What initially inspired you to become vegan? Some Vegan Views

What initially inspired you to become vegan?

Valerie St. Denis - I looked into Daisy's eyes (my dog) and realized the meat on my plate might as well have been her. I looked into Jame's eyes (my cat) and realized my cleaning products could have been squirt into his eyes. I looked into Buck's eyes (my other cat) and realized that my nice leather jacket might as well have been him. I looked into my own eyes and realized my true nature was to live as a true vegan and have not looked back.

Rachel V Hoyt - Why I went vegan originally... When I was 15 years old (1981), I went to a fair. I walked into a tent where there was a full body pig roast on the table. His/her eyes were looking right at me. There was an apple shoved in their mouth; as their meat was being cut from the back. I ran outside balling my eyes out; gasping for air. My friend had to calm me down; which was nearly impossible. I became a vegetarian then; but continued eating fish and dairy. Fish soon followed after trying to follow a recipe and the fish died stuck to the pan. Five years ago I went to another fair and they happened to show a ‘milking a cow’ demonstration. They treated the cow like a robot. They hooked her udders up to metal rods; which were attached to a machine where her milk was stolen at full speed. After that they showed how they hose her down; sterilizing her so she wouldn't get infected. I thought how cruel it was of them to put her into that predicament in the first place… also knowing that she was artificially impregnated, year after year, to produce that milk. Meanwhile her babies (calves) were killed for veal; so that humans could selfishly have the milk instead. This made me angry so... I proudly became a vegan. Got rid of all leather/silk/ wool cloths and accessories; changed to all vegan products, buy nothing that is tested on animals, and love love love vegan food. Even cheese grosses me out now, and I used to love it. Vegan alternatives are so much better… and no body gets hurt.

Cindy Taffel - For as long as I can remember I’ve said to myself and others, “I could probably be a vegetarian if only I knew how to cook that way. I’m an athlete. How can I possibly get enough protein?” Those were my excuses. I now realize that I didn’t want to know. I didn’t want to see the truth. One month ago I saw a 12 minute clip from “Farm to Fridge” and it all made sense. I was no longer blind to the horrific ways in which we use and abuse animals. I no longer felt that I was giving up or sacrificing anything at all. Being Vegan is the very least I can do. One cannot un-see something. For me, that is all it took. I want the world to see the truth.

Deborah Prophet - I stopped eating flesh 26 years ago at age 11 when I realised 'meat' meant death. Only up until a year ago I started befriending vegans on Facebook and within two weeks, my husband and our two young sons, and I became vegans. I read so many reports and watched so much footage that it was no longer an option to consume, wear or use products that were a direct result of severe loss, suffering and pain. It was the best decision all of us have ever made and I am so grateful for all the knowledge and support that is so readily available to anyone and everyone who opens their eyes, heart and mind.

Alexa Reed - I became a vegetarian when I was 16, not long after I had first heard the word. I remember thinking that if we ate animals when we didn't have to, it seemed especially barbaric. For nearly 20 years, I supported PETA, Greenpeace, and WWF. Not one of them told me that as a vegetarian, I was still supporting animal deaths and environmental degradation. When the ‘Vegetarian Food for Thought’ podcast made that clear to me, I spent most of the work day online researching Veganism, buying cookbooks, printing articles, and listening to more podcasts. It was without a doubt the easiest and fastest decision I have ever made, and it proved to be the best. I regret only that I didn't do it sooner.

Lai Sityar - I grew up in Manila and even in that urban area animal cruelty is highly exposed. I saw pigs getting slaughtered, dogs getting eaten, cockfighting etc. People are so desensititized, just as with any animal harming agricultural areas everywhere, but it got to me and yet I toughened myself up and tried to block it from getting to me. I went to New York in my teens and learned about people who don't eat meat, tried it but I decided it was too hard so it didn't last. Years later I worked at Whole Foods but always saw veganism as a diet, I had two co-workers who said they were vegan for the animals but one ate eggs and the other one ice cream so I was more confused about the why's of it all. Being on the internet I eventually saw the Abolitionist Approach website and and met lots of vegans through twitter and later on facebook, and I became vegan after finally seeing that our fellow animals are not ours to use. Now I know the importance of vegan education and met many vegans and pre-vegans in Manila over the internet; I know now I'm not the weird one as being vegan is innate in everyone.

Michelle Burroughs – I was vegetarian most of my life, until I saw footage of a mother cow howling after her baby was taken away. It broke my heart and now I’m vegan and happier than ever.

