. A "blacksheep" of the family, picky, difficult, etc.
The thought of eating animals flesh was always gross to me.
It hasn't been easy.
But now in my mid 50's and with all my families health problems, and I have zero health problems, it has paid off to be so stubborn.
I was so happy when I found the book The China Study because it gave evidence to prove a plant based diet is the best for everyone and our planet. I love Dr. Greger's book, How Not To Die, and I've learned new science that I didn't know before.
Thanks so much for letting me share my short story.
Blessings

I was born into the ital life (jamaican Rasta)

I was born vegan and grew up with American Vegan Society.

As Of 21 i was a meat soon not beef but turkey and fish ... and 6 month later I gave it up meat 🍖 did not take of hassle to vegan ... don't miss it but and healthy .. my vegan foods are mostly fruits and vegetables raw vegan coconut 🥥yogurts .. my mind and body had changed for the better in being healthy ... and I am 49 years

I am a 51-Year WFPB Vegan. I have not been sick nor been to a doctor for illness in 51 years!

I was constantly sick as a child and got the FLU every September for 23 consecutive years, from the age of 5 till the age of 23, regardless of whether or not I got a Flu shot. I also had between 3 to 5 colds every year. When I contracted the Flu every year I would be bed ridden for at least 5-7 days. In 1973 when a produce manager at a vegetarian market gave me some 25 herb Chinese Tea and it miraculously removed my fever and I was well within 6 hours of drinking the tea, I decided to take this man up on his suggestion that I adopt a vegetarian diet.

When I became vegetarian and gave up all meat and fish, I did increase my consumption of cheese and there was no change in my weight. I was slightly chubby. As a vegetarian for 15 years I only contracted the flu twice and each time it was a mild case.

In 1988, I had the great fortune of attaining my life-long goal of Buddhahood while meditating. I shall not describe the profound experience but I was suddenly overcome with a burning desire to “Save Living Beings”. Having grown up in New York City I was completely ignorant of animal farming and I knew nothing about the production of milk. I merely assumed that no harm came to the dairy cows when giving their milk. However, it was absolutely imperative I determine that no animals were harmed so, the following day
I went onto a PETA website called “milksucks.com” (now defunct) where I learned the awful truth about milk production. The cows don’t roam the fields eating their normal diet of grass. Rather, they are chained to their stalls, get no exercise and are fed GMO laced Soy and old stale candy bars. When a cow gives birth the female calves are sourced to be milk-producing cows while the male calves are left to starve and sold as veal. Having discovered this horrific, abused life of cows, I instantaneously took a vow to become a 100% vegan and to never again consume any product that comes from any other living being.

Three months after becoming 100% vegan I noticed all of my pants were too big and kept falling down. I discovered that I had suddenly lost 35 pounds in having given up cheese and milk products! I conclude that Dr. Neil Barnard, President of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine was correct when he said “cheese is more dangerous than meat”. When I quit eating meat I did not lose any weight but when I gave up cheese I lost 35 pounds! I’ve read most of his books.

In 1993 I went to a Buddhist meeting attended by 30 people and a week later received a notice from that meeting organizer informing me the guest speaker had Tuberculosis and it was recommended I visit the doctor for a check-up as Tuberculosis is an air-born illness. I did not go to the doctor but a month later went to donate my blood platelets to help cancer patients. Two weeks later I got a letter from the clinic that I could no longer donate blood. In phoning the doctor he informed me that I had a Tuberculosis Antibody in my blood which prohibited me from donating blood. When I asked what this meant, the doctor told me that apparently, I had been around someone who had Tuberculosis and because my immune system is so strong my body created an antibody to prevent me from contracting the illness!

In 2004 I had a motorcycle spill and fractured my leg and, being unable to work I ended up in a homeless shelter for 12 months. Everyone in the shelter had bedbug bites all over their bodies except for me, the only vegan. I even awoke one morning and found a bedbug on my sheet right in front of my eyes. I concluded my never having gotten a bedbug bite to have been the result of my vegan diet and that the bedbugs were not attracted the pheromones my body emitted.

Eight years ago, in 2016, at the age of 71 I received a phone call from a V.A. nurse asking me to come in for an annual physical. I told her it was not necessary. She insisted saying to me, “No, let me explain. The doctor has not seen you in 25 years and given your age he just wants to make sure you’re in good health. I went and gave blood and urine samples and returned the following week to see the doctor. He looked at my lab results and then he staired at me. Then he looked at the lab results and again he staired at me. When he did this a third time I became concerned. I asked, “Doc, what’s wrong?” “How old are you?”, he asked. “I’m 71 years old.”, I replied. Then the doctor said, “Well, according to these lab results, you appear to have the body of a 35 year old. I’ve never seen anything like this before. I said, “That’s because I’m a 46-year WFPB vegan. I’ve been studying nutrition for 45 years. I’ve concluded that only three things cause illness in humans, meat, dairy and chemicals.”
And when you eliminate those from your diet you never get sick! My body is the living proof of everything that Dr. Michael Greger says in his book, “How Not to Die”.


