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

Vegan for the animals, the planet, and health.

Jennifer Greene is executive director of Vegan Long Island. She also does volunteer work for the Coalition for Health School Food (CHSF) and Beyond Carnism.

EF

I am only 1 week in to being vegan. But, I am excited by all the research which shows I will decrease the risk for all chronic diseases including depression and mental illness and cancer by being vegan.

Plant-based concert who is now getting his Masters in Nutrition as medicine to help others see the way.

In 2020 I was graciously given the title of “PETA Prime’s Most Beautiful Vegan Over 50.” for that year. I had almost not applied. I don’t seek attention in life, but I felt it was my duty to show up and share my experiences with the world, aiming to shatter myths and advocate for animals. I sent my application to PETA at the last minute and was honored to be selected as the winner—although I believe all vegans are winners!

When I started this journey in 2011, I never would have imagined that I’d be looking back on these major milestones:

In 1996, my mother gave me a book about vegetarianism, which immediately led me to stop eating meat and move away from my unconsciously speciesist lifestyle.

I moved from Türkiye (Turkey) to the U.S. in 1998, after singing as a soloist in Beethoven’s 9th Symphony in Istanbul, under the direction of American conductor William Thomas.

In 2004, I discovered my true baritone voice after training as a tenor for years at three different conservatories, which began my transformational journey.

I confidently and joyfully went vegan in 2011 after reading vegan triathlete Brendan Brazier’s Thrive. This decision dramatically fueled every aspect of my life.

It 2012, I began functional bodyweight training at home, which initiated my surprising physical transformation.

I formulated my vocal method, The Vocathletic System, in 2019 and added “athlete” to my credentials.

In 2020, shortly after the PETA Prime contest, I removed all oil from my diet and soon after started a whole food vegan diet.

In 2021, I became fully raw vegan.

And then I was the guest in three great interviews:
1- “Opera Singer Goes Vegan, Gets Massive Muscles” with Chuck Carroll on The Exam Room Podcast by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), founded by Dr. Neal Barnard.

2- “Bülent Güneralp’s Transformation Debunks Vocal, Athletic, Nutritional Myths” with Chef AJ.

3- “An Update on Food Is Climate” with Glen Merzer, hosted by Climate Healers, founded by Dr. Sailesh Rao.

Today I am an activist and an opera singer who ended up looking like a bodybuilder—solely as the result of eating plants, maintaining daily full-body functional training (no lifting weights or going to a gym), and as the byproduct of my extraordinary vocal journey.

I went vegan for animals and to save our planet! A vegan lifestyle prevents a tremendous amount of animal slaughter and suffering. It offers a potent way to shrink our environmental footprint, especially in regard to climate change. And a well-planned vegan diet can fuel the highest levels of fitness while reducing our risk of various chronic diseases.

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.

Game Changers Movie at 2018 Sundance Film Festival started me on my journey. Since then, lost 50 lbs and halved my cholesterol, triglycerides, glucose, etc.

For the animals

I had always been a huge animal lover and tried "to cut down" eating meat for several years with "meatless mondays" and other feel-good-not-good-enough methods. Finally in my early twenties I committed to being vegan a full month and see how it fits me. It was perfect. Not only I felt better both physically and emotionally, my lifestyle improved. I started to cook more, be more mindful what I shop, where I eat, try new restaurants and recipes and I never looked back and never hesitated that it wouldn't have been the perfect choice.

We invited a vegan startup business to work out of our house in Lima, Peru and they taught us about the health benefits and we felt the difference in one month. Since then we have seen that we can bring the cruel Animal Agriculture Industry to its knees by engaging massive numbers of people to STOP eating animals and animal products. Now we help people to start vegan intentional communities using the model of our WisdomHaus. Start one where YOU live!

After 12 years as a lacto-ovo-vegetarian, I became a vegan in 2007 and have found the health benefits of my new diet to be wonderful and observable. I also enjoy the food. I started my Wordpress blog about vegan issues, Healthy Vegan Hudson Valley, in 2017. It focuses on the mid-Hudson Valley of New York, USA, applying insights from the work of physician and bestselling author Dr. Joel Fuhrman and noting the great variety of options and opportunities for vegans to get involved and enjoy their lifestyles in the area. For more information, please see my site!

My wife was vegan. I resisted but finally made the connection.

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 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.

