“If it were not so blindly accepted as a part of our customs and traditions, how could any sensitive person accept the thought that in order to feed ourselves we should kill such a huge number of animals, in spite of the fact that our earth gives us so many different treasures from plants” — unknown

a picture of my brother eating raw vegan pizza -- Raw Soul Restaurant, New York City

I’ve been a vegan since August 2004 and still going strong. Over the years, I’ve gotten into arguments, heated debates, fights, disputes, you name it, over my right to be a vegan. However, I have since calmed down the fighting and have chosen to respond very simply as to why I don’t eat animals:

“Because the same life force that I feel within me, I also feel in animals. The same energy of love and power that’s in me, I also acknowledge in animals. Animals are my friends and I love them. I don’t want to eat my friends.”

Sure, like in my past, I could go on and on and on… about the myriad health reasons that undeniably state why eating flesh is horrible for your health — and from time to time, given the appropriate situation — I still do. But over the years as my mind, body, and spirit has evolved and elevated by living this sort of Way, I’ve become more peaceful about speaking of my decision to become a vegan.

But detractors still abound and are on the hunt for a good argument or joke to refute or embarrass any vegan they spot. It’s something that we vegans will have to deal with for a lifetime. And you know what? That’s okay. It’s okay for people to wonder, question, and dig deep into the reasoning of why someone chooses not to eat animals. But it’s NOT okay for someone to tell someone else that they have no right to be a vegan, and that meat is the ONLY way to go.

These sort of attacks have scared would-be vegans into scarfing down hamburgers to “fit in” — people going against their inner voice. They have tricked people into thinking that if they don’t eat meat then they’ll become sick and die. They have made many a people feel embarrassed and uncertain of their choice to become a vegan.

But let me tell you something, my fellow vegans: You have all the right in the world not to eat animals. This is your Way of living and eating. You made this decision because your spirit spoke to you and let you know that it was the right course for you. You NEVER have to feel embarrassed about not eating animals no matter how much heat you get from your “friends,” family, teachers, preachers, etc.. Whoever. What you are doing is right for YOU and only YOU know what’s right for you — nobody else.

So be proud of your decision. Speak peacefully to those who truly want to learn about your decision. Remain in silence to those who attack you, make fun of you, and try to defeat your character. Those people are only reflecting their inadequacies within and their attack really has NOTHING to do with you at all. Remain steadfast and strong in your decision to preserve life and respect your body.

The time will come when we as a generation realize the wrong we have committed by taking life. In the meanwhile, those that need guidance will look to you. Teach, don’t preach. Tell them your story. Talk about your transformation. Speak of the power and energy and clarity you received when you started to live this Way.

The STORY — your story — is the greatest work of activism you can practice. The story of person who made the decision not to eat animals, live in harmony with all living creatures, and continues to spread love throughout the world.

What’s your story?

In this video David and Khalik speak about the adverse effects of meat on your body and on the Earth at large.

I don’t know about the rest of you out there, but I don’t like to eat fecal matter. If you’re eating meat, you are undoubtedly eating feces. Feces belongs in the toilet or used for fertilizer, not human consumption.

Wondering why you get sick so often? Why you have about 20 nasty colds per year? Why get get those stomach viruses? Why you get sore / strep throat? Why you have no energy? Why you are tired all day long after 8 hours of sleep?

Well, I’m sure it has a lot to do with meat consumption. It’s bad enough that you cells are being invaded with toxin-riddled flesh, now your body has to deal with animal waste on top of that! Phew….

Would you sprinkle dried pellets of human feces on your salad? No, I don’t think you would. But you may as well, since you’re already enjoying plenty of feces every time you bite into a juicy hamburger or rip a part some “mouth watering” steak. Think about that the next time you consume some animal flesh.

Washington, D.C.-A new study shows that 84 percent of adults have no idea that the primary source of salmonella, campylobacter, E. coli, and other foodborne pathogens on poultry and meat is animal feces.

The survey of 1,000 men and women was completed during the period of July 26-29, 2001, by Opinion Research Corporation International on behalf of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM). Foodborne illnesses are at epidemic levels in the United States; the Centers for Disease Control estimate there are at least 76 million cases each year, usually from consumption of animal products.

“Our findings show the vast majority of Americans do not understand there are feces on meat and poultry,” says PCRM staff attorney Mindy Kursban. “In fact, there’s a major disconnect in the public consciousness between the foodborne illnesses that sicken so many of us and their originating cause: animal excrement.”

