3 Reasons for Why I went Vegetarian and then Vegan

1. I found out meat and dairy are DIRECTLY  linked to cancer, heart disease and stroke - 3 of the leading causes of death in the western world.
   
   Through watching the documentary  Forks Over Knives I learned that the protein (yes the Holy protein..!) in meat and dairy actually FEEDS cancer cells! This test was done on rats and when given doses of casein, the main protein found in milk, the rats developed cancerous tumours. Then when taken of the casein and fed some sort of vegetable or something to do with vegetables (can't remember exactly) the tumours shrunk, then they were put back on the casein and the tumours grew back. The scientists and doctors carrying out this experiment were literally able to turn cancer on and off using milk protein. Now I know rats are rats and humans are humans but that was enough to make me think WTF. Another really interesting study featured was the China Study which was a massive study done in China where they took the health and death records of millions of people in China over a number of years and they also recorded their eating habits and long story short> people in rural areas that lived off rice and veg and small amounts of meat (very small...maybe none) lived longer and had way less rates of cancer than those in more urban areas where they ate more meat. I linked the Wikipedia page to it which might give a better explanation but that is a basic summary and again it was enough to make me realise meat and dairy were not as healthy as we are conditioned to believe! Also featured in the documentary were two doctors Dr.Caldwell Esselstyn and Dr. T.Colin Cambell who through the China Study and other research and science based methods discovered that they could reverse heart disease through a plant based diet. This is a huge deal because it's probably the most common cause of death in Ireland and they demonstrate that through eating plant based foods and avoiding animal protein you can re-open the arteries that have been blocked through bad diet. Knowing all this there was no way I could go back to eating meat and dairy...! 
2. Animals.
   
   I found out the truth about the treatment of animals raised for food around the exact same time as finding out that animal products are bad for us but selfishly it was the health reasons that made me turn first. I didn't want to believe that the animals conditions were that bad. My whole life I actually thought animals had lovely lives and were then shot dead instantly at the end of their lives and turned into food....how naive! The documentary Food Inc woke me up from my delusions. It showed clips from chicken "factories", pig farms, dairy farms and slaughter houses. It was horrific. I couldn't watch most of it to be honest...but it was enough to make me think and wake the fuck up. And I did. Ever since then I have found out bits of truth about the food industry and the fact that we actually raise animals to then kill them for food that isn't even good for us...For me personally it's fucked up. Gary Yourofsky is the best speaker I have ever come across when it comes to animals and animal rights and noone can put it better than him. He really makes you think about the way we treat animals. It's not like the don't feel pain or fear! They do! In slaughter houses the cows can smell the death and they know whats coming so they try not to move off the truck that brought them there so the workers prod them with burning pokers...I won't go into detail but watch this to find out more (it's a speech not a video showing it). And I know the first thing you're probably thinking is "oh well that probably just happens in America..it couldn't happen in Ireland!" I thought that too! I know we see the cows and sheep in the fields here and there isn't much factory farming going on - except for chickens and pigs:( - but God knows what happens in the slaughter houses...they still have to be killed and we really don't know how it happens or anything. But I definitely don't even want to wait to find out...I don't want to be part of the killing of animals for food. Full stop!
3. Fruit and veg are underrated..! 
   
   Through discovering veganism I started following lots of vegans on Youtube and Instagram that promote a high-carb, high-fruit diet. There are lots of names for it and lots of different approaches from 80/10/10, raw food diet, high carb low fat, Raw till 4 etc. All basically the same principle: eat as much fruit as you can fit in your belly, low protein/low fat, lots of greens and no calorie restriction! This to me sounded like the best diet ever because fruit has always been my favourite food and also, you can eat as much as you want. 3000 calories? No bother! Just as long as you keep fit and keep oil and salt to a bare minimum you can eat as much as you want! The things people have achieved through eating high amounts of fruit and veg is amazing and I want to be one of them! They are all so fit and healthy! Also the fact that the anti-oxidents in fruit and veg fights the free radicals that lead to cancer also is enough to make me want to live off the stuff!