Food shouldn't make you sick or feel bad

My mom told me that when I found out meat was an animal when I was around 6 years old, I was never the same. From that point on, my beef consumption was minimal to none. And, luckily, I've always hated fish or anything seafood, with a violent passion. Violent in that if I tasted it on accident, it would induce a serious gagging reflex and sometimes vomit. So, I've always eaten a primarily vegetarian diet. Except for chicken, which I ate sparingly and in phases. Dairy, on the other hand, didn't have the same affect on me, given that it didn't require killing an animal. It was a huge part of my diet until a little over a year ago. Throughout my life, I've consumed ice cream and ranch dressing in frighteningly large quantities.

As I grew a little older, and became more aware of how food made my body feel, I started to think that there was something wrong with eating dairy. It just didn't feel right anymore. Cheese especially began to make my stomach ache and made me so lethargic after eating it. So, I've known for maybe 5-7 years that I would eventually be vegan. I knew it was something I wanted and that it would happen because it just made sense. I've read enough about nutrition and the human body throughout my life to know that a plant based diet has been scientifically proven, over and over, to be the key to a healthy and disease-free life. I also just knew how I felt after eating a plant based meal vs. a meat based, cheesy meal. There was always a world of difference. So why did it take me so long to make the decision and take the leap? Human behavior is to blame, I suppose. Habit, fear of change? Probably both. Also, I've never in my life been able to be on a 'diet'. The psychological implications of certain foods being off-limits or a restriction of how much I could eat just made me obsess about it, resulting in failure. I didn't want to do this until I knew I could be successful. It was very important to me and I didn't want to try and fail over and over again and create negative associations.

A quiet vegetarian

Always being a supportive yet concerned parent, my mother made an appointment with my pediatrician when I suddenly declared myself a vegetarian at age 11 in 1984. I felt victorious when I heard my doctor respond, “Well, she’ll be healthier than the rest of your family.” On the way home, my mother stopped by the local bookstore and purchased Diet for a Small Planet by Frances Moore Lappe. Despite my physician’s professional opinion, she was terrified that my new diet would be gaping with nutritional holes.

Admittedly, my self-imposed dietary restrictions meant I would subsist on Morningstar Farm’s “Grillers” (the original veggie burger) and cheddar cheese—lots and lots of cheddar cheese—which wasn’t the best way to eat. But I was swearing off meat because I couldn’t stand the thought of eating anyone, not because it was a healthier diet.

It came easily to me. I found that all I had to do was think a little bit harder about what I was putting into my mouth. I started reading food labels and navigating restaurant menus and that was that—I never looked back. However, I quickly discovered that no matter how comfortable I was with my dietary decision, others around me were not. In fact, I was regularly interrogated and challenged by anyone who discovered I was a vegetarian, despite the fact that I was a quiet one.

Most responded as if I had attacked them personally, as if my taking advantage of meat-free food options was a direct comment on their carnivorism, despite the fact that I never (ever!) broached the subject without invitation. I suspect the judgment they were feeling was from within; and if I could make even one person stop and consider the way they were eating, I was willing to have that uncomfortable conversation.

I am still a vegetarian, but I have evolved beyond Grillers and cheddar cheese. It has been a process, a natural progression. I stopped eating animals when I was a kid because I love animals. I have recently stopped eating animal products because I could no longer talk myself into believing that nobody has to die in exchange for a glass of milk and that eggs could never become chickens because they are not fertilized. The health factor is still an added benefit for me, a freebie.

Jake's random thoughts about becoming a vegetarian

I stopped eating meat in 1996 when my wife also decided to become a vegetarian for health reasons. I thought it would be easier if we ate the same meals, and I also thought it would be a healthy choice for me. I was never a big meat eater, especially as a kid, but I enjoyed hamburgers and meat in foods such as chili and spaghetti. During the first six weeks a vegetarian diet took some getting used to, and meat was still very tempting. For anyone deciding to become a vegetarian I’d recommend having a large number of interesting recipes on hand because you’ll be eating different meals than what you enjoyed as a meat-eater.