And now, my body is living proof of everything that Dr. Michael Greger says in his latest book, “How Not to Die”.

I’ve created the Buddhist Diet:


“Eat only fruits, vegetables, grains, legumes, nuts and seeds, organic whenever possible.”

This diet is revealed and explained in my forthcoming book, “The Truth About Buddhism”. The Truth about Buddhism is that “there is no meat-eating in Buddhism” because the Buddha clearly states, “He who eats meat is no disciple of mine.”

Most people are completely unaware exactly what is in their food. Unbeknownst to most people, food manufacturers are permitted by the FDA to add up to 1,000 different chemical ingredients without having to list them on the “Ingredients” label of packaged food! Unless you eat only plant-based organic whole foods, you really don’t know what’s in your food!!!

Want to know what causes cancer and ALL illness?

MEAT, DAIRY and man-made chemicals (GMO’s pesticides, artificial flavorings and colors.) are the cause of all human illness.

I am living proof that if anyone follows the diet I have created they will be able to attain Optimum Health just as I have.

KASHO,
The 21st Century Buddha

I stopped eating mammals at age 15 because my mother was upset about the cost of beef being so high. After that went fish, dairy and poutry. It took a long time. I finally stopped eating animal products in my 50's. It had everything to do with being a health care professional and seeing the damage caused by the Standard American Diet.

I have always been a dedicated carnivore. I gained a lot of weight and attained 400 lbs, with an insulin pump, a1c of 12.4, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, restricted breathing due to the weight, couldn't move without effort and pain, couldn't walk more than 25 ft or stand for more than 2 min. So I had gastric bypass. I lost 160 lbs in one year because I couldn't hold any food down at all. It's been 3 yrs and I still can't hold down meat or drink cows milk without getting sick. I've come to realize that I can't depend on my old diet to live. I had lost a total of 200 lbs then I gained 50 back due to extreme sweet cravings. I started looking into alternative ways of eating while still getting my protein and meeting more of my nutrient needs. I was leaning towards Mediterranean, pescatarian, flexitarian but I started to look deeper and found youtube videos by Dr. Furhman, Dr. Colin Campbell, Forks over Knives, The Game Changers, etc and my thinking changed. I couldn't stand to hear the pigs screaming in pain or the thought of the emotional devastation of the separation of cows and their calves, the pain that chickens now live through because of overcrowding and hormones that make them grow too much and too fast. I found out I can get my protein from other sources without putting an animal in pain to do it. I am still on the journey and working on my diet with the goal of being fully vegan. I'm not eating meat at all, but I am still eating cheese and cooking with milk or cream when needed. I know there are alternatives to that and am researching product by product. I'm trying not to depend on processed vegan foods but concentrating on whole foods.

I’ve been vegan since birth—and I love it. 43 years and counting.

The McDougall team are world experts and practitioners of human health and disease reversal, and the creators of the McDougall Program.

Our mission is to spread the truth about why you may be sick, and more importantly, how to get well. All of the information on this website is free, and it will empower you to regain your health and give you hope for a brighter future.

First My Health then GAIA Health!

artist / musician / maker of organic cannabis clothing born and raised primarily whole food plant based vegan - have enjoyed 47 years of vibrant health and feel better than ever! have been an advocate of going vegan for health, the animals and the planet most of my existence and have guided many to this lifestyle... so thrilled to see how far it has come via sites like these!

I have wanted to be vegan for as long as I can remember. There are still some things I'm struggling with. I am trying to learn as much as I can.

I was a graduate student at Harvard when I became vegetarian, then soon thereafter I became vegan.

Long story short: I met other vegetarians / vegans, read "Animal Liberation." Vegetarian in 1978, vegan in 1980; looked back often, until then. I didn't want to cause suffering.

I stopped eating animals as a peaceful protest against the US involvement in the Vietnam War.
I read Gandhi's writings that "If you want to stop men from killing men ... first you have to stop men from killing animals."

I was raised vegetarian thinking that I wasn’t harming animals. When I found out what happens in the dairy and egg industries I decided I could not support that cruelty.

We are not just another sweet shop; we are doing things very differently here at Simply Vegan Sweets HQ.

Not only our sweets delicious and exceptionally tasty and cruelty free, we are completely plastic free with our packaging. We use fully sustainable plant based packaging and have thought of everything, so the only guilty indulgence with our sweets will be how many you can eat!

Don’t be fooled by what looks like plastic, it’s not! It’s made from cellulose film. Cellulose is derived from plants, a naturally compostable product and will decompose in as little as 10 weeks, leaving no trace on the planet. Even the glue we use on our stickers is completely harmless and the protection your sweets are delivered to you in, is shredding from materials we receive and recycle at Simply HQ.

We aim to to be the most eco-friendly pick and mix supplier in the UK.

💚 We are Vegan Founded registered and certified. 💚

Basically, I walked into my father's study where he was reading the paper. I was 10 years old, it was the time of Regan. The headlines shared "dolphins found dead, caught in tuna nets" - that was it, that was the beninning. Short and sweet and as it should be - an awakening.

