written by Theresa Göttl Brightman ~ Akron, Ohio My faith dictates much of who I am and what I believe. While I recognize that the Catholic Church’s mention stirs up much baggage, anger, frustration, and even hate in some people, I love my faith and understand that those who feel that way don’t see it as I […] Read more
Salwa Maddad, Al-Sweida, As-Suwayda, Syria In 2010, a new awareness arose within me and guided me to be vegan. I am fully aware that a person’s actions and behavior can change the people around them. My daughters and 25 of my friends became vegan at that time. Now there are more than 100 persons that […] Read more
Clinton Vernieu, Brisbane, Australia Now that I am awake, I cannot go back to sleep. Awakened from a culturally induced slumber, I have made a pledge to myself—but, more important, I have taken an oath for other animals. I am now their caregiver, witness and companion—I will never be able to justify their exploitation. This […] Read more
Petra Sindelarova, Prague, Czech Republic I grew up as a “normal” child. I used to like other animals just like the people around me. They were cute and fun to play with. During the summer holidays, which I would spend at a cottage with my grandparents, we would be given rabbits, chickens, or geese. I […] Read more
Uday Bhobe, Mumbai, India It was New Year’s Day, 2013, a month after my 53rd birthday. On a whim, I made a resolution to go vegan, or so I thought; I now know it was merely a resolution to try a plant-based diet. (I make New Year’s resolutions every year. They usually last a couple […] Read more
Amanda Beatty, England I once believed I was an animal lover, yet I had no idea what love really was. I never saw the cruelty I inflicted by what I ate, used or wore; causing so much suffering without a thought. I followed blindly what I had been told, by parents, teachers, governments and media. […] Read more
Keith Berger, South Florida, USA I will always live vegan because, ever since the moment my eyes were opened to the horrors and atrocities of the culture of animal exploitation pervasive throughout our current global community, I refuse to participate in, support or encourage the system of animal slavery, torture, rape, mutilation, deprivation and wholly […] Read more
Melanie Thomet, South Africa They say that the only things that are certain in this life are death and taxes. My imagination begs to disagree. The philosopher in me has debated death—the form of death; the beyond of death; the fear of death—from every angle. There is little about death that seems certain to my […] Read more
Akiko Iwasa, Japan I can say with conviction and without any hesitation that I will always be a vegan. I still remember very clearly when I became free from the brainwashing we are all subjected to about the necessity of eating other animals. I was truly shocked, angry, and in despair. How could we all […] Read more
Anastasia Zeller, Kazakhstan When thinking of Kazakhstan, most people probably associate it with wide landscapes, horse-riding nomads and yurts in a remote countryside. This is what it used to be hundreds of years ago. The roaming nomad lifestyle did not allow people to grow plants but to breed cattle, which is not bound to a […] Read more
