How to become a vegan by Cecilia

"The most important decision of my life!"

How I did it: As I've grown as a vegan and become more aware of and active in the vegan community, I've completely done a 180. When I first went vegan, it was because of factory farm conditions, so I thought that when I returned to my home in Sweden, I'd be eating the meat my grandfather hunted, et cetera. I've come to equate a non-human animal with a human animal. I believe firmly that their lives are equal. Animals do not exist to benefit humans. They are not our slaves. This is speciesism, and this is terrible, and this must end. I now understand that I truly love animals, unlike before, and I am proud to call myself an abolitionist.

I didn't even realize there was a health factor until after I went vegan. As I was reading about veganism, I kept stumbling across all of these articles and statistics about how fucking terrible meat is for you. I mean, everyone knows that too much red meat is bad for you, but this shit causes cancer? And worse? I had no idea. And milk is basically fatty and pussy (as in filled with pus) and gross and also terrible for you. And eggs? Fucking cholesterol everywhere.

I last learned about the environmental factor. Get this: the animal agriculture industry produces more greenhouse gases than all of the automobiles and trucks in the world. I mean, that's insane! Unbelievable amounts of pollution are coming out of this corrupt shitty business.

Being vegan was the best decision I have ever made in my entire life. I feel so good--so energetic, so clear, so prone to swearing, and it's great. And the vegan community is some of the best people you'll ever meet.

Lessons & tips: Bottom line: people are assholes. That's the worst part, dealing with people. Join a vegan online or local community for support, and if you ever feel your convictions wavering, turn to them for help! Or, do as I do: watch "Earthlings" or "Meet Your Meat" to graphically remind yourself of what you're preventing.

Mostly, live life compassionately! Animal rights are human rights; we are all animals and we all deserve the same respect, love, and care.  

Resources: BLOGS/COMMUNITIES
http://www.almostvegan.com/
http://www.vegblog.org/
http://thislittlepiggyhadtofu.blogspot.com/
http://veganfaq.blogspot.com/ (this is one of my favourites)
http://veganfashionblog.com/
http://veganlunchbox.blogspot.com/
http://blog.veganfreak.com/ (they have an awesome podcast)
http://veganbits.com/
http://tastebetter.com/
http://vegpeople.com/cgi-bin/gossamer/gforum.cgi(my favourite forum--my name there is shortforcecilia)

RECIPES
http://www.cok.net/lit/recipes/
http://www.fatfreevegan.com/
http://www.simple-vegetarian-recipes.com/index.html
http://theppk.com/ (I adore PPK)
http://www.vegancupcakerecipes.com/
http://www.vegcooking.com/
http://www.veggiemealplans.com/

OTHER
http://www.cok.net/ (fuck PETA, I love COK)
http://www.futurefood.org/tofu/index_en.php
http://www.goveg.com/ (although this is sponsored by PETA, it is THE best online resource for incoming veg*ns)
http://www.isitvegan.info/
http://peacefulprairie.org/index.html
http://www.tryveg.com/cfi/toc/ (the COK version of PETA\'s GoVeg campaign--it\'s much more graphic, and much better at converting omnis)

MUST-READS
"Vegan With A Vengeance" by Isa Chandra Moskowitz (I have this!)
"Becoming Vegan" by Brenda Davis and Vesanto Melina (I have this, too!)
"Skinny Bitch" by Kim Barnouin and Rory Freedman (I have this, too!)


There's also a feature-length documentary called "Earthlings" that is amazing. I bawled throughout the entire thing. It's so terrible, and it hurts so much to watch, and it reminds me why what I do is so important. I implore you to watch it, maybe in segments because it's so horrifying. But it's incredible.

I think I found a live link to it:
http://tvshack.net/documentaries/Earthlings__2003_/


 

Jul 03, 01:15PM PDT | 0 comments


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