So… you’re thinking about going vegan? Well, you’re in the right place. It’s not as complicated, expensive or flavor lacking as you may think. Trust me, if I can do it… you can too.

So what does being vegan mean? Just so you are clear, let’s define it in general terms. A vegan is someone who does not participate in an activity that involves harming or exploiting animals (this includes insects). That means not only what you eat, but what you wear (leather, suede, cashmere, wool (I know), what you drive (leather interior), etc. Sounds extreme, right? Well, before you judge, I am a vegan and look how normal and fabulous I am, lol.

Many who only follow veganism with their diet, often consider themselves plant based. A vegan or plant based diet means you don’t eat any part of animals, including fish. You don’t eat cheese, yogurt, milk, butter and all other forms of dairy, which includes eggs. And you don’t eat honey. Although there are some vegans (like me) who do eat honey if it is responsibly harvested.

People become vegan or plant based based on a variety of reasons. The most common:

• health (me)
• animal cruelty (also me)
• environment (me me me)

I became vegan because I am a passionate animal lover. I’m that girl, who will pull over on the side of a busy road to help a stray dog or cat or goat, lol. Like most of us, I’ve always had compassion for traditional house pets and farm animals, like cows and pigs. But I never really made the connection to how I was contributing to their suffering. So I finally stopped ignoring factory farming, and other brutal means of killing animals for human consumption, and I could no longer be a part of it.

Becoming vegan is not easy, but once you have your own purpose for doing it, you will find peace in the choice. So Step One… find your reason. Once you do, check back in with me here at Vegan Sexy Cool. Every week, I’ll have a Becoming Vegan 101 post, with beginner information on eating and living vegan. I am still new to this, but I have an arsenal of experts on stand by just for you. If you have questions or advice or you just want to share how your journey is going, be sure to comment or follow me on social media.