Survey respondents answered the following question: “When salmonella and other disease-causing bacteria are found on meat and poultry, which of the following do you think BEST describes where these bacteria originally came from?”

The answers were as follows:

“They [foodborne pathogens] came from animal blood.” [10 percent]

“They came from dirty hands.” [19 percent]

“They are naturally present in the meat.” [17 percent]

“They are naturally present in the animal’s skin.” [9 percent]

“They came from animal feces.” [16 percent]

“They came from dirty air in a slaughter house.” [15 percent]

Didn’t think any of these were the right answer or didn’t know. [13 percent]

Doctors Petition USDA to Ensure “Feces-Free” Meat or Issue Biohazard Labels

Watch more videos at PETA.org

New to this story? — Catch up with part 1 | part 2

The school semester of Winter 2004 was officially over and it was now nearing the end of the summer. Up to that point, I was a full-blown vegetarian consuming fruits, vegetables, nuts, cereal, and only one dairy product – cheese.

Since becoming a vegetarian that February, I had been deeply studying the art and way of life of vegetarianism. What started out as a health improvement began to grow into some more – a bigger idea.

I started visiting peta.com and learn how animals were being savagely slaughtered and abused. I saw videos of men slicing the throats of hanging pigs, men using baseball bats to smash the skulls of animals while having “fun” and listening to rock and roll music, and I saw baby chickens having their beaks severed without any anesthesia.

It made me sick to my stomach to see how cruelly these animals were being treated when all they wanted to do was live a full and happy life just like what we humans strive to do.

I began to think about my decision to become a vegetarian and started to see that I was not only still polluting my body by eating dairy, but contributing to the pain and torture of the animals that were being manufactured for their milk.

So in August of 2004 I had my last slice of pizza and became a vegan. There was absolutely no dairy in my diet after that point (besides the times when consumed inadvertently…but that’ll make for another future a post).

I felt so much better from that point on and that is when I really began to feel the physiological and mental changes occur throughout my body. That was the tipping point that my body needed to reach a new level of health.

• I had more energy. I was no longer taking several naps per day. I was able to sleep less and still have more energy.
• I began to think clearer. My creativity levels shot through the roof and I began working harder, more efficient, and more organized.
• My memory noticeably increased. I always had a great memory, but since becoming vegetarian/vegan, it began to expand and become stronger.
• The loss of fat and unnecessary bulky muscle made me more flexible, feel more energetic in my muscles, and actually increased my stamina and endurance. Now that my blood vessels weren’t clogged with fat, I naturally felt better.
• My skin became very clear and shinny. I noticed that – as weird as this sounds – there was a certain glow to my skin, as if I took a special shower or something.
• My immune system vastly improved. I was getting sick about 2-3 times per year (which isn’t bad) before I became vegan. But after becoming vegan, I got sick only once every 18 months, max. And it was usually in the form of a bad cold that cleared up in a few days.

There are many more changes that took place in my body, so many that I could go on and on, but I’ll save them for another post.

So there you have it – my story of how I became a vegan from being a 220-pound body builder who was eating 8 servings of meat per day for years. I never thought that I could do it, but in a matter of months I made the transition to a better way of eating and living. A new way of life that will have an everlasting impact not only on my health, but the world. You can do it, too. When you’re ready.

He’s a video of me and my younger brother discussing our food choices and way of living:

If you just started this series, catch-up with part 1

So as I stated in part one of the series, my fraternity brothers were quite confused as to why I weighed only 180 pounds that weekend while visiting University of Hartford. They said things like: “dude, you look a bit smaller. What’s going on, man?”

At the time, I brushed it off and said something like “I was trimming down.” But in reality, I really wasn’t. That weekend, I remember taking a piece of calamari (fried squid) from my brother’s food basket – while at the bar — and that was the last time that I would eat a piece of flesh.

I remember telling myself: “This is the last time I’ll eat meat. Wow.” And it was the last time that I ever ate meat. From that point on, I would begin my journey as a vegetarian; but more than just a “vegetarian,” someone who would forever be health conscious and thoughtful of my body and what I consume. My entire thought process changed.

After the weekend was up and I returned home to my school, Pace University, NY; I, again, faced the firing squad as my local fraternity brothers continued to question my sudden wait loss.

Most of them thought that I was on cocaine or speed pills. Little did they know. I was losing weight rapidly. I not only cut out meat (now that I was a full vegetarian), but I had cut out coffee, sugar (adding sugar), and junk foods such as candy, fatty chips, milk (swapped dairy for soy), and most types of cookies.