Diane Gandee Sorbi - I decided to become vegan after reading articles and watching videos that some friends had posted. I wish I could say it happened overnight, but it didn't. At first I focused on how difficult I thought it would be. I'd have to give up favorite foods, risk being considered an oddball at social gatherings, etc. My conscience was being drowned out by my own selfish wants. I say wants, not needs, because no one needs animal products. I was rapidly losing respect for myself. I finally decided that with every bite I took of an animal product, I was agreeing it was okay to pay someone to torture and murder innocent sentient beings for me. I could no longer live my life with blinders on. The day I committed to becoming vegan, I experienced such an amazing sense of peace. There is no feeling quite as freeing as knowing you are finally living your life in alignment with your values.

Danny Nichols - I went vegan for the ethics of not wanting to unnecessarily do harm to other animals. I say unnecessarily because I grew up like most people thinking we just had to eat them for health's sake. All the other ways we use other species was just suppressed into the deep recesses of my brain. One day while looking up vegetarian nutrition information for a new vegetarian friend of mine at the local library, I stumbled upon the ‘Meet Your Meat’ video, and was absolutely appalled, and that is when the "switch just went on". I walked out of the library that day very angry and never wanting to harm another animal again. That was over 4 years ago and my only regret is that I didn't allow myself to discover the Truth sooner. Coming from a hunting & fishing family and having done direct killing myself, I am so happy that I will never again be directly or indirectly part of this crazy culture that Will Tuttle, author of The World Peace Diet, has dubbed "the herding culture". I am now an abolitionist, anti-speciesist vegan/Animal Rights Activist, which to me is what it means to be truly vegan.

Cully Miller - I don't remember the exact moment I went vegan - it was a natural progression of my continuing education. I do remember the moment I went vegetarian though. I always had problems with eating any identifiable meat (either by name or visual evidence), but NOT eating meat just never occurred to me. I hated vegetables - probably because they were always just plopped on my plate in a plain "eat this disgusting food" way. I saw a news story about a Peta member who legally changed his name to kentuckyfriedcruelty.com to raise awareness. I thought that was insane... insane enough that it deserved a look. I never ate meat again. I immediately called a friend to help me buy a juicer because I was going to have to hold my nose and drink my veggies - even hired a nutritionist to go grocery shopping with me and teach me about how to start this lifestyle. She swore to me that my taste buds would change in about 6 weeks. I would have bet every cent I had that she was talking out her ass. Sure enough, I came to crave veggies. The more I learned, the more videos I watched, I came to understand what happens in the dairy/egg industry and went (dietary) vegan a year later. And then began replacing furniture, belts, and shoes with cruelty-free options, as needed. When I die, on my gravestone, I don't want the typical "loving son, father, husband" stuff - just my name, dates, and one word - Vegan. One word says everything you need to know about me.

Butterflies, M. 'Butterflies' Katz - I became vegan after reading the eloquent words of H. Jay Dinshah in the Ahimsa Magazine; the original magazine of the American Vegan Society. The Dinshah's brought veganism over from the U.K.; where it originated. I specifically was reading about the horror of the dairy industry, when it all clicked that I didn't want to participate in animal exploitation. I rid my closet of leather, I sourced vegan toiletries and cosmetics (hard back then), and my diet was free of any animal-derivatives. I grew from there. The next step was I had to stop working in an establishment where I was serving fish to other people. Step by step, making stands and reaching a new ledge of veganism, continued. Nearly 34 years later, I am still inspired by many in the movement and my philosophy has expanded. I stopped eating meat when I was 12 when I learned that “meat” was a dead animal. My path has always been motivated by the fact that I love and respect other animals. I respect all animal’s inherent right not to be harmed by humans; because we use animals unnecessarily. I’m living proof of that statement. My rescued animal friends are also fed vegan (yes they are happy and healthy and live long wonderful lives), and I try to eat from vegan-organic gardens. Veganism is a guiding star.

Carlos Oliveira - I went vegan simply because I realised I could not find a valid logical reason as to why I should eat, wear or use animals.

TheEvolved Stopthebarbarism - I am vegan because to not be vegan is to enslave, rape, torture and murder. I am not a slave master, a rapist, a sadist or a murderer. If you are not vegan, you are all these things. All non human animals are beautiful, remarkable beings. Our treatment of them is obscene, perverted and wholly immoral. We do this to them because we are sick bullies and we know they cannot defend themselves. If a pure definition of evil exists, surely it is how we treat our non human cousins. As long as we hurt them and destroy them, we will hurt and destroy ourselves. We are all animals together. We ARE them. If I can paraphrase an ‘Evolve Campaigns’ poster: I am vegan because I want to fight the REAL war on terror.

