posted June 16, 2015 01:55 PM            

Up until last few months I haven't given much thought to all the reasons people decide to become vegan and now I just feel it's the only correct way for me to take. It's mainly an ethical decision.

For now however, I must compromise with vegeterianism, because unfortunately I still live with my parents and they are the ones buying the food, which limits my choices and would not want to start my veganism on a wrong foot, eat poorly... I do eat as little as animal product as possible already, and if in town, eat vegan food etc.

I have great support from two of my cousins, one respects greatly my future plans as an ethical decision, other will also turn vegan as soon she moves from her parents. The latter has, as a medicine student, made an extensive research on all aspects, and besides having her moral support, I also receive lots of good info from her.

Only by mentioning my decision has caused an outrage in my family, they were insulting and totally ignorant, not willing to listen at anything I said. I am used to my family members misunderstanding me, and we rarely see eye to eye on anything, but in this matter I am so surprised that everyone is so hateful about a personal decision that doesn't hurt anyone, is unselfish and at it's core made with best intentions.
I was bit bewildered, to say the least.

What are your vegan experiences? Who/what inspired you to become one?
How did your loved ones accept it? For how long have you been a vegan? Is it difficult to find understanding from the "common" folk? Is there a lot of stigma surrounding veganism where you come from? Do you socialize with fellow vegans? Did you "convert" anyone?

posted June 18, 2015 07:29 PM            

To reject such shared food is thought to represent the person and wanting to have nothing to do with them. In a way I think it's like some homeless people who get offended when others who are homeless refuse a drink or a cigarette, they don't feel the person is rejecting the offered substance but that the person is rejecting the one offering it! (That is to say at an instinctive level they think that you'd have taken the offered food or substance had someone else offered it.)

I once combated the loneliness and alienation some people felt by hosting Thanksgiving potlucks for those who couldn't be with their families (typically as they were gay and made outcasts for it) and it created a bonded experience between us...these weren't vegan though I did include vegan dishes (and my fliers said vegans were welcome though there would be meat).

Interesting enough, when I was going through a long (over a month) Russian Orthodox experience for strictly educational purposes (and said so) many members (especially Russian Americans) would still (secretly) slip me bread soaked in wine (the body and blood of Christ) that was technically forbidden to me (which the priest explained to me after someone explained my presence to him). Of course I ate it with thanks and felt it would have been rude to have rejected it (as it would be rejecting them and their welcome). Ironically, I must've ate a lot more communion bread in that time than any of the members!

'Course that said some vegans can be obnoxious about it, too, which doesn't help (though no doubt the obnoxiousness they endure inspire them to be obnoxious as well).

posted June 19, 2015 08:24 AM            

That said, the ethics involved is what amount of perception or life is valued .

Cleve Backster`s Primary Perception

quote:

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Backster's study of plants began in the 1960s, and he reported observing that a polygraph instrument attached to a plant leaf registered a change in electrical resistance when the plant was harmed or even threatened with harm. His work was inspired by the research of physicist Jagadish Chandra Bose, who claimed to have discovered that playing certain kinds of music in the area where plants grew caused them to grow faster. Bose used a crescograph to measure plant response to various stimuli and demonstrated feeling in plants. From the analysis of the variation of the cell membrane potential of plants under different circumstances, he hypothesized that plants can "feel pain, understand affection etc" and wrote two books about it in 1902 and 1926.

In February 1966, Backster attached polygraph electrodes to a Dracaena cane plant, to measure at first the time taken for water to reach the leaves. The electrodes are used to measure galvanic skin response and the plant showed readings which resembled that of a human. This made Backster try different scenarios, and the readings went off the chart when he pictured burning the leaf, because according to him, the plant registered a stress response to his thoughts of harming it. He conducted another similar experiment where he observed a plant's response to the death of a brine shrimp in another room; his results convinced him that plants demonstrated telepathic awareness. He argued that plants perceived human intentions, and as he began to investigate further, he also reported finding that other human thoughts and emotions caused reactions in plants, which could be recorded by a polygraph instrument. He termed the plants' sensitivity to thoughts "Primary Perception", and published his findings from the experiments in the International Journal of Parapsychology in 1968. Soviet scientists invited Backster to the first Psychotronic Association conference in Prague in 1973 and his paper was entitled "Evidence of Primary Perception at a Cellular Level in Plant and Animal Life". After 1973, he further experimented on yoghurt bacteria, eggs and human sperm and he claimed his results showed "primary perception" could be measured in all living things

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Ethics aside and to answer your question, no I have only tried vegetarianism and wasn`t comfortable with it as a steady diet.

posted June 26, 2015 12:02 AM            

When fourteen I read "Star Signs" and found out eggs were meat, so I became truly a vegetarian, and in time a vegan. I should warn you, though, to take vitamin B12 and iron daily, as they are important. Linda wrote we don't need B12, but in my case at least she was wrong. I got problems due to deficit in B12 so now I am taking it consistently.

