ADVICE FROM A NON-VEGAN

1. It may be easiest to gradually become vegan - start by going vegetarian and then progressing. Because

2. DID YOU KNOW HOW MUCH SHIT HAS ANIMAL PRODUCTS IN IT? My favorite - white sugar! White sugar is purified by sifting it through bone char. Bones are an animal product and not vegan. Also on this "fun not vegan foods" list: gelatin, whey, almost all bread/baked goods (but not all), chocolate of course, certain red dyes (made from beetles!), certain food flavorings (including my favorite, beaver anal gland - which is used to give things a raspberry flavor), anything containing casein, whey, gelatin, the afore-mentioned white sugar, and so on. SO

3. Get ready to do some serious, serious label-reading. ALSO

4. Don't trust restaurant food that "looks" vegetarian. French onion soup? Delicious, and full of veggies! But - traditionally made with beef stock. Any soup at a restaurant is probably made with meat stock.

5. Get ready for people to ask you ridiculous things. When I was vegetarian my aunt asked me if I still ate pie. I asked her if the pie had meat in it. (I was a sarcastic vegetarian.)

6. Try and make sure you eat a lot of protein. I had a friend who was vegetarian and was ordered to start eating meat due to an iron deficiency. (She went pescatarian.)

Veganism isn't my thing - but good luck. Oh, also, some people will refuse to date you because of this life choice. That's okay. There are also vegetarians and vegans who don't like to date meat eaters. Cuts both ways, just don't be that offended when it happens.