David Scott - I was always told that all it took for evil to triumph was for good people to stand by and do nothing. It was a call to arms for moral courage, the courage to stand up against wrong-doing, and I always thought that meant positive action by me against someone else, someone doing something bad. Now while I was thinking about that I got around to thinking about another popular phrase, "Knowledge is power." That may well be the case but it seemed to me that before it is anything else, knowledge is responsibility, responsibility to act and self-knowledge is the greatest responsibility of all. It is very hard to think of oneself as an evil person; that is why most people are content to blame the meat and dairy industries for their weaknesses. But follow my logic - if I become aware of just how badly our fellow earthlings are treated by these industries (I did) and I become aware of just how healthy and strong you can be on a plant-based diet (I did and I am) how could I possibly continue to think of myself as a good person if I could not change my diet and lifestyle habits (because that's all that they were: just habits, not dependencies). Knowledge is power; the power to act - good people acting is the first step to a better world. I took the step. I am a vegan.

Urosh Sredojevich - There isn’t a one thing which compelled me to go vegan. It was a journey. My brother became a pescatarian (he ate fish) and brought some pamphlets about animal flesh. That got me thinking. I read somewhere about veganism and went to websites to see what it is. But I heard stories that being vegan isn’t healthy and I thought I couldn’t do it, so I became a vegetarian. All that time while I was vegetarian I was thinking if it’s wrong to eat animal flesh, then why is it ok to eat dairy products and eggs. But I convinced myself that what I was doing was enough. Almost a year after I became a vegetarian, my conscience wouldn’t leave me alone. So I did a test. I didn’t drink milk for three weeks and saw I can live without it. And I thought if I can live without milk then I can live without other animal products. My conscience didn’t allow me to continue to be a direct participant of exploitation of nonhuman animals. So I became a vegan.

Ruth Hawe - I went vegan aged 16 (1971) after I discovered yoga and the philosophy of ahimsa or harmlessness, and realised that it was totally unnecessary to exploit or kill animals in order to live. I was always an animal lover so that was it for me - instantaneous conversion, despite my family's lack of support.......so until I left home I lived on wheat-germ and high protein baby cereal plus the vegetables from family meals. In those days most food was not properly labeled so I had to make everything myself, including bread, and nobody knew what a vegan was. So - those newbies who complain - you have no idea :)

Ellie Perry - It was the beginning of this year, I already had stopped eating red meat years ago and was probably quite healthy, into yoga, meditation etc. I have always loved animals, enjoyed their company and worked with them which I do to this day. I had been on Fb and met a few animal rights friends as well as environmentalist, and came across Earthlings. I sat down to watch.....that was where the change occurred. Sometime into it I stopped the movie, went and sat outside and cried and cried. My soul hurt. I couldn’t believe the violence I’d just seen. It made me nauseous and sick to my stomach. I actually think I was in shock. I felt compelled to watch, to understand what I’d just seen. Was this some sort of propaganda? Some sick twisted joke? You know what the hell had I just seen, so I came in regrouped and watched it in its entirety. That was it, the pain was palpable, the violence too much. I couldn’t believe I had been ingesting the energy of another being whose life meant as much to him/her as my own does to me. How could I have contributed to the madness and not seen this sooner. How could I have pets but eat an animal that had suffered so horribly. I can honestly say it was a no brainer. I will never go back. It makes me feel so good knowing I’m not harming another, and have the dead flesh of an animal putrefying in my bowels. Eating animals harms our planet and ultimately harms ourselves. I want no part of it; I knew from that day forward the way I viewed everything would change and it has. Who doesn’t walk around the supermarket with eyes wide open and watch in horror as people fill their baskets with violence. I know I do.

Chris Grant - My decision to go vegan was strictly logical. While I originally intended to make my New Year's Resolution 5 years ago to go vegetarian, then the following year go vegan, I could not live with the hypocrisy. A few months into the year I just decided to go vegan. Prior to this, my decision was simply my reasoning that there is no justification for anthropocentrism and discovering one does not need any animal derived products to live healthy. There was no universal definition of what even comprised a human and therefore gave humans the right to inflict injury for pleasure on any other creature. Any 'usable' definition would invariably either exclude some humans or include many animals. For this reason the capability of feeling pain (and subsequently joy and happiness as well) are the only criteria that have any logical consistency when determining moral consideration.

