THINK BIG, THINK GREEN

By : Ricardo Hernandez

I believe I was always meant to be a vegan because of my love for the animals, when I was a kid I didn't had many friends at school, I was a bit sad. One day we adopted a dog from the street, he became my best friend, after that we adopted more pets in my family, and I really loved them all.

In 2010 I was a fan of a reality business competition called "The Apprentice", one day I was reading the stories of the 16 contestants, all of them had business-related information, but one of them surprised me and I saw something that made me curious. It was a 30-year-old woman named Brandy Kuentzel, she was a corporate attorney, very smart, her story had something that all the other 15 contestants didn't had, it said: "Brandy is a vegetarian and an advocate for animals rights" , I really liked those statements, it was something new and different. By that time, my 10-year-old Belgian shepherd, Bruno, passed away, he was a beautiful dog and his death made me think, so I remembered what I read on Brandy's story and I said to myself "I want to become an advocate for animals rights because I love animals and I also want to do it in Bruno's memory", so I contacted some people and in 3 months I was rescuing dogs & cats all over the place with some wonderful charities and some amazing & very friendly people, I was already deep into the advocacy world and I was in love with it, even though I loved animals all my life, my love for them increased a lot at that time and I realized that they are also alive, that they can also feel.

I was able to contact Brandy one day on Facebook, we became friends (By the way, she is now the Director of Advocacy for the San Francisco SPCA) and we used to talk about animals, and she encouraged me to become a vegetarian, so I decided that I would try to be a vegetarian, but at that point I didn't had any vegetarian/vegan on my friends circle so I was starting alone & clueless about the nutritional facts, I thought "Just don't eat meat! Simple!". A week later I had an appointment at the doctor (nothing to do with my new vegetarian lifestyle), I was having some blood test because I had the cholesterol of a 50-year-old man (I was eating just meat and no fruits nor vegetables at all),  my father mentioned the doctor that I stopped eating meat a week ago, the doctor turned to me immediately and said "I understand that you want to become a vegetarian, but at that age you need meat because of the protein, if you want to be a vegetarian, do it when you're 21 years old" (I was 15 at that time). So, when you're 15 years old, you are clueless about vegetarianism and a doctor tells you that you need meat, you end up believing him! Of course, now that I'm vegan I know that doctor knows nothing about nutrition, ironically that doctor also told me "Eat more fruits and vegetables" so I said to myself  "Ok, I can't be a vegetarian now, so I'll continue eating meat and when I'm 21 I'll try again". A year went by, I kept involved into animal advocacy and I met a new friend that recently became a vegetarian, I told her my story and she suggested me that I should give it another try, so I decided to do it again ,this time I had more knowledge about the vegetarian lifestyle and even discovered veganism, so I did it with more knowledge, I asked about nutritional facts, I asked about what I could eat, I was proud of myself, but I was interested in veganism.

I read more about veganism and liked it, but I found it so tough, so I said "I will be a vegetarian for at least 5 years and then I'll go vegan). 2 weeks later after I became a vegetarian, a new vegan friend that I made from the UK (Rennie) suggested me to watch Gary Youroufsky's speech, I watched it and as soon as it ended I said to myself (From now on, I'm vegan, I have no excuses to not do it), and since that day, I'm vegan! :) My life has changed drastically, at 17 years old most people don't care about animals or health, they just care on having fun, so of course when I have lunch with my friends at university and they find out that I'm vegan it sparks conversation, and that's exactly what I want because I can tell them facts and they become more interested and actually they end up saying "You're right, but I just can't go vegan, very tough", I tell them that they absolutely can, but they keep saying "I can't" , c'est la vie.

I am a really food lover, I love to eat and I really LOVE vegan food, it's delicious! Now my cholesterol is normal, I'm thinner and with way more energy and positivism than ever before. I highly recommend you to go vegan, it goes to the animals, to the environment, to the world, it's good for your health, you can still eat delicious food and it's cool to say "I'm vegan" because you are making a difference! :) I try to be a very classy, professional and respectful vegan and don't think all meat-eaters are bad people, because they just don't know the truth yet and we can't blame somebody for not knowing something, so I always try to be very respectful and professional, people respect that, and actually it's easier to make them think that way.

My biggest dream now is to create in some years the first luxury collection of vegan hotels, I want to create something spectacular where vegans can say "This is paradise" and non-vegans can learn about veganism on a very positive way, I hope to welcome you all on my vegan hotels someday! ;)

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.

Be Yourself, Be a Vegetarian and Be Happy

My name is Milda and I am 22 years old. All my childhood I was "chubby" and my family are the people who likes to eat so I was not an exception. After I turned 15 all the diet periods started, nothing really worked as I wanted to, I just got some sicknesses because I didn't eat normally. So all my diets were failed, I was really depressed, ugly and fat.

After 18th birthday I started to think WHAT do I eat and do I really like it. I have started to eat only food which I really enjoy to eat and I feel good after eating it. That's how step by step all the meat products were cut from my ration. One of the reasons to cut meat was that it DOESN'T HAVE ANY TASTE! All the taste it has is - spices we add. Of course my parents were telling me that I will get sick if I won’t eat meat and the word "vegetarian" sounded like a diagnosis of terrible diseases; but I was stubborn and I could feel that I am going right way. But after about 6 months I was still eating sea products. At about that time I started to think about esthetics, that animals are actually being killed to be eaten. That mind couldn't leave my head and in some months step by step I cut down all sea animals.