I became vegan last year, when I started getting informed about the harm that not being produces to the earth

I am a biomedical scientist who has been a passionate vegan advocate since 2013!

I remember telling myself I love meat so much that I can never live without it. This was later replaced with cheese when I went vegetarian.

Today, I am the Founder and CEO of Allied Scholars for Animal Protection, a nonprofit that brings vegan outreach and education to universities, to support and mentor students and future leaders! We are building a unified, effective, and sustainable infrastructure for animal advocacy in universities by focusing on 3 areas:

Vegan outreach, education and community building, and making dining halls plant based!

www.AlliedScholars.org

My transition started when my friend told me that I can't say I love animals and eat them too! I resisted for several months, but when I was presented with facts and also saw what animals go through for meat, egg, dairy, wool, experimentation, etc. the only rational and ethical decision was to go vegan.

At the same time, the more I learned about the health benefits of plant-based diet, and the health and environmental issues caused by animal consumption, the more I realized this is the root cause of many issues I always cared about! These problems are inherent to animal consumption and not just "how" we exploit animals and factory farms. For instance, free-rage or grass fed animals still contribute to zoonotic diseases, pandemics, antibiotic resistance, and climate change. In fact, in some ways, they are worse!

Veganism isn't just this arbitrary cause that I suddenly became interested in. It is the most impactful, important, and urgent topic we should be talking about. By understanding the depth of the problem and the amount of suffering caused by animal consumption to both human and nonhuman animals, I know that
rationally, mathematically, statistically, and ethically the best way to use my time and energy to help others is to be a vegan and advocate veganism, and that's what I've been doing since 2013!

****Connect with me****

Twitter:
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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.

Vegan for the animals, for a healthier planet Earth, and a healthier and more compassionate human race.

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.

After a couple of years in the transition phase, in January of 2021, I committed to being 100% plant-based. I'd slip a day and pick myself up recognizing how sick whatever it was I ate made me. The time before 2021, I was mainly plant-based and it gave me a chance to learn more, especially from the luminaries who pioneered the science-backed studies confirming the benefits of living a plant-based lifestyle. I experienced more, learned more, and talked to more who were inspiring and encouraging. Today, I realize the vision I had of veganism was shaded by the veil of misunderstanding. Hearing people talk about being vegan, even in retrospect doesn't due it justice. I heard the words of compassion and feeling love. I had to experience it from a mother's perspective. I could imagine what it felt like to have your child snatched away from you. I could imagine how it might feel to be raped and impregnated, forced to have the child, and have it stolen away from you. I could imagine how a chicken who was born to lay eggs, would do so only to never see them incubate and hatch. I could imagine the pain of living years couped up in a pen and treated horrendously in horrendous conditions. It reminded me of what my ancestors felt like in the hull of a big boat after being stolen from their homes and carried for months in untenable conditions only to be sold to a human who treated them like animals. I have felt the impact of living in a smog riddled environment; concerned about growing plants because of acid rain and polluted ground water. These are still concerns and I am more than ever committed to being the example of living a healthy whole food, plant-based vegan lifestyle. At nearly 70 years old, I plan to see a few more decades healthy and prosperous as I help others to share their message and help others as well.

For health reasons

It started out as a spiritual vow which lead into a new lifestyle.

I have flirted with the vegan life style for the past couple years. October 30, 2022 a lightbulb switched on and I started eating a full plant based diet. It is amazing and I feel so good, I had been diagnosed with fibromyalgia and I lived in pain everyday for 12 years. I have no more pain! Im feeling great!

I firmly believe in being a vegan and therefore I am here.

Vegetarian/vegan restaurant in Greensboro NC since 2003

I became vegan 15years ago after reading book 1 of the Ringing Cedars Series written by Vladimir Megre.

We are passionate about living a healthy and active lifestyle.

I read the Starch Diet and went plant-based about 3 years ago. Lost a few pounds, quit for a little while then realized I'd rather just be plant-based. After taking a lot of flack from people for being on a diet that I had never heard before being on any other diet, eventually I realized what the difference is and how it aligns with the highest of values.

I've only recently turned vegan, and I'm very motivated to stay that way!

I've created a website dedicated to veganism and ethical cosmetics & fashion.

I fasted on water and went vegan to quit smoking.

Widow maker survivor on WFPB.

I would love to. Don't have time now.

