I don’t get asked so much any more, but there were 4 main influences in my decision in becoming a vegan:
- Earthsave was putting up graphic photos of mistreated livestock in the windows of my local health food store. Got me thinking.
- Diet For A Small Planet by Francis Moore Lappe which laid out the advantages of a planet based diet verses a meat based diet in terms of environmental impact and the challenges of feeding the growing world human population.
- I’m a native CA who came of age there during the 70’s. Vegetarian diet seemed more healthy and at the time i was making a 180 degree life change from ice cream for dinner and a smoking habit to holistic health.
- Spiritually, i do not believe that it’s ok to kill other living beings. I feel our first priority should be the welfare, health, peace and prosperity of all living beings.
In 1994 I switched to a vegan diet. Yesterday I received a news article that the UN is calling for a Global Move to a vegan diet, beginning with a once a week meat-free day in an effort to contain climate change and to grapple with the challenge of feeding the billions of mouths in the world. KB