My family had no problem with me being vegan, they simply bought what I wanted to eat...(my mom stopped being a vegetarian after a short time, at least she didn't thought it was healthy anymore, but she had been abstaining from meat for many years, because she didn't like meat that much.

I wish you good luck in becoming a vegan. I guesss you have to become independent first, at least when it regards to food, eventually.

People who eat meat feel somtimes a certain inconvenience with people who are vegan or vegetarian. Not always, but sometimes. That is because they might feel guilty or self-conscious when someone defers from them in a moral sense. This is why meat eaters tried to "convert" me more than I tried to convert them. Because when I say I am a vegan, which thing happens mostly during any supper or dinner, they, subconsciouly or consciously, feel accused, even when I am gentle and don't try to force my ideology.

posted July 04, 2015 12:48 PM            

I never understood the reasoning behind it and the obsession by those who are proclaimed Vegans. I do understand wanting to eat responsibly.

True, animals have feelings but also purpose. Same for plants, they also have consciousness. Many of us experience this. Everything that exists has consciousness, even rocks.

I definitely understand not wanting to eat animals, purely based on the processing and handling of the animals during mass production, the pumping full of hormones which make our bodies reek and alter our own growth. Same for mishandling of plants, the genetic manipulation, careless harvesting, shipping and storage, etc.

I think it is a wonderful lifestyle, to be Vegan, if it makes you 100% healthy, feeling invigorated, maintaining your physical body and its energy to its optimum. Or if you have sensitivities to meat. Too often I encounter Vegans who simply do not look healthy, think healthy or act healthy.

It's difficult to relate to others when you are tied to any lifestyle no matter what it is, that is different from the majority. It's hard to integrate when those around you do not understand. In social situations, I find my Vegan and Vegetarian friends cart their food along with them and graciously decline meat dishes when served. They are responsible eaters and take care of themselves. No need for it to affect everyone else. No need for others to be offended.

I believe the Vegan lifestyle connects you with others who care about fueling and nourishing the body. It can be pleasurable and sensuous as well. I'm for it but I will not proclaim it or be tied to it. I think there is a place for supporters of Vegan lifestyle, to help educate others and encourage us to change our own eating habits from destructive to holistic.

posted July 31, 2015 04:51 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by PixieJane:
My theory on why so many non-vegans have contempt for vegans is that it's instinctive, eating over a meal is how many people bond (especially family but also includes things as "the business lunch") and has a long, complicated history and continue to exists today, such as these customs:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bread_and_salt

To reject such shared food is thought to represent the person and wanting to have nothing to do with them. In a way I think it's like some homeless people who get offended when others who are homeless refuse a drink or a cigarette, they don't feel the person is rejecting the offered substance but that the person is rejecting the one offering it! (That is to say at an instinctive level they think that you'd have taken the offered food or substance had someone else offered it.)

I once combated the loneliness and alienation some people felt by hosting Thanksgiving potlucks for those who couldn't be with their families (typically as they were gay and made outcasts for it) and it created a bonded experience between us...these weren't vegan though I did include vegan dishes (and my fliers said vegans were welcome though there would be meat).

Interesting enough, when I was going through a long (over a month) Russian Orthodox experience for strictly educational purposes (and said so) many members (especially Russian Americans) would still (secretly) slip me bread soaked in wine (the body and blood of Christ) that was technically forbidden to me (which the priest explained to me after someone explained my presence to him). Of course I ate it with thanks and felt it would have been rude to have rejected it (as it would be rejecting them and their welcome). Ironically, I must've ate a lot more communion bread in that time than any of the members!

'Course that said some vegans can be obnoxious about it, too, which doesn't help (though no doubt the obnoxiousness they endure inspire them to be obnoxious as well).

