It took me years to convert to vegan, and I still eat meat occasionally.

I'd invite you over for some vegan chili or GBOMBS stew, but you are a bit too far away to come for dinner.

I didn't cook for years. However, I started cooking GBOMBS stew without a recipe, smelled the herbs and spices to decide what to use, tasted my creation to decide when to stop adding flavor, and was surprised at how easy it is to cook. Treat recipes as guidelines and make substitutions when needed or desirable. They aren't a battle plan you must follow or die.

It's good to meet someone who has succeeded for so many years. Thanks for your post. Where you able to change to a vegan lifestyle rapidly, or was it a struggle?

@EdEarl I wanted to be a vegetarian since I was 6 and watched a fish die. As soon as I moved out of my parents home, I simply became a vegetarian, no problem. Then I read about Veganism, and I did that and never looked back.

Gradually I became aware of the environmental impact, and the waste
of water and such.

But, I started not to hurt animals, then for my health and the planet.

The only thing hard to give up was cheese and pizza. The reason is
that when people drink mother's milk, they get Oxytocin, a pleasure
chemical, (released during Orgasm) so that the baby and mother bond.

This same chemical is in cow milk, so it's addicting. It's terrible
for you. Milk is liquid meat.

To me, it's about the joy of living a healthy life.

@Bob4Health About the age of 12, mom bought me a .22 rifle and took me out into the countryside near Odessa, TX, and taught me to shoot rabbits. They are the main prey animal for coyote, and have a natural cycle of about seven years population growth and decline. When the coyote population is high, they eat most of the rabbits, and the coyote population starves until their population is minimal. The rabbit population rebounds over a few years, the coyotes are better fed and increase their population. Then the cycle starts again. Mom and I had no affect on the populations of rabbit and coyote. But, she made it OK to kill an animal. She spent her formative years on a farm, and slaughtering animals, mostly chickens, was a way of life at one time. However, things have changed. I don't kill wasps or other animals. In fact, I'm breeding flies in my compost. The larvae process food waste quickly; they feed birds and my raccoon...cute little bundle of mayhem. Insect populations around the world are plunging.