Walking back from morbidly obese with a plant based diet

Vegan 2001, but not whole food plant based until 2011

In the summer of 2017 I was encouraged by my mom to start a candy company. At the same time my sister began a plant based journey and asked that I craft treats that she could also enjoy. From there I tested several recipes to find just the right combination of ingredients to craft delicious confections without any animal products.

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 wanted to eat less meat because it's good for the environment. I opened a vegan restaurant that serve 100% plant sourced food hoping more people will eat less meat.

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

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

I became vegan after years of being off and on vegetarian. I watched a few documentaries and decided I didn’t want to contribute to the harm or death of any being. Since becoming vegan I’ve also learned about the positive impact being vegan has on the environment and stay vegan for both the animals and the environment. I now have a business that is also 100% vegan and I’m so grateful to be able to share my vegan lifestyle through using all vegan products while being a hairstylist!

It started all with gallstones, some 3 years ago. As the attacks got progressively worse my diet changed automatically . With imminent day surgery to have my gall bladder removed, I will need to/like to commit to a plant based diet .

Can I update this later????

My wife started to control her high cholesterol and to support the end to animal violence. I followed in her footsteps.

Dont Really Know The Real Difference Between A Vegetarian And A Vegan:
THERFORE I'm YET TO WRITE MY OWN STORY...

I'm a beginner vegan

Weighted 544Lbs in 2013 changed my mind after having server back pain, went to the emergency room 4 times to get a diagnoses after going to the veterans in Durham NC; the doctor told me I had diverticulosis, an inflamed pancreas and fatty liver disease. I put on my clothes she asked: "Where are you going"? My reply was everything you just told me has to do with what I put into my own mouth. At that time I went on a 10 day water fast, in two to three days I has no more pain. I remained on only plant food and by the end of the year I weighted 270 lbs. I went back to eating meat and starting feeling sick, and my stomach started giving me pain. So I've began to return to plant based foods. And my body, life and mind has grown in every direction.

It was a fall night 🌙 in 2008, October 2008, I watched a documentary entitled, "Death On A Factory Farm." It had such a tremendous effect on me that I went Vegan that night and became an animal rights activist the next day. It has been 13 years and have never turned back, I always say, it was the best decision I have ever made in my life.

Daniel G. I

I was diagnosed with duodenum cancer, received surgery & refused chemo radiation by completely changing diet as well as lifestyle.

Vegetarian for 27 years then turned vegan in 2017

My husband and I became involved in rescue in 1994. We created an animal sanctuary and we advocate living vegan.

Vegetarian since birth (thanks to parents) and become vegan after watching documentary on Dairy Industry practices in 2006.

I had been a vegan from 2006 (previously vegetarian in 2000) when according to my primary care physician, my body needed animal protein and instead of disagreeing, I went along with his suggestion. After the next few years of experiencing major stomach pain, I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis in 2018. My primary care suggested becoming a vegan once again in 2019, as the stomach issues worsened, and immediately upon going vegan, the stomach paind=s diminished and I have never flet better.

Founder of the Church of Veganism.

74 yrs old with health problems prior to started this way of life have already been decreasing.

Went vegan for the animals a long time ago!

I started juicing recently.

I started with a cooperate fast from church. We were to eat no meat or sweets for 21 days. I have been on the journey ever since. I found several health benefits and begin to share with others. I also watch documentaries on how animals are being slaughtered for human consumption and was very disturbed. I’m still free from animal consumption, but have struggled with fish / shrimp here and there.
But I’m determined to be fully committed. It’s been a blessing to learn how to eat without killing animals. I’m on a mission to help my family and friends learn more about the vegan life as well as myself.

I have enjoyed the numerous testimonials on you tube from Vegan Linked. It has truly been a great source of inspiration and information.

Thank you,
Jackie Jefferson

Hi I'm Tamara, I've been vegan for 3 years. I never liked eating meat, eggs, drinking milk. My parents and people always told me that if I didn't eat that food I would get sick, I ate it but with disgust. In the village where I lived, a lamb was born on the day I was born. I loved that lamb. It's not been a year since they killed that lamb. I was angry and sad, I didn't want to eat meat anymore. When I grew up and found out that I had been wrong all my life and that vegan was the best thing you could do in my life, I decided to become vegan.

