I never imagined this would happen.
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- Опубликовано: 2 фев 2025
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TODAY'S VIDEO:
Today marks ten years to the day that I came across something that changed my life forever and became a major catalyst for who I am today. So, in today’s video, I wanted to talk about what happened, how it changed my life and what it actually taught me that became so important.
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What moment stands out to you when you reflect on how you became vegan?
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when i realised that 'vegan' is the food dogma of new age spiritualism as described in 'the celestine prophecy' i just had to re-read the book. i was enjoying it until i got to the last couple of chapters where its revealed to be nature worship, promotes dep*p of humanity to under 500 million and the main guy reaches enlightenment and becomes an ethereal being of light (lucifer)
find god, dont believe in this pseudo religion of human hatred
there have been two moments in my life:
1. when i was a child, i found out that "morcilla" (blood sausage) was made from a pig's blood. At the moment i found it disgusting, but everybody seemed to not care. It was so established that people found it completely normal.
2. Watching your Ted talk debunking anti-vegan arguments last December. It caused me to think a lot about my decisions and, ultimately, led me to become vegan. Thank you, Ed!!
for me it was someone saying vegetarians are hypocrites (which i was at the time) and that kinda annoyed me so i started doing research into why someone would think or say that
and then i found all the disgusting animal abuse in the industry also veganism helped a lot of with my health
but yeah thats kinda how it happened for me i watched docus like "what the health" and speeches from you gary yourofsky, and a lot of content from joey carbstrong
all that made me go vegan on the spot and never looked back even once
👋
*2024.................Year of the Vegan Activist!* 🏆
My aunt put me on a vegan diet when I was 12 for health reasons. Something happened when l was visiting her husband's relatives in a rural village next to a dairy farm. One night I couldn't sleep. I heard this horrible sound. It was like someone crying all night. I went out of my room and saw my uncle up drinking tea. I asked him who was crying? He told me it was definitely the cow that lost her calf. I asked if it was dead. He told me straight up that no it was taken away from her. It was the most sad and horrible sound I will never forget. Right then I realised being vegan was more than just a diet.
Just reading about this makes me feel very sorry for all the cows forced to pine for their babies. I would expect women to understand this feeling best but women can be just as mean.
My vegan naturopath told me that cows have to be lactating to produce milk and were forcibly impregnated. I had naively thought that they just produced milk all the time, never made the link. The penny dropped - I went from vegetarian to vegan overnight. Has been 13 years now and I am 66 years old
The first ever documented positive experience at a naturopath, well done!
A must for good people who want to know the truth 👉The Connections (2021) [short documentary] 🌳
I thought the same about the continual producing milk until I learnt the ugliest truth about constant impregnating. I thought a nice lifestyle until I realise how disgusting and filthy environment and how much the dairy industry has fed lies and brain washed people and hidden so many truths
So many many experiences as a child being fed animals rabbit heart liver kidneys brain I understand what it was.
As soon as my parents weren't able to stop me I became veggie.
The vegan transition was much later 30 plus years when I realised who we get cows milk that hens eggs are their embryos! So that was it for me. Then I gave it a go and it was sooooo ludicrously easy!
Wish I'd done it sooner decade's sooner
Do you mind sharing your vegan naturopath!? I’d love to find a vegan one to work with!
11 years ago I went vegan and all I regret is that I didn't do it sooner.
I had to get 33 years old to recognize that a cow doesn't "give us milk" - she hast to be a mother as all mammals do.
After that embarassing moment of "What the hell was I thinking? I am a grown up and a mother myself?!" I made the connection and did the only right thing: #GoVegan folks.
Just do it!
🌱💚🌱
Vegan for 9 years here and yes it’s crazy how many people are simply disconnected and believe in weird fairy tales.
I had the same realisation when my vegan naturopath told me that cows have to be lactating to produce milk and were forcibly impregnated. I had naively thought that hey just produced milk all the time, never made the link. The penny dropped - I went from vegetarian to vegan overnight
Me too
Vegan for 13 years now and there is no going back at this point.
Agree. One of the most disturbing things I've seen since going vegan is videos of farms that have tours, where mothers with their children watch cows being pumped by machines and act as if this is cute and normal. I find it sickening especially when mothers are not vegan.
In 1985 I was driving and got stopped next to a cattle truck. One of the cows lowered its head and looked directly at me through one of the vents in the truck. In his eyes I saw such sorrow, and fear. I honestly felt he was begging me for help. I became a vegetarian and over the next 2 decades I finally quit eating seafood, eggs, & dairy.
I've seen those trucks and seen the cows looking out and they look so fearful, same for the sheep. It leaves me ruminating for quite some time
That made me cry 😢
A significant moment for me happened when I was around 4 years old. I had caught this bumblebee in a cup. I thought it was really exciting and shook the cup for a while. Suddenly, the bumblebee didn´t move anymore. My father told me bluntly that I had killed it. I can remember it as something falling into place. I understood that the poor bumblebee had a life and its own individual experience and that I had taken its life away from it, which really upset me. We buried it in a flower pot, and I think this was the starting point for my empathy towards other animals and, eventually, going vegan.
Just out of university I spent a year working on a dairy farm in New Zealand. All the cows were clearly distressed when their calves were taken away, but one of the cows was allowed to keep her calf longer than normal. Her grief was like nothing I’ve seen before or since. Every day she would race ahead of the herd to the milking shed, the last place she saw her calf, and bellow and bellow until eventually she lost her voice and all she could raise was a hoarse croak. It was heartbreaking to watch. To my shame, it took another 30 years for me to adopt a vegan diet, but as Ed says, a seed had been planted.
fffffffffffk dairy farmers just watch this regularly.
Love some good veal
very sad to read your experience of the cows' experiences.
Some of these stories are so sad 😢
@@lauratanln
Lol
I became vegetarian and subsequently vegan after I entered university to study animal sciences with the hope of becoming a vet. I discovered that Animal Sciences is more about production than it is about medicine. I had to go to all the farms, slaughterhouses, see all the horrible things that happened within the meat and dairy industry. I never looked back. Best decision Ive ever made.
