What is the primary reason that you are a veg*n?

I chose "for the animals" because I do love them. Have had almost any animal you can possibly own in my lifetime. But there are other many reasons for becoming a veg. Injections, spiritial (you have to be in tune with your environment, and killing animals doesn't do that)...etc.

There really is no "one" reason. But I'm glad that I did. I've been healthier and happier with my life. And that's everything.

April

Initially I became vegan for the animals.
But the consequences of animal consumption for the environment (like destruction of habitats and pollution) also cause a lot of suffering if not more than the direct murdering of the animals people eat.

"I'm doing this because I looooooove the animals, stupid!" :)
Haha

**XOXOXO**

Have you noticed that beef eaters, i.e., meat eaters are trying to rescue the third world country by destroying their forests for grazing land, and not a peep out of the science community about the methane, except for E Magazine, cows producing is more than the CO and CO2 that cars put out right now?

I'm spiritually pro vegan animals, because one becomes kinder and gentler, smarter and cleaner, smells nicer and becomes in tune with the planet by being so, all that besides the fact that animal musing is such a Universefull Gas and a half of the good, and great, kind.

hey this finally hit 1000 responses!!! i was OCD about checking it each time i logged in. congratulations!!!

Like most others here...my reasons are pretty much all the above!

Umm, personally I'm veggie for more than just the one reason.
my shirt smells. I'm going to go change it and put something that doesn't smell like soup on.

I agree with "All of the above." I needed checkboxes rather than radio buttons. ;-)

ALL OF THE ABOVE!

I chose "Religious/Spritual" even though I'm not really relgiious. The entire thing to me however does feel sanctified in such a way that I regard it much as a devout person would regard their religion.

"Sing a song and let the the world hear love out loud."

Its all of the above to be fair! but you can only choose one! :)

Dave

my answer really is all of the above.

I chose "holistic" because I think it is all part of all of the answers - but Definitely there is not just one reason.

Social consciousness is a big part - and ethical reasons are extremely important as well.

I don't know why anyone would eat meat - it just does not make any sense at all!

my answer is actually g.ALL OF THE ABOVE

My original impulse in abstaining from meat was for the sake of animals as beings with a right to live. As I learned more, I saw many other good reasons to become vegan and the inter-relatedness of these various angles of the same question.

I voted environmental. You cannot be vegetarian strictly for the sake of animals, it's hypocrisy. Without an ecosystem, we all suffer.

to me, it's completely impossible to not realize that sentient beings are just as complex and vital as we are. same feelings and emotions. fear. love. trust. and most of all, pain. slaughter obviously unsettles me, but the countless videos, pictures, and articles of intentional and deliberate torture is the big picture. the beating of pigs with their bare fucking hands just for fun. punching 2 month old puppies in the face, then laughing while the poor thing screams in pain and horror. locking cattle in cages where they can't move, turn around, or lay down and branding them over and over again. just because. all the while the poor creature screaming in pain. the mistreatment of chickens. stacked and piled in cages on top of each other. the unlucky ones on the bottom suffer broken legs and obvious distress from the weight and the screaming of its peers stuffed into the cage with them. the cowardly hick fucks that threw turkeys around in a warehouse. spitting tobacco in their eyes. hitting them with baseball bats. raping them with thier filthy fingers. and all the while laughing and cheering. it becomes easier for one to realize why i feel towards human beings like i do. i'm perfectly aware that not all people are like this. but things like this have hardened me into an untrusting shell. besides all the torture, eating meat is simply wrong because of reasons many others stated below. a life should not be taken so another can be fed. in nature animals eat animals. most carnivores will use this excuse, when there are plenty of delicious and healthy alternatives to eating meat. i saw a recent ad for rabbit meat being sold as "poultry". these sick insects can't get enough. it's for all these reasons i've become a soldier for the animals. i donate quite a bit of money to shelters, vets, and the like. and i'm never going to stop doing what i can to help even one animal that i'll never get to see enjoy another day or have a chance at a loving home or a meal. i have found my reason for being. and it's to help those who can't speak out for themselves.

i chose spiritual and/or religious reasons...i believe everything is connected so ingesting death and negative energy of poor living conditions, overpopulation, etc is not good for us. i see animals as my equals, i talk to them as they are all my friends. i also would have chosen i love animals because i definitely love them all. i don't want to hurt any living creature. i also just never liked the textures and smell of meats.

I went holistic. Because the universe exists in, and forms integrated webs of wholeness, usually beyond our direct perception - not eating animals means more than just saving them - it means eating more grains and more vegetables, being conscious of NOT killing, thus tying in spiritual and emotional well-being, living a healthier life and theoretically creating a more rational and intelligent step on the food chain.

I can't live with the fact that something had to die to bring me 'pleasure'. Someone asked me the other day why I live the way I do and I said "I love going to bed at night knowing I didn't have to hurt anything to live fully today."
:)

yeah...

I believe that if you want to have a healthy life, you should be a vegetarian/vegan. Also, if you do not agree with suffering of living things, you should be one as well. Both reasons are why I am one. I love animals.

