Vegan Buddies Mentors

Would you like to contact a Vegan Buddy Mentor? They are here to help you.

Please just click on a mentor's name to visit their ARZone page, then look for the “Send a Message” link in the left hand column of their page.

Would you like to be a mentor? ARZone needs experienced vegans who would like to become a Vegan Buddy Mentor! Please contact us now at VeganBuddies@ARZone.net

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Nik Addison-Crichton

My name is Nik Addison-Crichton and I live in the UK in Lancashire. I have been vegan for 8 years in March 2012. I became vegan because I didn't want to be complicit in an individuals enslavement, misery, suffering and murder. Saying I loved animals didn't mean I respected them *all* too. My living as a vegan means to me; everything! It is entwined in my life as much as the air I breathe. I LOVE being vegan.

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Cameron Blewett    

My name is Cameron Blewett.

I live in the wonderfully occasionally dry city of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.

I have been vegan for 18 years.

I became vegan originally for 'health reasons' (it's bad to eat all that nasty stuff that comes from animals) whereas now I am passionate about Animal Rights and looking for an end to ALL animal use/abuse/exploitation.

My living as a vegan means living as ethically as I can, and speaking up for those who cannot speak for themselves.

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Dean Bracher

My name is Dean Bracher.

I live in the West Midlands area of England. 

I've been vegan for ten years now.

I became vegan because of witnessing a cow being abused and ultimately being slaughtered in a shocking and heart opening way. I realised my actions and choices contributed to this and I decided to become vegan because we always have options not to consume animal products and be part of industries that cause mass suffering to the animals and environment of this planet. I became aware of the milk industry and then all animal exploitation and found veganism answered what I'd been looking for.

Vegan living for me means I'm making a statement of intent and show it daily that animals are not ours to consume and abuse but have their own reasons to exist like us all. It means I care for my health and ethical awareness and put this into practice for the good of us all.

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Maynard Clark

My name is Maynard Clark. I live and work in Boston, Massachusetts, in the United States in North America.

I have been vegan for (oh my!) over 35 years, and I'm still here to share about it. I became vegan "way back when" because I felt confident (and came to believe after attending a vegetarian conference) (a) that I could do it successfully AND (b) that there were several great reasons for doing so:

• the objectionability of eating animals - yes, it was so objectionable that, as we thought more deeply about it, it increasingly impressed me as being morally indefensible.

• the consequentialist (outcomes/results) objections to animal agriculture - eating animals wasn't really all that good for us; indeed, it wasn't at all good for us, and then, neither were the use of eggs or cheese, and hey, we could do without all milk, too! The ecological damage to the world from extended animal agriculture was becoming undeniable - in human history, at that time -

• the deontological (rights/claims/duties) objections - these are sentient beings - different, but real sentient beings capable of higher processes, and then we were in the lay public only beginning:to discover, and oh, the progressive discovery was becoming like an avalanche of information...

My living as a vegan means -

1. to me, doing the right thing by animals -

2. and to the animals, merely one finite being who isn't postured negatively towards any of them -

3. and to the planet, merely one finite being seeking a lighter ecological footprint.

It means also to me that I'm free of the harms animal agriculture does to my human health through eating animals - though none of us is freed from the harms other humans' support for animal agriculture does to our planet, our future, and our present selves.

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Laura Cooley

My name is Laura Cooley.

I live in California, USA.

I have been vegan for about 3 years.

I became vegan because I realized I did not want to take someone's life for any reason. All beings have the same desire to live and it is not my right to use anyone for my own selfish purpose.

My living as a vegan means I am living within my beliefs and standing for what is right.

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Amy Dougherty

Hi, my name is Amy and I live in Birmingham in the UK

I have now been vegan for over 10 years.

I became vegan as I do not want to be involved in any animal use and the cruelty that stems from it. I realised that the use of animals for food, clothing, entertainment and research is not necessary and I could not continue to justify it in any way. 

My living as vegan means that I live a non-violent and cruelty free life. I am passionate about veganism and educating people about its benefits.  Veganism is about equality and understanding that every sentient being, human and non-human, has an equal right to life and freedom.

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Steve Foale

My name is: Steve Foale. I live in North Wales, UK

I have been vegan for 13 years. 

I became vegan because, after many years being vegetarian for ethical reasons I became aware of the contradictions of that position.

My living as a vegan means that I no longer participate in the mistreatment of animals for food, clothing or anything else. Going vegan was quite simply the best thing I ever did. I eat a greater variety of foods than I ever did as a vegetarian or meat eater, feel more healthy and have a clear conscience.