I was living as a vegetarian quiet long, but I didn’t have a lot of knowledge about it, I was reading articles on internet, trying to cook different meals, but I didn’t have any person who could help me, tell me about his experiences and so on. I was all alone. But I was lucky; after I turned 20 I met a person who had been vegetarian for 10 years. He showed me how many vegetarian and vegan people are around us, and how many different meals can be made. That vegetarian is not some kind of disease or bad thing; he showed me that I must be proud that I am vegetarian! (big big smile...)

Now I live not with my parents any more. I moved to Denmark, I live on my own. I always meet the people who are asking how I get my proteins, how do I survive, how...how... Some of them think that I am a real weirdo, but I have all arguments and sometimes we even have long discussions about food and life style.

Also I work in a restaurant, it is not veggie-friendly restaurant, I cannot change their attitude, and everybody thought that I am going to start eating meat, because we are getting staff food for free, and of course it is not vegetarian, but I don’t even think about eating meat when I know how it is made from the beginning. It doesn’t seem like food for me. Yes, I became picky and I am proud of it as well.

What I am doing now: I never buy eggs or milk when I am at home, but I still eat them, when they are a part of some kind of dish. Lately I started to feel that milk is not a right product for my body. Why? I feel so heavy after even a small amount of milk. And I cannot eat almost anything the rest of a day. So I started to avoid milk products. That means that I am on my way to become vegan.

To conclude: I don’t think person must force himself to eat or not to eat some kind of food, everything has to come naturally. And I wish everybody will start thinking what is suitable for them, when do they feel happy.

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.

Veganism - An ideal way of life!

By : Mira Balachandran

There is a lot more to vegetarianism than just non - consumption of animal matter. According to Indian culture and tradition that dates back to over 5000 years ago, having its  roots in the spiritual books like Vedas & Dharmasashtra, eating non- vegetarian food is detrimental to mental and spiritual growth. A diet devoid of meat , eggs or seafood is supposed to cleanse one of all negative qualities,  for in India,  we firmly believe that 'you are what you eat'. The kind of food we eat is supposed to have a huge bearing on our character and personality traits. The healthier and more natural the food, the better and non- violent a human you will be.

The Hindu scriptures of yore clearly state the kind of food we ought to have, the number of times it should be had, the manner in which it has to be had and the cooking methodology to be followed as well as the etiquette to be followed in having it. There are clear pointers to who should eat what type of food.  According to the scriptures, the kind of profession one follows dictates the pattern of food intake. For example a soldier's diet was concentrated more on giving him extreme fitness and physical well being that would help him in combat where as a scholarly person's diet most likely consisted  of ingredients that would help sharpen his mind and intellect.

Eating natural food not only keeps you healthy but stimulates  and creates positive responses within the body. Eating the remnants of animals that have been killed using aggression & violence [ there is nothing pleasant about inflicting pain on another - be it human or animal] in the grip of fear and pain only creates those kind of vibration in our person. Assimilation of these kind of energy is never going to help the cause of peace in this world. What has its origin in violence [ killing of animals] is only going to give rise to much the same as a chain reaction. It is just that this theory is not understood as having a scientific base by many. Once the ignorance is removed I am sure there will be many more converting to vegetarianism in the future.

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.

Go Veggie and Feel Better

By : Kelsey Haggerty

I have always had a deep love for the animal kingdom. I kissed worms while helping my mom garden; the family dog was always my best friend; I could always pass a baby carriage but not a leash. When I was about 5, I happened to get into a discussion with my mom about what a "hamburger" was and once she told me, she swears I cried and said "I am never eating a hamburger again!!!" Apparently I did, however, but the guilt of eating meat never left me. I came from a typical, meat-for-every-meal, American family.

I eventually did stop eating red meat and pork and settled into a lifestyle of eating turkey and chicken only. About 6 months ago, I decided that I had waited long enough to truly consider going vegetarian.

Like most people who are considering vegetarianism I wondered: How I am going to get all of the nutrients I need? How am I going to find enough to eat? Will I even like the meat alternatives? So I bought a book and read about the process, bought the meat "replacements" and bought a couple vegetarian cookbooks.

Now not only have I been a veg for 6 months, but I reeled my husband in as well. We are so happy we did and spread the word wherever and whenever we can. My favorite thing to say to people who are even CONSIDERING going veg is this: "Just try it for 2 weeks. You will feel so much better and see it as a realistic feat. You will be sold...just like we were."  :-)

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.

The Accidental Vegan

By : Elizabeth Donaldson

I was born into the quintessential middle-class American family. We always ate meat at least once a day, never really pausing to think about where our food came from or what exact method was used to acquire it. At the age of 10, I had a babysitter who was vegetarian and health-conscious. She would cheerfully answer any questions I had, and sometimes throw in a few bits of information about how healthy something was.

Over the ensuing 12 years, I gradually became more and more interested in nutrition and general health, reading random articles about sleep, antioxidants, whether the latest fad diets had any merit, etc. (Watching Supersize Me in Human Biology made a huge impact.) Eventually, I began to hear references to animal cruelty. I learned a little bit about debeaking, and when I finally learned what veal was, I swore I would never eat it, because it just doesn't seem right to me to eat an animal's young.

