I've been vegetarian for 5 1/2 years, and now vegan. I became vegetarian after seeing videos of the lives and deaths of "food" animals. That's what started my veg*anism and kept me motivated in the beginning. Now it's the fact that I don't even like the smell of meat anymore. As far as my vegan diet which I started January 2007, I simply decided that the egg and dairy industries are just as cruel as the meat industry. Also, I have read that a veg*an saves 95 animal lives a year, and that's pretty motivating for me!