I'm a professional vegan chef 30yrs and motivational coach/speaker. I created the 1st plantbased meals service call Veg-In-Out in 1992 and the 1st plantbased craft services call Healthy Hollywood 2013. I currently promote positivity with love Strong USA. We spread love and unity by posting motivational signs all across American ❤️.
Let's all work together to create a compassionate world with unity, equality and love.

I abused drugs in my early twenties and nearly died from a drug overdose while I was suffering with suicidal depression. On March 15th, 1985, I quit smoking, quit drinking alcohol, quit doing drugs and quit eating all animal products in one day after someone helped me breakthrough my depression. I have been 100% Drug Free and Vegan for over 37yrs.
I created my company and called it Clean Machine to encourage others to keep their Machine (body) Clean (Drug Free & Vegan).

I created the first Natural (Drug Tested) Vegan Bodybuilding Competition in the world - The World Vegan Bodybuilding Championship.
I am proud to be a Natural Bodybuilding and Natural Physique Masters Champion.

Can I update this later????

I was taken to a hatchery at 9 and saw all the chicks being gassed and suffocated. I went vegetarian in 1980 but didn’t put the full story of animal suffering together until around 1985. I was at a vegan picnic when I said "I don’t eat animals" but I was drinking milk in my English tea and someone said “You don’t kill animals to eat you just abuse and exploit them”. As soon as I was alone in my car driving away from the event my conscience knew and wouldn’t allow me to continue to financially support egregious cruelty I had not “ seen “ until his comment. He became my best friend really and we are still friends to this day and fellow activists 38 years later.

Vegan since 1986

Concerned with ethics and compassion for others since childhood.

Became vegan in 1987 when I was 14. Nowadays veganism is much more there for everyone to realise what a horrific world this is for all animals. There’s no excuse to be ignorant and not care

As a child I’d always loved animals. Therefore, it seemed a logical to become vegetarian. I realised consuming animals did not align with my values. However, I then began to question the ethics of eating any animal products. I felt a deep sadness for the plight of dairy cows. Separating these loving mothers from their calves is unthinkably cruel. I didn’t want contribute to this animal suffering. But going vegan seemed like a big step. Especially for a teenager in the 1980’s. So I decided to try vegan for a month. It seem more achievable to have this goal.

This turned out to be pretty easy. So I’m still vegan over 37 years later. I often get asked if it was difficult back then. Without the variety of vegan products now available in supermarkets. Not to mention the plentiful options for eating out. It certainly wasn’t as convenient. It was also seen as unusual or frankly weird. I spent lots of time answering questions. Also defending my choice!

But, I see this as the best decision I have ever made. Now my eyes were open I had no desire to consume animal products. Having that motivation made it easy. As did finding a liked-minded community. This helped me to navigate a non vegan world, and to spread the message to others. I’ve been involved in vegan campaigning, animal activism and animal rescue work. My successful experience of trying vegan for a month led me to support others in this way. I organised the first vegan pledge in London. Participants tried vegan for a month. Significantly, many of them stayed vegan.

I read the book Diet for a New America by John Robbins and was blown away by the information I was getting. The transition was easy for me, gratifying and started me on a lifelong journey to help change the world.

Vegan creative media lecturer & freelance graphic designer

Always an animal rights advocate, the light went on about who and what I was eating and to what I was contributing.

For 32 years of my life I loved animals, but like most of us I also ate them.
Now 33 years later a 65 I remember the day I went fishing and hooked a fish in the Eye!
That was it, I could no longer cause pain and suffering too another Sentient Being.

HAD-THE-AIM-OF-PURIFYING-MY-CONSCIOUSNESS-TO-SUSTAIN-HIGHER-LEVELS-OF-SENTIENT-AWARENESS-&-I-WAS-LED-TO-VEGANISM

In Des Moines, IA, I plan monthly dine outs for a group of vegans, vegetarians or want-to be's. Everyone is invited, as long as they order plant food for that evening's dinner.

I became vegan 35 years ago after I found out what happened to dairy cows. I also lost my heart disease, my cancer, my obesity, and my pre diabetes by eating a whole food plant exclusive diet. Now I teach Food for Life Nutrition and Cooking Classes under Dr. Neal Barnard. I mostly teach Cancer Survival and Prevention and Reversing Diabetes. I have a 30 Day Vegan Health Watch Program under my business, VeganMentor. I founded Sacramento Vegan Society with over 5,000 members.I am an avid animal rights activist and I created Sacramento Animal Rights Group and Sacramento Animal Save. I work with PETA and DXE.

I've been a vegetarian since age 16 + a vegan since age 18. Choosing not to eat animals has been a decision that has shaped my life + is one for which I am most proud. In my financial planning practice I work almost exclusively with vegetarians.

