Yes, I'm Vegan

I've been vegan since 2001, and vegetarian since 1985. Why? For health reasons. Yes, I care about animals, however for me personally they were not the primary consideration. I had cancer.

Some consider a high protein diet to be a major factor in the development of cancer. I hadn't liked eating meat, eggs, or milk since childhood, so giving them up was not hard for me (though I started as a lacto-ovo vegetarian - I found it hard to give up cheese and baked goods.)

Besides the possible cancer-promoting aspect, I learned about the bacteria content of non-vegan foods from Rainbow Green Live Foods Cuisine by Gabriel Cousens, M.D.. Even properly cooked animal foods contain a mind-blowing quantity of bacteria, compared to miniscule amounts in properly prepared vegan foods.
Now here comes the startling news...although my diet is and has been strictly vegan for many years, the vitamins and medicines I take are not strictly vegan. Ideally, they would be. Sometimes cost is a factor. Sometimes availability. Bottom line is it doesn't bother me personally that much. If it bothers you, you can call me what you like...but I still call myself vegan. Yes, even though I still have an old pair of leather boots in my closet.

I'm vegan in my own way, for my own purposes. If you are (or become) vegan, I hope you do it in a way that's right for you - for your health, and for your conscience.

-FairyLynne (a.k.a. Randi Kuhne)