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  Posted by happycowgirl at 03/21/12 19:42:12

  Q1/How long have you been a Vegetarian?
  24 years
  
  Q2/Was there anything in particular that made you make the change?
  Yes. I was eating lunch in the school cafeteria. The lunch lady sliced a piece of turkey onto my plate. I sat down to eat and I could see a large vein in it. A light bulb went off in my head and I made the connection that the turkey on my plate was once a living, breathing animal.
  
  Q3/Did you make the change gradually or overnight?
  Sitting at the cafeteria table, I said to myself I'd try to not eat any animals for a month. I still ate fish. At the end of that month, I stopped eating fish too.
  
  Q4/Did you do any research into dietary requirements before making the change?
  No. I did it for the animals. I would not discover the health benefits until years later.
  
  I should add that I recently went vegan. Vegan means not only no meat or fish, but also no animal products of any kind. That's no dairy products (milk, cheese, yogurt), no eggs, no honey. I knew that vegans need to take B12. You can take a multivitamin or supplement. It's also found in fortified nutritional yeast, some supermarket cereals, and fortified soy and rice milks as well as in some "mock meats".
  
  Q5/Do you believe it's a diet that benefits your body?
  Absolutely. A vegetarian diet gives you good blood pressure, lots of energy, and a reduced risk of developing heart disease, diabetes and certain types of cancer. That sounds pretty good to me. Since I've gone vegan, the health benefits are even better. Vegan foods are cholesterol-free and they're more likely to be low in saturated fat and calories and high in fiber, complex carbohydrates, and cancer-fighting antioxidants.
  
  Q6/Did you notice any immediate changes in your health (like clearer skin or more energy)?
  High cholesterol is in my family. But my doctor tells me my cholesterol profile is that of an elite athlete. And I'm not an elite athlete! I went vegetarian so young that I can't say for certain my excellent cholesterol levels are from being vegetarian, but it sure seems that way.
  
  When I went vegan, I noticed immediate health benefits. The first two weeks were hell as I suffered through withdrawal from dairy. After that, I felt incredible! It was an overall feeling of absolute health.
  
  Q7/Have you ever had any issues with nutritional deficiencies?
  Oh, please. With all due respect, this is such a ridiculous question. Read the book called The China Study by Thomas Campbell and you will see why a vegetarian (actually, a vegan) diet is the healthiest on earth.

  
  
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  Posted by VeganWorldDomination at 03/21/12 20:49:11

  Q1/How long have you been a Vegetarian? 14 yrs
  
  Q2/Was there anything in particular that made you make the change?
  I was at a petting farm. It was an apple orchard where they also had a petting zoo. I pet a baby pig, a calf and held a turkey and stroked its feathers. My girlfriend and I made up names for them. At dinner that night I was trying to figure out what to order and it hit me. I can't eat pigs, cows or turkeys anymore. For the longest time I just wouldn't eat pigs, cows or turkeys. Chickens were fair game b/c I hadn't hugged one of those. That's what I told myself anyway. After a while, I gave up all meat and fish and became a full vegetarian.
  
  Q3/Did you make the change gradually or overnight?
  Pigs, cows and turkeys I gave up eating them overnight. The rest happened gradually.
  
  Q4/Did you do any research into dietary requirements before making the change? No.
  
  Q5/Do you believe it's a diet that benefits your body?
  Yes. No doubt about it.
  
  Q6/Did you notice any immediate changes in your health (like clearer skin or more energy)? I lost weight, felt healthier b/c when I got rid of the meat I added more vegetables and fruits.
  
  Q7/Have you ever had any issues with nutritional deficiencies? None.

  
  
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  Posted by Tomzie at 03/22/12 14:02:51

  Hi Jess,
  Glad I could help ya!
  
  Q1/How long have you been a Vegetarian?
  10 years
  
  Q2/Was there anything in particular that made you make the change?
  When I was younger it was animal welfare that did it for me, currently it's plainly sustainability.
  
  About a year ago I did go vegan for my health though. But, I'm still vegetarian just because of sustainability as a whole, i.o.w. the amount of water necessary to produce meat vs. the amount of water needed to produce some soy. Not necessarily "animal" welfare...
  
  Q3/Did you make the change gradually or overnight?
  Overnight, the day after my birthday.
  
  Q4/Did you do any research into dietary requirements before making the change?
  No, absolutely not.
  
  Q5/Do you believe it's a diet that benefits your body?
  No, not necessarily. It depends on what you eat of course.
  
  Q6/Did you notice any immediate changes in your health (like clearer skin or more energy)?
  Absolutely not, I just continued looking exactly the way I looked. I'm skeptical about my body loving the diet.
  
  Q7/Have you ever had any issues with nutritional deficiencies?
  Yes, a B12 deficiency.

  
  
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  Posted by groovychick at 03/23/12 09:37:48

  Q1- I became a vegetarian about a year ago and went vegan not too long after that. I wish I would have done it earlier
  
  Q2- I wanted to make the change after watching some videos about how much food humans consume in a life time. I was disgusted by the fact that humans ate like 2,000 chickens and a few TONS of beef. I also watched some of those animal cruelity videos and cried.I went vegan after going to my grandparents' house with my cousin. My cousin has been vegan for a while and I was vegetarian so our grandma cooked us the same things. I realized that being vegan is easy and later I watched some of those animal cruelity in the dairy farms videos and made up my mind.
  
  Q3- I made the change gradually because I knew that my dad would be upset. Stupid reason, I know. I stopped eating meat except for fish then I stopped eating that. Later I stopped eating dairy products and eggs then I became vegan.
  
  Q4- I didn't really do any research before making the change. I kind of just knew what to eat.
  
  Q5- This diet only benefits your body if you eat the right things. People think that anything vegan is healthy but you could be vegan and live off of French fries and soda.
  
  Q6- I didn't notice too many changes. My dad said that my hair was falling out but it wasn't. I had more energy and got more compliments on my skin.
  
  Q7- I have not had any nutritional deficiencies. Actually when I was younger before I stopped eating meat, my doctor told me that I needed more iron. Since I became vegan, everything has been normal.

  
  
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  Posted by GenevieveandJess at 04/13/12 20:05:24

  For everyone who has responded, I can't thankyou enough, your feedback has been invaluable and I really appricate your taking the time to help me with this.