When I was 16 I found a name for my "selective" eating habits and told my parents, while they were washing pork chops down with gravy, that I was no longer going to eat meat. My father understood my refusal to eat animals as a snobby teenage declaration that I was too good for what he provided. My mom "supported" my decision but would not prepare vegetarian meals and never stopped asking how I wanted my hamburger cooked. While being a vegetarian was in some ways an excuse to abstain from foods I didn't like, I stuck with it because I realized it was wrong to bring an animal into the world with the sole intention of killing him or her. However, I knew nothing about modern agribusiness and continued to consume eggs and dairy products believing that they could be obtained without harming animals. Never once did I question whether we should be eating them in the first place.

Two years later, while waiting on line at Mrs. Green's Natural Market, I picked up a free guide to health food stores and restaurants and flipped through the recycled-paper pages. I skimmed a few articles and then came across an interview with a man named John Robbins. My jaw dropped as I read about factory farming and its destruction of the rainforest, animals, and our health. When I got home I ordered The Food Revolution off the internet and began researching what farming in 2001 was really about. Still, I was skeptical as the idea of giving up ice cream and omelets seemed nothing short of crazy, and the term "vegan" sounded extreme.

In order to better educate myself I decided to write my English 101 position paper in support of a vegan diet. I researched the impact animal products have on our health and was disgusted by what I learned. However, what was more nauseating to me was not what animals did to my body when I consumed them, but what I was paying someone to do to the animals before their milk and eggs arrived on my plate. The Internet provided me with pictures and live footage of what goes on behind the closed doors of the slaughterhouse, and many times I was brought to tears. Suddenly the only thing that seemed radical about being a vegan was not being one. Yet while I believed that animals didn't belong on our plates, I was worried I wouldn't be able to make the "sacrifice" of being a vegan. "What do vegans eat?" I wondered. I was determined to find out, so I printed out a list of animal ingredients and went through the food in my cupboard and the grocery store. After incorporating some new foods into my diet and learning that oftentimes I liked the cruelty-free versions better than the "real thing," I made a vow to go vegan for a month. I slipped a few times during the first few weeks but instead of beating myself up, I acknowledged my mistake and promised myself that I wouldn't let it happen again. It didn't, and once I came to peace with my new diet I decided to be a vegan for the rest of my life.

Since becoming a vegan I haven't once felt deprived. In fact, I've discovered so many foods I love that I haven't had the chance to feel like I'm missing out on anything. While my parents still view me as a picky eater, I know it's not because I am stubborn and unwilling to try new things, but because I no longer view the animals they prepare as food.

In the past few months I've changed a lot, not just because of the food I do and do not eat but because I now think about the consequences of all my actions. My friends and family have witnessed an evolution that sometimes makes them feel like they don't know me anymore. But they're not the only ones who don't know the changed me. The truth is I barely recognize myself. But I'd rather remain unrecognizable than return to the ignorant life I led. Paul McCartney once said, "If slaughterhouses had glass walls, everyone would be a vegetarian." I think it's my job to lead by example and make those walls a little more transparent.

-- Kate Epting is a 19-year-old college student.