how did you become vegan and when?!

[vegma]

I was wondering what brought everyone to a vegan diet/lifestyle … and at what age! My husband made fun of me the other night when I commented that I thought I was born to be a <dietary> vegan! I never liked milk or cheese and literally forced myself to eat cheese as a teenager to go along with the pizza craze. And I had a bad experience with a pet calf (I won’t go into more detail) as a preschooler that made me refuse to eat meat for months. But my folks didn’t know any other way and I eventually embraced omni-hood, if you will …until my son was born when I was 40. His milk allergy prompted me to quit all dairy products (he was getting milk protein through my breastmilk). After his dad decided to join us in dairy-free, we decided to give up meat/eggs – for health reasons. So now we have a 3-year-old, vegan since birth, and those old feelings I experienced as a preschooler are resurfacing, and I have to question my diet-only “veganism”. Dh, on the other hand, is not ready for that step, but I think he will get there as he too is very sensitive to animals. He’s the one that introduced me to the “bug jar” when we were first dating – you catch the bug in the jar and toss it outside Sorry this got so long. Hope to hear your stories!

[Erin Pavlina]

If you haven't seen the section already, we have a huge list of stories of why people went vegan. They're a fun read. Go to http://www.vegfamily.com/why-vegan/index.htm

But I'll tell my story briefly here. My husband wanted to go vegan for health reasons but I thought it was way too extreme. I decided to try it for 30 days and loved it! I then learned about the cruelties inflicted on animals and became vegan for ethical reasons as well.

I'm so happy to have discovered veganism. And I'm grateful to be raising my kid(s) on a vegan diet. I was so sickly growing up on fast food. I want to spare my children the misery I suffered.

[vegma]

Oops, sorry, didn't mean to duplicate. I'll look at that section. Thanks