I used to go to these monthly vegetarian potlucks but it was terrible for vegans because vegetarians used so much cheese and often included milk and eggs, and the vegans themselves typically brought something that wasn't particularly appetizing. So even though I wasn't even vegetarian I took to making vegan potluck dishes with the goal of being delicious and filling as well as vegan, and I did get asked for the recipes, and not just by the vegans and vegetarians.

---

What you wrote makes a lot of sense, it certainly does. I mean I do get why people become so upset, it's a defensive reaction to some of the many reasons... And how angry some people are, if you refuse to drink alcohol with them, it's ridiculous. But I don't want to be understanding, in my opinion, those people are just, well, blinded by their own frustrations, guilt, lack empathy and insight.
I've had so many positive feedback from so many people and my friends, they respect my decision and never try to undermine it into something wrong (as if I'M the one hurting animals, my sister's boyfriend for example said, we vegans are hurting the animals on the long run, because we divert other people with our (supposed) militant attitude, and the things I listen from my parents on a daily basis are absurd), but anyway, now I just use it as one of the first things I tell about myself, that way I sift the wheat from the chaff, I see which people are worth hanging out with

I don't go preaching around, I only explain things to people who specifically ask me about it and are sincerely curious, but you know what, why are people surprised when some vegans are obnoxious, of course they are, like feminists are deemed annoying and militant, it's hard to bear the cross of the truth, to feel so passionately and be hurt by the animal genocide and stay unaffected, people just handle it differently. And why is advocating for the good thought of as something annoying? Well, maybe they would have more luck in "converting" people if they were nicer and calmer, and more patient, but what the hell, we aren't perfect, are we? Speaking out is never bad.

I am just so utterly perplexed that why are the people who are big advocates and care a lot for all the oppressed: women, immigrants, disabled, people of other race, poor etc. so entirely blind to animals? It's the most widely accepted atrocity in the whole history.
I mean, okay, just say that you're too selfish and self absorbed and you're not willing to admit that you prefer your pleasure (piece of steak) than an animal to be saved from torture, OK, we're human, BUT, don't try to belittle vegans and deny the atrocities.
The thing is, if people really truly made some effort to learn about those things, we'd probably have more vegans and less animals being killed. So, if there's one obnoxious vegan arguing with everyone he meets, then he's doing more than the average person does for animals...
It just makes me so sad you know. I mean activists of all sorts (and yes, in my honest opinion veganism is some kind of activism, not to mention that a lot of them are involved in other kinds of activities like saving animals, adopting etc.) get a bad rap and are scorned by the majority of society, but NO ONE is more ridiculed and less accepted than vegans, even feminists.

You know what kind of things I hear from my parents... No matter that we don't spend a penny more on food and that I'm the one doing most of the cooking. My father said that we're brainwashed, like Hitler's followers, that I'm satisfied now, that I'm in a cult (although I don't hang out with vegans), mum saying that this is a joke, a trend, that I'm frustrated because I'm not able to have a boyfriend, that I want to loose weight (my BMI index is 20, I was never a person obsessed with my weight) because she had a talk with her co worker and she said that's the common reason, and lots lots of other insulting things. My aunt compared me to her anorexic niece that is in the psychiatric clinic, because that's how it all starts.
How can I not loose faith in humanity with that kind of responses?

Oh gosh sorry for the rant. I was happy to read about you veggie experience as an obnoxious vegan I am most humbly praying that your life is filled with as many vegan days as possible

posted July 31, 2015 05:08 PM            

What went wrong, I mean how it wasn't good for you?

But how can people claim that it's unhealthy, even the ADA, the most conservative institution of them all (and we know the great influence of corporations in US, dairy and meat industry are huge) declared:
" It is the position of the American Dietetic Association that appropriately planned vegetarian diets, including total vegetarian or vegan diets, are healthful, nutritionally adequate, and may provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases. Well-planned vegetarian diets are appropriate for individuals during all stages of the life cycle, including pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, and adolescence, and for athletes."

And how can people deny the existence of thousands of super successful, even extreme athletes who are on the diet for decades. Or are they wonders of nature with magical genes?

It's like, sometimes I just wanna shout, people stop spreading lies, educate yourselves. All those who claim that vegan diet is bad have read one pop science article that claimed that and used it as an excuse.

posted July 31, 2015 05:21 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by juniperb:
I have heard many times that Veganism is an ethical decision. I concur if the vegan is aware plant material is a living organism with primary perception.

That said, the ethics involved is what amount of perception or life is valued .

