Vegan lifestyle articles that discuss ways of living in peace with humans, animals, and the environment.
It may seem odd to say you're thankful for getting a disease, or contracting a disease, but that's what's opened my eyes to the horrors that are going on in the animal agriculture industry.
'Every single one of the animals that I shot, they all died violently'
A hunter turned vegan has spoken out about his dramatic U-turn in a video
for Million Dollar Vegan (MDV).
MDV is an advocacy organization which encourages and supports people to sign
its 31-day pledge and give a plant-based diet a go. In the past, MDV has
offered to make $1,000,000 dollar charity donations if Pope Francis and
Donald Trump signed the pledge.
Those who take part will be offered recipes, health and nutrition advice,
and a free Vegan Starter Kit featuring meal plans, tips on where to eat out,
and answers to tricky questions.
Hunter to vegan
Million Dollar Vegan has shared the stories of many people who have
experienced dramatic transformations - whether they have changed their
ethics, health, or bodies.
One of those is Terry, a former hunter who went plant-based to tackle his colitis and is now a proud vegan and animal advocate.
Hunting family
Speaking in an exclusive MDV video, Terry said: "I grew up in a hunting
family. My grandfather who I idolized was a hunter, and listening to his
stories it was just sort of natural that I was going to hunt.
"So I surrounded myself with buddies that had similar interests and we
took the hunting course. When I went out hunting, I've shot close to a dozen
deer, and numerous birds, and I kind of prided myself on making sure that my
shots were clean and perfect. I never took risky shots."
'I don't want to hurt animals anymore'
But he admits that despite his clean shots, the animals he killed all
suffered. He said: "Every single one of the animals that I shot, they all
died violently, and they died suffering, and they died terrified.
"A buddy of mine took a shot and I came up on the deer. I was closer to it
after he shot it, and there it was trying to get up on its front two legs
and its front two legs were blown off. So that was one of the things that
really drove it home to me. So there it was trying to get up on its two
bloody stubs."
He described tracking deer that people have shot, following their bloody
trails for many kilometers.
"You can see where they've stopped to take a breather, which is a joke,
because they are basically drowning in their own blood," he said. "I love
animals and I don't want to hurt them anymore."
Going plant-based
Around six years ago, Terry was diagnosed with colitis, after having stomach
issues for years. Then around two years ago, he and his wife started to make
the switch to a plant-based diet, after reading about the health benefits.
"As soon as you see the benefits of it, and the awakening that you start
seeing, the lies that you're being told by big business and big authority
start becoming obvious," he said.
After being vegan for two years, Terry says he has had no colitis flare-ups
(after having up to eight serious flare-ups a year before), his cholesterol
is down to normal, and he lost 30lb without trying.
"It may seem odd to say you're thankful for getting a disease, or
contracting a disease, but that's what's opened my eyes to the horrors that
are going on in the animal agriculture industry. So I guess I am thankful
for it because now I don't really suffer from it and I don't contribute to
the horrors of the agriculture industry.
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