I'm don't try to force my opinion on anyone. I believe that your own personal opinion is the only one that matters. This is a bit of my explanation for being Vegan.

I’m vegan despite the fact that I don’t like noisy righteous mean vegans, I don’t like calling myself vegan usually because of all the questions, I don’t like describing myself as vegan -I don’t like being a picky pain, generally.

At the end of the day it's a question of morals. And mine are a bit different than most people, maybe I've just got other priorities and see life through a different lens. I know that it's the right choice for me, and I wouldn't want it any other way.

I’m vegan, I eat a healthy diet with lots of protein and have a ton of energy without killing animals. I don’t like killing animals, even if they taste good. I like to be one with the world.

I was raw vegan for a few years..till the diet basically failed to uphold what I concider a healthy state of being. I thought it was the answer to many things at one point..not so much anymore. Everyone is different. Seems to work for some people I guess. Im more into indigenous wisdom at this point. Much longer track record of something that works.

I have had times where I go back to just being a vegetarian. I have been vegan for a couple years now, I haven't eaten meat for nearly 16 years. I like to juice raw fruits and veggies but sometimes I feel like I am lacking nutrients- usually when this happens I go back to vegetarian. I know I will always be a vegetarian - I just want to be healthier so my mind can escape better

yeah I mean I felt fine the first half..but Im talking I was like strict raw vegan. No cooked food and no animal products at all other than raw honey. The second half of it was not so great at all. Personally I think veganism long term is a path to neuropathy, for good reason. I could be wrong though. Vegetarianism is different and has a long history in places like india so we can at least know that it has worked for some cultures.

It's probly a good idea to at least supplement on a vegan diet..it's not something that has any long term track record behind it, no vegan cultures exist other than in our day so it's sort of a gamble of what could happen. There are very real cases of people developing neuropathy on vegan diets..maybe some blood types can handle it while others cannot I dont know. I dont know how viable the whole blood type diet thing is..I know that when I was seeing an ayurvedic doctor I got blood tests and I think I was O- ..anyway she told me my blood type is not going to take well to a vegan diet. I ended up doing it anyway for a couple years and well..that did not work out in the end.

Juicing is good though. I make green and beat juice every day..

Are you eating any meat now or are you now a vegetarian?

@Jamie- what kind of juicer do you use? I recently got a Jack LaLanne Power Juicer but I think I want to amp it up...

I eat wild fish and freerange chicken occasionally..and I make bone broth with the chicken bones.

I have an old juiceman and I have a new omega juicer..the omega is real good..easy to clean also.

I will look it up, thank you- easier clean up is always a plus!

i have become a vegetarian over last 6 months , i tried to go total vegan but coul'dnt take it after 2 days ,

i used to eat meat everyday sometimes i still succumb to temptation , usually when with my friends , but now i rarely eat any meat ( once or twice a month maximum and that iswhen i am drunk which is also once or twice a month , i also quit drinking everyday ),

vegetarian diet is doing very good for me , usually i drink milk everyday and eat peanuts which are soaked in fresh water for 48 hours prior to consumption ( try this soak chickpeas ,black lentils and peanuts in fresh cold water for 60 hours or so , change water every 24 hours and then make a salad of this with some fresh vegetables such as capsicum , carrot , a bit of salt and pepper , tastes great ) this helps supplement the vegetarian diet

also fire baked sweet potatoas (whole skin ) with salt and pepper with some carrot and capsicum tastes great .... ahhh i forgot this is the nexus , i should'nt be babbling recipes here unnecessarily or perhaps i can in the health and lifestyle section

oh yes i love this place , what i like most is that this place is an entheogenic community and much more , with areas on philosophy , science , spirituality , health amd lifestyle and so much more , this is what makes this place truly wonderful

I have varied between vegan and vegetarian for about 8 years, a good portion of those I was an extremely strict vegan, then all the info jamie has been posting got to me; I'm no longer vegan or vegetarian.

Just to kind of put things in perspective, because it's a bit of a pet peeve of mine. If you ever buy anything from a fast food restaurant (even if what you order is technically "vegan" ) you are directly funding factory farming. If you shop at at a traditional grocery store (again buying all vegan and organic products) a portion of your money goes to factory farming. Now we can't just give up grocery stores and choosing organic and ethical products from the grocery store does send a message that consumers are demanding these kind of products and spurs the grocers to purchase more of them, but let's not kid ourselves and play the holier than thou card because we eat processed wheat and soy instead of beef and chicken when our dollars are paying for the very thing we claim to be against.

The absolute best thing you can do for animal rights is to cut out the grocer completely, go seek out farmers that are raising their animals ethically and support them. If you do buy animal products from the grocery demand free-range, grass fed, anti-biotic and hormone free. Keep in mind just about anything in a grocery store is going to be factory farmed just for the fact that they need to produce huge quantities to keep those shelves constantly filled.