Then, last year, I came across the link for the documentary Earthlings. I was a bit wary of the violence in the film, so I opted to watch the trailer first. Those 2 1/2 minutes alone were more than I could stand.

A few nights later, I had a nightmare that reenacted the cow-skinning clip I had seen in the Earthlings trailer. My brain replayed over and over again that poor animal having its hide torn off while still conscious, as indifferent humans stood by to make sure that every marketable piece of skin made it off. In the dream, I screamed for them to stop, but I was completely powerless.

When I looked in the fridge the next morning, the meat, eggs, and dairy symbolized much more to me than they had before. I kept seeing those clips of livestock animals thrashing about in pain as the life drained out of their open throats, of cows being skinned alive, of circus trainers telling their colleagues to scare the animals they were entrusted with, and the whole thing made me sick.

I literally became a vegan overnight. Though I was living with my omnivorous family at the time, once they understood my reasons, they were both very accommodating and supportive.

When I joined my fiancé in Ecuador, I floundered for a bit, then switched to omnivorism for a few months. (Transparency within agencies seems to be rarer here than in the States. There's a fair amount of information about things like bullfights, pet abuse, illegal smuggling of exotic animals, etc., but not nearly as much about dairy farms, factory farms, and so forth.) Corporations were probably still the bad guys, but the vendors at local markets surely treated their animals better, right? But then I realized that even if the meat comes from an old animal who's been loved and cared for all its life, and will probably die in a few days anyway, it seems so much more ethical and humane to me to just say no. (Besides, I have no real information about how these vendors get their products anyway.)

And so I am lacto-ovo-vegetarian, for now at least. I am still figuring out the right balance between ethics, personal nutrition, our finances, and available goods in a foreign country; however, right now it is my hope to return to veganism. Through it all, I'm lucky to have a supportive fiancé and family, and friends who range from vegan to that-guy-who-good naturedly-teases-you-about-veganism-or-nutrition.

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.

Eating & Running Well on a Dime

By : Ellen Jaffe Jones

Ellen Jaffe Jones is the author of the best seller, "Eat Vegan on $4 a Day." Her book went to a second printing faster than any other book in her publisher's long history of vegetarian and alternative health books. She has been a headline speaker and cooking demonstrator at the largest VegFests in the US and Canada since her book came out in June 2011. Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine's Dr. Neal Barnard wrote the book's foreword, "No one is better qualified to write the book. What I admire so much about Ellen is that, unlike so many people today, she is not trying to sell any product, device, or gimmick. Her goal is not to make money but reveal the truth." T. Colin Campbell (The China Study), Rory Freedman (Skinny Bitch), Colleen Patrick-Goudreau (Compassionate Cooks) and Ruth Heidrich (Race for Life) also wrote cover endorsements.

Ellen wrote her book after seeing too many news stories saying eating healthfully on a budget was impossible. Many have sought Ellen’s expertise in modeling a healthy lifestyle, especially after her mom, aunt & both sisters got breast cancer.  Ellen has won the highest awards in broadcasting. She was a 2-time Emmy-winning TV investigative reporter for 18 years, turned financial consultant who used her background to do the investigative reporting job of her life: dodging genes that gave her mom, aunt and both sisters breast cancer. In addition, they and most other adults had major heart disease, diabetes and Alzheimer's. Ellen was part of the original breast cancer gene studies.

She now often places in 5K races for her age group and did her first marathon in 2010. She was the 5th oldest female to finish the Palm Beaches Marathon. She has won 5 gold medals in Florida's Senior Games. At almost 60, her times are 6 seconds behind female personal records for NCAA college track team times in the 100 and 400 meter races. The "Anna Maria Islander" chose Ellen as the 2010 sports story of the year.

As an Aerobics and Fitness Association of America certified personal trainer, and Road Runners Club of America certified running coach, she volunteers as the assistant girls cross country coach at Manatee High in Bradenton, FL. She is a personal trainer at Island Fitness on Anna Maria Island, FL as well as an online trainer/coach. She was a media consultant for PCRM, a cooking instructor for PCRM's Food for Life/Cancer Project program for 6 years before her book came out, and before that, a La Leche League leader and associate coordinator of leader accreditation for Missouri. Many media stories praised Ellen’s cooking classes and her ability to defy cancer odds.

One of her best successes was a newspaper story on a cooking class student who lost 120 pounds in 8 months. Ellen was also the cover story for the Tampa Bay (St. Petersburg) Times "Personal Best" Magazine in 2011. As a Wall Street financial consultant, she focused on socially responsible investing earning her an environmental award in St. Louis, as the nickname, "Earth Mother in a Suit."

At the request of her publisher and others, Ellen also consults with other authors on how to build social media presence. Also at the request of her publisher, she has signed a contract for a second book due out in 2013.

Ellen also won the National Press Club 1^st Place Award for Consumer Reporting in 1984. Her 2 Emmys and 4 more nominations included an FDA recall her story started, and her main claim to fame: breaking the story about the Miami school superintendent who stole gold-plated plumbing for his summer home using public money. He resigned and went to jail. National publications cited the story as part of the cause for Miami’s 1980 riots. She also broke the national story about Chrysler’s executive driving program that sold used cars to the public as new.

