Some people have "light-bulb" moments when it comes to veganism. They may have been diagnosed with a life-threatening illness, or visited a slaughterhouse, or even read a book or seen a movie that opened up their eyes to animal suffering.
Others meet vegetarianism slowly. They may have friends or family members who are veg; they might have gone veg to save money; or they might have dabbled in vegetarianism in order to prevent health problems like high-blood pressure and heart disease.
Still, others become veg due to what seems like a natural progression in their lives. Maybe they've always enjoyed eating grains and produce more than animal products; maybe they were already vegetarian and veganism seemed like the logical next step; or maybe their idea of "going green" included doing less harm to animals, the planet, and themselves.
All of these are great reasons to adopt a vegetarian/vegan lifestyle. And, FYI, you don't have to be an animal rights activist, "yoga freak," liberal, health fanatic, environmentalist, hippy, millionaire, arugula-lover, or even a finger-wagger to go veg (although all are welcome). The only thing that matters is that you come to it with an open heart and mind.
Become an expert on what your body needs. Decide what your priorities are. Determine what's driving you to make a change in your life. Are you concerned about your health? The environment? The ethical treatment of animals? Or something else?
Even if you're not ready to become vegan/vegetarian, that doesn't mean you shouldn't start scaling back the amount of animal products you consume. You might want to begin by cutting certain types of meat/dairy out of your diet. Or try eating one completely veg meal every day, eating exclusively vegetarian meals on the weekends or during one weekday, or even taking the 30-Day Veg Pledge. Another great way to start is by preparing veggie versions of things that you typically eat (ex: veggie pizza, spaghetti with marinara sauce, veggie burgers, etc.) Alternatively, you could eat veg while cooking at home, but continue eating non-veg meals while out at restaurants.
The bottom line is this: no matter how small of a step you take towards vegetarianism, you're taking a huge step towards better health for you, the animals, and our environment.
Need some encouragement? Try these articles on for size...
"I don't understand why asking people to eat a well-balanced vegetarian diet is considered drastic, while it is medically conservative to cut people open."
- Vegetarian Foods: Powerful for Health - an article packed with information about the health benefits of vegetarianism
- Vegan Diet Reduces Risk of Arthritis, Heart Attack, and Stroke
- High IQ Link to Being Vegetarian - here's an interesting look at a possible link between vegetarianism and higher IQs!
- On Cancer and a Vegetarian Diet - a look at various sources linking vegetarianism to a decrease in cancer
- 22 Reasons to Go Vegetarian Right Now - this article contains a wide variety of health-related (and other) reasons for going veg
- Health Benefits of Vegetarian Diets
- Animal Protein and Fat Raise Endometrial Cancer Risk - this provides the full text of one of the articles referred to in "On Cancer and a Vegetarian Diet"
- Rheumatoid Arthritis? Try a Gluten-Free Vegan Diet
"You have just dined, and however scrupulously the slaughterhouse is concealed in the graceful distance of miles, there is complicity."
- Boiling Mad: Crabs Feel Pain - a recent article that takes a fascinating look at crabs and their ability to feel/respond to pain
- How Free is "Free-Range?" - an article covering some of the myths surrounding the treatment of "free-range" hens
- Upton Sinclair, Now Playing on YouTube - an undercover vegan goes to work at a slaughterhouse, with a hidden camera...
- Shedding Light on the Treatment of Dairy Cows
- Our Pigs, Our Food, Our Health - an article about how pig farms can lead to antibiotic-resistant staph infections in humans
- Slaughterhouses (note: as the title suggests, this article is contains graphic pictures/information)
- Fish Do Feel Pain, Scientists Say
- Animals in Product Testing - this article provides an entry-point for more information regarding the perils of animal testing
"Refusing meat is the single most effective thing you can do to reduce your carbon footprint."
- Vegetarian is the New Prius - an interesting article about the importance of vegetarianism with respect to going "green"
- Rethinking the Meat-Guzzler - a recent NYT article that discusses the negative effects of our country's high-consumption of meat
- Factory Farming - some of the ways it harms our planet and the animals
- Environmental Destruction
- The Case Against Meat - how the production/consumption of meat harms our environment and exacerbates global hunger
- Global Warming - how a non-veg diet contributes to global warming
- Eating Less Meat Could Cut Climate Costs
"At the moment our human world is based on the suffering and destruction of millions of non-humans. To perceive this and to do something to change it in personal and public ways is to undergo a change of perception akin to a religious conversion. Nothing can ever be seen in quite the same way again because once you have admitted the terror and pain of other species you will, unless you resist conversion, be always aware of the endless permutations of suffering that support our society."