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Shawn Fosnight

Hi, my name is Shawn, and I live in the USA (Sacramento. 

I have been vegan for 22 years.

I became vegan because I loved animals and didn't like the idea of them dying for my dinner, after reading Diet for a New America and seeing how terrible the live of farm animals really was I couldn't look at meat, milk and eggs the same way, along the way I stopped wearing animals as well.

My living as a vegan means that I try my best to be a good example of veganism, . I try to set a good example for my vegan children so that they will stay vegan the rest of their lives. Most of all I just try to do as little harm as I can. 

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Renata Halpin

My name is Renata Halpin and I live in Brisbane, Australia.

I have been vegan for the past 3 years, and almost vegan for the past 11. I would love to be involved and help anyone thinking of making this step towards compassionate living. It would be my pleasure to assist with recipes, and if you live in my city I will personally take you shopping!

Being vegan makes me feel so happy and healthy, which is why I am passionate to help anyone else make the transition.

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Sandra Higgins

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Grace Lorraine

My name is Grace Lorraine and I live in Orange County, California, USA.

I became vegan in early 2009; for fun i celebrate my "veganniversary" on February 14--calling it "Vegantimes Day" to celebrate an inclusive love for all living beings, instead of as a romantic holiday.

When my dad sent me The World Peace Diet, by Will Tuttle, I was engaged in a wide variety of altruistic or philanthropic endeavors. Still I felt somewhat restless and discontented--were my efforts truly being of maximum service to others? After embracing an exclusively plant-based diet, i continued to root out of my life the myriad products of non-human animal exploitation and to read the works listed in the extensive bibliography of Tuttle's book. In October of 2010, I completed the World Peace Diet Facilitator's official certification program. It has been an awesome adventure of true empowerment!

My living as a vegan means i am legitimately practicing principles in my life--particularly honesty, integrity, humility and mindfulness. It also means that my life is fundamentally grounded in hope, faith and courage for the ideals of peace, justice and love.

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Billy Lovci

My name is Billy Lovci and I live in the San Francisco Bay Area, I am sometimes in Oakland and other times in Stockton, although I constantly travel to the remotest reaches of the entire Bay Area and beyond. I went vegan in approximately January 2011, so it has been more than a year as of this writing.

I became vegan because of increasing involvement in cat and dog (and
occasional wild bird) rescue, feral cat colony tending and trap-neuter-release (TNR), fostering and adoption, etc. - which forced me to realize exactly how intelligent and individual each being really is. After many years of flip-flop vegetarianism (eating cheese, eggs, wearing wool and leather, eating sushi occasionally, etc.) a video clip from Whale Wars tipped me over the edge and I quit eating fish, then through online research eventually went vegan, even while working a 12-14 hour graveyard shift driving a truck, 5 nights a week.

My living as vegan means that I do the best I can to stay informed about making the best choices I can, to avoid supporting the exploitation of our planet, humans, and other animals. I am constantly reading about animal rights theory, and trying to understand more effective ways of getting the vegan message to ordinary, everyday people who may never hear about animal rights or veganism (and the many related issues of justice).

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Mary Martin

My name is Mary Martin

I live in South Florida in the US in a seaside town called Jupiter.

I initially went vegan in the mid 1980s but unfortunately went back to using animals, both as a vegetarian and an omnivore. About a decade ago I came back to veganism. For me, it's a matter of respect and justice. If you say you respect other animals, you don't use them and cause them harm and take away their freedom because you want something they have or you want to watch them.

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Pranav Merchant

My name is Pranav Merchant, and I live in California in the United States.  

I became a vegan over a year ago, though for many years before that I was more or less vegan.  I changed from vegetarian because I just felt it was the right thing to do. When I first changed, it just happened, and only much later did I realize that animals were commodified and subject to systematic violence at human hands.  

My living vegan means that all beings who experience consciousness are allowed to live free, without being commodified or seen as resources.

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Amanda Mitchell

My name is Amanda Mitchell

I live in Sunny Northern California, USA

I have been vegan for 5 years, but it feels so natural it's hard to remember I haven't always lived this way!

I became vegan because I learned the truth about how the animals became food and could no longer support the egregious cruelty and suffering inherent in the process. The horror of the routine cruelties inflicted on creatures who are powerless to defend themselves shook me to my core and, once my eyes were opened, there was no turning back.

