Why choose to be vegan

I had been vegetarian for quite some time before I finally decided to be vegan.

Being vegetarian, by the way, is different from being vegan. I've got some of my friends confused with the two. Being vegetarian means you are either of the following:

• Lacto-ovo vegetarian - you still eat dairy and eggs but don't eat any form of meat, including fish meat and seafoods.
• Pesco-vegetarian - you still eat fish but don't eat dairy and eggs.
• Pesco-lacto-ovo - (I'm pretty sure you can deduce what this is.)
• Pretend-vegetarian - those who classify themselves vegetarian simply because they eat meat in minimal portion.

If you're vegan, however, it's simple. You refuse to eat any form of meat (red, white, they make no difference, fish meat is well, white meat).  You also choose not to consume any animal-based products or products which have animal contents or products tested on animals.

I chose veganism for one word - compassion. It encompasses compassion to self, others, and nature.

Research shows there's no better diet than vegan diet if we want to prevent illnesses. It's just a fact. Unfortunately, the SAD (Standard American Diet) as popularized by the American meat industry, don't want you to know more about it because of one word - profit. Click to watch Earthling Ed  or What the Health.

It also helps you practice compassion to other beings. Seriously, if you can't butcher your own animal and eat it, why would you do the same to other animals? It's what we call selective compassion. You won't eat your dog, will you? But all animals are the same. They have the same sensory perceptor which means they feel pain just like your dog. If you say you love animals but still eat them, you don't love animals: you love pets. Click to watch Dominion.

Being vegan also enable you to help nature. Animal agriculture is the largest contributor of pollution in the whole world. If you stop consuming animal based products, you are, in fact, doing your part to help protect and save the environment.

I've made many wrong decisions but deciding to be vegan is not one of them. Being vegan is one of the best decisions I've made for myself, others, and nature.

Join our vegan challenge here!