In 1986 I went Veggie, then in 1989 I went Vegan. Back then there was only one reason to go Vegan, and that was for the animals. I was a hunt sab for 7 years then my knees packed in ..... i was always at the front of the hunt with the hounds ... it takes it toll after a while 🙂

I have been vegan since 1989. I discovered I was allergic to several animal-derived foods including dairy & egg yolks, & I never cared for beef, chicken or turkey, so I started cutting them out of my diet & learned about vegetarianism in order to make my diet more healthy. From there I learned about veganism & was so impressed by a vegan presentation at the 1989 NAVS Sumemrfest that in 1993 I went to a culinary institute in NY where I was trained as a vegan chef (the now defunct Natural Gourmet Institute). My husband & I ate mostly vegan (organic, locally raised turkey on Thanksgiving & Christmas) until 1999. In 1999 I became ill & disabled with multiple autoimmune illnesses & since recovering in 2012 I've used a whole foods plant-based diet to remain healed & also keep my health stable. My husband is now also completely vegan & we're both also gluten-free & entirely sugar-free.

After getting educated about the effects of animal food in our health, one day I decided to stop eating it. It has been 30 years already, I own a holistic healing center in Miami and I educate my clients and staff of the importance of not eating animals and they by-products.

One summer day in 1989, my then-fiance and I wanted to take a day trip to Farm Sanctuary in Watkins Glen. We did not expect that day to begin our vegan journey, in fact, we planned to go to Burger King for lunch afterward. Already, animal lovers, it was not surprising. But, like most people, we needed to be exposed to the truth and awakened from the meat matrix. Over time our vegan journey grew into a true lifestyle and I can't imagine existing any other way. What a beautiful fateful day that was.

I realized the only meat I love in my mouth is another mans.

I slowly transitioned to being WFPB/Vegan after attending many NHA health conferences and reading books on Natural Hygiene. I witnessed remarkable health recovery with my young daughter and myself. After being in this lifestyle for over 25 years, I retired from my corporate career and became the Executive Director of the National Health Association which was founded in 1948 as a non profit to promote a Vegan/WFPB lifestyle. www.healthscience.org

Please don't make me fill out anything that is not completely necessary- makes the process longer!

My dad took me to a veggie restaurant by mistake which turned me vegetarian. A few years on living in Brighton I went vegan, which was a basic requirement in the activist community. It really helped that vegan food, even in those days, was accessible in a way you couldn't dream of in my country of origin Sweden. Empathy and imagining what it is like to be the animal has always been the driving force for me.

My whole life, I have been extremely connected to animals. Like magnets, we have always been drawn to one another. Even as a baby, my mom wrote in my baby book that I would not eat meat.
I wish I could say that I've been vegan since birth but, truth is I did eat meat and dairy for many years. Like so many others, I was raised in a household that said they loved and cared for animals but, sat down at the dinner table and ate others. I spite of this disconnect, I was otherwise passionate about rescuing and caring for just about every kind of small, furry fuzzy creature... mice, rats, hamsters, gerbils, bunnies, guinea pigs, ferrets, even a squirrel... you name it, I probably cared for it. My animals were my best friends and I was determined to dedicate my life to helping them.
I thought that veterinary medicine was my path and enrolled in Auburn. I was advised to go the "Animal & Dairy Science"/Vet route so I could get hands on experience with the animals faster. I had no clue what I signed up for. I learned first hand about the hormones, pesticides, antibiotics and everything that goes on behind the scenes in animal agriculture. As a sensitive, animal empath - I was horrified and immediately turned vegetarian and dropped out of school. Not long after returning home, "Diet for a New America" by John Robbins came into my awareness and as soon as I learned the truth about the dairy & egg Industry, I became vegan... March 1990. Best Decision Ever.
I became passionate about ianimal rights and for a time was President of Sarasota in Defense of Animals. I went on to become an Animal Cruelty Investigator with Manatee County Sheriff and in 2001, Founded the Non-profit Animal Resuce, Blue Heart Sanctuary.

I love animals and saw posters in a mall of the slaughter houses. never ate anything animal again.

I was vegetarian for 10 years after reading Diet for a Small Planet. Then I read John Robbins' book Diet for a New America and became vegan. I never looked back. In 2002, I cofounded the parent organization for the Alaska Vegan Society.

I became a plant based eater after reading the book How To Eat To Live. Never turned back

Macrobiotic for many years, vegan from around 1990, at 62 feeling best I ever have, professional Alexander Technique teacher.

Hi! I'm Ambra, a English, German and French to Italian translator, and owner of Ambra Translations, an international network of passionate, top-notch native translators from all over the world!⠀
⠀
Since 2011, my team and I have helped European and American companies expand their business in the English, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese and Dutch-speaking markets, and attract new customers by providing translation, proofreading, localization and editing services. ⠀

Our focus is on vegan and sustainable companies that share the same values and respect for animals, the environment and human beings.

In 1984, I contracted chronic fatigue, irritable bowel, candidiasis, sinusitis, & 57 allergies. After a 3 year struggle with medicine, I got myself well within 6 months. I've been a raw vegan since 1991 and haven't been sick a day in nearly 33 years.