VegAnn Hawks - I was a vegetarian for several years, which was so easy. The look and taste of meat was long gone from my consciousness. I would go out to fancy restaurants and order the cheese plate or have nacho cheese dip at my favorite Mexican restaurant. Look at me, I'm a vegetarian, I'm not hurting anyone. Then one day, I saw a video of a woman comparing feminism to the dairy industry. Hmmm, I thought, "What’s going on here?" I needed more information. The information was startling, shocking, horrifying. I couldn't believe it. They take babies away and threw them in veal crates, men beating, kicking and yelling at the most gentle creatures I know of??? What in the hell is going on here?? I cried, screamed into my pillow at night, tossed and turned. I just couldn't believe what I then knew. Giving up dairy was the last hold out, and the EASIEST one to give up. I'm so sorry to all the animals my ignorance caused suffering to. I will live the rest of my vegan life being your voice! Peace and love to ALL beings.

Elisa Johnson - Two weeks of listening to every one of Colleen Patrick-Goudreau's podcasts caused my every last excuse to dissolve. I became vegan when I really “got” that it is not “how” animals are treated it is “that” they are treated, and that every exploited animal meets an untimely death at human hands.

Neil Kaplan - Reading "Diet for a New America" was shocking and enlightening to me, and I then made the transition to veg fairly quickly, but was still not quite there. One afternoon (about 20 years ago) I was driving to a music job, and needed to stop for a quick lunch. My choices in those days were either a BK chicken sandwich or trail mix from 7-11. I had just decided to get the chicken, when at that moment, a car drove by me that had a bumper sticker that read "LOVE ANIMALS DON'T EAT THEM" . . . that was it, I got the trail mix and never went back, from veg it was a natural transition to vegan over the next few years.

Flavia Lotus-Blossom (known on Facebook) - I've always been hyper-sensitive to cruelty - even someone yanking the leash on a dog's neck upsets me deeply - so I was not one who viewed videos of animal abuse and killing. I'd probably drop dead myself if I viewed much of it - it would be like my body being pelted with bullets or knives going into me so I avoid it. I never had to shock myself like that, but despite having a ‘closeness’ to animals since childhood, I did not become vegan quickly. I was in my late teens when I heard about what "veal" was, and immediately stopped eating it. My family was Italian, so it was a familiar "menu item". Cow meat and pig meat was next to go, although it was still a gradual thing. It astounds me how long someone can go - years - without realizing what they are participating in. It was like I was in a kind of trance about it. There were still eggs and cheese and other occasional dairy very present in my diet. I was clueless about what "vegan" meant. I know that the painfully long awakening to vegansim for me had a lot to do with others' expectations and acceptance of me. It grieves me to say that - yet it is true, so I must say it. I'd always felt a bit of an oddball among my family and some friends, and exploring veganism would put me fully over the line on that. I would now be the weirdest person they knew, and that scared me, so I lied to myself, in order to stay in some sort of comfort zone with them, and as long as I partook of some egg or dairy or sat on their leather chairs, I was still part of the group, still included in my community. It got to be where I could no longer look myself in the eye in the mirror because I knew I was living a lie and hiding out from the truth. I knew that if I was so weak and such a slave to my tastebuds that I could not give up eating some milk-derived foodstuffs, or throw out my leather goods, or read more labels when buying products, that I was pathetic and ignorant. I no longer wanted to be that, I wanted to live with more courage and truthfulness, so I had to start thinking about what dairy and leather meant, as sick as they made me feel to think about. I had to start looking at all the myriad ways animals are used, abused, and killed for human use - I had to know - I could not live any longer not knowing. Facebook helped - it was within a very short time of joining Facebook and connecting with vegans and reading vegan articles and hearing interviews, that I knew the full horror of what dairy was. It touched off a grief in me that scared me but that I knew I couldn't turn away - because it would be like leaving a child alone in a wilderness, or in a burning building - I simply could not abandon the truth anymore, just because I was afraid to know what was really behind the pretty ads and packaging.

Lisa Viger - I'd felt uneasy about eating animals for a long time ... ever since I made the connection that the chicken on my plate was once an actual living chicken. I'd also worked in animal rescue and rehab, so I'd always liked animals. But I finally became vegan after reading The World Peace Diet by Will Tuttle. I'd seen the PeTA videos before, but for some reason Will's book was what made me finally understand. I think it was connecting the dots between commodifying animals and commodifying humans and women and the earth and environment. Whatever it was, it all made perfect sense - and it still does. There's no downside to being vegan. It's a good thing from any perspective. And I'm consciously grateful every day that I'm vegan.