It's the same with veterinary nursing. I had to do all those awful things to animals. I blocked it out of my mind for years.
You probably thought medicine was about health too.
Bro, if I zoom in on your face, it looks like you were punched in both eyes, and your skin is a sickly color. You visibly do not look healthy at all
So animal sciences is about the science backed ways to exploit animals to the maximum, not ways of animal welfare.
@@lauratanlnanimals don’t need our welfare. Animals need us to stop destroying the ecosystems they live in through agriculture.
One of my moments of truth:
For several years, my husband and I had been fostering kittens as a way to assist our local humane society. We fell in love over and over again with these babies. Caring for kittens was fun and entertaining, but also gave us a deep satisfaction in knowing we were helping to save these kittens from suffering and helping the cat community as a whole. One night, while relaxing on the couch, the way I perceived our current foster kittens completely shifted. I had been having some serious thoughts about animal agriculture, and probably been watching some Earthling Ed videos. But I hadn't yet made the connection with the animals in our own home. I suddenly thought of how it would be for our kittens to be cooped up in a box barely bigger than their bodies, never able to scamper about, release their kitty instincts, or even get comfortable. I thought about how their only feelings of sunlight and fresh air would be when they were driven to slaughter. I thought about them being hoisted by their kitty ankles and dangling in distress. I processed these terrible thoughts while literally looking at them frolic and play in our family room.
These thoughts were so disconcerting. Why was I working so hard to save the lives of *some* animals, yet willingly participating in the suffering/torture of others? My mind started to shift at that point. I became vegetarian for a few months, then vegan.
Thanks, Ed.
Thankyou for sharing, very moving ❤️❤️❤️
I often talk to people about how I would spend most weekends volunteering at an animal shelter, walking dogs, playing with kittens, helping out. And then without fail, every time, I would leave and go to the same cafe and order the same chicken panini for lunch. I remember so distinctly sitting there one time and thinking "why are THOSE animals worthy of my free-time and adoration, and THESE animals are for eating?" and it was the first crack in my carnivore mentality. 5+ years vegan now and never going back.
not carnivore, but carnist.
I feel ya. When the dots connect it seems so obvious, and yet for many of us the connection doesn't happen. Or hasn't happened yet. So congrats!
For me it was clicking on a suggested link on RUclips, no idea where it came from, it was your talk: You Will Never Look at Your Life in the Same Way Again. It was 5 years ago and I believe it was the most important moment in my adult life. I went vegan right away and never looked back! It was like I was ready and the teacher appeared. Thank you Ed.
I really love that video too. ❤ #vegansforlife
In ‘95, I saw a clip of a farm documentary of cows in tiny stalls. They could not turn around and their calves were no where on the grounds. I went in the kitchen and washed out my bowl of frozen yogurt. Went vegan right then and there.
Wow, just wow
I threw my Mayo and reduced cream, and condensed milk after watching HOPE What you eat matters
@@jessicataylor2753 ever watch something that made you super nauseous? Yeah, better chucked down the drain than in the toilet.
That's beautiful 😍
"Not to hurt our humble brethren is our first duty to them but to stop there is not enough. We have a higher mission -- to be of service to them whenever they require it." -- St. Francis of Assisi
I've totally been the "baCOn" or "mY fOoD eAtS YoUR FoOd" guy in the comments.
Got a kid and decided it was time to look into whether he also should get a Christian upbringing.
Alex O'Connor was amongst the many religious and non-religious channels I listened to to come to assist my decision making.
He dropped the "A meat eaters case for veganism" video and it just hit me.
Vegetarian within a month as I still thought eggs and dairy were needed for protein, vitamins etc.
A year later watched "Gamechangers" and dropped eggs and dairy on the spot.
Insane experiences and have not looked back since.
I was also watching Alex for his atheist content. It was "the worst of cognitive dissonance" that got me
I am also a fan of Alex and his USA "look alike", i can see where you're coming from
👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
So great to hear. ❤
Great to read a story like this 😊 will check out that video
I'm vegetarian since 33 years and vegan since 6 years.
I became vegan when I found out about the diary industry
I was not aware of how cows were treated for milk.,
I'm now a sponsor for 3 cows and 5 goats.At least they are safe from cruelty.🙏
Thank you again Ed for your words and commitment ❤
1981/2 went vegetarian after seeing the Animal film about slaughter houses, it was like a snuff movie. Once seen never forgotten. I was horrified as I have always loved animals. About 8 years ago social media drove me to admit eggs and dairy was just as bad so I became vegan. Thank you for all you do for the cause.
A must for good people who want to know the truth 👉The Connections (2021) [short documentary] 🌳
@@WiseandVegandis, dat, andy udder ting?
@OM617a no medical issue here...happy healthy satisfied meat eater! Always will be
@@Trolloftruth This is a lie, or you wouldn't have to troll vegans. You do this because you are insecure.
@@tamcon72 I do this because I love trolling vegans...bout it
I went veggie from age 10 back in 1990. Mum always brought me up to care for and respect animals. It was when I was in my mid later 30’s. I saw the interview of James Aspey after he’d had a year of silence and then spoke about veganism and animals. I then did some research and heard Ed talk at Brighton Vegan Fair and that was it. I was vegan from then. No going back. Proudly vegan for the animals and a proud activist also. Thanks Ed!
4 years ago I went vegan overnight thanks to you and Joey carbstrong! Love you Ed 💯🙏👍❤️❤️❤️
Respect for doing it overnight, almost everyone I know including myself and my partner needed a 6-12 month period as a vegetarian first!
@@BigBlueMan118 WOW well done for making the change! My husband went vegan one month later and we both love vegan food. We don't like avocados though lol. Good luck to you both on your kindly journey!👍😊🙏❤️
@@LisaCooper-thevegan-123 vegan for 3 years now, my partner 5 years!