At first, tofu and vegetarian hot dogs did not seem very good but now I love them. When dining at restaurants, vegetarians need to ask if rice, soups or dips are prepared with chicken stock. And you might automatically get bacon bits on your salad or baked potato, so vegetarians will need to be vigilant about making sure that meat is not a hidden component of their meals out. Some restaurants are more vegetarian-friendly than others, and most can create something with veggies and pasta if there are no other options.

Life.Is.Beautiful

When I turned vegan, my whole life changed. I had been vegetarian for a few years already. That decision was based on a desire to protect animals, and I had heard snippets about veganism from various sources for a long time. I wasn’t able to go all the way until one day my best friend asked me to accompany her to Red Mango (a frozen yogurt chain). I went with her and we sat down and then I looked at the yogurt she had ordered: fully realizing now what it was, where it came from, and the animals that were harmed in getting it to her plate. That, coupled with a horrendous visit I had to an animal market in Ecuador a few months before, absolutely sealed the deal. I was done.

Then, I was better. In every single way.

Let's start with physically. I feel more comfortable in my own skin. My hair looks and feels so healthy. My nails are much stronger than they ever were when I was eating dairy. They don't break at all. And my skin! I still have scars from teenage acne and bruises, but my skin is glowing and healthy and not dry or rough, and I QUIT BREAKING OUT. How come no one ever told me getting rid of dairy would do that?! I don't need as much sleep. I have much more energy. I also just sort of "settled" at this perfect balance and harmony with my body physically to where it sort of knows what's good and what's not. If I spent a night eating lots of junk food and doing horrible things before, my body would have a meltdown. Now, it sort of just bounces back quickly to balance, as does my mind. Which leads me to....

Mentally. This is the biggest. I struggled a lot for the better part of my childhood and adolescence with depression and other issues. Everything seemed to be really hard. Now...stuff just...slips away. I feel lighter. I don't get mad as easily, or at all. I used to have a crazy hot temper, and now I just feel calm and peaceful. And happy. I know, if you aren't vegan, you are reading this and thinking, this girl is freaking nuts. Even if you are vegetarian, you don’t know yet how much of a huge impact cutting out dairy can have on your body and mind. But it's like a personality transformation...one that's here to stay because it's not based on drugs or anything artificial. I feel so happy, so grateful to be alive, and I think it's because my body isn't trying to process all the negative intake. Not to mention, the days that I eat macro or raw...I cannot stop smiling.

I don't care if the animal dies, I just can't metabolize it

My title comes from a Far Side cartoon - meat packing sign read 'we only kill depressed cows' and a picture of cows saying 'kill me, eat me'.

In 1987 my 15 year-old daughter became a vegetarian. I believed she did it only to inconvenience me. Ten years later she had the pleasure of hearing me say 'you were right'.

In February 1996 my doctor told me to just go home, dial 9-1 and wait for the stroke/heart attack to hit before I dialed that last 1. I was 47 years-old, 40 pounds overweight, and my cholesterol was 427. Serendipity rules, and at home I had a newly purchased book by Dr. Dean Ornish, HEART DISEASE REVERSAL in which he professed 'no meat, no fish, no chicken, no eggs, no oil, no cheese'. He recommended 'cold turkey' so to speak, as drastic steps bring drastic positive results so I went that route. I did miss meat and chicken for a year or so, but the immediate increase in energy, well being, and feeling clean were big payoffs.

I would never, could never, go back to eating meat, fish or chicken. I did not last long without eggs and cheese, but today I'm at a healthy weight and my cholesterol is (drum roll, please) 156.

Can't quite say why I stopped eating animals

I don’t remember the tipping point. I adored animals as a child; my first word was my grandma's dog's name, Cha-Cha. But the death of animals was all around me. I spent the early part of my life not far from a meat-packing plant. My grandma worked there for a time. The smell of death wafted through the neighborhood, and on her. It's an unforgettable stench.

