Well, after viewing that hideous segment on 60 Minutes last night, I came to the conclusion that being vegetarian was not enough, and I hereby pledge to begin my journey towards becoming vegan.

I would like help from other members; those who are vegan; those who are joining me and anyone else who would like to offer words of support, encouragement or open my eyes to further atrocities that I have been turning a blind eye to up until this point. Thank you.

Hi, congrats all new vegans, can I tell you - vegan food IS yummier!, I have been vegan 14 years and I have heaps of fabulous recipies - but everything is on the net, just google it and a million vegan stir-fries or chocolate cakes or whatever will come up - in no way is it limiting or hard AT HOME but going out is another matter, oh well, you work out where you can go after a while! (I'm in Victoria so can't help you)

An anecdote to try and keep you vibed up, when I first went vegan I didn't want to be a 'strict' vegan (i.e. totally) I just thought I would be veganish, after about a month I realised I had been 100% vegan and when a freind offered me little cheese toasties I thought "yeah! I'll have me some of those " I ate heaps and afterwards it felt exactly like someone had poured glue down my nose, until I went vegan I hadn't realised I was lactose intolerant to some degree and  everything is now different , no period cramps, mild colds with minimal if any snot, when I get them etc. etc..  It was such an improvement in my health, anyway,  I know you doing it for ethical reasons - me too - but I am fully sold on the health benefits also now, I think most people dairy is not good for and some it is terrible for (especially many with exzema/asthma)

good luck, remember any new change is the hardest part, after that it gets much easier until it is normal.

The Notmilk site (www.notmilk.com)  has a HUGE collection of info on dairy, including a swag of animal rights links.

Good idea swami of starting this thread. I am attempting of going vegan as of yesterday.

Hi angry onion...let's do it together! Is this your first attempt and what is the hardest part for you? I am a third time loser...first attempt was 4 months, second 15 months...third time lucky.  I will start on the cheese and then work on the remaining leather footwear, and I think I have a silk dress too.

swami, this is my second attempt. I am hoping to follow in your footsteps.

I don't believe you have to get rid of any leather, silk etc, in fact surely it's best to get as much wear out of it as possible. I haven't bought leather since about 98 and I still have shoes, handbags etc that I use. I consider it the least I can do to look after these things and get as much use out of them as I can.
And if you do have something you don't want to, don't feel as though you have broken some vow and you are no longer a vegan etc. It's not like you can get excommunicated LOL By the by, labels such as vegan are often unhelpful due to the holier than thou policing that often goes on.....
Just do what you can, you are adjusting your way of life and sometimes you may fall over. Every little thing you do is something. You are changing YEARS of ingrained habits (and yes, they are just habits) and the rest of the world doesn't yet want to fit in with you but thats OK too...

Yayyy! Oh I forgot about the notmilkman. What an excellent site :) There's also http://www.milksucks.com/

Congratulations to both of you!! First things are the hardest. Getting over those milky cheese cravings... Arg. I suffered that for over a year.

But when it happens, just picture yourself suckling on the teat of a decrepit dairy cow, or grab a soy smoothie and think about how many calves and mothers you will save... and then smile :-D

These days the thought of dairy makes me a little queasy, and the odour of cheese smells like old shoes. I'm much happier that I managed to wean myself off these things when I did. I hope you'll feel the same too.

Peace to you ~~~ :)

Hi swami, this is my first attempt. My reason for becoming vegetarian was for purely ethical reasons. I was never aware of the things that are going on in producing diary. I have stopped buying leather products for the past three years. I used to drink two liters a milk a day. It’s also going to be slightly tough in the egg department as I am addicted to cakes. Also a bit concerned about the B12 issue. Just don’t find it natural having to rely on supplements, not to mention not knowing what kind of B12 is supposed to be good. There are so many different theories, it’s a bit taunting. But at the end of the day if I can just save one single animal by changing my lifestyle it’s all worth it, even if going vegan isn’t the best.

AO, when I went vegan, I was under the solemn impression that I had to say goodbye to all things creamy, cheesy, yoghurty, mayonaisy, chocolaty and cakey. I went without for a long time, until I realised it's just not true!

Chocolate, cakes, icecream, mayonaise, cream cheese, yoghurt -- you can find all these things VEGAN at your local supermarket! :-)

Cakes, for example -- some cake mixes are vegan (they assume you'll add the butter, milk & eggs). So, for butter, use nuttelex. For milk, use soy milk (of course), and for eggs, use "Not Egg" (in the health food section, or at the health food store). And voila! Cake :-) It's identical to "real" cake. Really.

"Not Egg" is made from veggie starch and comes in powder form. One box costs a few dollars and is the equivalent of many dozens of eggs. It's cheap, keeps for ages, and bakes / cooks just like 'real' eggs. Amazing.

If you have a biscuit craving, try McVities Ginger Nuts, Digestives or Hob Nobs. You can also eat chocolate Oreos!

Really.

And I bet you thought it would be healthy. Huh?

Thank you everyone who has written on here so far...this is brilliant.

I remember reading on another thread levels of vegetarian or vegan, and to my mind, being vegan is not just a dietary choice but a lifestyle choice. I think that until I no longer have any leather shoes or silk dresses, I really cannot consider myself vegan, regardless of how long it is since I last ate a piece of cheese. And I know it is impossible to live in this modern world and be completely vegan...car tyres, video tapes, photos etc.  But without striving for the impossible, I still have a way to go.

Thanks for the advice karen. I am (was) a super slacker when it comes to cooking, despite my history as a pastry chef.

I always liked the idea of being spontaneous and just getting into the cakes there and then in front of me.

But life has so much else to offer, I can do without it. I just take up drinking and gambling to get some balance back into life.

That's the right attitude ao...just make sure the beer's vegan!!

Yoghurt tip: if you're out to try soy yoghurt for the first time, keep in mind that variations in soy yoghurt are about as wild as tast variations in soy milk.

My recommendation: try the Kingland yoghurt (Peach & Mango is my fav!) The other brands make me gak. But they're still on the shelves... so I guess someone likes them ;)

For me, soy everything is fine. I weaned myself off dairy in 1999 and have never eaten eggs.

It's just the cheese, always the cheese. I'll order the Uncheese cookbook and maybe that will help.

I had a really yummy pesto panini at The Forest Cafe yesterday afternoon that had a non-dairly cheese in it. I guess it was the Tofutti one and wasn't too bad, but what about pizzas, pasta etc? I'm a carbohydrate addict and it's just not the same without cheese.

forgot about the pizza problem. no more la porcetta

Kingland yoghurt is available at woolies and coles?

Yes, available at both but not in the regular yoghurt section. It usually hangs around the tofu and soy sausages. They have just re-tubbed their mini-yoghurts too!

Care factor? Probably zero, but something I noticed the other day and thought I'd share.

It's probably time I went and raided the fridge...bye!!

i have been eating the veggie sausages from that section for a while. any thoughts about how vegan or good they actually are?

thanks for earlier info swami

Count me in, i planned to become vegan again this year but have failed so far, pizza is the enemy!!  But i now have a cold so won't be eating for a week or so so what better time to start??

angry onion, the sausages are vegan...as to how good, do you mean good as in healthy or good as in tasting?

Healthwise, they're probably not real flash.

Tastewise, depends how much vegan beer you've consumed prior to consuming them I suppose (or how much tomato sauce you pour on top!)

Ohhhh i love the sausages, i like the plain ones though, used to like the curried but they taste different now....sausages, mashed tatie & sauce yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!

A little support for those trying to give up dairy: http://www.satyamag.com/sept05/adams_cheese.html