i went vegetarian in 1999... i still haven't managed to go vegan.... but i try to eat organic cheese that does not have animal rennet in it...

I went vegetarian because I didn't see the difference between eating a chicken or eating my dog. Later on, I went vegan because I realized there was more I could do, and I wanted to remove myself, as much as possible, from the exploitation of other beings.

I am a vegan. And I love it! The main 3 reasons are for health, the animals and the environment. Factory farming causes so much pollution! A vegan in a hummer is better for our planet than the meat-eater on a bike. Now if there were more people who didn't eat meat, we could save about 100 animal lives every year! No animal should have to suffer for one's preference of taste, tradition, or convenience. The animals that we eat are fed large amounts of anti-bacterials and hormones so that they can grow superfast and stay alive since they are kept in such terrible growing conditions. There's no way I can put that into my body! You are what you eat! Great references to help you change your mind for good are The Food Revolution by John Robbins and Vegan Freak by Bob and Jenna Torres. Vegetarian Times and VegNews are great magazines, and FARM and Earthsave are great organizations promoting plant-based diets! Check it out and give it a try. Even for a week!

Would be nice if it was more than just one day.... :-)

I respect all of your choices to be vegetarian or vegan. If it is working for you, great. Please remember to respect those of us who remain meat and/or fish eaters. My husband is vegetarian and we manage to honour and respect each other's views, values and choices.
Remember, yogic vegetarianism arose out of a geographical location and culture that had other food choices available. The Inuit of the high Arctic either eat meat or die.
In addition, not everyone agrees with statements such as "eating meat is immoral",etc. Not everyone is interested in nor applies strict interpretations to yogic philosophy.

Enjoy your life, never becoming too entrenched in one's own particular views. Self-righteousness and judgmental attitudes are things to continually strive to overcome.

Namaste

Hi Tara,

I hope I wasn't coming off as direspectful. I was just trying to answer the question, "Why did you decide to eliminate animal products from your diet?"

I've read in numerous places that the Dali Lama eats meat. I thought I would throw that out there....

I was a vegetarian for many years before I went vegan. I love being vegan. I feel great and believe that a plant-based diet is one of the healthiest ways to eat. However, I chose to go vegan because I no longer felt right eating any animal products.

I have been a vegetarian for almost three years now and I am in the process of going vegan. I chose to go vegetarian because of the animals. After having animals of my own, it became so apparent that if my cat has such a distinct personality, so might a Cow, Chicken or Pig. And I couldn't bring myself to eat them anymore. I am having a hard time transitioning vegan just because I love cheese and yogurt too much but I do realize what affect it has on the animals and am in the process of quitting.

I went straight from a eating meat to being a vegan after watching A Diet for a New America last February. I'm very concerned with what factory farming is doing to our environment and our bodies. I'm also concerned with the pesticides sprayed on fruits and vegetables and try to eat organic as much as possible. I don't miss eating meat and have enjoyed searching for new recipes.

I have been a strict Ovo-vegetarian (no dairy products but do eat eggs) for almost a month now and I haven't felt better holistically. I feel so much more in tune with my body and the world at large. The mass production of food in the world today has contributed to some of its suffering. By choosing to be an Ovo-vegetarian I feel as though I am alleviating at least on a small level some of the pain we as humans are causing.

i became a vegetarian in 2001 after the mad-cow and foot-and-mouth disease breakouts in america and europe, and my research into why such things occur in the first place. i was so grossed out by factory animal husbandry that i wanted no part of it. i've waffled on eating fish for the past few years, but have decided that i'm done with that, too, what with water pollution, over-fishing, and fish-farming practices.

lately, i've been thinking about becoming vegan to remove myself from the animal-products mess altogether, though i'll have to remain ever-vigilant regarding the pesticides &etc which surround our plant foods. we can't ever really remove ourselves from all the food cycle's woes -- all our water, soil, and air sources are interconnected. one thing that i've found extremely helpful is becoming active in my city's "food circle" and becoming a member of a local, organic, community-supported farm ("CSA"). it really eases the mind to know your farmers and exactly where the food's originating. :)

namaste!

I became vegetarian 2 years ago, before going for my hatha yoga teacher training and vegan since July 1st this year. Animal rights was my reason to become vegan!
Namaste!

I became vegetarian 2 years ago, before going for my hatha yoga teacher training and vegan since July 1st this year. Animal rights was my reason to become vegan!
Namaste!

Tara - Perhaps you were moved to write in defense of your meat eating dietary decision b/c on some level you realize the inherent cruelty associated w/ the flesh food industry and that in the geographic location where you live (i'm assuming US or some other industrialized country) it is not necessary for your survival to contribute to a cycle that is violent and wasteful.

