To all vegetarians! Why have you stopped at vegetarian?!
Answers:
I am a vegan of 2 years, and was veggie for 2 years before that, so I'll tell you what I thought and felt during the time I was vegetarian.
I hardly ate dairy and eggs at all, only when they were prepared for me by others, or in social situations. I'd never buy them of my own accord. I was a real people pleaser and unwilling to "rock the boat"; being on good terms with others was really important to me and I was afraid of what they would think if I went vegan. I was afraid that I'd have to arm myself with every fact and every diplomacy technique under the sun in order not to reinforce negative stereotypes about veganism.
In the end I worked myself up enough to jump over the line by reading literature by Will Tuttle and T. Colin Campbell, and being around a circle of vegans who were among some of the nicest, most reasonable people I'd ever met. I haven't looked back. Sure, I did feel uncomfortable with the initial reactions from friends and family as I knew I would, but it got less as time went by. Just like any uncomfortable experience, it really helped me to grow and change as a person and become more assertive.
There. That's my story.
To all vegans! Why have you stopped at vegan?
Are you considering becoming a fruitarian? Why are you sticking with veganism?
You have to realize that not everyone is traveling down the same path as you are, and those that are will not always be at the same point as you. Some will be farther along and some will be farther behind. Sometimes the ones who aren't as far as you will want to keep moving, and sometimes they'll be comfortable where they are. If there ultimate goal doesn't meet your expectations, it doesn't really matter. They have to do what is right for them. You do what's right for you.
vegan
I'm a vegan now, but I would not have liked this question before I made the transition. Vegetarians are painfully aware that vegans are seen as crazy and it's not easy to eat vegan in restaurants or find vegan meat substitutes in the local grocery store. On top of that, most vegetarians I would say have a slightly less mature understanding of the issues, though better than most people. They put a lower priority on learning about and taking action on these issues. Most serious vegetarians, I think, would go vegan with a little push but they haven't gotten it yet.
I have been a vegetarian (dairy and eggs) for over half my life, and would never consider being totally vegan. I don't believe in eating animals, but I also don't believe in sacrificing my health for any reason. I have done extensive research into the subject, and I've found there really is no way to maintain a long term vegan diet and remain in optimal health. Humans do need specialized protiens only found in meat and animal products. Eggs and dairy readily provide those protiens. I would personally rather get dairy and eggs (which do not require killing the animal) from local dairys and farms where the animals are raised in humane conditions, and allowed to live out their lives after their production run is over (I have been buying from the same family farm for 10 years, and they welcome people to come see their farm, which also means I've seen the conditions the animals live in, which I feel is righteous for the animals, and they are not slaughtered after they stop producing). This way, I get the nutrients I need to maintain optimal health, but I don't have to sacrifice any animals lives. I have been able to maintain my health and a meat-free lifestyle for 12 years by doing this. If you notice, many of the hardcore vegans go back to either some animal products, or to full meat eaters again after not very long. Why? Because they don't feel healthy. In fact, I don't know of anyone who has been totally vegan for more than a couple years, but plenty of vegetarians who have been so for decades, or their whole life. Hope this helps.
Vegetarian for 12 years
I've been a vegetarian for the past 12 years, I was raised on a farm where we would raise animals and then sell them to be butchered which is why I became a vegetarian in the first place! Now that I'm older I have my own farm but it's a hobby farm where I keep the animals just as pets. It's natural for cows to produce milk and chickens to lay eggs, if they couldn't do this it would hurt them, it doesn't hurt them to produce these items so I see no problem in eating them. But the way animals are butchered is cruel and inhumane in most cases which is why I won't eat meat.
I'm just starting to become a vegetarian. I havn't ate any meat for a few days and plan to stick with it.
I think that if i tried to go 100% vegan right now, i would give up...It is going to be hard enough without meat so as of now, no. Later on in life once i'm completely comfortable being a vegetarian, i would like to try.
I don't know though because meat can *mostly* be replaced but it's harder with milk and cheese...considering i find soy milk/almond milk/etc. to be soooo disgusting...and i live in a small town with ONE grocery store and they don't carry any vegan/vegetarian alternatives. I basically live in a small town that is obsessed with meat. It is ALL agriculture so...no help to me. lol
I'm trying to go vegan, but it's not easy... What's holding me back is milk chocolate (even though I love dark chocolate just as much), cheese, cookies, greek yogurt and the convenience of being a lacto-ovo vegetarian. I really wish they would have vegan sweets (especially vegan cookies, yogurt) available in more places. :/
In short, due to the lack of food available to vegans & especially in Ireland (my country) compared to other huge global economies like America. In fact there is no local vegetarian store at all in my area & i live in the capital.
Then there is the difference between not consuming anything animal-related & being an aware buyer. In ireland all animal-related products are traceable to the exact farm & in 99% of cases are sole-traders. Lets just say the unfertilised eggs etc that i eat come from people who make their living off their animals & 100% rely on it.
The cattle here are treated VERY highly, a famous irish ad for butter recently was taking the p*ss out of our high quality with the farmers playing classical music as they grazed, walking them with umbrellas in the rain etc.
Basically i only eat animal-related products when i know where its from & how its operation works
i became a vegetarian because of mainly the health benefits you can get but also because i don't really like the thought of killing an animal just for food, but i feel that there aren't enough available vegan foods you can buy from shops or restaurants to persuade me to turn vegan.
Two reasons-cheese and leather. I love cheese too much to give it up. I've tried a lot of vegan cheese, even made my own and nothing is even acceptable.
The leather thing-I'm not a big leather wearer but I am a 25 year veteran of health care with flat feet and arthritis in my ankles and knees. The only shoes I have ever found that don't cause pain in either my feet or my joints only come in leather.
Because I've always been vegetarian, all my life as it was how I have been raised, but I have a fodness for dairy products.
I'm not really a vegitarian, but I've been doing this thing where I dont eat red meat or dairy all week. Reason for doing this is so I can cleanse m body of toxins and garbage.
me
Because I like to eat dairy and eggs (I buy organic and free-range).
Lacto-ovo vegetarian since birth
Do vegans get special powers? Like mind control or maybe flying or something?
Movies
I can't be vegan until I live on my own.
Because I bloody well want to.
What more reason do I need?
Because they know that being vegan sucks. Meat is yummy!