@@BigBlueMan118 WOW well done both!👍😊🙏❤️
Me too, nearly five years ago. Dominion and a number of people sharing with me. 🌱
I decided go try a plantbased diet the day I watched The Game Changers just over 4 years ago. I decided to do so from a health perspective as the potentials seemed so clear cut.
That same night, I fell into yours and Joey Carbstrong's "rabbit holes" of RUclips content, watching the ethcial arguments beind veganism all night. I remeber only sleeping a few hours that night because I couldn't let go of this new insight I got from you guys. I remeber Joey recommending Gary Yourofsky's The Best Speech You Will Ever Hear, and I wactched it the first thing in the morning. After that, I called my best friend offering him all my animalproducts which he picked up shortly after. From that point, I have lived a vegan lifestyle with everything that comes with it.
Thank you Ed, Joey Carbstrong, Gary Yourofsky, CosmicSkeptic (although not vegan anymore) for showing me the ethics and imperatives behind veganism, and Gaz Oakley for showing me how delicious plant based food is, something that was also crucial for me in the beginning 😋
In high school, I used to walk to Burger Chef for lunch. My walk took me past a university ag school. One day, there was a cow at the fence. I looked into her big brown eyes, looked at my bag o' burger, and put 2 and 2 together. Vegetarian for 50 years. No regrets, no cravings, no temptations.
Vegan took longer. A Mercy for Animals video showed a worker in steel toed boots kicking a newborn calf... at a 5th generation family farm near me. Family farms are healthy and happy, right? Turns out there are sadistic monsters everywhere.
The day I stopped paying for animal cruelty I was 49 two years ago was the day I looked down at my English Bulldog who somewhat resembles a cute little pig. And I was cutting up chicken at her same time. I instantly felt sick to my stomach. That was the day I stopped eating meat. I was terrified. I was like am I going to die not eating meat? Because I knew I couldnt go back. And I was a minority plus my husband of 30 years still ate meat. my husband still eats chicken but we both have been off dairy before I went vegan. I watched Gary Yourofsky speech and your speech you will never look at life the same way. I honestly have never craved meat after that day. It makes me gag. I cant watch the shows that show the farming because it would be to traumatic. I have seen little clips and wow it’s herendous. I will never go back no matter what. Thank you for everything you do. I cried the first month at every meal I ate knowing there was no animal that had to die for it. All I can tell anyone is stay strong. I never realized what it was like to be a minority and carnivores will come at you, laugh, make jokes. Educate yourself. Read Eds book! Research.
punctuation wld help
I’ll keep this video close to my heart. It has gold nuggets of wisdom.
i was 4 years old. my dad came home from fishing. he carried in the dead fish dangling from his fingers sticking up into the gills of the fish. Blood ran from the mouth or eyes or both. i was HORRIFIED!!! i thought fish were our friends. remember "one fish two fish red fish blue fish?" my body began to tremble and i ran away screaming "murderer!!" (its a family joke now...sigh) i remember it like it was yesterday. im 64
wow that's so intense ! funny story, I love it ♥
Whoa! I was the same as a child, my dad fished and hunted - I remember crying to him at the door to not go on his trip to kill deer. I was always both heartbroken and grossed out.
That’s strong, especially considering how long ago and how young you were. Blessings 💚💚💚
Mediterranean diet is a good diet to practice. Eat plenty of fish
@@Agenthoneydew33 fish feel pain. we are decimating our oceans. why harm when you can be harmless. why kill when you dont have to
It never fails to shock me as to how cruel and needlessly violent humans can be. And at the same time we want to live in a peaceful world. At some point, we need to confront this conflicting attitude, otherwise nothing changes for the better. Enjoy your 10 year Veganiversary Ed - (mine is coming up soon) ☺
My moment came after seeing vegan activists expose the horrors of the dairy industry (I had been vegetarian most of my life). 💚🌱
VEGAN GAINS turned me vegan. The year was 2015. I went on a mission to prove him wrong. I couldn't do it. He was right. I've been vegan for 9 years. I just needed someone to yell at me I guess. His approach worked. It is not for everyone though.
Nothing would ever convince me to give up what makes me happy
lol
Sending you lots of love! Happy ten year Veganniversary! 😘 ❤️ - Mary
Happy 10 year anniversary 💚
I wish I could download (Matrix style) your calmness and well-spokenness and share the vegan message like you do!
Yessss
My "moment" was the film "Earthlings." I think everyone (all human Earthlings) should be required to watch this film. Everyone should be aware of the suffering inflicted.
Since im vegan already i have opted out of watching. I know i am not contributing to the suffering and im certain i will find it unbearable to watch
@@mesCheerios I don't blame you a bit.
@@mesCheeriosif you’re already vegan I wouldn’t recommend it… I watched it with a vegan friend because both of us told carnists to watch it, and we felt like we needed to see what we were recommending to people… we had both been vegan over 5 years at the time and we have done activism at actual slaughterhouses and have seen the violence firsthand, and we still had to stop the film 3 or 4 times because we were crying so hard 😬 it was brutal.
I couldn't sleep for days after watching 😭 I was already vegan and I was watching with my boyfriend at the time, hoping to help him become vegan too.
Same
You're the greatest Ed. I wish there were more out there like us.
I was in my second year of uni, a couple of days before my final exams of the semester. I was procrastinating by watching youtube videos, when I suddenly came across one of your debates. The video was long enough and I REALLY didn’t want to study, so I decided to give it a watch. I was vegetarian at the time and somewhat familiar with plant based eating thanks to Pick Up Limes, but your vids were the final push I needed. Been vegan ever since and I’m also celebrating my veganniversary this month ❤️
Wise inspirational words. Thank you for what you do for those who cannot speak.
Thanks!
