![]() My goal is to make this dietary transition easier and enjoyable for anyone willing to make the change. This may seem like a small contribution, but unless we can change our mindset about food, animals will continue to suffer needlessly. My activism targets the individual by teaching how to change lifelong dietary habits through the replacement of animal products with those derived from plants. ![]() We all contribute according to our individual abilities and talents. Vegan activism can take a wide range of forms, including protests and demonstrations raising social awareness through media attention and distribution of literature petitioning organizations and lawmakers boycotts and active involvement with liberation, advocacy, rescue and sanctuary organizations. There are many types of activists who confront animal rights issues from different angles. This practice of non-violence and non-exploitation of sentient beings became an intrinsic part of my spiritual path, as well as my philosophical beliefs. Guided by this new level of awareness, I decided I would no longer consume animals or their by-products and I would reject, as far as possible and practical, all use of animal products for any other purpose. I knew then that if there was to be any change at all in how animals are treated, I was going to have to be part of that change. At that point, I finally came to the realization that animals exist for their own reasons and were not put on this Earth merely to gratify human desires. I think my defining moment came after viewing the documentary entitled “ Earthlings ”. I still hadn't made the mental and spiritual connection, or perhaps more accurately, I wasn't ready to make the connection because I knew it would involve some radical shift in the way I lived my life. Sure, the health benefits were obvious, but that reason alone was not enough for me to maintain such a strict diet and lifestyle. ![]() I found her lifestyle interesting and admirable but at the same time extreme - I could imagine a life without consuming meat - but a life without dairy and eggs seemed unthinkable. Several years later, I became friends with a fascinating woman who just happened to be a vegan and animal rights activist. ![]() I just couldn't fathom that human beings, or our government, would allow such atrocities to occur. But time passed and indifference returned along with my omnivore diet, as I rationalized that somehow these were isolated incidences. I was deeply disturbed by the film and immediately eliminated meat from my diet. One day, I stumbled across a documentary entitled “ Meet Your Meat ”, which exposed the horrors of factory farms and slaughterhouses (abattoirs). Somehow the idea of slaughtering animals seemed wrong, but since I never witnessed or participated in the slaughter, I accepted it as part of the dark and ugly side of reality. I was introduced to vegetarian cuisine in early adulthood and enjoyed it very much, but I also enjoyed many animal foods. This transition did not occur overnight, in fact, it was the culmination of many years of on-and-off vegetarianism. An individual who adheres to this diet subsists wholly on vegetables, grains, fruits, nuts, and seeds and excludes any and all foods derived from animal origin. 1 | P a g e An Introduction In the late summer of 2010, I took PETA’s 30 -day pledge to adhere to a vegan diet.
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