Early in 2012 I started reaching out to vegan friends on twitter to ask them to share their testimonials. My hope was that by getting vegans to share their stories we could educate and inspire others and give people first hand accounts to replace perceptions or stereotypes. I’m incredibly grateful to those that have participated. Their stories speak for themselves! If you enjoy the series please let us know!
Christian and His Family!
Veganism is so important to me that I want everyone who is not a vegan to know: I’m a normal person and I’m vegan. My wife is a normal person and she’s vegan. Our two and half year old daughter is really normal for a two and a half year old (mine!) and is vegan. No need to be in any created category of self-described progressives, hippies or punks!
The genesis for turning to veganism for us was a concern for “animal rights.” My wife and I were both active in animal rights issues back in our college years of the late 1990s, so embracing animal ethics early in our adult lives set the course for the rest of it.
Although I’m not active in animal rights issues any longer, my diet has remained: and at this point, I’ve been vegan for almost half my life! Instead of being in formal groups or organizations, we are trying to raise our child with the same ethics and respect for animals that informed us when we were younger. But she’s also learning that the circle of compassion that defines veganism doesn’t stop at non-human animals. It’s a line of thought that mindfully requests respect for the natural world as well as for people. To us, to be vegan is not to be single-issue, but to take a holistic approach to life and all its challenges. It’s not just what you don’t eat. To be vegan is to work to be measured, balanced, considerate and thoughtful in all that you do.
I am so grateful to Christian for sharing his story. I hope you found it inspiring! You can follow Christian on twitter @CKWakamiya. Be sure to let him know you appreciated his story!
If you’re feeling inspired and want to submit your own vegan testimonial please read this post. There are also some interviews about the Vegan Testimonials Project that you may enjoy. Kasey Minnis (@veggiemightee) interviewed me for This Dish is Veg. Ashley Flitter also interviewed me about the project on The Unintentional Vegan.
I like your simplistic approach on your vegan experience. I am myself a vegetarian working to become vegan. I like when you said that to be vegan is not to be single-issue, but to take a holistic approach to life and all its challenges. I am sure that I can get some inspiration from your powerful testimony and fully embrace the vegan diet. Good luck to you and best wishes.