John Carbonaro - Since I was very young I always went about trying to 'clean up' the meat I was eating. I was always turned off by the fat and capillaries running through the flesh. I was constantly reworking the meat, trying to achieve a kind of purity, a relationship between myself and my food that would not cause me to struggle; that would have an acceptable sensation. These experiences finally pushed me to only tolerate cheese. One day as I passed a field, I saw a calf suckling its mother. I recognized that purity resided in that relationship. It had been trying to speak to me all those years, not allowing me to be comfortable with foods that contained the breaking of that relationship, of that purity. I became whole, reborn, but already weaned from desires and fears that could entrap me and mother nature together in some ill begotten dependency. I recognize the freedom of others because I am finally free, and now I wish to continue helping others recognize their potential to do likewise.

Michael Tiedemann - After watching a video on "fur farms" that I just somehow came across online, I finished sobbing and wiping my tears that were streaming down my face and I said, I can't be part of this (animal exploitation). I started my journey that day, April 24th 2009 - Now I try to help inspire others with my blog and podcast, A Voice 4 Animals.

Vanessa Lackford - I had been a vegetarian for 52 years, from birth. I resisted becoming vegan, until I watched a simple, short, non-gory video of a cow waiting to go into the slaughter room and trying to turn around. I had no choice, I became vegan there and then; I could no longer put it off. I tried it for a week initially. That was two years ago, the two years I have lived most true to myself. Now, I wonder why I did not do it years ago. It has freed me to see all the ‘disconnect’ and cognitive dissonance in our lives. There are still things for me to get right, but it feels normal and totally right to me now.

Glenn Martin - I used to eat a fair amount of meat and dairy. I was very into exercise and thought I had to eat heaps of it to be strong and healthy. I ended up having high blood pressure. Doctors didn’t know why, even after having all the tests. I decided to reduce the amount of salt/fat in my diet & subsequently reduced my meat/dairy. At the same time my brother went veggo for ethical reasons and was constantly telling me how bad it was and; I was like "I know it's bad but I don't wanna hear it". It wasn't until my blood pressure started to improve that I realised I didn't need to eat animal products to be healthy and; therefore they were dying/suffering for no valid reason ... then it became ethical primarily and also health/environmental. Best decision I've ever made!

Justine Moeller - I became a vegetarian 18 years ago when I was 9. I was always highly sensitive to others, both humans and non humans, and always felt a lot of empathy for those in pain or suffering. When I made the connection I stopped eating meat. I went vegan when I was 20 and remained that way for 2 years (yes, I was one of those who stopped being vegan!). I knew the facts about the industry but I never fully understood the scope of the damage I was causing. One year ago I started seriously considering going vegan again. I constantly doubted the means (vegetarian) through which I was trying to stop suffering. I study history at university, constantly exposed to the reality of oppression, genocide and discrimination of our past and present; how could I not question what we are all being told is normal? I read Eating Animals, loaned to me by a friend who said I would enjoy it. I did, and although it did not make much a difference in the way I ate because I was already a committed vegetarian, it did set me on a path to investigate the truth about animal exploitation. Watching Gary Yourofsky’s video was the actual night I knew I could never participate again in the industries we are taught are acceptable and 'just'. I look back on my vegetarian days with some regret but I accept it was a learning process. I needed something to make it click, just the same as everyone else. I don't have a memorable story about going vegan (although I have memorable stories about going vegetarian such as watching a deer being skinned by my grandfather and a chicken’s head getting cut off by a neighbor who then asked me to stay for dinner). All I know is that once it truly registers, there is no going back. I hope to try and inspire people around me to reach that same point, where they finally just 'get it', evolve, and go vegan!

Stef Young - My Mum raised me vegetarian from birth and taught me it's wrong to kill animals for food. I went vegan a little over two years ago after seeing a video showing the truth behind the egg industry. I've spent the last two years healthier than I'd ever been before and I feel so much better about myself. This came to a head when a year or so ago, I was standing at the gate of a field of cows, wishing they wouldn't have to go through the pain they would eventually go through, when one of them walked up to the gate and began licking my arm. I could never go back on being vegan.

