Why Did You Go Vegan?

Merilee

I jumped straight into vegetarianism. I became a vegetarian in 7th grade. One night in May 2002 I sat at my dinner table, staring at my piece of meat. Usually I devoired such a meal, but this night was different. The next day, when I woke up, I declared myself vegetarian and never ate meat again. And who said you can't just wake up and be vegetarian?

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I had always considered being vegetarian ever since 4th grade when I was widely exposed to animals. I always have and always will be 100% devoted to saving animals' lives.

Luckily my mom was supportive of my decision and by June she was vegetarian as well. Sadly, my brother and dad still refused to switch. I went vegan on Monday, October 23, 2002. What made me switch was the Boston Vegetarian Festival which was held the previous weekend. I walked into the festival a vegetarian and walked out a partial-vegan. By Monday I was 100% vegan. At the festival there was a lecture by a Cornell professor. He really changed my life because I never knew that by eating meat you destroy the rainforest.

So ever since last weekend I have been vegan. It's been hard so far but worth it. I feel proud of my accomplishments and I love knowing that I can eat as much fresh veggies and fruit as I want without having to worry about having a heart attack at the age of 40.

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