Why are you a vegan rather than a vegetarian?!
Answers: Just curious for those vegans out there who have taken the next step and why. Thanks :)
I can only answer for myself, and I'll warn you that the vegetarians in the crowd are likely not going to appreciate my answer:
Let me first say that I believe strongly that any compassionate act is better than no compassionate act. It's better to do something rather than nothing. For the record, I think vegetarians are freaking awesome people.
I am vegan for many reasons, but I am an ethical vegan first. I don't believe there is such a thing as ethical vegetarianism for the simple reason that the consumption of eggs and dairy and the use of non-vegan products promotes and supports cruelty to animals, which is completely unethical. There is no getting around it. If you eat chicken eggs - even if you abstain from eating chicken flesh - you're still contributing to the unbelievable suffering of chickens. Those chickens will be spent in a matter of months, and then they'll be slaughtered and made into nuggets. If you consume dairy - even though you're not consuming the flesh of the cow - you're still contributing to the exploitation of that cow and the murder of her calves. That cow will be spent in a matter of months, and then she'll be ground into beef.
Veganism wasn't my "next step." When I was omni, and learned the truth about the animal agriculture industry and the facts surrounding vegan nutrition, the only logical response was to become vegan.
In my experience, veganism is neither extreme nor is it difficult. At the very least, it's enlightening and empowering.
And that's why I'm vegan rather than vegetarian. :-)
i think you should be asking the opposite question.
Why won't you eat animals but still buy products such as milk and eggs where they have never seen the sun and live in boxs and not just for a few months like meat animals but for the rest of there tortured life.
personally i think being veggy is a start but if you cared in the slightest you wouldn't drink milk as even free range still have there calves snatched from them and often killed if they are boys.
I was a vegetrian all my life, then a few months ago I really started to do some research and I realized that I did not want to support the dairy and egg industry either!
Plus, it really makes me sad to know that baby cows are taken from their moms just so people can drink milk! which we really do not need! Its too cruel.
I like vegetarians, becuase its better to do something versus nothing! Plus, I was a vegetarian for 30 years!
I do wish I had made the change years ago though.
Bunni, I'm a vegetarian, bought my own hens which are the most pampered girls in the Highlands so my eggs are cruelty-free. I also go to a local farmer for my milk and know that he treats his cattle humanely and compassionately and I know they graze in the fields. It also helps the local economy considering he gets near to nothing thanks to the government quotas.
I have been considering taking the vegetarian route.....adopting a vegan lifestyle would be a huge leap for me
I am 16 and i have been a vegetarian for 2 years now, but i chose to be a Lacto-ovo-vegetarian(someone who doesnt eat animal flesh or animal bi-products,but eats dairy and eggs),instead of a vegan,, because A vegan cant eat or do a lot of things you are used to. for instance anything made or that has came from an animal is strictly forbidden...doesnt leave you many options does it?? but either way vegan or vegitarian your saving animals, so they're both good.
There is really only one good reason for switching from a normal vegetarian diet to a vegan one... animal welfare. There are other reasons (ecological, health), but they take a back seat when it comes to a completely vegan lifestyle that is chosen and not a requirement of faith.
::edit:: Mockingbird, not the only reason, just the most prominent by a long shot.
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Bunni, could you repeat that? It's kind of hard to hear you when you're so far away atop your moral high horse.
i was vegetarian for 6 years and my grandpa is a farmer and recently started his own dairy farm.At first i never went in there at all but 1 time i need to and after seeing what i seen i stright away started to think going vegan,and now I'm vegan an still healthy
that was only 1 reason of me going vegan,but there is many more
Buying milk supports the veal industry.
On egg farms, when chicks are born they are sexed. The males are thrown into plastic garbage bags.
For me it was primarily the realization that the dairy and egg industries are as cruel and the meat industries. I don't have a particular ethical issue with someone keeping their own chickens in favorable conditions and eating their unfertilized eggs, but for most people truly knowing the source of your milk and eggs isn't possible or practical. I don't want to support those industries anymore, so I don't.
One responder said animal welfare is the only reason to go vegan, but I disagree. If you read The China Study you'll understand why, for some of us anyway, personal health was also a major consideration.
I became a vegan first of all because the dairy and especially the egg industry are as cruel as the meat industry. I think the egg industry is worse. Animals used for milk and eggs are still going to be killed and used for food once they are spent, too. Remember the recent horror of the meat recall, with the downer cows-- those were spent dairy cows. Yes, I could have tried to have found "free-range" and "cruelty-free" milk and eggs, but it is known that packaging on these products can be deceptive. What is "cruelty-free?" It was far easier for me to just give up all the animal products. That way, I knew I had a clear conscience.
At first, I just did the diet, but then it extended into a way of life-- the household products, clothing, etc. I'm not extreme, but I do the best I can. I got to the point where I didn't want any animal hurt to make something for me. I also realized how much healthier a vegan diet is, and the environmental impact. My primary reason is compassion for animals, but now I have even more good reasons, too.