My neighbours cows made me vegan and I am so thankful for it 😍💚 now our six people household is 90% vegan (3 actual vegans and 3 flexitarians who mostly eat plant based)
12 years ago I watched Forks over knives and that was the start of my journey. I am an ethical vegan and at almost 65 I am happy and healthy. Thanks Ed for your great content! 😊
i 100% agree with what you said about the transition of our mentality - after i went vegan, going to the supermarket and walking past the butchers, fishmongers etc was a whole world different through my eyes, even though i’d done the exact same thing as a meat eater
And the smell from the fish and seafood department,didn't smell too fresh.
"Out of the blue" my medical lab results revealed that I was one point from being pre-diabetic. I looked for the best diet. Thankfully, I found whole food plant based direction. THEN I saw what happens to animals that are raised for "food." I was traumatized. Empathy, guilt, and incredible sorrow overtook me. THEN I started listening to what we are doing to our environment in order to raise / kill animals for "food." The most difficult thing for me has been that I learned, and consequently changed... but no one around me is even remotely interested in changing.
Thank you for speaking up for animals 💖💖💖💖
I had the overnight moment and switched from vegitarian to vegan. I am learning a lot from you on how to respond when challenged my non vegan friends.
Went vegan overnight 5 years ago. What stands out after making the change is the feeling of isolation that I never felt before (being a quite extroverted person). Being judged by the negative and sceptical attitudes of friends family and coworkers, made me feel like I was different and that I needed to always be ready to defend myself. Those relationships have improved but are still very different from pre-vegan me.
Thank you Ed for being a voice for the animals . You inspire me daily as a fellow vegan.❤
A few years before fully committing to veganisim, I went to a magic show where a woman sitting next to me in the audience hysterically burst out crying over how one of the magicians on stage was performing a vanishing trick with a real live dove. At first, I was defensive in thinking that she might have been "over reacting" or behaving "too dramatically" over the treatment of a single bird but then on the way back home, I found myself wrestling with the reality of people who regularly eat birds and my disturbingly passive ability to stay quiet about it unlike that remarkable woman who justly spoke up. I still cry to myself when I think about the hold that my internalized speciesism had over my critical thinking skills and I oftentimes fantasize about encountering that one audience member one day and giving her a joyful fist bump in solidarity. I wish I could tell her that she effectively planted a seed in my then-carnist brain that I will never forget as now-vegan
I cried myself to sleep with my puppies
One moment that really impacted me was seeing a truck stuffed to the brim with chickens on the highway, heading to a slaughterhouse. My mom excitedly yelled out something along the lines of “Look at the chickens!” completely unaware of what they had gone through and where they were going. She went silent after I told her that they were heading to the slaughterhouse. Rest in piece to those poor babies. We see you, we are fighting for you, and we will never forget you.
Thank you for inspiring others💚💚💚🤗🤗🤗🐄🐖🐓♥️♥️♥️🫂🫂🫂
Veganism for me is understanding we have a moral obbligation towards the animals. They are unprotected by the law and by the indifference of the large majority of people. The moral imperative makes us what we are. I went vegan because inspired by other beings I consider morally superior to the average human...♥️👍💚
A must for good people who want to know the truth 👉The Connections (2021) [short documentary] 🌳
No
VeganSemihCyprus33 dis, dat, andy udder ting?
@@Trolloftruth What language is that? English from Cyprus? A friend of mine is from Cyprus(Elena) but nothing like that...
@josiecirigliano9134 I don't really know what gibberish that idiot speaks...sure isn't anything I ever heard before
Who else hasn't watched but knows Ed will never stop being vegan 🐤🌱
Yes, Mr. Edward “Winters” Gaunt’s understanding of metaethics is beyond reproach, which explains why he condones the MURDER of poor, innocent humans before they have the opportunity to even see the light of day. 👶 The fact that he repeatedly asserts that “humans are animals” shows what an abject hypocrite is that MURDEROUS sinner. 😩 Furthermore, it is debatable whether Ed is truly vegan in his outlook, since he recently stated on the national television programme, GBNews, that he believes we ought NOT to ban animal agriculture! “I’m not even saying that we should ban meat, dairy and eggs right now”. Mr. Ed Gaunt, So-called “VEGAN” activist. 😐 ruclips.net/video/Sl5GpxLXnuI/видео.html Go to the 8:15 mark.
Of course!
I give him 5 years before he's back to eating meat.
When you live vegan you don’t go back in your beliefs
@@-_soy_-888Unfortunately you are wrong.
I remember the day I was in the passenger seat of a car on the freeway, and I watched a cattle truck go by. Seconds after smiling and waiving and telling them I love them, I broke down after it hit me. That day change. The rest. Of my life. I’ve been vegan for almost a year, and I’ll never regret it.
8 years ago watching and listening to a mother cow crying and being separated from her baby, knowing shell never see her offspring again and shell be repeatedly sexually assaulted again and again until her body is finally sent off to be dog food, 😥🤯That was it for me. Plus i had recently taken mushrooms and during my trip I encountered something that showed me it was not very cool to kill and eat innocent creatures if you don't need to ❤🙏
Ever since I was a child I had so many moments but I never went vegan, I guess all these moments were indeed building up until one day something really clicked when I read a story about how cows are treated and what’s really happening with the rest of the animals that humans consider to be food. Then I watched Gary Yurofsky speech and tried watching Earthlings and that was it. Never eating animals or buying products made from animals ever again. We are human and we have to act human. So go vegan, it’s the best decision you could ever make. 🌱 ❤
Telling the story about the bear in the zoo brings back a haunting memory from decades ago at Chester Zoo. I watched a tiger in a small enclosure literally pacing up and down with a loping gait about 8 paces. It was a concrete enclosure yet where he was pacing there was a deep groove carved out by his pacing demonstrating that he had beeb doing this probably every day for years. It was so unutterably sad.
