Watch Earthlings, Forks Over Knives, Food, Inc. Vanishing of the Bees, Live and Let Live, and Cowspiracy. That's a good start. And then there's Dr. Greger's blog for all things to do with health. [nutritionfacts.org]

What the Health is also a game-changer. We just had the best vegan food for Thanksgiving.It is the most amazing of mind sets.

Good to hear Melind! I hope it's not a trend. I've been this way for decades. I wouldn't ever consider going back to eating the lives of the miserable. In LA there are so many options. I can now walk to a vegan cafe with most amazing tasty and healthy food. The world is changing . . . as it will always do. Thank you for being thoughtful about "others."

Great to heat that Hugene2002. I'm all for more atheist veggies!

Lions and cats have no choice about their nature. Humans have a huge choice. We don't stalk the old, the sick, the helpless. We KILL everything, always, all the time. And as opposed to lions, tigers, and bears there is no chance of escape. (Wasn't the real Diogenes a vegetarian or was that Pathagerous?) Anyway, eating the amounts of meat we eat is dangerous to us individually and dangerous to us collectively. We can choose to be more humane, more thoughtful, more just, more compassionate. That's the difference between us and the poor beasts we exploit for food, clothing, entertainment, work, and experimentation.

Hope, hi, back again. We are basically on the same page. One thing that I didn't mention on my first note, but you did mention- that was "entertainment". I had the misfortune of working with the hillbillies much of my life. How bad can it get? "Vulgar", by today's standards, may be an archaic word, but it does apply to the hillbillies. They'uns jes loved te git in the jungle an' blow the guts out of sumthin'---- and then blather about it at lunch.

@Diogenes I'm so sorry to hear that. There are many such "videoed" episodes like what you mention, on FB and other social media. I don't know why people like to video the vulgar things they do. It's not for food or protection but out of some need to destroy. We need more compassion on this 6 billion plus rock.

Wow! Mantra, that's wonderful to hear. Every step towards compassion is a giant step. There are alternatives to honey (organic maple syrup. That's the only one I use.) Check out Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. You rock! (One Green Planet is another great site. Lots of good recipes and news.) Also, Harvard came out with a study connecting cancer with red meat.

@Hope4Zoe, I stopped eating red meat a long time ago and only eat a bit chicken and seafood. I'm thinking my next step should be no chicken and then no seafood. Hope I can do it. I have several vegetarian and vegan friends so will probably get encouragement from them

@Mantra and Hope. Another very good site is Happy Cow. Because of my age I doubt if I would fit in with their young ages, but they have restaurant reviews, from all over the world, river cruises... so many things!

Strange, that you had such parents; at least they put you on track for one thing. I don't have all the stats on this, but people that think: humanists, agnostics, tend to view the other residence of this rock with more respect than the religious: "God gave me this pork chop."

Sorry to hear that. I've been vegetarian/vegan for 40 years. The one thing I've feel I've done right for the planet, people, animals, and me. I wish you had seen a nutritionist. People who eat the least amount of meat usually live the healthiest and longest lives. Example: The SDAs in southern Californa. (It's not only the meat, it's about connection. The one thing that religious and spiritual people have is more connection and community.)

Mist. I am 'just a bit over 35'---- LOL, and I won a fitness contest this year- against some in their 20s. I have no intention of being a slave to diet- but a person must be aware of what they eat. I have no intention of being vegan. If a person was starving, would they let fresh eggs rot. Just what would be the purpose of that?

I keep missing to state my magor point. I VERY seldom eat meat- if I do I get depressed after. To me a veggie diet makes sense.

Well, I suffer from clinical depression. I also have a collagen deficiency on the side and feel much better when I get animal protein and fatty acids, even though I had to come to terms with the harsh reality of how humans have evolved. Plant protein just isn't utilized as efficiently. Generally speaking, it's a genetic luxury to be able to function as a vegetarian or vegan. Some people with what I have go the other way and stop being able to tolerate most meat, however. It depends on what their immune and GI systems do in response to the collagen deficiency.

There are sooo many meat alternatives now-Beyondburger type companies, cheese like nut based alternatives, all the alternate "milks". If you need reasons, watch Earthlings, What the Health and many other videos about the harm animal farming does to just about everything( the first harm being the torture and murder of defenseless animals).

Eating habits (all habits) are tied in with who we are and how we be in the world. From our stance on environmental issues, social justice issues, caring for animals (they do not consent to be slaughtered). Everything is connected and related.

Let me re-phrase, I eat very healthy, I’m an avid yogi, I buy local, I’m a great cook, I believe in sharing meals typically have 2 dinner parties a week with diverse circle of foodies, I simply have no desire to be a vegan and find vegan substitutes are an assault to my pallet

A while back, I asked a person, "If there was a cow in the pasture would you take a sharp stick and poke its eye out?" The answer was, "Of course not."---- but chewing on another resident of this rock is okay????

What if you had more theory behind your practice? Have read much about nutrition, factory farming, social injustice, environmentalism, animal welfare? There's this man I met in New Mexico who is diabetic and has kidney failure. Doctor's said he wouldn't live two years. That was 40 years ago. He's in his 60s and has been vegan since he was diagnosed. Something to look into with a nutritionist. Animals products are hard on the kidneys.

Yes, with me it was a challenge by a family member to research nutrition. After two weeks in the library, the only sane and rational thing was to give up meat and most processed foods.

Yes

Good for you! For me, it was for moral, environmental, and health issues.