Monica Lucas - A growing awareness of the meaning of my existence, and the choices I had, regarding the impact that I could make in my lifetime, negative or positive. An intrinsic need to develop a re-connection with the natural world, which led to a kind of epiphany that all life is sacred and thus deserving of respectful boundaries. An education regarding the horrific policies and practices of our global governments and cultural traditions. A feeling that I had to lose the indoctrination of my social upbringing and reject the idea that the almighty dollar was more important than the love of innocent life. A realization that I was as much a killer as a slaughterhouse worker, as long as I continued to consume animals and their parts.

Michaela Österlund - I first heard of veganism when I was 16, but the animal group I enquired about it failed to give me a good enough reason to become one myself. I had stopped eating red meat and chicken a year earlier when I had learned of cruel animal transportations. In 2009 I moved to a bigger city and decided to get active in animal protection. It didn't take long for me to realize that you can't protect animals and take advantage of them at the same time, and after learning that dairy cows are killed too, I decided to give veganism a try. Giving it a try quickly turned into an active dedication to the cause, and I haven't looked back once.

Gregory J Santollo - I became vegan 8 years ago because I no longer wanted to be a fuck.

Liza Moore-Vegan – I am proudly a vegan of 27 years; as soon as I knew the meaning of the word, I was one. From that day to this, I have learned many things and I can prove that a vegan lifestyle is the right way to live ones life; a guilt-free one for the planet, the starving people, the animals, and one’s health. The only question I can’t answer is this: why isn’t everyone a vegan?

Stormy Pagan (Facebook) - It was 1988, a hugely significant year in my life when it changed for the best and made me into the person I am today.. I was 19 and had been a veggie for a few years before... then I met some amazing ‘right on’ people, including my vegan soul mate who was my partner for about 14 years… I embraced the Animal Rights scene and began to learn so much about the hidden abuse of animals (although that is less hidden nowadays)…I started doing demos, hunt sabbing and protests... in the same year I moved to London and moved into a vegan household... with all of this I became vegan and I never looked back... and I have come to know that there is no other way for me, I am a forever vegan.... I have seen people come and go as vegans over the years ...and I am proud that I have stayed true to the life style/cause for the sake of the animals for 23 years now, and I now bring my children up as non-vaccinated healthy happy vegans.

Sharron Woodward - I went vegan because of a grieving mama cow.

Kerry L Shoemaker-Davis - It was a natural evolution for me. I have always been an advocate of non-humans. The simple thought of having to kill something to eat, or even paying someone to do it for me, makes me cringe. To kill anything for any reason is upsetting to me. I am Pagan-which for me IS being Vegan as one can not honor the Earth/Nature when they are contributing to its destruction. It is a very Spiritual thing for me. And of course there are the health benefits. I cannot imagine living any other way.

Ann Thomas - I was a strict vegetarian for 25+ years, because I loved all animals and refused to eat them! I only occasionally forced down dairy and eggs because I thought I needed the protein. I was totally clueless about the cruelty involved in those industries. I didn't even know what a vegan was! Then, six years ago I learned how to use the internet, and really got educated! It didn't take me long to go vegan after that and it is the best thing I have ever done.

Patrice Davis - I accepted a 30-day vegetarian challenge posted by a friend. I was 57 years old. While the participants were asked to only cut flesh from our diet, we were also asked to “meet our meat” and become informed about how our food got to our plate. I did my “homework” and saw more cruelty and torture than I EVER wanted to or could have imagined! Ten days later I knew simply going vegetarian was not enough for me. I did it for the animals, period. How could I stop eating their flesh but still support the cruelty, torture, and murder for the byproducts of their bodies, such as dairy products and eggs, let alone wear their skin on my feet and wrist? I had simply followed what my parents had taught me, and society and the media had always reinforced. Why would I ever think to question it? Living on autopilot, blinders firmly in place... My heart gives thanks to my friend every day! I could not have started the journey and succeeded without his information, support, and encouragement, along with all the others who also participated in the challenge! The animals have thanked me by giving me ‘a peace’ I'd never known, a healthier and richer life, a new awareness and level of compassion.

Alastaur Daly - Having been a vegetarian since the age of five, a choice my parents made, I went back to eating flesh at 15, a year later, I became vegan. I was eating a boiled egg for breakfast and I just felt sick with myself. From about that day, I avoided eating meat and dairy…and eventually went vegan, and replaced my shoes and got my parents to buy vegan shampoo that wasn’t tested on animals. I also think that being exposed to ‘Earthlings’ by a friend really inspired me to think about what I was participating in.