Becoming Vegetarian/Vegan.

what made me go vegetarian. i met my friend kayla at school and she was vegetarian and i wanted to be as well so i educated myself and then [later] joined unleashed. also, who the hell in their right mind wants the decomposing flesh of a rotting tortured animal sitting in their stomach where it rots some more, whilst the pesticides in said flesh absorb into your body? ALSO! haha, the docco Earthlings has converted many people [i can't personally bring myself to watch it though.]  bon appetite

The belief that my life is no more valuable/important than that of an animal, they all deserve to live, love and pass peacefully in their own time as we do.

Welcome Heather! its a great thing to become vegetarian for so many reasons! Animal rights, the environment and your overall heath just to name a few!  

Im an animal lover and when I decided to do my degree (Zoology) I started to think about the meat on my plate. Was this cows/chickens/fishes/ lambs live as valid as the native wildlife and exotic endangered species I want to help save?

So I looked into the beef, pork, lamb, chicken, egg, dairy, and also the wool industry (*shiver*) and of course fur industry and finally made the decision to stop eating all flesh and eventually, maybe in a few years or so to go completely vegan

How are you heather? whats made you join unleashed and want to become vegetarian?

I was vegetarian (lacto/ovo) for 6 months, and recently became vegan.
Basically, I've loved animals since I was a foetus. It didn't make sense to me to contribute to their suffering by continuing to eat meat, or their by-products.
Initially, it was a basic thing, like, 'meat = dead animals = bad', but now, it's more than that. I became vegan because.. Milk is meant for baby cows. Not humans. Eggs aren't made for us. They are made to carry baby chickens. Honey isn't ours to take, and wool and leather aren't for us to take to wear! Y'know? It was a gradual thing, but I can't imagine going back. I quit meat cold-turkey (no pun intended), and then quit all by-products cold-turkey. But, you may want to cut things out gradually. It's a personal choice, but I bet once you slip into a cruelty-free routine, you'll look and feel so much better Good luck!

I originally stopped eating meat to protest again factory farming - I refused to give money to support the evil industry (plus ive always loved animals) and then the more I learnt the more I realised we've been duped by dairy/meat industries into thinking we need their product when meats just giving everyone shitty diseases like cancer and diabetes. Also..the enviromental tollof meat production is astouding. So they are my 3
1. Animal Welfare
2. Health
3. Enviroment.

This quote pretty much sums up my views

"A man can live and be healthy without killing animals for food; therefore, if he eats meat, he participates in taking animal life merely for the sake of his appetite. And to act so is immoral." --Leo Tolstoy

After all, if i don't NEED to consume animal products to be healthy & happy, why would i want to, if their production causes so much pain & suffering?

Plu, i've never felt happier or healthier!

Advice?

- Keep asking questions here on Unleashed - we are here to support you!
- Learn about veg nutrition, for your own knowledge, & so you can help reassure people that you will still be healthy
- Experiment with new recipes, & if your friends/family are supportive, why not try making some meals together?
- Don't beat yourself up as you make this journey - if you need to do it gradually, that's okay - do what's right for you. You might find having one veg meal a day, then two, then 3 etc works for you, or perhaps an approach such as cutting out one kind of meat, then another, then eggs, then dairy (as an example) might be best for you. Also if you "slip up" don't be too hard on yourself! Just pick yourself up, dust yourself off, & make a fresh commitment to change

Like I said, watch Earthlings

...Hey I know how to get you to go veg.. I'll stalk you and every time you go to eat meat, i'll taser you

Thankyou everyone for shairng your stories and giving me advice.

Kaitlyn please don't taser me haha breakfast is usually vegetarian with small changes lunch can be vegetarian but dinner is the main problem :/  it's okay I'll just slowly take steps to become vegetarian.

ZoolNerd thank you for your comment, I am good. I have always loved animals and I have four pets which I love, I think animal cruelty is abhorrent and unnessecary. Last year in media we watched Baraka (1992 film) which contained a scene about a hatchery (i believe) and graphic footage of a chick getting it's neck broken and other commercial processes, after seeing this for more than three months I had a 'chicken' free diet as I was disguested by it. My friend is a vegan and Im intrested when she talks about being veg/vegan. I joined Unleashed yesterday International vegetarian day  as she suggested it to me as Im thinking about becoming a vegetarian but Im not sure how and if i can and whether my parents will accept etc.

I became Vegetarian in July last year when I watched PETA's 'Meet Your Meat' video & in February this year I made the choice to become vegan when I found out what really happened in the dairy industry & that I didn't want to contribute to that. |:

Going vegetarian/vegan is really a lot easier than what most people think & is a really healthy way of life. The main thing to do is to make sure that you eat propley.