I started my vegan journey in the fall of 1989 while working on a Kibbutz in Israel. I saw animals being mistreated and became vegetarian then. I still had some dairy until I read Diet for New America by John Robbins, at which point I made the shift to vegan.

I was a microbiologist working in the pharmaceutical industry and touring animal labs and farms as part of my work. This enabled me to realize that the normalized violence inflicted upon animals on farms and in labs was a direct result of my own personal food choices. Becoming vegan was my response to the disturbing things I witnessed.

I married Joe and we had two healthy vegan pregnancies. The parenting journey has been the highlight of my life. Wanting to give our children the best possible odds for a healthy and good life inspired me to do a lot of research and some of my views about what is best for our health changed as a result.

But the bedrock of our family has been being vegan, which provided an ethical framework and has been an incredible blessing in other ways too, including helping me to see that the same kinds of conflicts-of-interest and biased science that have supported big ag have also misled the public about many other important "choices" we have and what we believe to be "true."

Our born-vegan daughters not only survived our pioneering vegan parenting -- but made it all the way into adulthood without ever taking antibiotics and never having broken any bones (in spite of one being a gymnast who did back handsprings on the balance beam -- and was the only member of her competitive team to have never broken a bone.) Our older daughter Sarina now does vegan education and blogs on YouTube as "Born Vegan."

I want to rise my kid as Vegan

Witnessing awful treatment of cows, sheeps, and other animals in my pre-veterinary college program shocked me. I didn't understand their suffering until then. I tried to stay with the pre-veterinary program but dropped out after two years because I lost morale seeing what even veterinary students were expected to do to their patients. I met animal rights activists soon after I left college. Their literature was entirely consistent with my feelings. I began volunteering with them, I saw they were happy & healthy vegans, and I became vegan soon after. As with so many other humans I know, my biggest regret is not becoming vegan sooner.

Owner of ethicalWARES, a UK-based online vegan retailer.

我们要为纯素世界祈祷，而各位要和我一起祈祷。因为对我们而言，仅仅持纯素还不够，不足以创造和平。我们必须持续推广纯素，以保护生命，并透过这种慈悲的过程和生活方式来维持和平。

如果自己不想惨死，请扪心自问：“想在某个黑暗角落，在极度痛苦中惨死吗？没人知道您的恶运，没人听到您在呼救？”任何折磨您的人在您痛苦的当下杀了您，对您而言就是一种慈悲。各位不愿意那样，对吧？动物们也不愿意那样。我相信各位不会愿意您的小孩被强行掳走。动物们也不愿意。连小孩都知道这点。因此，我们要一起祈祷。如果您相信正义，即使您此刻无法持纯素，就祈祷快点持纯素。祈祷纯素世界

I went vegan because I read something that helped me make the connection between my food and the animals I loved so very much. I haven't eaten our furry friends in 30 years. High raw vegan these days.

I've been vegan since birth, and trying to change the world ever I could talk!

I learned about eating better while worming in the natural foods industry. The more i learned, the more i stopped eating, until i was completely vegan.

Became vegan because of health reasons but also through a deep feeling of a possibility of a more empathetic world

Best choice I ever made for my health!

My vegan story is unusual. The abridged version is: I experienced secondary trauma when I was 23, and something about that opened my mindheart to the connection between meat and violence. I never ate animals again.

I was a vegan that sneaked burgers for many years. Vegetarian for about 6 years and vegan for 4 or 5 more.
I had a series of about 7 surgeries and was having trouble healing. The doctors said i needed to eat steak and cicken...i followed his advice.

So not having diabetes and diastolic congestive heart failure at age 59, I'm back to plant based

Years ago, a friend showed me a homemade video depicting animal cruelty rooted in cultural beliefs. It made me realize that we do the same in the USA. That night, I decided to stop eating meat. Since then, I've grown as a vegan, learning about the impact of animal agriculture and embracing a compassionate lifestyle. Being vegan isn't just about food; it's a transformative shift in perspective. I'm grateful for the journey and strive to create a compassionate world for all beings.

I've always had a stong connection to animals, but it didn't occur to me to stop eating them until I was 20 or 21 years old. After being vegetarian for four years, I was inspired to become vegan after reading Diet for a New America (by John Robbins) and attending an animal rights conference in DC. I then became more and more involved with local (Seattle) and national AR groups. In the past 3 decades, I have moved a lot and had many career & relationship changes, but the one constant in my life has been my committment to veganism.

I was a mom and I wanted to do right by my family! Started children's eco-food education organization, Lean and Green Kids to support the movement!

It was a slow and winding path starting in college and culminating shortly after the birth of my third son. I was influenced both by health issues (mine and my kids plus older relatives), bands I listened to, plus a distaste for most animal flesh and an unbearable sense of injustice, dread and despair whenever I let myself connect what was being served up to what had to happen prior. Once I decided to be fully vegan, I have never, ever looked back. I even became a plant-based Registered Dietitian!

I have never went vegan, but I've been mostly mostly vegan for about 25 years (as of writing this in June 2024)

I don't claim to know for sure if we humans should not kill other animals for food, even though many other animals do it, BUT .... I am SURE that we should NOT be forcing animals to live a life of torture (which is how MOST MOST MOST animals raised for human consumption are raised).