My father was a hunter. It wasn't unusual to come home from school and find deer hanging from our garage rafters, dripping blood all over the cold cement floor. My dad shot squirrels, birds, fish, frogs, creatures I can't even remember. We ate them all. (Forced.) He even shot our pets in the backyard when it was time to put them down. But we didn’t eat them. Though, I don’t know why. What’s the difference really? I was a reluctant meat eater as a young girl. I had my suspicions.

My recollection is fuzzy because it’s been about 22 years since I’ve eaten an animal. One day I just stopped. I don’t recall the last animal I ate. I can’t say why I made the decision. I didn’t read something that changed my mind. I had never met a vegetarian in my life. It wasn’t for animal rights (that came full force two years later). I wasn’t informed about the cruelty of factory farming. It wasn’t for the environment. This was the 80s—no one cared. And it wasn’t for my health. Back then people actually thought eating animal protein was necessary and nutritious.

If I had to put my finger on it, looking back, I think the answer as to why I stopped eating animals was for my spiritual growth. I believe it was my Higher Self nudging me that I could do better. That I could grow more. How can I know love if I am consuming the energy of fear and terror? How can I know peace if I am choosing to partake in cruelty and violence? How can I help the world to heal if I am complicit in its dark ways? These weren’t conscious thoughts then, but they’re conscious now.

One person can make a huge difference

I became vegan almost two years ago. I skipped the vegetarian bit (although I’d given up red meat some years earlier) and dived straight into the vegan pool, to realise I’m a strong swimmer. But to swim well, I’ve discovered, you need to have reasons for doing it. In my pool, there are plenty of sharks to keep me on task. The more reasons you have for becoming vegan, the less it feels like a diet. The more reasons, and being vegan simply becomes a fabulous way of life.


Growing up in a regional Australian town where the main industries were (and still are) meat and dairy, it was just a given that my parents would serve up animal products at every meal. Being allergic to dairy from birth still didn't stop me from eating ice cream and drinking chocolate milk. I constantly see-sawed between slim and chubby. Regardless of my weight, I felt I carried a toxic layer of fat around with me. Although I couldn't explain it back then. I just knew my body wasn't quite right. The real me was somehow hidden underneath a layer that wasn't meant to be there. No matter how much weight I'd lose, I just didn't feel right.


It wasn't until I moved to Los Angeles in early 2007 that I began to explore and immerse myself in the vegan culture there. I became vegan after completing my Reiki I certificate (an energetic healing modality). I turned vegan the very next day and gave up a two-year addiction to coffee.


Since leading a 100% vegan lifestyle for the past two years, it's not only my body that has changed shape. I'm mentally clear and find I don't have nearly as much mental chatter going on as I would have in my pre-vegan days. I feel more connected to source, or God, if you will. I have a life purpose that drives me like nothing has before. I also have a spiritual connection to the food I eat. Dinner is no longer just a meal to stop the hunger pains. It's a conscious action that affects my life in countless wonderful ways.

Diving into veganism

Last night I told a friend that if someone told me a year ago that I’d become a vegan, I wouldn’t have believed them. Just a little over a month ago, I was eating cheese, yogurt, eggs, chicken and fish regularly, and red meat on a less frequent basis.

But this past October, I read something that made me reconsider the way I eat. Specifically, it was an excerpt from Jonathan Safran-Foer's book Eating Animals. His widely recognized assertion that animal agriculture is responsible for more environmental devastation than any other factor made me basically sit up and take notice.

I do consider myself an environmentalist. I drive a hybrid car, I recycle everything, I try to be thoughtful about what I purchase and how I consume. Except I hadn’t yet made the connection, or more aptly, the disconnection - between continuing to eat animal products (even though I was eating mostly organic) and helping to repair or stop the destruction of the environment. Until that article. At that point, I started to investigate things a little further.

I discovered that turkeys raised for meat (and poultry altogether) are one of the least humanely treated animals and are also extremely dissimilar from their natural genetic form. I insisted that my family get a free-range, organic, “heritage” turkey for Thanksgiving. But honestly, I felt a little bad and guilty about eating the turkey on Thanksgiving. I didn’t wholeheartedly enjoy it.