My sister shared a video with me by Gary Yourofsky and I dropped everything the next day 😀 I'm an now 80% raw vegan and going to100%!

In 2014, I read "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" and had since then become pescatarian / vegetarian. This year, I took the leap and became vegan! I feel super fortunate to have made the transition, and would like to help many more humans do the same - for the planet, for our fellow sentient beings, and for ourselves.

I had been vegetarian for a few years before I became vegan. I became vegetarian with the intention of becoming vegan because I have a moral objection to the exploiting and killing of animals. Interestingly when I first became vegetarian I was almost entirely vegan, due to lack of financial means I pretty much sustained myself on only the cheapest vegetables from the green grocer blitzed and turned into soup.
As became vegan I really enjoyed the possibility for innovation and creativity in vegan cooking (not just random assortments of veg turned into soup). I started creating recipes, particularly ones which created alternatives to non vegan products so as to entice my non vegan friends to try vegan food.
After becoming vegan I noticed some very significant health benefits. I know there is some scientific debate around these and not everyone agrees but this it what I experienced. I was over weight and not really that far from being obese and I struggled to run a mile. I became vegan and noticed I had loads of energy. I got more active and joined a gym, within 3 months I lost around 40lbs! I joined a boxing class and despite a life of inactivity and indulgence my cardio, in just 3 months had reached a point where it was almost unequalled by anyone else in my class. This absolutely shocked me and whilst other factors were at play I feel being vegan is one major one.

I have now, recently started a vegan blog where I hope to share vegan recipes and articles in an easy and accessible way. I notice many recipes have a lot of excess content that can be struggle for people like me who struggle with attention and reading, so I have really tried to streamline mine.

Please check out my blog @

Vegans247.com

I became vegan after a few years of eliminating animal products bit by bit. I heard Alicia Silverstone on Oprah. Watched Food, Inc. Probably within the years 2009 to 2010, roughly. Then, just started reading more and more on plant-based eating. The China Study. Whole. Veganist. Main Street Vegan. Salmon and parmesan cheese were the last animal products to go, roughly 2010 to 2011, not quite sure. I just weaned and weaned until - voila! Then took Rouxbe Online Culinary School Pro Plant Based Course in 2014 because I wanted to cook the best I could for me/family. Stay on track. Then, T. Colin Campbell Plant Based Nutrition Certification via eCornell in 2016. Currently taking Transformation Nurse Coach certificate course, which also subscribes to plant based eating and nutrition as best evidenced based mode of healthy lifestyle eating. I will get that certificate in May 2020. I am a licensed RN; although, not currently working in that role. I am trying to find a "home" career in promoting wellness to humankind, animalkind, and our planet through my accumulated learning and education.

It has been an amazing experience, with positive health benefits as well.

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 Registered Nurse for 31 years. I Have been overweight my whole life. I developed gestational diabetes 15 years ago. I feel compelled to focus on my longevity primarily for the sake of my son. I don't want to miss the major milestones in his life. I want to be a "Glam Ma"! I don't just want to be alive, I want to LIVE. I am currently prescribed Metformin, Victoza, Glucophage, Lisinipril, Simvastatin and Gabapentin. I need to get off these medications. I enjoy eating the fruits and veggies. I have been avoiding fried foods, bread, dairy, white sugar. I have issues with candies. When I eat them, I overeat them. I know I am doing better with food choices. I am 5 6.5 211lbs. Goal weight is 150lbs. I am convinced WFPB eating can help me reach that goal.

After doing my independent research online I went vegan after being diagnosed with stage 1 breast Cancer in 2018. Best choice I ever made!! I am now Cancer Free & helping others become vegan to improve their health and Save their LIVES!!!

I went vegan after studying an animal rights module for my politics degree. I then went on to specialise in animal rights for my MA degree.

The generational curse stops with me.

I’ve been whole food plant based for 4 years after starting out as vegetarian in July 2016

Long time vegetarian and vegan since 1999. I am currently a registered dietetic tech (NDTR). Also I run a 58 plot community garden in my neighborhood.

Studying to become a yoga teacher in 2000, I became vegetarian for ahimsa reasons. Finally met my vegan sweetheart in 2010 and went vegan immediately, making all my dreams come true 🙂 Founded the first Central Coast (CA) Veg Fest in 2018.

Vegan for all of the reasons

Hello community. Health and doing right for the planet has been on my mind for quite a long time. What finally caused a spark and pushed over the hump was watching "What the health" documentary on Netflix.