Figuring out the truth about food and fitness has been the investigative reporting job of her life. She calls herself the "VegCoach" and "broccoli rep," because as she likes to say, "When you understand there's no money in broccoli, you have to be your own investigative reporter and figure out the truth. There's no broccoli board, association or lobby. And who else IS the broccoli rep?"

Ellen Jaffe Jones
Author/Personal Trainer/Coach/Cooking Classes
www.vegcoach.com
http://facebook.com/EatVeganOn4DollarsADay
http://twitter.com/#!/VegCoach

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.

I Won't Eat Anything with a Face...

By : Fiona Birnie-McKay

As a teenager I was desperate to be a vegetarian but there just wasn't enough alternatives like there are now.

It was only when Linda McCartney's vegetarian range came out in the mid 90's that the opportunity to change to a complete Veggie lifestyle set me on the right track :)

Expecting twins in 1996 my consultant insisted I continue to eat fish for the health of my unborn children. So it was tuna until 15th September 1996 and I've never looked back :)

The thought if eating a living being that once had a face and heartbeat haunts my head with horror. I can no longer even walk past a worm on the pavement without helping it into the safety of the earth...

I feel passionate and proud to be a Vegetarian and that 2 of my 4 children have followed my steps through their own choices :)

The thought of animals suffering at the hands of humans makes me feel sick, I want to help them but can't ......

The more of us who become veggie can help protect and give compassion to them and make for a better world.

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.

From Loving Animals to Respecting Them

By : Cristina Escalona

I have always loved animals, and I remember being a child and asking about how animals were killed in slaughterhouses. I remember my father told me that they were killed instantly, so they didn't suffer and I didn't have to worry about that. Actually, everybody had always made me think that eating meat was a necessity. So, I never thought in becoming a vegetarian. I guess that when I heard about vegetarianism I thought about people who wanted to slim down or something like that. Anyway I was a sensitive child and once I began to think that the egg yolk was the blood of the future chick, so I couldn't eat fried eggs, because the liquid yolk made me think that I was eating blood.

This is just an anecdote, but I didn't become a vegetarian until I was almost 21 years old. I was doing an exchange in Belgium. For the first time in my live I was living alone and cooking everyday for myself. I realized that I didn't buy so much meat, and when I did, it was quite disgusting for me to have to cook it. When I saw the raw meat in the fridge I felt disgust. But it wasn't until I saw a poster in the wall of the university that I began to connect the fact of being vegetarian to the fact of loving or respecting animals. In the poster you could see a death cow on one side, with a sad emoticon, and some fruits in the other side with a smile face, and you could read on it: vegetarian! What I thought when I saw it was: they are right, it is so sad.

However I didn't became a vegetarian until some weeks later when by chance I meet the girl who had stuck the poster I saw. She explained to me that she was an animal rights activist and that she was a vegetarian. It was then when I finally did the connection and I decided to try a vegetarian diet. The same day I decided to change my diet I saw Earthlings, a documentary where the reality of animals is exposed, and then I knew I will always be vegetarian.

At the beginning it was difficult for my family and friends to understand it, and for me to feel confortable in the family dinners, but finally they get used and me too. Now my mother and my sisters eat much less meat than before, and I hope some day they will take the decision of being vegetarian and respecting the other animals. My boyfriend wasn't a vegetarian when I met him, but I show him why I was a vegetarian and he decided to have a vegetarian diet

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.

Veganism Made Me More Compassionate, Healthier and Younger

By:  Wendy Shoup

I became a vegetarian 22 years ago when I had serious health problems. I was so exhausted and ill that I had to hold onto the furniture just to go to the bathroom. Doctors called it Chronic Epstien Barr Syndrome. Later, it was referred to as Chronic Fatigue syndrome. All I knew was that I was so sick, so tired and in such intense pain that I was beyond desperate to make it go away.

I went to a nutritionist who advised me to give up all sugar, sugar substitutes,  caffeine and white flour. I was very addicted to sweets and loved a big, hot cup of coffee!  But I did what she told me literally overnight. I started walking and eventually was walking several miles a day.

I kept reading about different celebrities I liked who were vegetarian and vegan. I still wasn't feeling 100% and became tired very easy. I decided to give up meat. I felt much better. My then 7 year old daughter also became vegetarian. As we read more about our diet, we learned of the horrible abuse animals endure just so they can end up on our dinner plate!  We were enraged!  Finding out that the abuse doesn't stop there, but continues into the egg and dairy industry made me feel sick. I didn't want to be a part of the pain these beautiful, innocent animals go through. I have been a vegan for just a few months less than my whole time of becoming a vegetarian.

And an amazing thing happened!  I gained all kinds of energy and my thinking became less cloudy!

I have never looked back. I don't miss meat or animal products in the least. There is a whole delicious world of healthy, great food out there without eating animals.  And so many fantastic animal free products that we never need wear fur or leather or wool or silk!   So many great, animal free cosmetics and cleaning products!

I am 57 years old now and people always seem shocked when they hear my age.  I'm always told that I look to be in my 30`so.

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.

Be Vegetarian, Respect Your Body and Become Stronger

By : Marjorie Bourgeais

I'm a French vegetarian woman who wanted to support people who are still wondering if they want to become vegan/vegetarian. People shouldn't even wonder, if they want to have a better health, a better life,GO VEGETARIAN!