---

You are absolutely entitled to have that opinion. But even if that was true: aren't we obliged to reduce the suffering as much as possible? We aren't possibly able to survive as a human race without having a plant based diet. Do we send ourselves to extinction? (maybe that wouldn't be a bad idea after all...) but I personally wouldn't like to starve myself to death (literally) just because I feel sorry for lettuce.

Also, reducing or even stopping the animal agriculture would seriously reduce the quantities of plants consumed, no matter how much we would stuff ourselves with them. You probably have heard about this fact, but I'll repeat it to remind you that by eating vegetables directly, you save many more plants’ lives than you would if you ate animals such as cows, who must consume 16 pounds of vegetation in order to produce 1 pound of flesh.

And last but not least:
I don't know why would your concern for plants' well being make you immune to animal suffering? They show their emotions very clearly, while plants don't.

posted July 31, 2015 05:28 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by madelineleo23:
Hello there, I have an Aquarius moon but I still wanted to chime in. About 2 years ago I came to the realization that McDonald's was disgusting (would get stomach aches and headaches after I ate it) so I stopped eating it.

For the past 6 months I've started to become disgusted by all red meat. Then this last month when I would eat red meat I would experience nausea and stomach aches so I've cut it out completely. Chicken is iffy for me but each and every day it starts to smell and taste more disgusting. I never thought this would happen to me...it's going to be a big change but I think it's for the better. I'm leaning more towards vegetarian though.

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Good for you!
I'm really proud of everyone who starts making changes. For me it was more impulsive, just jumping all in, because it was more an ethical decision and I was firm to do it, but anything in this direction is excellent, everyone has its own way
I do recommend you to read one small book, it's really short, but really fundamental and just plain facts, so that you at least consider veganism, it's called Eat like you care (Francione, Charlton), not pushing you or anything, but I think it's a good introduction book if you're interested to open your mind to veganism

posted July 31, 2015 06:41 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by Ayelet:
Hi Belba. I am a vegan since the age of fourteen. When I was seven my mom returned home and told me she had a conversation with a vegan doctor, who told her something really disgusting... that the animals we eat still has their... you know what... inside their bodies, which we eat them. So that is when I turned vegetarian, even though not a true vegetarian, since I kept eating eggs, which are meat. But I didn't know that. The doctor told her we can eat fish. That evening I saw the box of the starkish, the tuna. I saw that there was a drawing of a happy fish on it. It was actually a dolphin, and the company put this image so we'll know they weren't harming the dolphins while hunting the tuna fish. Again, at that time I didn't understand it. I thought they were showing me a tuna fish smiling, and I didn't like it. SO I refused to eat fish as well. At that day I understood that meat is dead bodies of creatures who were alive before, feeling creatures, much like myself. I became aware of that.

When fourteen I read "Star Signs" and found out eggs were meat, so I became truly a vegetarian, and in time a vegan. I should warn you, though, to take vitamin B12 and iron daily, as they are important. Linda wrote we don't need B12, but in my case at least she was wrong. I got problems due to deficit in B12 so now I am taking it consistently.

My family had no problem with me being vegan, they simply bought what I wanted to eat...(my mom stopped being a vegetarian after a short time, at least she didn't thought it was healthy anymore, but she had been abstaining from meat for many years, because she didn't like meat that much.

I wish you good luck in becoming a vegan. I guesss you have to become independent first, at least when it regards to food, eventually.

People who eat meat feel somtimes a certain inconvenience with people who are vegan or vegetarian. Not always, but sometimes. That is because they might feel guilty or self-conscious when someone defers from them in a moral sense. This is why meat eaters tried to "convert" me more than I tried to convert them. Because when I say I am a vegan, which thing happens mostly during any supper or dinner, they, subconsciouly or consciously, feel accused, even when I am gentle and don't try to force my ideology.

---

Hey I am so grateful that you shared your experience here, it's just makes me so warm fuzzy inside when I meet another vegan person, to become aware of their existence and their story thanks, means a lot!