Im not voting. there isnt an option for my choice description. all but the ethical one are self-benefit reasons. mine is purely ethical; not for 'love' of animals. I just wouldnt want to be killed and eaten so i dont kill and eat.

ethics pretty much sums it all up...ties it all together :)

ethical reason, I love the animals
religious and/or spiritual
health
environmental
holistic
meat is just nasty

I vote "G" All of the above, I love animals and cant hurt a fly or even an icky roch! Im pagan and they say harm none and do as yee will, So I do! I have lost 65 lbs no eating meat so thats good for me, And the less meat production plants there are the less waste that goes in to the enviroment, holistic because I like my body pure, And who that nasty meatal taste eww! if i wanted that id suck on a penny

My vote is ethical!animals are like us and we can decide between wrong or right,it's time for a intelligent change:)

I voted health. meat is yummy but it's bad for you, especially because of all the hormones and stuff, and who really knows what's going in to their feed. I'll leave the meat-eating to my cats.

holism don't mean loose livin' ;)

The taste of meat is just nasty, the texture, the taste. I'm not sorry to say Bluah!

I vote Ethical, I love the animals. I'm vegan.
Veganism acknowledges the intrinsic legitimacy of all life. It rejects any hierarchy of acceptable suffering among sentient creatures. It is no more acceptable to torment or kill creatures with "primitive nervous systems" than those with "highly developed nervous systems." The value of life to its possessor is the same, whether it be the life of a clam, a crayfish, a carp, a cow, a chicken, or a child.

I voted environmental, because that the reasons because non vegan persons should be vegan. Health is part of the environment, we are part of this big planetary ecosystem and every thing we do have an impact. Taking care of our environment is good for our health and taking care of our health is good for the environment...

"Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances for survival of life on Earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet. " Albert Einstein

I voted health. Ethical is really tied with that in my opinion but the real reason I changed was health. Even if I could get meat or animal products from a farm that was totally free range and organic, it's not right for me or the animals.

But I know how the animals are really treated and what kind of chemicals come into my body through meat and animal products. Our bodies were not designed to eat meat, humans are the only species that drinks the milk of another species, and I have interest in filling myself with chemicals.

The only logical choice is a vegan, organic lifestyle. I can't always get 100% organic, but I do my best. I am 100% vegan.

I said health. I love my self! I love my self so much that i would like to add some more years to live on this planet.This planet needs me now,my cats,my dogs, and every one I love needs me here! I am the joy everyone misses out in life! Where every one is serious and up tight. I come in to remind every one that you only live once and that you can do so much to make a moment worth remembering! There is too much negativity...for once I would like to change that!

I said ethical reasons, although I'm not a real animal lover. I just don't see why we should eat meat when we don't need to. It's unnecessary, and it's cruel, especially the way we go about it.

All living thing deserve respect

holistic is my choice cuz i feel that tha cruelty exhibited towards these animals is unnecessary...I also am very spiritual an feel that without tha consumption of corpses, the contamination of it...then ourselves will seek a greater level of consciousness....human Will rising farther... the human objective wether fully acknowledged or not is to ascend in our awareness of tha world... Give thanks to all here

I voted "ethical reasons, I love the animals" Though half of it is a lie.

I don't have to love animals to respect them. I don't love the human race in particular but I respect them enough not to support the consumption of their flesh or breast milk, or well, you get the point.

I voted just nasty because it is:

nasty the way they treat animals when they are alive
nasty they kill for food when there is loads to eat
nasty what it does to your body
nasty and unnatural how they reproduce them
nasty and unnatural how keep them
nasty how they make shoes and belts out of them
nasty nasty nasty . . .

I could go on all day!

Animals are nice and all, but I voted environmental. Reducing our carbon footprints is the best thing for all species, including humans. Consuming meat is a huge waste of energy and water and in my view the most compelling reason to be veggie.

So yeah, no offense guys but Mother Earth > Bessy imo.

I voted for spiritual - religious reasons, as my faith is my primary motivation in life, but actually, it was a combination of spiritual, ethical, and environmental reasons. I think your division (one choice only) is too limiting and not very helpful :)

To help animals in the most fun and effective way possible, check out the banner below:

Or go to www.veganoutreach.org and click on adopt-a-college.

I voted for the animals, because really that's what keeps me going... the videos that I have seen-- it's just crazy to know how sick humans can be...

it was mostly because meat was nasty. but also the animals. how can you claim to love animals and still eat meat? i wouldn't eat my furry little fuzzbuckets <3

anyone in the nashville area and know of any veg restaurants?

For myself, it's pretty much all of the above. It started out for health reasons, and as I progressed through the veganism and searched it more; I saw that the ethical reason was farrr more influential on me. Health and environmental are up there too.

Was a vegetarian from day one (relgious reasons) and now its totally for the animals!!

For health! It helps me keep my girlish figure.

i selected religious/spiritual because i am a very spiritual christian, and if god commands to respect all life, then why wouldnt animal lives count?! :)

I replied "environmental", because environmental concerns are ethical concerns and they keep me vegetarian, but it was originally ethical concerns regarding animal suffering that made me give up meat.

I put health... even though it doesn't sum it all up for me. Meat is very nasty too.

as The Beatles said, "I am he as you are he and you are me and we are all together." we are all one. if the cow and i are one, if i kill her, i kill me.

i am a vegan for many reasons. but my originally i just didnt want to be eating animals when i was all calling myself an animal lover. its also because i like to be healthy and meat is just gross. so is milk. i just dont think people were meanto to eat another animals brest milk...haha

i would have to say i did it for ethical reasons , i love animals and i dont want to eat my friends, they are too cute to eat anymore when i know what they go through just to be slaughtered i could never eat them again, its plain out not fair, and it wouldnt be to us humans either.

this website is very helpful because it is hard to find any veggie food in st louis missouri not likely in san diego, california.

I would have put all of those reasons but I chose because I love the animals. :]

I'd vote on the reason I became a veggie, but "meat is gross" isn't an option.