My sister has been plant based for 8 years. I always knew in the back of my mind that she was right. In 2019, I had a health scare and an ultrasound showed sludge on my gallbladder. My PCP sent me to a surgeon who told me that she could put me on medications or removed my gallbladder. She told me that the sludge was caused from meat, dairy and eggs, but didn't tell me about changing my lifestyle or nutrition. My sister recommended that I watch Forks Over Knives. I took the week off work and binge watched FOK, The Game Changers, What The Health, Cowspiracy, Earthlings and Dominion. I went vegan overnight. I've not slipped once and now I'm oil free. I'm also a certified personal trainer, a clinical plant based nutritionist, coach lifestyle medicine and a yoga instructor. I am making a huge impact.

Watched What The Health and became vegan for better health, prevent animal abuse and for a better environment.

Followed vegetarianism for years in Adventist Church. Then ate very little for many years after not attending this church anymore. Somewhere in last decade, went 99% vegan (as opposed to vegetarian). Rarely eat any meat, fish, shellfish or dairy, with occasional exception of parmesan cheese on soup. Pretty much either vegetarian or vegan for last 30 yrs. at least.

Been on and off vegan diet for many years, started with vegetarian diet. Want to go total vegan, married to doctor who was brought up mostly vegetarian, had a severe mucus problem and sinus infection, have reneged a bit and eaten some dairy, some meat& fish (a few times a year) only for many decades now. Finally getting message about IGF-1, watch and following many advocates such as Dr. Vincent Longo, Dr. Milton Mills, Dr. Joel Fuhrman, Dr. Michael Greger, Dr. Neil Barnard, Dr. DeanOrnish, Dr. T. Colin Campbell of "The China Study", Dr. Esselstyn and his son Rip, author of "Engine 2 Diet", Dr. John Mc Dougall and many others. Am trying to go total vegan, may be using too much soymilk (according to Dr. Mills), want to get the balance better, overcome my "cultural" way of eating, digging into a "total" switch, which is a monumental task for anyone taking cues from wrong sources, such as the USDA food pyramid model. That's about it.

I struggled with health issues for a really long time, especially hormonal acne and bloating.
No matter what I tried, nothing worked. I then stumbled across the vegan diet and I saw images of animal agriculture that broke my heart.
I decided to go vegan over night and since then have been helping women to become their healthiest vegan selves!

If I´d just known before, what I know now, I could have saved so much suffering by me, my patients and other earthlings. Better late than never!

I stopped eating beef at 18 because I saw no need to kill animals to eat something I didn't particularly like.
It took me nearly 40 more years before I gave up all animal foods. There is still a small part of me that would like to enjoy some select delicacies (seafood) but I now see that forcing other animals to die just to make me happy is incredibly selfish and unnecessary.

🌱 Former Vegf**ktarian between 2012-2020, I realized how hypocritical I was: wearing other individuals' skins, furs & skins, and consuming their secretions & periods while claiming to be ethical by abstaining from eating their dead bodies. 🤦‍♀️

Co-founder of the Veterinary Vegan Network, Ethical Globe and Animal Think Tank. I have been involved in social change for most of my career. I haves worked in the international development sector since 2003, conducting research on poverty and food security for rural development projects in the Global South.

I was wegetarian from early life.
Iam vegan 15 years. BECOME WEGAN 2007.

I don’t have time right now

I went to food as medicine in VABCH.

I did a research project for school on anti-veganism and through research I changed my opinion and was unable to ever use animal products again.

I work at a marketing agency and have clients with great vegan products

Going vegan was one of the best decisions of my life. ❤️

☀️ We are cleaning up sunscreen ☀️
Natural, vegan sun protection, and the best part? Zero plastic waste.

Vegan
Natural
Cruelty-free
Ocean-friendly
Water-resistant
Broad-spectrum UVA/UVB

Protect your Skin | Protect your World

Learning

There is no alternative.

Great to be here!

I went vegan after seeing the IVegan.ca "Why Love One But Eat The Other" subway campaign

Plant base whole food restarted.

I'm vegan for every reason that matters to me--health of the planet and body, compassionate and sustainable living, and striving to eliminate as much suffering in the world as possible.

Learning to be vegan again is much easier the 2nd time around. ✌? ❤️