It's a good idea to think about the consequences our actions beyond just throwing the vegan label on ourselves and buying Boca burgers. If we are for animal rights we need to make sure we are supporting ethical treatment of animals. If we are concerned with the environment we need to make sure we are doing everything in our power to make environmentally friendly choices with our purchasing power. If we are concerned with our own health we should really do the research and make choices to eat what really does benefit our health rather than getting locked up in hip fanatical diets. These are the reasons I went vegan/vegetarian in the first place, and after many years of learning and researching, they are the reasons I am no longer vegan.

We all gotta choose what's right for us based on the information we have and the resources at our disposal. I'm not trying to demean anyone or put down anyone's dietary choices, that is a very personal thing and really no one's business but your own. What I do want to do is get people thinking about the repercussions of their choices beyond labels and propaganda.

-मैं आप लंबे जीवन और अच्छे स्वास्थ्य की कामना

I couldn't agree with you more . I haven't spent a dime on fast food in years. I usually shop at my local natural foods grocer, I spend a little more but it's worth it! I buy meat for my kids but not a lot, it is farm raised, grass fed free range- usually chicken from our local meat shop. My husband is a vegetarian and bakes the most amazing vegan breads for us. No long labels- I strive to know exactly what I am consuming. In the summer months I get my veggies from my garden- I use cow manure and no other fertilizer, I don't use any pesticides in my garden- all natural. I feel quite lucky to have such great soil here I'm not a healthy vegan by any means but I am trying. The holidays are unique for us as my husband has a mostly vegan/vegetarian family, we make fruit Turkeys and Easter fruit bouquets. I get pretty stuffed w/ goodness. My meat eating family I'm lucky if the mashed potatoes don't have butter in them...

Not another Vegan thread!!!

I've recently turned vegitarian, been doing it maybe 3 months now, also started trying to remove dairy, eggs, and various other stuff from my diet so I guess I'm starting to go vegan.

I think so far, the major problem I've come across is that in doing so, going vegan or raw foods, you have to replace EVERYTHING in your new diet that your old diet provided for you, even your old meat eating diet's didn't provide half of what they should, the majority of the population is seriously malnourished which to me explains a hell of a lot of illness, tooth decay, cancers etc.

In order for your body to constantly physically heal itself and become impervious to external damage other than environmental, you have to provide every single possible nutrient your body needs, and I mean everything. You can't simpy just survive off 5-6 different kinds of fruit, you need 20-30 kind's of fruit, 20-30 kind's of vegetable, nuts, seeds, berries.. the absolute work's in term's of nutritional survival.

This mean's growing food's for yourself, going to organic markets, importing food's, seeds/nut's etc.. the list is phenomenal, I can't even begin to explain it. After week's of research on this I'm already starting to see how vast the picture is in term's of what you have to eat to become physically dependent on organic/raw food/vegan living..

"I think so far, the major problem I've come across is that in doing so, going vegan or raw foods, you have to replace EVERYTHING in your new diet that your old diet provided for you"

My main concermn at this point for people, is that I dont feel that is possible. You simply cannot replace certain things in your diet if you are vegan..cholesterol being one for example. The only cholesterol you are going to get as a vegan is LDL-the bad cholesterol that causes all the problems of "high cholesterol" that people were warned about for so long. They used to tell people not to eat eggs etc becasue of the cholesterol, but they did not know back then that it was the LDL cholesterol that needed to be avoided, which is not present in animal products.

The good cholesterol in animal products you wont get on a vegan diet, and there is more and more research now finding that it plays an important role.

There is also evidence comming out that there is a positive link between saturated animal fats and adequate mineral absorbtion..and from what I understand coconut oil is not sufficient..it is the animal fats specifically.

Here is a link to a study in relation to polyunsaturated and saturated fats and mineral levels..

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11402252

Then there is the whole b12 issue. Even certain prominant vegans who write books and promote the diet still supplement b12..the whole b12 thing is ore complicated than that but atm there is no conclusive evidence of b12 being abundant enough in a vegan diet to prevent neuropathy from developing over the long term.

Link me Jaime's posts please

Raw milk from healthy, happy, local cows is doing wonders for me after 1 year strict raw vegan. And thanks jamie for putting this perspective out I think it's really important for some to see. I'd also suggest listening/watching Daniel Vitalis if anyone is interested in the points jamie made or in learning about why animal products may be smart to include for your own health.

After announcing that he didn't like advertising his vegan choices and being self-righteous about it, the original poster proceeded to do just that.

How is being vegan a question of morals (or makes you one with the world, for that matter)? We have a right to be here, just like all the other animals that have been successfully eating each other for a long time now. Besides, no one keeps cows and chickens as pets: if we all decide to stop eating animal products, future generations will have to visit the zoo to see what a cow looks like.

I am a she.

For me it is a question of morals because I don't feel as if I have the right to take a life and if I am not willing to hunt for my food - I don't personally find it to be fitting for me. And btw - some people do have pet cows and chickens

I am not by any means saying you should or shouldn't be vegetarian- I just wanted to throw it out there that I am a strict vegetarian - I was hoping to gain some insight about how this diet could possibly affect my pineal gland and the experiences I wish to have with my journeys.

I come in peace