Congrats on your anniversary, dear great, wonderful Ed!!! 🥳💚🌱I went vegan on November 4th 2011. It happened on the spot, I clicked on Gary Yourofski’s speech and just a few moments later I knew I’d never go back. Thanks for continuing to make the world a better and more vegan place! Love love love 💚💚💚
About 7 years ago my ex pointed out that it seemed hypocritical to call myself an animal lover when I consumed animal products every day. I argued against it as most meat eaters do, but that conversation planted a very important seed. I remember buying a sausage sandwich a few weeks later and being very uncomfortably aware of the fact I was eating a pig who was killed and I told myself I should try more veggie options in future. I spent a couple years as a vegetarian and committed to going completely vegan in 2020. It's the best decision I've ever made and wouldn't dream of going back. 💚
I too stopped going to zoos, a long time ago. Your story jogged my memory, Very similar in fact, I remember the grass had been worn down to make a circular track where a bear had been just circling, he must have been so depressed. I found it really upsetting at the time.
It’s almost 6 years to the day for me. Had been pescatarian, then veggie, then vegan. The final push was your land of hope and glory film, and that was it overnight.
My life honestly just then felt completely in alignment. It’s like there was no stress in what I ate. That’s the only way I can describe it.
I thank you for that.
I also feel that the word vegan has been demonised by the media which makes it so much more difficult for people to understand it.
I always considered myself an animal lover, I always cared deeply about animals, and at a young age when eating steak, I stopped mid-meal and got really sad and told my parents that this was a dead animal and that I felt bad about eating it. This happened numerous times, but they always told me that I needed protein, and I was led to believe meat, dairy, and eggs were the only ways to get protein. I also told myself many times that it's better that I eat the animals, so they "weren't killed for nothing," so their bodies wouldn't go to waste.
Then when I was 23, I had become a pescetarian and I started dating a vegan activist, and I told him about all of these feelings and preconceived notions I had about eating animals and about protein. He instantly reminded me of supply and demand; we pay to eat the animals and that's why they're killed. Me paying for dead animals meant I was the one killing the animals... such a simple concept, I felt stupid for not even thinking about that before. Then he gave me a couple books to read about animal agriculture and veganism. As an "animal lover," I couldn't be a hypocrite any longer, I knew I HAD to go vegan. So within the course of a year, I transitioned to veganism. I've now been 100% vegan for six years and I will never go back to harming animals.
And I married that vegan activist two years ago. He's now been vegan for almost eleven years now, and he was vegetarian for four years before that.
I love that you're equipping me with vocabulary and the mindset to speak on these things which I can feel much clearer than I can express in words.
I never get tired of hearing about your testimony Ed!
I'm 45 and I became vegan 5 years ago. I was vegetarian for a few years before cutting dairy out of my diet, and it was Joaquin Phoenix's speech when he won the best actor award at the Oscars for Joker that changed my mind. The documentary Earthlings was also a big moment for me, and I can't believe I felt any other way than I do now. Thank you Ed, and namaste to all of you. xx
Thank you, Ed. Very articulately expressed, and inspiring!
One of my moments was a Passover dinner. We were having lamb shanks and mine still had its knee joint attached and i was about 11 and I found it fascinating i kept on moving the knee joint back and forth and back and forth and my family around me was getting very shifty and uncomfortable and i couldn't figure out why i later sorta thought that maybe they were uncomfortable because they didnt realise/were forced to recognise that the lambs we were eating were actually living breathing beings it didn't make me make the change right away but years later when i met a vegan and was discussing veganism etc. this memory played a big role in my reflections etc. before making the switch
This is brilliant Ed. Your eloquence and articulacy are exceptional and very persuasive
I was an unaware vegetarian, i couldn't support the ill treatment of animals , one day i realized that for 40 years i'd been a hypocrite by consuming dairy and egg , on discovering the disgusting way that cow's and chickens are treated i became vegan . 9 years vegan now , my only regret is that i hadn't become vegan from the begining.
6 years and a few days ago, I came across one of Ed's videos and have been vegan since 💚 Still so grateful and glad to see the books are being translated into different languages!
Thank you, Ed. We share that moment of revelation of yours, with you, cathartically. Even as a child it ‘felt wrong’ despite beloved relatives farming in the UK. How much I hope they diversify and that they see that the end of traditional farming (currently they are losing money so hopefully this serves an incentive to change) is the beginning of ethical sustainable farming.
As an academic, I have been perusing the area of ‘the commercial (and political) determinants of health’. I cite your ‘milk’ video and how its consumption originated with surpluses after the war. Not a conventional academic citation, but scholarly nonetheless. Great film footage. I also cite your ‘fish are sentient’ video. Most recently, these have been cited in an extensive review on vegan nutrition (including environmental and climate impacts) which is under review with a journal at present. My international colleagues and I have crafted a ‘new’ spin for the nutrition community worldwide. I shall forward you a copy of the article once published. That process can take a while. Everything in the article is 100% defensible based on the science.
Professor-Elizabeth
Happy 10 year veganniversary Ed. Thanks for being such an inspiring and intelligent voice. After going vegan late 2017, your videos really resonated with me and how I think when it comes to interacting with meat eaters then and now. Keep up the wonderful work.
I'd say the Cowspiracy documentary really sparked my interest in veganism. Then I had a school project where we had to make a drastic change to our life for a couple weeks. I chose a juice cleanse/liquid diet (was big into bodybuilding at the time) so the lack of solid food meant I had to smoothie almost everything this made me realize all my meals were pretty much vegan and it was already not too bad even without solid food. I didn't really lose much of my weight and fitness so I stuck with it. Afterwards, I found the wonderous variety of vegan food/restaurants out there. So it was already well worth it for me in terms of health and taste.
Later, I was made aware of the ethics and everything, and I went truly vegan for the animals after hearing the logical moral arguments form the many activists such as yourself Gary/Joey Carbstrong/James Aspey etc...
The turning point for me was Gary Yourofsky's famous speech. Never has my entire worldview been so drastically flipped. I discovered your videos soon after.
Me to!
Same here
Same in 2016
Lol isn't gary non vegan now in a mental institution?
For me...I was told to watch Dominion, and the "speech"...I watched that movie and speech...never even paused for 1 second from consuming animals and animal products
You rock, dude! Good job being vegan so long.