My story begins a year and a half ago (I'm now 21).
I wanted to stop eating meat, even if it's tasty and it goes well with easy meals to make, it's not a good reason enough for me to eat it. Then I made researches. I've watched Gary Yourovsky's videos and then I wanted to check everything he said and learn more about meat and the human body. And what I've found is... WOW. People continue to eat meat just because they're blind! They don't want to see the truth. To believe in what everyone says on TV, radio, whatever, is much easier than researching ourselves.

The human body is 100% herbivore!

If you think we're omnivores... come on! Do you really think we are? Do we have as long canines as bears or monkeys? Do you want to eat an animal when you see it running happily? Of course no, we don't have any carnivore or omnivore instinct because we're made to eat GREEN.

• Carnivores don't sweat
• Carnivores have canines MUCH bigger than herbivores (yes all herbivores have canines...)
• Carnivores can't move their jaw on the right and left.
• Carnivores’ intestines are not very long so they don't get the meat's toxins.

Since I began eating healthy (veggie) I don't have asthma anymore, I run much more easily.

I do Park our and you think I’d need a lot of proteins to run, jump, etc., but meat protein is bad! When I eat a meal with Quinoa, my body is much more thankful and works better than when I ate a steak before my judo lessons when I was a child!

Please, respect your body and become stronger!

Have a nice day!

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.

A Wake Up Call

By : Christine Duts

I have always loved animals and always tried to help them in any way I could, but as a little girl I had to eat what my parents prepared for me, and if I did not I was forced to stay seated for hours until I would eat my food. I grew up eating meat and when I left my parents´ house, I still bought meat and sausages, and all that.

Years later I moved to Mexico City, and I found work in a school. I did not have a car. So every day I took the bus to work. The bus route took me trough an area that was called "the meat district", and it was indeed an area filled with butcher shops. One shop after the other displayed sliced open carcasses of cows and pigs, split pig heads, and chicken carcasses hung upside down, one after the other, shop after shop. You could even smell the meat.

Then came the slaughterhouse… Nearly every day trucks arrived, mostly carrying pigs, and sometimes sheep. It was there that I witnessed the slaughter of an animal for the first time.

I was sitting in the bus as the workers mounted the trucks with their electric prods. They did not kill their victims in the slaughterhouse; they did it right there, in plain view of everybody, in the open trucks.
I saw everything.

Those trucks had large platforms, and it was right there where the slaughter took place. As my bus drove by slowly, I witnessed those men stabbing and hitting the pigs with the prods. The pigs scrambled in panic, screaming in fear, desperately trying to get out of the trucks where the workers started killing them one by one. Pigs ran everywhere, screaming so loudly and desperately, that their screams tore through my bones and my deepest insides. Tears were at the corner of my eyes.

Their killers enjoyed the suffering. Laughing they went after the pigs, laughing at their fear and panic, laughing at their pain. I did not understand how they could end the lives of those pigs so cruelly. The worst was that people in the bus were pointing at the scene and laughing while I was crying like a baby. At that moment I felt hate for the slaughterhouse workers, and anger and fury at the bus passengers who were too ignorant to care for the pigs´ suffering.

Every day that bus went by there, and every day I prayed: "Please, let no truck arrive today." I could not watch any more suffering. But on a nearly daily basis I witnessed this unspeakable torture and cruelty and I heard the pigs scream. As you know, the scream of a pig is loud and piercing, and every time it felt as if it tore at my soul.

It was very traumatic for me to witness this every single day. I even tried to take a different bus route, but there was not one. A few times I also saw trucks arrive with sheep, but at that moment my bus was just leaving the meat district. I knew though what awaited those sheep, and I wept for them. I cried tears every day when I rode through that horrible area. I went home thinking about it.

I had always eaten very little meat, but still, I was guilty. I realized I was an accomplice to these atrocities.

The next time I visited a super market I picked up a package of meat, and as soon as I had it in my hand, I heard those screams. Terrified I let go of the package and put it back in the rack. I never touched meat again. On that day I began to change my life and I became a vegetarian. Now, many years later, I am a vegan.

One can really say that I was traumatized into vegetarianism. No video made me see the truth. It was thrown at me live, every single day, for weeks, for months.

I remember one pig in particular. He was fighting for his life. Desperately he tried to stay alive, tried to remain standing. The slaughterhouse workers - those bastards - hit him and stabbed him repeatedly with their electric prods, yelling at him and laughing. He fought so hard. He was the only one left alive. All around him lay the corpses of his companions; but he did not give up. His legs were shaking, but he refused to fall. Finally his body could not take the many hits anymore, and he fell, his life gone from him. 
I wish there had been a way to get him out of there, to save his life, but we would not have gotten very far. No one would have let him escape. No one cared over there. And now that I am writing about it - after all these years - the tears are coming back. I never forgot that pig. I even wrote a poem about him.

Packs of meat hang outside,
Corpses cut in half, offered on sale,
A pig’s head displayed in the shop window.
As I drive by, the smell of death welcomes me,
But I can’t run.
I’m stuck between hundreds of my companions
Riding towards their death like me.
I can’t hide between them,
As they will be slaughtered one by one,
Skinned and cut to pieces,
While their screams will pierce the sky.

