I have lived as a vegetarian for 8 years. I made the decision to go vegetarian at the age of 13. I grew up in a regular meat-eating household, and my father hunted and fished frequently.

From an early age, the scent of venison or liver cooking disgusted me. Other meats I didn't mind, and I remember liking bacon. As I got into my pre-teens I started to get really grossed out by the thought of eating a dead animal. I looked at the bones, the skin, the flesh, and the veins and just thought no way do I want to eat this. For awhile I just ate fish, but soon that too disgusted me. At the age of 14 or 15, I gave up eggs as well.

I am now what is known as a lacto-vegetarian, meaning I consume no meat, poultry, fish or eggs, but still eat some dairy. The dairy I eat is 1% milk, and low-fat cheese, but I can definitely see me giving these up too, and going full vegan in the near future. I also do not eat yogurt, lard, broth based soups, jello (gelatin is mainly an animal product), and of course I cannot eat most desserts since they contain egg.

I still like junk food just as much as the next person, and I eat meatless pizza, french fries, popcorn, and potato chips just like everyone else. A great quick meal, I have discovered, are "Amy's" brand frozen dinners. I believe the company is based in California. The majority of their foods are organically grown, and their products never contain meat, poultry, fish, or eggs. They're all microwaveable (yay!) and the selection is awesome from veggie burgers to pot pies, burritos, lasagna, canneloni and more! Even if you're not veg. try them, they taste great!

Although my decision to go veg. wasn't to save animals, the planet, or my health, there are definite benefits on these issues. Some of the health reasons include a proven lower incidence of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, bowel disease, and lower blood pressure. Vegetarians also have a proven prolonged longevity. Considering the fact that I smoke and drink, I need all the help I can get from my diet!

As I am learning more about living a cruelty-free lifestyle, I have become a recycling nut. My recycle heap is 10 times bigger than my trash heap by the end of the week. I've discovered that virtually everything can be recycled. And if I ever get my own yard, I plan to compost and grow all my own vegetables. (Ahh, it's nice to dream...lol)

Anyways if you've gotten this far in my ramblings, perhaps you'll check out the veggie links at the bottom of my main page, or leave your e-mail in my GB, if you have a question or would like more information.

Just to clarify, I'm not one of those sign-toting maniacs who force their beliefs down other people's throats. After all, I live in a household of 7 and I'm the only vegetarian!