My living as a vegan means everything to me. Every decision I make is guided by the principles of doing least harm, preventing suffering, and making the world a better place for animals - both human and non-human. I love that I am able to embrace my values of peace, kindness, empathy and humility in this lifestyle and sense myself becoming to a better person as I learn and grow. Love and kindness is at the heart of ethical veganism and it's a great way to live. :)  

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Cyndi Rook

My name is Cyndi Rook, and I live in San Antonio, TX in the south-central U.S.

I’ve been a vegan for eight years. After many years of on and off vegetarianism, I became increasingly uncomfortable with the inconsistencies of that position, and the last few years of it proved to be a gradual slide into veganism.

Living as a vegan means that daily I become more cognizant of the injustices perpetrated on other beings and strive to reduce them wherever I can. It means that no one is harmed by my consumption habits if I can prevent it.

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Tomas Sedláček

I am from Czech Republic,

I am living in an unpleasant environment for any distinctions. I am capable of helping with a vegan's diet and vegan's life, and also with super food and sport supplements a little. I am vegan only 2 years, but I believe, that every help is good.

You can await basic introduction and basic handling with vegan's diet, not extreme state of some diseases and some missing minerals, I am vegan, not an expert to healing :-)  

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Olly Stearn

Hello, my name is Olly and I live in Glasgow, Scotland, during uni term time and Aberdeenshire in the summer.

I have been vegan for nearly 3 years - since just before I was seventeen. After considering veganism for a while I went, for a bet, from an animal product-heavy diet to a vegan diet for a week. I lost the bet after coming back form the pub and eating quite a large non-vegan cake, but since then I have been a vegan and have loved every minute of it.

My original reason for going vegan was rather confused: I have always had a soft spot for animals and in some way thought veganism was the right way to go. It wasn't until after I had been vegan for a while and become involved with an animal rights group that I started reading around and formed my reasons for being a vegan which are firmly based in our moral obligations to other individuals.

Being vegan for me means understanding and enacting my obligations to other animals, being part of a community and feeling good about myself.  

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Joanna Turland

My name is: Joanna 

I live in: Derbyshire, England

I have been vegan for over 2 years now and vegetarian for over 5 years. Recently transitioned to Raw vegan-ism too.

My primary reason for turning veggie was due to the horrendous animal welfare. Once later realising the equal cruelty that occurs within the egg and dairy industry I quickly became Vegan. The facts in favour of vegan-ism kept mounting more and more as I educated myself. I began to understand the devastating effect it had on the environment and our own personal health as well.

My living as a vegan means a lifestyle that does not put myself above other species and refuses to exploit them for my own gain. 

Anybody wanting some guidance with committing to vegan-ism  are more than welcome to contact me :) 

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Lisa Viger

My name is Lisa Viger. I live in lower mid Michigan, in the United States.

I have been vegan for four years. I became vegan because I became aware that we all deserve the right to live the life we've been given. My living as a vegan means I try to live my life causing as little harm to others as possible.

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Angie Wright

Hi, my name is Angie Wright.  I live in East Sussex,  UK and have been vegan for 46 years since the age of 18.

I wanted to stop eating animals from the age of seven, when I suddenly saw the light after deliberately stamping on thousands of ants on the pavement . My mother said I would die , so I changed overnight at 18yrs and waited to die!!!!.  My AR mindset had been forming from the age of 7yrs so being vegetarian wasn’t an option.

My living as a vegan means that I do not live with guilt, and can look any animal in the eye and tell them “I am not the cause of your suffering. 

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Jordan Wyatt

Hello!  I'm Jordan Wyatt, I live in New Zealand, in the wonderful city of Invercargill, vegan capital of the southern hemisphere! :-)

I have been Vegan for about three years now.  I became Vegan after becoming resensitized to how we see Other Animals.  I partially credit the movie adaption of Silence of the Lambs as helping me decide to be Vegetarian, and then Vegan, "IT puts the lotion on ITS skin, or else IT gets the hose again!", the viewing of others as things, as an "it", human animals and nonhuman animals alike, that we use their skin, which is really no different than our own, as the movie sadly demonstrates!

Being Vegan means to me that we try our best to respect others, to become positive, and work in a positive manner towards respect and friendship for all.

My contact details are info@invsoc.org.nz, and you can find more about Veganism in Invercargill on the Invercargill Vegan Society's website. 

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Would you like to contact a Vegan Buddy Mentor? They are here to help you.

Please just click on an mentor's name to visit their ARZone page, then look for the “Send a Message” link in the left hand column of their page.

Would you like to be a mentor? ARZone needs experienced vegans who would like to become a Vegan Buddy Mentor! Please contact us now at VeganBuddies@ARZone.net