Then when the truck turns around the corner,
We know it is there,
Death, grinning at us.
Death’s helpers waiting for us,
Holding long thin metal sticks.
We panic and scream in fear,
For we know we are in grave danger.
The truck’s sides slide off,
And the men get on.
All around me pigs are poked at with these horrible sticks.
Panic engulfs us.
We stumble over each other, in a desperate attempt to avoid the deadly hits. 
My companions drop dead beside me.
Screams tear open the sky,
But nobody cares.
People pass by, look at our pain,
And laugh….

I move, I run, I try to hide.
I avoid the pokes as much as I can.
Most of my family and friends lay lifeless around me,
Having gone down in a terrible fight.
I am one of the few left,
And I hope,
Maybe I can escape,
Get of the truck and run to safety.
But then I feel a strong current rip through my body.
I want to fall, lay down,
I scream!
And I see one woman in a bus,
Crying silent tears when she sees me,
Surrounded by people laughing at my suffering.

I refuse to give in.
I stand firmly.
I do not want to die.
Please don’t kill me.
Please don’t kill me!
Another poke with that horrible metal rod.
An electrical jolt crushes my body,
But still I refuse to fall.
I cannot run anymore.
My limbs are numb.
My end is near,
I am trapped.
And still I don’t want to die.
Life, let me cling to you with all my might.
Why? What did I do?
Why this pain now? Why this awful way to end my existence?
I don’t want to…die.
Another strong jolt driven into my body
By death’s helper who is having fun,
Knowing he will win this struggle,
As he always does.
My spirit wants to fight,
But my body is losing strength.
I am still standing.
Desperately I am holding on to life.
But then one more hit,
And I drop on the floor of the truck,
Next to my already dead companions
Who had given up the struggle long before me.
The last thing I see is the sky,
Clear and blue,
Lit up by the sun.
Free of our screams,
Awaiting me.
And then it is dark.

(Slaughterhouse in Tnalnepantla, State of Mexico, 2003. Someone told me that because of its cruelty to animals, this particular slaughterhouse was closed down a few years later. I hope that rumor is true.) Posted by Christine Duts at 02:37

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.

My Reasons for Being a Vegetarian

By : Richa Bansal

I was born in India and came to this country with my family at age 11.  I have always been a vegetarian and am repulsed at the thought of eating an animal; bird or an insect.   It seems barbaric to me.  It is hard to share a table while seated in a group where someone is enjoying a non-veg meal.  Even my family makes fun of me as I cannot even eat in the same plate or use cutlery if it had touched meat.  I gag and throw up if I come across those incidences.  I often feel that I am surrounded by aliens, who have taken over earth and true earthlings (us vegetarians) are a scare species.

Few things that astonish me the most about non-vegetarians are:

• How can they be pet lovers and yet they butcher animals/ birds/ insects and cook them to create a what they call a delicious meal.

• How can they watch Bambi with kids yet they consider eating Deer meat (or like) a delicacy -- Are they not confusing their children?

• Thanksgiving celebration is the worst -- How can one feel comfort in celebrating any day by killing & cooking anyone or anything!!

• Hunting / Fishing are also hard for me to understand -- Do people not feel any pain as they watch an animal/bird cry and tremble!!

I am glad to see more and more vegetarians.  I realize some convert due to health benefits but I light up when I come across someone who has chosen to be a vegetarian for humane reasons.  Lately, it has been especially nice to see stars and politicians (who are healthy and look robust) promoting vegetarian diets.

Hope this is worth sharing.  Currently other than my family I am surrounded by non-vegetarians.  I have just discovered this group and have not made it to any events or meetings.  I hope to meet you all someday.

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.

Peace,Compassion, and Health Through Diet

By : Mike Pool

June 6th will be 6 months as a vegan for me. I can clearly remember myself teasing my sister when she went vegetarian for a few years as a teenager. I loved meat. Two large strip steaks and a 6 pack of beer too often would be my dinner after working a 12 hour day on a hot roof.  But something happened in early December of 2011. I had some routine blood work done and the results were scary.

At the young age of 25 I was about 80 lbs over weight. My cholesterol was high as was my blood sugar,triglycerides, and liver enzymes. My doctor started talking about cholesterol lowering medication and even a pill to help control my blood sugar. I was also told I had all the symptoms of pre-diabetes and was a candidate for insulin-resistance. I denied any medication and vowed to lose some weight on my own to help lower my levels.

Now something else worth mentioning was that about a week before the blood work I watched a movie called Earthlings. This was the first time I  really become  upset over the way we treat our earthly companions. The next day when I went to eat a chicken breast I damn near puked. I decided then I wouldn't eat meat for a while. It was easy at first, in fact surprisingly it was the easiest thing I had ever given up. I kept telling myself that when summer came I would only eat locally raised organic fed meat and that I would eat meat on holidays only. This helped ease the fears of my friends and family that were worried I would become nutrient deficient.

Christmas came and I was really looking forward to eating some chicken wings. I ate five and they were delicious. My alcohol buzz helped me stomach them and put the slaughter thoughts away. The problem was that I paid for those wings. Heartburn kept me up and it wrecked havoc on my digestive system. For the first time I was aware of what meat does to my body.

After that night and through extensive research I dropped milk instantly. I could no longer handle the thought of drinking that horrible liquid ( not for cows ) or what the casein was doing to my body. Two key sources for me were the movie Forks over Knives and the book, The China Study. Slowly but surely eggs and cheese became non existent in my life.