As the weeks passed, I finally began to accept the fact that I was a vegetarian and no longer ate meat. There was a period of a few months when I felt ashamed and almost scared – to a degree – to share that with people. But as I continued to study health, I began to grow bold and confident in my decision.

A little history before that semester…

My brother Danny and I visited a close friend on mine one night, Stephan. Stephan has been close to the family since we were all little boys, he’s been nothing short of a brother to me and the rest of my brothers.

It was during Christmas break of 2004 and we were all sitting in his living room. Danny (vegan) and I began talking to Stephan about health and the ways that we had been eating.

I shared with Stephan how I was on the verge of becoming vegetarian and how I had cut out almost all meat from my diet. Danny followed up with his sharp insight on health, since he was vegetarian/vegan for 2-3 years before us.

Stephan began to ask questions and Danny and I taught Stephan what we knew about eating right and how vegetarianism changed our lives: the way we thought, our energy levels, and our overall moods. Stephan seemed intrigued, but his doubt and skepticism was obvious and he wasn’t yet convinced that not eating meat was healthy for you.

For the next 3 months, during my winter semester (2004) at college, Stephan and I would correspond via AIM messenger almost everyday as we spoke about health. Stephan was becoming more and more curious about vegetarianism.

We discussed essential fatty acids (Omega 3-6-9), the chemicals and steroids in meat, flax seed, “enriched” white flour, tofu, vegetables burgers, etc… I was sharing everything I knew with Stephan and he was quickly amassing his own knowledgebase of information on health.

Our chat sessions were very important to both of us. As I was cementing my vegetarian attitude, Stephan was slowly cutting out meat and heading in the direction of me. In a few months, Stephan, too, would become a vegetarian.

part 1 | part 2 | part 3

Stay tuned for part 3 when I’ll discuss how my mind and body changed and when I made the plunge to become vegan.

In this series I’ll take you through my journey of being a person who — lovingly — ate 8 servings of meat per day, took body building supplements, and weighed 220 pounds to becoming a vegan. The journey was long, beginning in February 2004 ‘til this day. It’s my hope to inspire, educate, and motivate anyone interested in reaching the pinnacle of health — I hope that my story can help get you there. I’m with you.

I, like everyone else, am still on a journey. Currently, I just began experimenting with the “raw food” diet and transitioning myself to become 50 – 100% raw in time. I’ll share my struggles and feats with you on that front as well.

Here we go:

I’ll never forget the day. It was February 22, 2004 and I was visiting my brother at college at the University of Hartford, CT. My friend Brian and I went up there to hang with my brother and his fraternity — Tau Kappa Epsilon. Bryan and I were also in the fraternity.

I remember people staring at me and saying how much weight I had lost. You see, all of my fraternity brothers up there knew me as a 220-pound muscle-head. Little did they know that for the past few months prior that I had cut out red meat altogether.

So, naturally, I lost weight. About 30 pounds since they last saw me. During those few months I began reading books about health. My younger brother, Danny, introduced me to John Robbins’ book “The Food Revolution.”

When he first told me about the book, I laughed in his face and told him that I would never — ever, ever, ever, — become a vegetarian, let alone a vegan.

But, being the curious person that I am coupled with my voracious appetite to learn, I gave the book a chance and that’s when my entire life changed.

As the days pasted and I got deeper into the book, I began to see and understand the deleterious affects that meat had on the body. I began to see how the government and food agencies had hidden agendas to push certain foods in our faces in order to slyly coax us to purchase milk, bread, and meat. I began to see how scare tactics such as “daily protein and calcium amounts” were used by the milk and meat producers via commercials and print to “force” us to purchase these items. And not only purchase, but to “make sure to consume a certain amount per day.”

While reading this book, my eyes began to open and I knew from that point on that my outlook on health and the things I’ve been putting in my body would forever be changed.

After the completion of the book, I immediately knocked out all red meat. I was still consuming chicken and fish, though.

I remember going home after a break from college and my mom asking me why I wasn’t eating any of the meat. At the time, I felt bad and almost ashamed that I no longer had the desire for her beef platters. So I stated: “I’m just in the mood for chicken, thanks mom.” I’ll always remember how she looked at me quizzically while hesitantly I picked away at the chicken. I guess she was so used to me eating pounds of beef until I my stomach was stuffed.

part 1 | part 2