Because of this realization sometime in the mid-90s, and even though I really enjoy eating meat which I grew up eating, I have been 95% (or more) vegetarian since then.

Even though I haven't had the strength and whatever wherewithal to go fully vegan myself, I SUPER appreciate everyone that does, I support vegan and vegetarian causes, and I seek to continue doing so, so I appreciate this website!

I became vegetarian ten years prior to becoming vegan. I became vegan for ethical reasons.

I come from a working-class family in the UK and grew up just outside south-east London in a council flat. My mum would serve us things like beef burgers and chips for dinner. One day I asked her where beef burgers came from and was horrified to learn they were once a living cow. I always felt close to animals — I adored my cat, Kitty, who I grew up with, and once I made the connection that burgers were made of cows, the roast chicken dinner meant that a bird was killed for my dinner and that fish fingers were once actual living fishes, I went vegetarian although I didn’t know the term at the time.

But it wasn’t until 1996, at the age of 30, that I became vegan, even though I did some animal rights activism in the late 80s — somehow I missed the vegan memo. I was on a coach trip with other activists to a big anti-vivisection demo and a lovely schoolteacher I was sitting next to declined my offer to share my Marmite and cheese sandwich, even though I enthused to her that the cheese was ‘vegetarian’ with ‘no animal rennet’.

She kindly explained the cruelty involved in the dairy industry to me and I was so shocked and also guilty that I didn’t know this already. The next day I ordered my Animal Free Shopper Guide from the UK Vegan Society and was stunned at all the ways we exploit, use and abuse animals for everyday products. I pretty much went vegan overnight.

I went vegan in 1997 for the animals, after reading Diet For A New America. Prior to that, I was vegetarian and wanted to be vegan. I'm a vegan mom of two amazing, lifelong vegan kids and married to my best friend and awesome vegan, Nathan.

Date is approximate - it's been a long time. :). I originally went vegan after being vegetarian for about a year. I went vegetarian for health reasons based on my sister's example. Then while researching veg recipes in the very early days of the internet, I came across info. on factory farming of chickens and cows. After reading that and seeing some pictures, I immediately stopped eating dairy and eggs. I shared the info. with my sister and she did the same. I don't know if I would have been successful if we hadn't found Tofutti ice cream - the only non-dairy option at the time. Since then I have leaned towards whole food, plant-based eating as research became available. Eventually, my sister and I launched our own vegan meal prep business in 2014.

Have always been vegan at heart, but went vegan 6 years ago after watching Earthlings. I dedicate my life to spare as many lives as possible from carnists, I came to the conclusion that making a web agency and using the profit to fund activists was the most effective way, or by directly creating vegan web apps to facilitate people doing activism or going vegan.

Currently looking for a web designer and a backend developer.

I went vegan because I was already vegetarian (Ovo-Lacto) and I started to have headaches from eggs and diary. I stopped eating eggs and diary.

I have not had meat since 1968 Became vegan in 1998

I turned vegetarian at age 16. I became a monk at age 19 and remained a celibate renunciate until I was 33. In 1995, I founded and directed a charity called Food for Life Global, which was already the world's largest vegetarian food relief www.ffl.org. I grew this project over the next 30 years to 65 countries. Soon after founding this charity, I became aware of the horrors of the dairy industry and became vegan at age 35 in 1998. Soon after, I made an official policy that the only affiliate projects that Food for Life Global would support would have to be vegan. In 2013, I released a book called FOOD YOGA - Nourishing Body, Mind, and Soul. In 2024, we rebranded the charity as Food Yoga International to highlight the food philosophy of the charity and our mission to unite the world with pure food.

I have been plant based since 1998 and haven’t been on any prescription drugs . I’m almost 59 and feel fantastic!

I coordinate a monthly vegan potluck in Greenville, SC.

I became vegan essentially when I moved out of my parents house! I stopped eating meat in 1993 after reading Diet for a New America by John Robbins.

I started with red meet and work myself from there I eat more raw foods now. I cook on occasion and everything is from scratch. I love to cook when I can. I'm a Contractor/Painter. I'm into nutrition, healing and physical fitness.

I am a vegan therapist in California specializing in trauma, addiction and relationship issues. I use EMDR and Mindfulness to help clients overcome past experiences and become grounded in the present moment. Go to my website for more info and to set up a free 15 minute consultation. I can't wait to hear from you!

Let’s turn your vegan website into a success story! As veganbusinesstrainer, I help vegan coaches, entrepreneurs and businesses launch professional websites that attract more customers – with you, in 1 day.

As a digital nomad and fitness enthusiast, I get to know vegan coaches, entrepreneurs and businesses in all parts of the world - and they want to motivate our fellow humans to lead a vegan, fulfilling and healthy life and they consider their own business. But most of them don't even start - out of perfectionism and fear of failure - or have websites where their customers don't buy their offers. When my contacts started earning more money with my tips, I knew: If my contacts work with my tips and start a successful vegan business, I can motivate other people to do the same!

