I'm not vegan and not even strictly vegetarian. I eat either wild-caught salmon or unadulterated chicken breast a couple times a week, for health. But the big thing in my eating is NO (well, almost no) processed foods. I want to see and make a conscious decision about every ingredient in my foods. I do not have shakers labeled as artificial color, preservatives, artificial flavors, chemicals, stabilizers, endocrine disruptors, carcinogenic stuff, toxic this 'n that, etc. Those stay out of 99% of my foods. If a food has a list of ingredients, I don't generally buy it. A few very minor exceptions. I've lost weight, feel better, blood abnormalities all resolved, lower blood pressure. That's what I call healthy food... and very easy on the animals and planet.

My reason for being vegan has nothing to do with animal rights; it is all about the health benefits. See Forks over Knives, on youtube for free and on Netflix if you have it. My health was seriously bad, and is being improved daily a little at a time by eating vegan. Sure it stops people from slaughtering animals, and that is a benefit. However, the potential resources saved and CO2 not put into the air if people stopped eating meat and animal products would go a long way towards fixing climate change, which is a much bigger benefit than stopping the slaughter. And, if everyone ate vegan whole foods, instead of junk foods, the health of almost everyone would be improved considerably...fat people would loose weight and the obesity epidemic would be solved, which is also more important than not slaughtering the animals. Stopping climate change would save species. Vegan health benefits save people.

When I originally changed the way I ate, it was to eat healthy. I wasn't looking to be a vegan or vegetarian. I've maintained and tweaked it along the way but I saw a documentary (Eating You Alive) a couple weeks ago that really impressed me and I'm now going to move a step beyond vegan to a WFPB diet. I like that I'm not eating meat (at least now) but I still do it for my health.

I've been an executive chef for 30+ years and vegan for 22 years.
While I love the health benefits....I am vegan FIRST for the animals. Health should not be the main focus...it's more just like icing on the proverbial cake!
I also promise it's not your job to police other vegans
Get healthy, eat healthy, go to the gym...share your knowledge with others...educate them...and help them break free of the brainwashing that allows them to dismiss animal lives as insignificant.
If you focus on you -- and being the best you --- you will encourage and inspire others to do the same.

In the state of the world, especially N. America today, meat is probably one of the least healthy diets. The first thing I noticed when becoming a vegetarian was an increase in energy. All my vital signs improved. The one thing most people are afraid of looking at is the moral and environmental costs of eating meat. Eating is a sensuous experience (and often all the senses are stimulated). Few understand the cost of the sensuality to other sentient beings never mind the planet and most life forms (including ours) on it..