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Dear reader, thank you very much for stopping by.LifelongVegan.org is a blog space I’ve created to open up critical discussion on veganism, address common questions and misconceptions, and to share my personal experience as a born-and-raised vegan.I’m glad you’re here; without people like you grappling with my ideas, I’m just shouting into a vacuum. I tend toward a pragmatic approach in my thought-process, albeit with some tangents into theories (dude, just imagine what the world would be like if we outlawed grain-fed farm mammals). I have a lot of thoughts and opinions, that’s why I write this stuff, but it’s the free and open discussion which grows out of and challenges my work that I value above all else.Veganism, which began as an arguably simple philosophy – doing the least harm to animals as is practicable – has since flourished into something as diverse as religious belief, with an endless variety of practices. Indeed, there are vegans who take their dissenting practices so seriously you’d think they were subject to some dogmatic, structured belief system. I see veganism as lacking key characteristics of a religion or cult – namely a higher power or leader – so I'll continue referring to it as a philosophy, thank-you-very-much.The evolving diversity within modern vegan philosophy is what makes this discussion so darned important. The community as a whole, with free and open conversation as their medium, can work toward a greater understanding of what the vegan philosophy should be. So again, thank you for being here and joining this corner of the discussion.Hello, my name is Dean. I thought starting a blog would be the least preachy way to chat about veganism, share my experience of being a vegan since ’96, and otherwise do my part in making veganism seem less weird. I follow a vegan diet for ethical reasons – I regularly cast my consumer vote in the supermarket to end big animal agriculture – and I’m impressed that I was able to describe myself using the word “vegan” only five times.I grew up in a vegan household. My mom has been vegan since ’75, before it was cool, and she raised six healthy and happy kids on her very own vegan home cooking . Don’t worry, we weren’t brainwashed. Mom gently educated us on animal agriculture but she allowed us to make our own eating choices outside of the house – a couple of my siblings have since switched to vegetarianism, and we still love them :) Growing up vegan, it just feels normal to me, and I haven’t found any reason to start eating animal products since then.I’m still kicking.You can join or begin the discussion in the comment thread found at the bottom of each post (I’m currently moderating comments, so it may take a day for your comment to appear), share posts with your friends and family if you think they’d find it relevant or interesting, and you can subscribe by email to be notified when I publish something new.Yes, absolutely! Anyone who’s curious will find something interesting here. One of my goals is to share advice on vegan meals and nutrition, so you’ll find it easier to add a vegan meal to your day. You’re a people, too; my best friend is non-vegetarian.Anyone transitioning into a vegan diet with a long-term approach and the intention to keep it up for life is a lifelong vegan in my book. Please make sure you know what you’re doing while adjusting your diet, so you’ll avoid feeling grumpy, lethargic, achy, foggy, etc. Veganism is rising in popularity, and there’s an unfortunate lack of widespread wisdom on vegan nutrition. Plan your meals smartly, get your blood tested in the first few months or years, and take your B12, dagnabbit!Yes, please give me some. However, I don’t enjoy attention while I’m eating. When in public, I keep it a secret for as long as possible that I’m a vegan. Even this blog is relatively anonymous. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy discussing veganism, but in the big wide world it’s still novel enough that some people feel awkward when they find out you’re a vegan. With this blog, I can take the discussion to people who are looking for it – vegans and curious people – rather than springing the idea on innocent, unsuspecting folks.I do. My mom digs them.