I Don't Eat Animal Products Because I Don't Have To

by Janene
(Miami, FL)

I watched and "Forks Over Knives," and "Vegucated" on the same afternoon about five weeks ago. Something clicked in my 52-year-old nurse brain connecting the often end-stage health conditions of the patients I see in the Emergency Department and the hazards of an animal product way of eating.

Eating eggs and dairy seemed as unhealthy and cruel to animals as eating meat itself. While I can understand why someone with limited food resources might eat whatever is available, I don't eat animal products because I don't have to. I have the evolving knowledge and resources to enjoy better health, not feel guilty when I look at my beloved pets, and take solace in the fact that I am doing something small to help the planet.

Watch the movies that changed Janene's life forever:

• Vegucated
  
• Forks Over Knives
  

Editor's Note:

Forks Over Knives is one of the most influential movies ever made in the vegan community. Most of us grow up with traditional ideas of nutrition, and until we have a chance to see the facts, we might continue on that path for most of our lives. You have to go out of your way to learn the truth about food and with busy lives and food patterns that we love, it's not common for people to take the time to learn anything different.

I applaud you for watching these two incredible movies, and then for taking the information and changing your life.

I went through the exact thought process as you because while I stopped eating meat when I was very young, I continued to eat eggs, dairy products, and some fish for the next decade of my life. I never educated myself on the facts, so I just assumed that "chickens lay eggs no matter what, so why not eat them" and "cows need to be milked so their udders aren't too full, so it's fine to drink milk" were facts. The truth is that you contribute to animal cruelty just as much by eating eggs and dairy as by eating meat.

I also relate to your concept of no longer feeling guilty when you look at your pets. I remember the first time I snorkeled with tropical fish after I'd decided to stop eating them and I felt a sense of peace knowing I wasn't going to hurt a living being.

Congratulations to you on deciding to change your life for the better!

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