After 3 months of this lifestyle change I had more blood work done. I was shocked. Everything went down to safe levels. Triglycerides dropped more than 350 points. Cholesterol 45 points. My blood pressure was an all time low. I also dropped 30 lbs of weight. To date I have lost 45 lbs. in five months. My acne disappeared, my energy level increased, my protein level was actually higher than when I was an omnivore, and my b 12 serum level was maxed out. The only thing I supplemented was vitamin d prescribed by my doctor, because I live in new york and am a fair skinned Dutch fellow.  Two more weeks of vitamin D and I am off of it for the summer. Further blood work will determine if I have to take it again when the winter comes.

I am 100 percent sure that this will be forever until the day I die, I will not consume animal products. I started for health reasons, but now it is also for the animals. Give up eating meat and you will be amazed at how compassionate you will become. This fall I am going to school to become a registered nutritionist. I am also raising my 2 young children vegan. This is the way we were truly meant to eat and I am going to tell the world. Very slowly people are waking up to the dangers of meat and the unethical treatment of animals. It is my belief one day the world will truly be peaceful to our companions on this planet. If we don't change things we are hurting ourselves, the animals, and our planet. What are you going to do to change this?

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.

My Decision to Become a Vegetarian

By Donna Soszynski

I still remember sitting at the dinner table when I was about 8, not wanting to eat a hot dog and my mother made me sit there until I did...well it got later and later into the evening and I sat there and cried and cried and did not eat it...she finally let me go to bed. She never tried to make me eat it again...it took a few years before I became a vegetarian. I had never heard the word or met anyone who was...at 16 I stopped eating meat.

I am now 53. I raised my two kids as vegetarians, my son went to college at 16 and my daughter is a good student also I remember once when my son was about 3...he walked by a butcher department and yelled at the butcher you are killing animals. My mother became very supportive of my choice.

Please visit http://thesensualvegetable.blogspot.com/ to connect with Donna Soszynski.

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.

A Life Time of Good Health

By Fauja Singh

People call me “the Turbaned Tornado” – I’m the oldest marathon runner in the world. Last month, just three weeks after my 101st birthday, I ran the London Marathon in seven hours and 49 minutes. I’ve completed eight other marathons in the past 12 years, including the Toronto Waterfront Marathon, which I ran when I was 100 years old. How do I do it? Simple: firstly, I eat only vegetarian foods – I am told that vegetarians tend to live an average of six to 10 years longer than meat-eaters do. But I also walk or jog every day. Age may bring wisdom, but if you want stamina, endurance and a lifetime of good health, turn to nutritious vegetarian foods.

This National Vegetarian Week, I hope to inspire others to eat healthful, plant-based meals. I can’t dictate what others eat, but I want to share the benefits of vegetarian eating with everyone who is willing to listen. I’ve been predominantly vegetarian my whole life. In the Sikh religion, we eat to live, not live to eat. In Punjab, the green belt of India where I’m originally from, most people eat what they grow – I attribute my longevity to simple Punjabi vegetarian foods, such as chapati, dal, sabji and saag.

But eating vegetarian food is also part of my training regime. We all need a balanced and wholesome diet. It doesn’t matter how nice to look at or sweet food is – if your body can’t digest it, why eat it? In many parts of the world, people are dying because of starvation, whilst others are dying because of overeating. My solution is just to eat what my body needs. I don’t believe in waste or excessiveness, and I believe that it takes up to 16 pounds of grain just to produce 1 pound of meat, so eating vegetarian foods helps conserve land, water and energy.

I’m a member of the Sikhs in the City running club, and the average age of the elders’ running team is 86. The London Marathon was my last long race, but I don’t plan on hanging up my running shoes just yet – the day I stop running will be the day my body stops altogether. I’m still going to compete in short races of 5 or 10 kilometres.

One day, I hope to climb the stairs to the top of one of the world’s tallest buildings, the Taipei Tower, which is 101 stories high. One never knows what life will bring, but I am hopeful that my passion for an active lifestyle – and my healthy vegetarian diet – can help propel me to the top. And when I reach my destination, I will be able to say that no animals had to suffer because of my food choices along the way.

Source : The Independent

A Cup of Coffee for Vegetarian Soul

I was on my way to the school that afternoon. I saw a goat was being slaughtered that afternoon. The goat cried, and I saw tears came out from its eye. It was the sacrifice festival day for the Muslim. I lived in a small village, Bagansiapiapi, Indonesia. We all know that the majority of Indonesian is Muslim.

The memory of the crying goat keep coming to my mind that night, and I couldn’t sleep well. I asked my mom why they must be killed like that. My mom said that it was normal to kill animals for food. I couldn’t agree with this.

“I don’t want to eat meat; I want to be a vegetarian.” I told my mom. My mom laughed at me. “No, you should eat meat, everyone eat meat in the world. You must eat meat to keep healthy.” I was only a small boy then. I was 10 years old only, and I couldn’t do anything when my mom said NO.

I tried to become a vegetarian but my parent forced me to eat meat. And I couldn’t do anything. Time passed, and every year I saw the same scene where goats were being slaughtered during the sacrifice festival. I am very sad; I can do nothing for it.