I would like to pass on my experience as an online solo entrepreneur and help vegan coaches and vegan entrepreneurs to start their own business with confidence. With my experience and my implementation mindset, I am convinced that you can build a successful business and support other people in a vegan, fulfilling and healthy life.

I've been vegan since some time in early 2000. My reasons have shifted over the years, but I am primarily interested in the environmental benefits nowadays.

Vegan since about 2000. Vegetarian since birth. My daughter was born vegan and is adult now. I am over 50. I am married. I like travel, photography, scuba, motorcycle riding, antiques, reading, pottery. I am a Realtor with 12 years experience and ethical and moral responsibility. I take the responsibility very seriously & I value the relationships I have made along the way. 7275994958 http://www.debbiesmall.net/

I became vegan for life after hearing one of the founders of Gentle World talk about her own personal realizations about veganism.

As Dr. Richard Oppenander, author of Comfortably Unaware would say, I was! At 47, my life would be catapulted into a different paradigm, another dimension that showed me the deeper underbelly of this machine we call society. At 47, after a half lifetime of experiencing abuse , ( not from home but elsewhere) sexual violence, substance addiction, and what it felt like to be the subject of domination by force by someone stronger, who took what was never given ( as we do to the victims of anthropocentrism )I figured out, after becoming an ethical vegan, why society is experiencing self inflicted wounds.
I was getting ready to open my small 24 seat cafe, on the first floor of The Grand Summit Hotel and Conference Center. I'd just gotten done running the breakfast line and it was time to change hats and open the cafe.
A routine I'd done since the hotel opened in 1996.
Chopping, dicing, and preparing the menu, I happened to have NHPR radio on. Something caught my ear. The word "slaughterhouse". A few sentences were mentioned about a slaughterhouse investigation. I'd not heard the word before, nor vegan for that matter. Pathetic in hindsight considering Judaism not only obligates us to never harm animals, but we must do everything in our power to protect them. Tsa'ar Be Alei Chayim. As an aside, if I ever end up in court, I have a good Jewish attorney and a Rabbi, all the help I need. So that word, slaughterhouse, stuck in my brain and when I went home, I looked up the story I'd heard about called, "They Die Piece by Piece", by Washington Post's Joby Warrick.
There was a photo. It was the head of a cow whose eyes were bloodshot, bulging. The headline was, " He's been skinned to his head, his legs cut off, and he's still conscious" https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2001/04/10/they-die-piece-by-piece/f172dd3c-0383-49f8-b6d8-347e04b68da1/

I read the article and got sick to my stomach. Panic ensued. That panic is a daily part of my life. A walking panic attack, fully functional because, damn, I have to be for them!
The article in the Washington Post moved me like nothing ever had, prompting me to contact the journalist at the Post. We spoke. He put me in touch with who would become the reason I became vegan, almost overnight. Gail Eisnitz was the investigator who did the investigation that prompted the article, one of many years she investigated slaughterhouses for HFA, Humane Farming Association. I called and spoke with her. She sent me a signed copy of a book that I would come to buy multiple copies of and send to politicians and give away. I actually sent one to the White House where GWB was presiding over this pretentious and failing empire.

It was twisting trying to read what actually happens in these places far removed from the public's eye. Very twisting indeed. So horrific, and surreal, I could hardly stop talking about it at work, with family, the launch of why I spend much time alone, and feeling more like I live in a Rod Serling, Alfred Hitchcock series that civilized society.

So what choice did I have? To NEVER EVER spend one penny supporting this sickness, this grotesque and vulgar system that does atrocities to nonhumans manifesting in exactly the warped and deformed society we have, what with all its SYMPTOMS. That was it for me, Vegan almost overnight. Lost my job at the hotel after several calls to HR because employees were upset that I was talking about this, and becoming estranged from the community, even family, as I tried to bring up the darkness I'd become aware of. Nope! Leave us alone, We are entitled to eat "our meat", ( ever notice when talking to others about this, they always say, "my" meat, or "my" cheese, like the addicts they are, both to the supremacy that they cling to that makes them feel a false sense of status, and their ill-fated addiction to eating what causes their disease?

So that's the story. Since then, I've made it a point to use every possible tool in the box, to raise awareness that the plight of violence to animals, is the plight of violence to humans. They are inextricably one and while society claims to abhor cruelty to animals, even has some laws against it, that same society is guilty of egregious violence to animals and has become a victim of its own ethical, legal, and moral, schizophrenia.

I cook vegan food almost daily to bring to work, write many letters to my paper, have organized film showings, just finished teaching an after-school cooking class at one of the elementary schools and only used vegan recipes. I joined PCRM, ( www.pcrm.org) and always have their materials on hand to leave in hospitals, doctors' offices, wherever possible, and I have been the lone protestor at pig scrambles, kids fishing derbies, and more. Now I'd like to join Serina, buy a BUS, and travel nationwide doing exactly what is warranted, giving information that the current corporate media refuses to.