I was physically/mentally abused by my "father" and "step-mother" and neglected/mentally abused by my "mother."
I had to deal with bullies at school and gang violence in the streets.
(My mom died when I was 17. I hope my dad lives a long miserable life.)
Life was not easy, then I joined the Marine Corps after high school and did two back to back combat tours. I watched my friend get shot in the head, got traumatic brain injuries(too many explosions), fucked my back up, and (more)PTSD.
As you could guess, my mental health was not good.
I'm glad to say that according to my therapist and many years of therapy, I've broken the chain of abuse, and I'm doing a great job as a parent. If not for my wife and kids, I'd be dead.
I've been vegan since 2018. I've seen, caused, and been through enough pain and suffering.
If my broken heathen ass can do it, you can too! Lol 🌱💪🏽🖖🏽
Amazing
Bless you!❤
You're a huge inspiration 💚 I also went vegan during a stay at a psych ward. Activism has given my life meaning ever since. You have the potential to inspire many people with your story! I wish you all the best ✨️
You deserve so much happiness, I wish you the best!
You are such an inspiration! Life has put you through so much. And I am sorry to hear that but you were brave enough not to give up yet keep fighting to see the light at the end of the tunnel! You made it!! And being vegan is just so appropriate, such a ‘peaceful’ choice… you feel at peace with yourself because you know you are not harming any other individual or sentient being. Well done! Sending you lots of hugs all the way from Italy! 💚🌱🤗
Well spoken Ed fair play, very sad indeed.🌱🐔💚
1 person makes a difference. 4 years ago I became vegan largely from watching Ed's outreach.
And then I became an activist with a youtube channel who turned other people vegan and encouraged other vegans to become activists.
The ripple effects extend far and wide, don't let anyone tell you one person doesn't make a difference. 🌱
I’m so impressed with your activism (what I’m able to see of it) and the videos you’ve created have been excellent 🤘🏻 I can tell how much you are invested in being a voice (educated, at that) in this movement for animal liberation. If anybody reading this hasn’t followed @DebugYourBrain yet, I suggest it 100%
I’m stunned it’s only been 4 years for you given the wealth of superbly researched, in depth and well produced content you’ve created. Over the past few years you’ve produced some ever so needed content. Much respect to you for dedicating the time and effort in doing so. 🌱☮️🌍💚
Love your work! ❤
You're a legend
Justin produces some of the most intelligent content out there, and I'm not just talking about vegan content. I absolutely love his work.
I am glad my eyes have been opened, however the way I see the world now puts me in an even deeper pit of despair, I am aware of the suffering we put animals through, and people's ignorance. Your videos give me hope though :)
Now that I've gone vegan 6 months ago, I feel that constant despair also. I can be quite consuming
@dellisgibbs5823 just know you aren't alone. I recommend reading this book: 'Vystopia: The Anguish of Being Vegan in a Non-vegan World'
by Clare Mann.
I remember this story too - it was the fact that the chickens were endangering people and more importantly traffic was disrupted - I love that this was a catalyst for you and you had a revelation. You are brilliant, for me it was the remains of a christmas dinner, this broken body before me that I had caused to be there, it was an overnight change over 13 years ago. I had been on and off vegetarian before but that previous Summer I had met a vegan and was amazed by how lovely they were. Sometimes it's a lightbulb moment but mostly it's a percolation, brewing compassion.
Earthings Movie is the Reason I've been Vegan since December 2018. Ed and Joey have Encouraged Me to Educate Other People about the Scale of Abuse and Harm of Animals at the Hands of Humans. Lots of Love and Thank You Ed. 💖
It's food cope
Thanks for this post, Ed. I cried so hard after watching the documentary: Earthlings. I felt so guilty as a human for the way I had treated animals. We are so blessed to have animals to care for. Their vulnerability is so stark. We have to strive for a more compassionate world. Vegan for almost 7 years.
Thank you for your work!
In early May 2020 I was up late in a RUclips rabbit hole. At some point I ended up watching Gary Yourofsky’s speech. After that video, recommended in the sidebar was your speech “You Will Never Look at Your Life in the Same Way Again.” I was literally up all night watching your videos and debates after that. It was so eye opening, especially since we were in the middle of a pandemic. My wife woke up around 7:00 AM and the first thing I said to her was “I’m going vegan.” Just hit 4 years vegan a few days ago!
As a kid I remember when I started asking questions. I'd say "is chicken made from chickens" and my mum would say "do you think fish fingers are made from fingers". Well, I was little and I guess she temporarily tricked me but one day I saw a black bit of something in some battered fish and I was convinced it was a baby fish I was like "you lied to me!" That was it. As soon as I cognitively understood that someone died to be eaten I was done. Hearing you say you had previously never had empathy for chickens, never really thought about them as something other than food was quite eye opening for me. I guess I always assumed everyone thought about it and secretly felt bad but were actively ignoring it to fit in or because they tell themselves they "need" it.
Wow this is amazing to me because my mom told me I refused to eat meat after one day asking her “is this chicken a chicken?”, and she responded yes…
I’m glad she was honest with me about it (even though my parents tricked me into eating meat several times when I was too young to understand). It’s amazing that as very little kids, probably raised thousands of miles away and in different years, we made the same connection! Kids have unbridled empathy for the animals until we brainwash them 💕
@@fieldofreeds8581 Ha that's amazing we said exactly the same thing!! I agree with you 100%! Intuitively it just doesn't make sense. I'm glad your mum was honest with you 🥰
@@julesdeacon1531 me too!
Went vegan overnight 3 years ago & didn't even know what I was doing, except not buying any animal exploitation products anymore. But then I learned pretty quickly thanks to vegan content on RUclips. Your channel was one of the first, I looked up & subscribed, too. 💚🐾🌱
Wauw, that is so impressive!
make sure ignore any dietary advice that is not science based. Those exist for both carnists and vegans.
@@DoctorOnkelap Of course.
