I was a born and raised chicken nugget and mac n cheese child through and through. My fiancé’s sister went vegan and challenged us to do a month of being vegan for her birthday. We did it one month for one year, then did it again the next year and just kept going! Been at it 2 years now. I have a huge Italian family so occasionally when we have big gatherings I’ll submit to dairy (maybe a couple times a year I’m not perfect).

I think the biggest argument for me is just the sustainability of the planet. By choosing not to eat meat and dairy you are saving 10’s of 1,000’s of gallons of precious water that are wasted on cultivating those products. I live in SoCal and have actively seen the effects of desertification in my short lifetime, we need more water going back into the environment, like now.

My fiancé does it more for the animal cruelty aspect, however we both kind of meet in a middle ground and agree that being vegan is just better for the earth and the creatures of the earth.

Spiritually, (Although not all believe this and that’s chill.) God created Mankind to be a stewards of the earth. And being a steward means preserving it for future generations. Hard to argue that the meat and dairy industries are actively preserving anything except a profit.

There’s my 2 cents. I try not to push veganism on anyone, but when people ask me I just casually explain why I do it and that seems to rub off on them sometimes if they are choosing to listen.