I grew up in the suburbs of West Hartford, CT. even though I was incredibly sensitive as a child, moving worms back to the soil, removing insects from the horse trough at camp, asking my daddy about fish because it must have bothered me to take them from their homes to his earnest reply, they don't feel pain. He just didn't know.

I became vegan because I couldn't stand being a part of the cruelty and killing of animals. It is wrong to hurt animals. All animals should be wild and free living exactly as nature intends.

I love animals and I recognize their inherent right to their own lives on their own terms. I could not live with the hypocrisy of demanding freedom for myself while taking it away from animals. Being vegan means I am no longer a hypocrite. ALL BEINGS DESERVE TO LIVE WILD & FREE WITHOUT INTERFERENCE!

I am a cancer survivor and veganism saved my life!
I am organizer of Augusta GA Animal Save and Climate Save AGS and AV Augusta GA.
BEAR WITNESS WITH US!

I ran a vegan cafe, food cart and now my own vegan Chocolate company! It’s bean to bar, beyond ethical and Hawaii grown. It tastes pretty good too!

I went vegetarian in 2001 after watching "Meet Your Meat" by PETA and immediately stopped eating animal flesh. In 2003 after learning more about the dairy industry, I just couldn't continue to cause harm to animals in that way and went vegan.

I have been vegetarian since 1991, then I moved on to being a vegan in the month of October 2003, now my next move is that I haven’t eaten any grain, since January 11, 2018...

Breast cancer survivor. Started for my health. Now ethical and an ARA

My quest started as a young thirteen-year-old girl at boarding school. I came across a documentary which played with my emotional heartstrings. Earthlings. I’d seen enough.. I knew I had to make change - so I started with myself.

Fast forward to almost two decades later having adventured to over forty countries living, studying, volunteering and working in over five continents. I found the single most challenging element had been sourcing plant-based food. No more sacrificing food for travel with side portions and mediocre salads it was time for change. I had to recreate the joy of travel for my fellow vegans and vegetarians. With several years in the travel industry, I set about with my goal in mind and founded VOGO.

Now in 2020 VOGO is an eco-tour powerhouse with a roster of ethical, authentic travel experiences for vegans and vegetarians with a conscience delivering rustic experiences like plant-based Peruvian super foods cooked by a vegan chef within the depths of the Amazonian jungles to bush hikes and safaris in the plains of Ethiopia whilst feasting on veggies on the barbie. Meanwhile we ensure local people profit, avoid chain hotels and instead carefully select rustic homestays, boutique accommodation and eco-lodges all whilst we work on sustainable goals set by the United Nations.

Was vegetarian not conscious to the hormones thta were being put in my body by diary. I got breast cancer. I survived cancer and am still healthy.I went ethical vegan in 2016 started a Save Movement chapter.

Let me take you back to St. Louis, Missouri, where my story begins. Growing up in the heartland of BBQ and the iconic arch, animals were a distant part of my life. My interactions with them were limited to zoo trips and farm visits, experiences that felt separate from my day-to-day reality. That all changed when I was nine years old.

One day, at my great-grandparents' farm in Mississippi, I witnessed something that shifted my perspective forever—a chicken being killed. As a nine-year-old, this moment struck me deeply. It wasn’t just a scene; it was a stark realization about where our food comes from and how animals are treated. This experience planted a seed for my journey, though it took years for that seed to fully blossom.

Fast forward to adulthood, and life threw me a curveball. My once unshakeable confidence was challenged by serious health issues—high blood pressure, cholesterol concerns, and troubling digestive problems. In 2003, a scare with a preliminary Crohn's disease diagnosis pushed me to rethink my health and lifestyle. My doctor’s warnings about heart disease and stroke were a wake-up call, prompting me to reassess my daily habits and transition eating more plant based foods.

As my health improved, so did my understanding of veganism. What started as a quest for physical well-being soon expanded into a deeper exploration of the ethical and environmental aspects of veganism. I realized that veganism was not just a diet but a lifestyle committed to reducing harm to animals and our planet. I came to see animals not just as food sources but as living beings deserving of compassion and happiness.

This journey has transformed me in ways I never anticipated. Veganism has become a way to live in alignment with my values and contribute positively to the world around me. It’s been a continued path of growth and discovery.

I came out of the womb a radical* feminist, but it wasn't until my late twenties that I thought to consider the injustices to non-human females and their offspring. Thanks to the suggestion of my progressive and eclectic Aunt Dorothy, I read The Food Revolution by John Robbins and immediately went vegetarian. It wasn't until a year or so later during a volunteer stint at Farm Sanctuary that I went fully vegan. Shortly after that I moved to Seattle and found my people through NARN (The Northwest Animal Rights Network), and realized my penchant for bookkeeping (as the original "Donut Director" at Mighty-O - vegan - donuts). Since 2010 I have been self-employed, offering bookkeeping services to nonprofits and ethical small businesses. I resist the violence of our dominant culture. I believe in dignity for every body, and freedom from oppression for all.

*I'm not sure how radical I was but I like using the term "radical feminist" 😀