When I was 15 years old, I saw the same thing happened again, I told my parent again that I wanted to be vegetarian. But it was still all the same, they didn’t allow me. I thought, I was 15 years old and I had my right to choose my own lifestyle. I cooked for myself, and insisted on going vegetarian. One month later, I decided to be vegan. It was very hard for me by that time. My father kept telling me that being vegetarian would be very hard for me when I went to work, when I was out with friends, and others.

I was only 18 years old, and my father got a high blood pressure. He couldn’t work and couldn’t afford my further study in a university. I must find a job to help my family economic. I had one brother who was still on junior high school. I decided to go to Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, and found a job there.

Years went by, I proved my father that as a vegan, I was not getting difficult to find a job, not getting difficult to be in society. And I can afford my family till today. And now, both my mother and father have followed my way to become a vegetarian. They decided to become a vegetarian too. I am Xiao Kang, and I am proud to be vegan.

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.

Carrie Underwood Goes Vegan

Country music star Carrie Underwood has revamped her diet plan and become a vegan.

The singer adopted a vegetarian lifestyle several years ago after discovering the long-term health benefits of cutting out meat, and the former “American Idol” star reveals she’s now avoiding animal products all together in a bid to boost her overall well-being.

She tells Self magazine, “I’ve been a vegetarian for seven years, but after seeing a friend who looked amazing and had recently gone vegan, I thought, ‘What’s holding me back?’ Now I’m 95-percent vegan.”

However, Underwood insists she’d consider adding dairy back into her eating regime if she could run her own farm.

She adds, “My veganism is based on a concern about where my food is coming from. In my perfect world, I’d have webcams wherever food is processed so I’d know how clean it is.

“I’ll never eat meat again, because I look and feel better without it, but if I could raise my own cows and chickens and produce my own eggs and cheese, it would be awesome! The food would taste better, because the animals would be happy!”

70-Year-Old Looks 30 Years Younger - Thanks to Raw Food Diet

When Annette Larkins goes out with her husband of 54 years, people assume she is his daughter.

The image of health, vitality and youth with a petite size four frame and a line-free face, Mrs Larkins is in fact 70 years old.

The resident of Miami-Dade County, Florida, attributes her youthful looks to her raw vegan diet and grows almost everything she eats in the garden she refers to as her 'fountain of youth'.

During a visit to her home, ABC News reporters explored the back yard, every of inch of which is covered in plants and trees that grow the fruits and vegetables Mrs Larkins eats.

She told reporters: 'My diet consists of fruits, nuts, vegetables and seeds. I do a lot of sprouting of seeds and as you can see from my garden and of course, these are the raw foods that I eat.'

The sprightly septuagenarian did not always eat this way. Husband of 54 years, Amos, owned a meat factory in the 1960's and it was around this time that his wife decided to go vegetarian.

27 years ago she went one step further by turning vegan and now everything she eats is raw. Nothing cooked or processed every passes her lips.

Mrs Larkins also juices her fruits and vegetables and collects rain water to drink and to water her garden.

For his part, Mr Larkins wishes he had followed his wife's example. Looking considerably older, he also takes prescription medicine for diabetes and high blood pressure while Mrs Larkins won't even take an aspirin.

When they walk down the street together, he admitted: 'They'll ask me what am I doing with this young girl.'

Recognizing how positively she could influence others, the formidable 70-year-old has already written two booklets titled: Journey to Health and produced a DVD about her nutritional regime.

'I am very vibrant, I have lots of energy, as I told you before, I am up no later than 5:30 in the morning as a rule, and I am ready to go' she told ABC.

Her husband agreed, gushing: 'She's an amazing person though. Oh man, I mean really. She does everything- build computers, make all her own clothes, grow her own food, speaks three languages. It's amazing.'

Five Famous Female Vegetarian and Vegan Athletes ‎

Many people mistakenly believe that athletes need to consume meat products in order to perform their best and get an adequate amount of protein in their diet. This belief, although common, simply isn't true.

In fact, there are many female sports celebrities who practice a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle, and kept on top of the game.

Venus & Serena Williams

Venus Williams decided to adopt a vegetarian lifestyle after learning she suffered from an incurable auto-immune disorder. Her sister, Serena Williams, showed her support by pledging to take on the same dietary changes. The two world-renown tennis champions have decided that together they will adopt a vegetarian lifestyle in order to improve their health, and hopefully, reduce some of the symptoms Venus experiences due to her health condition.

Martina Navratilova

Martina Navratilova, a tennis player who won 18 major international championships and placed as runner up in 14 others, chose to live a vegetarian lifestyle. Vegetarianism fits Navratilova well, as she is well known for acting as an animal rights activist.

Hannah Teter

Hannahaa Teter, a U.S. snowboarder, had found a passion other than the snow and ice: protecting and speaking out for baby seals being slaughtered for their fur in Canada. Teter posed for a PETA ad campaign to promote awareness for the seals. Teter is compassionate and concerned about the treatment of all animals, not just seals, and follows a vegetarian diet.

Ruth Heidrich

Ruth Heidrich, a triathlete and cancer survivor, has been living a vegan lifestyle for over 25 years. Holding a master's degree in psychology, as well as over 900 medals for her impressive running ability, Heidrich has proven to the world that an athlete doesn't need meat to perform his or her best.