Then for how long have you been a vegan?
It's my second month now and I am feeling great! I feel much calmer, have more energy and the first week I thought I saw more clearly, I kid you not!, not only in that metaphorical sense, but physically, like I had more acute senses. On the more "superficial" level: better digestion, my skin glows, regeneration of everything is just so much faster, I can see my cellulite melting, and I didn't even eat unhealthy before, so it's a real change

And also a feeling of being connected to something good. That never hurts

Well, with my family, the situation is somewhat specific, I won't go into details here, but in a way they have to accept vegan meals, because I do a lot of cooking and well, they can't be so ungrateful to reject my effort and also, our shopping list hasn't really changed much, since we have a garden with lot of home grown produce. Besides, they enjoy some of the vegan food, like hummus etc., so they don't mind buying foods we didn't as much before. They still don't mind insulting me, but they would find something else to nag about, so it's hardly a change in the atmosphere. It's just my sad reality of living with parent, for now, I have no other choice, but I've got a plan for the near future, so I just have to keep up with it for a while longer

I totally agree with your last paragraph. A sad, cruel reality. But I was never a person to be swayed by disapproval of others, it just makes me more strong and self assured.

Don't worry I take my necessary supplements, I don't want to give anyone a reason to use me to belittle veganism
Thanks for your kind words of support!

posted August 01, 2015 06:55 AM            

quote:

---

Originally posted by Ayelet:
Hi Belba. I am a vegan since the age of fourteen. When I was seven my mom returned home and told me she had a conversation with a vegan doctor, who told her something really disgusting... that the animals we eat still has their... you know what... inside their bodies, which we eat them. So that is when I turned vegetarian, even though not a true vegetarian, since I kept eating eggs, which are meat. But I didn't know that. The doctor told her we can eat fish. That evening I saw the box of the starkish, the tuna. I saw that there was a drawing of a happy fish on it. It was actually a dolphin, and the company put this image so we'll know they weren't harming the dolphins while hunting the tuna fish. Again, at that time I didn't understand it. I thought they were showing me a tuna fish smiling, and I didn't like it. SO I refused to eat fish as well. At that day I understood that meat is dead bodies of creatures who were alive before, feeling creatures, much like myself. I became aware of that.

When fourteen I read "Star Signs" and found out eggs were meat, so I became truly a vegetarian, and in time a vegan. I should warn you, though, to take vitamin B12 and iron daily, as they are important. Linda wrote we don't need B12, but in my case at least she was wrong. I got problems due to deficit in B12 so now I am taking it consistently.

My family had no problem with me being vegan, they simply bought what I wanted to eat...(my mom stopped being a vegetarian after a short time, at least she didn't thought it was healthy anymore, but she had been abstaining from meat for many years, because she didn't like meat that much.

I wish you good luck in becoming a vegan. I guesss you have to become independent first, at least when it regards to food, eventually.

People who eat meat feel somtimes a certain inconvenience with people who are vegan or vegetarian. Not always, but sometimes. That is because they might feel guilty or self-conscious when someone defers from them in a moral sense. This is why meat eaters tried to "convert" me more than I tried to convert them. Because when I say I am a vegan, which thing happens mostly during any supper or dinner, they, subconsciouly or consciously, feel accused, even when I am gentle and don't try to force my ideology.

---

Hey Ayelet! I am so grateful that you shared your experience here, it just makes me so warm fuzzy inside when I meet another vegan person, to become aware of their existence and their story thanks, means a lot!

Then for how long have you been a vegan?
It's my second month now and I am feeling great! I feel much calmer, have more energy and the first week I thought I saw more clearly, I kid you not!, not only in that metaphorical sense, but physically, like I had more acute senses. On the more "superficial" level: better digestion, my skin glows, regeneration of everything is just so much faster, I can see my cellulite melting, and I didn't even eat unhealthy before, so it's a real change.

And also a feeling of being connected to something good. That never hurts

Well, with my family, the situation is somewhat specific, I won't go into details here, but in a way they have to accept vegan meals, because I do a lot of cooking and well, they can't be so ungrateful to reject my effort and also, our shopping list hasn't really changed much, since we have a garden with lot of home grown produce. Besides, they enjoy some of the vegan food, like hummus etc., so they don't mind buying foods we didn't as much before. They still don't mind insulting me, but they would find something else to nag about, so it's hardly a change in the atmosphere. It's just my sad reality of living with parent, for now, I have no other choice, but I've got a plan for the near future, so I just have to keep up with it for a while longer

I totally agree with your last paragraph. A sad, cruel reality. But I was never a person to be swayed by disapproval of others, it just makes me more strong and self assured.

Don't worry I take my necessary supplements, I don't want to give anyone a reason to use me to belittle veganism
Thanks for your kind words of support!