The 1st conscious encounter with vegan morals was when I was doing a school presentation about eggs. I dug deeper than my biology teacher thought anyone would. I accidentally came across a video of baby chicks being debeaked and then held in these tiny cages where they never saw the light of the sun UNTIL THEY DIE. I think I was 15 at that time and never heared the term "vegetarian", let alone "vegan". But I looked through the comments, hoping people would say "this is fake, nobody does this" but... there were none of those. Only people with a heart saying "poor chicks" and trolls saying "such a delicious sight!".
All my psyche started building walls to cope with the horror I've witnessed. And ever since that day my memory was occasionally replaying what I saw then when I ate eggs or chicken. Not all the time, but enough to keep it in my memory
Interesting thoughts here, I have a "pet" piggy named buttercup, and she was the catalyst for me to become vegan, everyday I am still blown away at discovering how aware she is of the world.
I've had a lot of vegan moments throughout my life. I always felt humans were hypocritical for claiming life was special yet we treated other animals like they were nothing.
I saw some horrible stuff online of cats in cages as a kid. I remember hearing about how pigs were smarter than dogs. I remember vaguely seeing footage of chickens suffering on the TV in sheds, i think. Many small moments. And I've always had these thoughts at the back of my mind. It didn't make sense for me to not be vegan. The push that lead me here was seeing a video of a cow being forced into a slaughterhouse. That's when I made the change as an adult.
❤ you are amazing. Thank you for defending the animals. The future is vegan and that will happen soon thanks to your incredible work and all the other activists.
Thank you!
You will always be a huge source of inspiration to me Ed💜🌱🦋
Started being active on this channel finally!! Excited to meet so many activists from all over at AVA!
Thanks for your work Ed!
Thx so much for all your hard work !
Hi Ed and thank you so much for all you’ve been doing! Well, my first ‘sparkle’ came from YOU, from one of your videos, I think back in 2017… As you said about the bear at the zoo… after watching your video, I realised that ‘something was wrong’ but it didn’t completely click.
Few months later my beloved cat got very ill and then passed the rainbow bridge. I was devastate and only then, that ‘something’ clicked. I thought: why am I so sad for this loss while I’ve been eating other animals? I made the connection that there was no difference between a cat and a cow or a pig/chicken etc. I kept eating fish, dairy and eggs though.
One year later I watched a video on RUclips about the dairy industry (I’m from Italy, the video was in Italian, about the production of ‘Parmigiano Reggiano’ which is considered ‘Eccellenza Italiana’). I had no idea what was hidden behind the production of milk. I was horrified! Same with the egg industry. I have to say the most difficult thing to give up was fish 🐠 Fish suffer in silence, fish don’t scream. I think we don’t talk enough about how much they suffer. But when I realised that fish were “animals” too then I became totally vegan.
As you said it’s an ethical way of living and there’s no way back! As most of us my only regrets is that I wish I would have done it earlier. I am now 53.
I have done cubes of truth, vigils at slaughterhouses and marches/demonstrations as an activist.
I must say I still suffer every single day for the animals. For the atrocity they have to cope with. I try to give out my ‘sparkles’ every day, hoping that someone could make the connection and see the world through different eyes.
Thank you Ed for reading this and for what you have been doing throughout the globe! 🙏🏼💚🌱
I had an aquarium as a kid and I loved my fish. I always felt super conflicted whenever we had fish to eat especially if it still had its head and eyes.
I initially went vegetarian after watching Earthlings, but what made me go vegan was learning about antispecisism from activists like you and other ones on the internet. Watching the footage of animal exploitation wasn't enough, I needed to deconstruct the idea that animals are here for us. That's why today I make activism through both showing videos and talking to people on the streets 😊
I'm 67 and went pescatarian 10 years ago. That lasted a few months as I really didn't care for fish that much anyway. So over 9 years fully vegan. I have loved and respected all animals since I was born. I was the one that would sit with a frog in my lap or help a mouse out the door or as a five year old would pick up small dead creatures and bury them. My family even has stories of me picking up scorpions and not getting stung. I would handle snakes as a 9 year old. I grew up in the restaurant business and in my early 20's would not eat veal when I found out what the farmers did to the calves. Unfortunately life and raising a family in an abusive relationship took precedence over my thoughts about not eating any animal. But better late than never. I am an animal rights activist and will never stop. What I see in social media saddens me. As a meat eater I never disliked vegans or vegetarians, I never criticized them. But the vitriol and hate I see against vegans is insane. Truly insane. I don't understand it. I can say with pride that my 3 adult sons no longer eat animals, my second husband is vegan as well. Many heated debates at Sunday dinner. Much worth the emotion and discord. Here we are, and here we will stay. This is the hill I will die on. Thanks Ed.
Thanks for your great content, always. I have been following your on yt since the very beginning, and I was a fan since day 1. At age 3 I found out certain 'foods' were dead animals, and from that day I never ever had meat in my mouth again, the idea is the same as for other people it would be to eat human flesh. I should also mention that I had a baby pig as a pet, that I fed with the bottle, but even if that had not happened, I would never have eaten dead animals if I would have known. The animal that was mentioned was a cow, apparently there was something on the table made of cow. I was in shock, and asked what other foods were made of dead animals, and I told my parents I would NEVER eat those foods again, and I didn't. For me the best example to describe why I can never eat an animal is this: yesterday I heard a story about a restaurant owner who decided to serve meat at her previously vegan restaurant. She mentions that a group of sheep were killed by wolves. The wolves did not eat the sheep. Her husband than divided all the dead sheep between the people who lived in the neighbourhood. And she said that at that moment she thought: "that is a good idea, why waste all those calories." And to me, this is THE SAME as if an accident would have happened where healthy people died, and we would say "let's eat them, and not waste all those calories." Mammals, fish, birds and octopus and certain other sea animals are highly sentient beings, with highly developed nervous systems, and a sense of self. I was born in 1979 and I had never thought that the world would change so much for the good, and veganism would become more and more wellknown. Thanks for all the amazing work you do for the animals, Ed!!!!!