What about the choice to eat only organic, free range animal products in moderation? I read a really interesting article in The New Yorker about this. It's worth the long read.

I went veg in 1996 as a natural progression from studying yoga and after researching causes of joint pain. I eliminated dairy from my diet last year to improve my symptoms of IBS, which it did immensely. For me - spiritually and physically it works.

I really appreciate the comments from Tara and Jeanne Ricci; regardless of what we eat we should all love and respect each other.

Hari Om Tat Sat!

I was a vegetarian for almost 20 years, a vegan in the middle years and screaming alcoholic for about the first 10. I would think nothing of a vodka martini but would not touch an egg. When I married a Texan with two boys I began to eat the meat that was prepared with love though not raised with the same conciousness. Today, that same family eats much less meat and when I can, I beat my husband to the butcher to ensure the product is local, natural and raised with care. Life is complicated and the steps are small. Not everyone can go vegetarian and vegan seems unacceptable to many who struggle to put a meal on the table when families are stressed for time. I applaud the vegan community but there are also conscious choices between the WalMart Super Center meat department and the organic/locally grown lentil bin at Whole Foods.

Now we have facts and stats to prove Meat eating is ruining our planet and our love of all creatures. No argument for a meat diet can ever win, we are humans with a higher consciousness, Jesus said 'thou shalt not kill' he didn't mean only humans and the highest principle in Yoga is Ahimsa - non-violence, if we are Yogis it is therefore our duty to become vegetarian and start out Yoga practice. Yoga is not postures it is about who we are and how we can contribute positively to all creation.

I am vegetarian, but I am trying to become a vegan(I m actually 99.9% vegan: the0.01% consists on the time my parents force me too eat non purely vegan food: I let them time too get used to my vegan way of life because I just came back home after two years in my own appartment). My personnal reasons for becoming vegan are mostly ecological,even if the idea of hurting animals disgusts me either.

I've been vegan since October of 1994 with a couple of very quick slip-ups (not in many years at this point). I'm 40 years old and don't have the numerous health problems all the other people in my family have who eat a SAD diet. I also look younger than my age. I initially became vegan to keep my butt size down, stay healthy, and because I've always loved animals...but over the years the spiritual effects of it and my love for animals has become even more important. The idea of taking the life of a helpless animal so that I can live when it's not NECESSARY is incomprehensible to me. Every time an animal suffers, it's a knife in my heart. Because I'm a psychic medium, my diet also helps me do the work I do by lifting my vibratory level. The only issue being that I have a problem staying grounded. I get too lofty at times.

Hi Melissa,

I read your response to my email and read your link to YogaPulse. Great website!

I appreciate your comments, however, I must clear up a few things. First of all, no I'm not from the US. I'm Canadian and continue to live in Canada.
That is why I referred to the geographical origins and influences of human belief systems, philosophies, religions,etc. Our northern peoples - the Inuit - have traditionally (and continue to do so) hunted and eaten meats and fish. Otherwise they would be dead. There are no veggies, fruits, grains, tofu,etc,etc growing in the high Arctic. Never have been. Therefore, Inuit philosophies, traditions,etc include flesh eating as part of their culture. Despite contact with southern peoples of Canada they continue to hunt/fish. Some villages have western style foods flown in during the summer when it is possible to reach the villages (in winter they are cut off from the rest of the world).

This is but one example of meat/fish eating traditions in the vast array of human societies on the globe. Yogic inspired people do not have the lock on what is and is not moral/immoral, healthy/unhealthy.
This is not relativism. It is simple fact.

I appreciate you trying to understand my meat eating. However, please don't try to 'read into' my inner thoughts from a blog post. No, I don't have an inner belief that flesh eating is bad. In fact, I have spent much time in the past several years reflecting on the whole issue of eating meat and fish. I WAS vegetarian for a few years but found it lacking. Lacking in the sense that my body was telling me it wanted animal protein. My body works better with it, plain and simple. As well, travelling internationally and getting to know other peoples, cultures, traditions, relations with nature/animal life helped me to ponder the issue and resume eating meat. I personally do not believe it is immoral to hunt, kill and eat animals. This may not sit well with you but so be it. My husband disagrees with me but we have managed to learn to respect each others' opinions. A travel writer I recently read (sorry, can't remember his name!) wrote about the experience of being in a tiny village in a South-east Asian country. To paraphrase him he said: "You haven't really travelled until you have witnessed a smug Californian tourist lecturing an emaciated South-east Asian on the "evils" of eating meat"". This observation he wrote was from a real experience he had. Spending time in a harsh climate, away from the urban with nothing but yourself and nature can do just the opposite that vegans/vegetarians have concluded - develop a deep awareness of our interconnectedness with the planet (and food chain). Giving thanks to the animal that has given its life for you is powerful in its ability to stir one's own primal feelings, including the inherent cycle of life of which we humans belong.
Before readers write back and say this is romanticism, I do want to say I agree with the dislike for factory farming. We are all caught in its web as urban dwellers. Returning to more humane meat/fish eating practices is the way to go. We can learn from self-employed fishermen, aboriginal peoples, small farmers,etc how to take from the land only the amount we can put back in.

