My vegan story...
I didn’t grow out of my 20’s until I was half way through my 30’s, when I slowly began to drop the bad habits and began to want to fuel my body with the best nourishment available. As a typical man, I read all the fitness magazines and lifted weights. Without any real sacrifice or intention, I rarely ate red meat. I even went vegetarian for a few spells. My motivation had always been health. I wanted to be fit and strong.
Once I was exposed to Food Inc., my path to food consciousness began. While it was far from my current vegan path, it did inspire my curiosity. I started to really think about what I was eating, how it affected my health, the health of the planet, the welfare of all the animals and all that really went into bringing that meal to my plate. This documentary led me to reading Omnivores Dilemma, then to The China Study, then I watched Forks over Knives, then I bought my wife Skinny Bitch, but ended up reading it myself. My hunger for food knowledge became strong. I’ve watched and read countless other books, documentaries, blogs etc. The more I've discovered, the more my food choices have evolved. First I sought out organic, then grass fed (on the few occasions I had red meat), then free range, farm raised, sustainable, growth hormone free, antibiotic free, etc. My requirements kept getting more and more specific. Then The China Study revealed to me something I intuitively was already beginning to feel, consuming animals and animal products, is not good, plain and simple.
For someone who has never really been a pet or animal person, I ironically experienced a profound sense of compassion for these animals that I saw being horribly treated and slaughtered on many of these documentaries. I could see it in their eyes that they didn’t want to be hurt, tortured, castrated or killed, they didn’t want to have their young stripped away from them, like every other being they simply did not want to suffer. It pains me knowing all the atrocities that are committed every day, all day to these animal beings. I feel like I had a wake up call…eating animals feels wrong to me. And while I originally became a vegan for health reasons, my commitment to this path has been profoundly strengthened for ethical reasons.
At the beginning of this year, I went vegetarian and quickly thereafter adopted my current vegan lifestyle. It’s honestly been an easy transition and I don’t feel like I’m sacrificing at all. I’m just no longer interested in eating animal products. The thought actually grosses me out. I love the path I’m on and hope you’ll join me. I’m starting a blog, feel free to read along as I find my way at www.zenfans.com
If you’re considering going vegetarian or vegan, I encourage you to lean in. You need not be perfect. Progress, not perfection will yield you some amazing results. You’ll feel better knowing you’re improving your health, the health of the planet, the well being of our animal friends and you’ll begin to see the world through more compassionate eyes. Hope to see you along the way.
Peace & blessings,
Ted Wallof
PS. If every one of us inspired ONE person to go meatless imagine the difference we could make in ten years time. I am going to collect inspirational vegetarian/vegan stories to share with everyone. If you think your story will inspire others, please share with me by sending it to info@veglov.com. I will post your stories on this www.veglov.com blog. I believe everyone has his/her own story, I think it must be great when we can share our stories and inspire others. Let’s make the world a better place. ~ Xiao Kang.
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