Last year there were compounds of moments where guilt would set in. Making eye contact with my dogs for an extended period of time and wondering what was going on in their heads. Choosing not to eat octopus because they were smart. However, choosing to eat pig out of tradition and pleasure, even though, I knew that pigs were smarter than dogs. Over the course of last year, I slowly reduced eating meat. Though I did eat a lot of eggs. Then I transitioned to veganism after my birthday. I had not come across your videos, but it's because I chose to be ignorant to elongate my pleasures. You're absolutely right, these small moments are catalysts to ultimately, confronting your own cognitive dissonance.
My "a-h" moment occurred 45 years ago when a little calf I met licked my face. I realized they were no different than a dog, immediately stopped eating meat and then transitioned to veganism. The other thing that it made me realize is that facts and graphic footage often don't initiate change because, as we all know, humans are very adept at doing the mental gymnastics required to "justify" they're behavior. But there is no denying the truth when it touches your heart.
I'd been vegetarian for 20+ years and it was really a combination of things i saw on social media which made me realise that the lies I'd been told about dairy were exacty that. Around the same time i rescued a disabled bird and watching her care for her eggs in such a beautiful way just made that last bit click. Vegan now for 9 years but happily and healthily meat free for 32. 💚
my 6th year vegan, i'm so thankful. thank you for sharing your story
You say it all so well, Ed.
Thank you❤️
My brother being vegan, my sister being vegetarian and your Disclosure Podcast. The podcast was a godsend because I get that I could listen to it in provosts without being judged or questioned for listening to it.
I came across a video of Joey Carbstrong mid/end July 2022. The reach out ones, with a desk and a message. I listened to him arguing with the message with a meateater and I got interested. The next suggested video was by yourself Ed, I believe it was the one titled "heated debate on veganism...". From that day, within a week I watched ~10 documentaries about veganism (I had seen cow/seaspiracy but this point already) and that was it. I'd like to thank you for what you are doing for the community, you impacted me greatly to become a vegan and being vegan made me become a better person!
Happy 10-year Veganniversary! It was thanks to hearing the audiobook of your first book that I became vegan 9 months ago. Cheers!
I was on a hike with my partner and we kept seeing these cheeky little grouse running and hiding and playing. It was so lovely and I just couldn't stop watching them ❤
That night I was looking into the hike that we did and found a post about grouse hunting and asked my partner what it means and he told me that people go out and hunt the grouse and pheasants that we saw and it's a game for them. I was so confused...why would people want to do that? That was the moment I thought, "well, I eat fishes and sheep so what's the difference" and I felt so sad and sickened and now can't see any animal products without thinking of those playful grouse. It's scary that I couldn't SEE it for so long 😔
Never believe that animals suffer less than humans. Pain is the same for them as it is for us. Even worse because they cannot help themselves.
🌱🕊💚
When I was 13 I read a book called “fit for life” and it talked about how eating animals was terrible for your health & all the horrible things they do to the animals & how they gave them sewage sludge and cement dust to make them weigh more to sell them for more profit. Grossed out by the things they did and horrified for eating animals as I had many species of ‘pets’ & always viewed them as my friends not food. Even as a child my subconscious kicked in and I knew it was wrong because I never wanted to eat them. My mom had to struggle with me to eat animals at dinner… even went so far as to tell me meat comes from a meat garden, but I knew better and knew that they were the chopped up body parts of animals that I deeply loved and cared for. My mom would put the dead animal meat on my plate and I did not wanna eat it so bad that at first I would give it to the dog under the table then she started pinning up the dog at dinner …. so then I would spit it in a napkin, so then mom took away my napkins…. then I would excuse myself to the bathroom as I stored it in my jawls & then I would go spit it in the toilet…. then my mom would never let me leave the table till my dinner was gone…… then I stashed it around the lifted edge of my plate so then she gave me flat plates without an edge on it …… then I started putting my meat in my pockets and she would find it floating in the washing machine ….. sent me to my room a few times…. that’s finally when she gave up and realized I was not going to eat these products any more. I made this decision to never eat animals ever again when I was 13 years old. Fast forward to now…. Vegetarian for 38 years & vegan for the last 5 of them. In 2011 I had a horrible motorcycle accident, but it was the best thing ever happened to me as I had a beautiful near death experience was in a coma for five days, felt Gods love, had to re-learn how to walk, talk, swallow, tell time …. When I got out of the hospital. I knew I needed to do something different with my life and my health, but wasn’t sure what. I cut out sugar cause it’s very inflammatory… That helped a little but that still wasn’t ‘it’. I even wondered if I was supposed to start eating things like eggs (as I did not like them even as a lacto ovo vegetarian) so I ate one and it was so disgusting that I knew that wasn’t right either so I kept searching for what I was supposed to do. I decided to try to start going vegan in 2018 then on January 5th, 2019 I watched “H.O.P.E. What you eat matters.” That opened my eyes even further as I saw the horrors of the animal industries still associated with my behaviors of consuming dairy products and egg products. I bawled like I was watching a Holocaust film. Went vegan that second never turned back. Only regret is that I didn’t go vegan sooner! (since I was after all, an “ethical vegetarian”) so to make up for these atrocities that I have committed… (Not that you could ever make up for them completely…. Especially to the animals that died on my behalf) … I started looking up things online and stumbled across AV and saw that we had a local chapter. I went to a Cube of truth and thought what a powerful form of activism this is and I need to speak up for the animals so I joined Anonymous for the Voiceless and soon after became a co-organizer for my local chapter in the states 🙌🏻🌱✊🏻
I went vegan gradually. So many things I had never noticed before started to pop up in front of my eyes. I became vegan. But. Even after going vegan, sometimes I craved a croissant or even meat. So what I did was I had a croissant or a bite of something that had some kind of animal in it and instead of feeling guilty I just went back to being vegan. Until one day, I realized what I craved was the fat and the umami in those things. I never craved anything from animals again 🙏🙏🙏