Namaste.
Tara

I was raised on a vegetarian diet from birth until age 6, started eating meat and then in my late 20's chose a vegetarian life, which has lasted about 13 years now.

My reasons have changed over the years for keeping the lifestyle. Originally, I came to a realization that I ate meat solely due to it's convenience and it's taste. I couldn't continue taking a life for those reasons--my concience took over. I still believe that if I lived in the wild and that was my only option for food, then fittist of the fittist would apply. But, in my life, I have many options of survival, so I couldn't see the justification. As I grew more educated of the animal practices that were legal (how we are allowed to raise our livestock--which is actually torture) and the unethical practices that take place, I couldn't in good concience, support that and I stopped buying leather products. My shoe collection has taken a major down turn since then. Recently, I've become aware of practices that are taking place in regards to cloning animals and the allowance to enter the human food chain. I became disturbed by the lack of scientific data of the ramifications that could occur with all the unknowns. Due to this, I have recently been investigating vegan options and must admit, I'm back to the struggle that took place my first 2 years becoming fully vegetarian. Now, it's more for health issues. I simply don't like the idea of being afraid of my food. Dairy will be the hardest thing for me to avoid, as I love cheese!

I became a vegetarian for health concerns and animal cruelty concerns 24 years ago. I am now a vegan for environmental concerns and to diminish suffering around the globe.

The planet needs us to do all we can to save it. Becoming a vegetarian or vegan is perhaps the most important way we can do our part.

If you think a hamburger is just a meal, consider this. Rainforests have been cleared to make room for cattle ranches and farms to grow feed for the cattle. Native rainforest people have been displaced or forced to work under slave conditions on these ranches and farms. Protestors and champions of the rainforests and their people have been murdered to silence them. Transporting the meat from South America to processors and fast food restaurants in America requires a lot of deisel fuel and causes more air pollution. (Yes I said America, corporate giants looking to save a penny or two per burger are importing beef.)

If you think you alone cannot make a difference, remember, we are all one. Everything is interconnected.

Namaste.
Beth

I've been vegetarian for 15 years and vegan for 14. I have never taken supplements and am the healthiest person I have ever known. My husband is also vegan as well as many of my other family members and we all feel better in so many ways for making this choice. Vegetarianism may even be credited with bringing me to yoga, because it was the philosophies that vegetarianism and yoga have in common (such ahimsa and being more in touch with my body) that made me want to learn more about yoga. I realize that for many the transition happens the other way around. For anyone considering becoming veg--it's pretty easy these days with so many great meat substitutes and great health food grocery stores and veg restaurants, but some find it difficult and do not know what to eat when trying to go veg. For that reason people will say they tried it but they were hungry all the time or they felt "their body needed meat". For anyone interested in going vegetarian or vegan, please pick up a book on it and baby step into it. Not only will it be easier that way, but you're more likely to stick with it.

I have been veg for 5 and 1/2 years and will be 4 years vegan on December 1st, '07. It started as a health concern standpoint for me but has progressed a great deal. Taking baby steps is a great idea. I have also heard many people say that they just couldn't cut it. They got sick or their hair started to fall out. When I asked one person, specifically, what they ate when they went vegan they said, " Burritos and stuff." Yeah, this was the one that lost the hair. I don't doubt that some people's bodies might do better with meat or some animal proteins every now and again but I think often people get easily sidetracked and broken down due to poor planning. Read a few books, maybe take a short vacation somewhere quiet and reflect on what it is that you are trying to do for yourself, for your world.

For those of you that I hear saying that you have been considering the step to veganism but just can't quite get there, you should try what I did to make that step. I approached becoming vegan by entering into a fast ( about a week ). This was very well planned. It seems that fasting is another thing that people tend to do improperly and, then, get turned off about it. For those of you who have fasted you will know that the re-introduction process at the end of the fast is truly amazing. You are tasting foods that you have eaten a million times before, but with a virgin mouth. The first thing that passes your lips you will cherish. This is a wonderful time to start appreciating that you need not the milk or skin of other animals.

I would like to say that everyone has an opportunity to be honest with themselves everyday. Listen to yourself.