I went vegan with my partner Nate on November 9, 2019. Today, I cant imagine being with someone whos not veganand I find it difficult to relate to people who dont share our lifestyle.

It wasnt always this way: Growing up, I ate meat, but I was never quite sure if I agreed with it in principle. I even went vegetarian a couple of timesonce when I was about 10 and then again when I was 18because I started questioning why it was okay for an animal to have died so that I could eat it.

But both times, I ended up quitting because I figured if everyone else around me was eating meat, then surely it couldn't be that bad. I certainly never thought I'd go vegan.

Then, last fall, Nate and I decided to do some research on veganism after his parents started talking about potentially going fully plant-based.

The more we looked into it, the more we learned about why people go vegan, and we both started to realize the huge impact that eating animals has on our planet.

We began asking ourselves questions like: Is it really moral for someone to raise an animal so that they can kill it and eat it?

From then on, we just couldnt look back. It was like an epiphany. Over just a few days, we used up whatever food we had left in the house. There wasnt much to get rid of, so we practically went vegan overnight.

Going vegan with Nate has made it easier because weve learned to change up what we eat and cook together, and we discuss all of the issues that come along with becoming vegan, including how to talk to people who don't want to listen to the reality of it.

Whats funny is that, more often than not, when someone finds out were vegan, they immediately try and justify eating animal products with an excuse, like, Im trying to eat less meat, or, We only eat fish these days.

I think its sad because it shows that these people feel guilt about eating meat but choose to ignore it. I also question why so many people like to place a hierarchy on the animals we should and shouldnt eat. Why is a cow or pig more worthy than a fish or chicken?

One of the most eye-opening things I like to tell people is something I recently came across on an Instagram post by @cheesyveganlife. It challenges you to replace the word veganism with kind(ness) to animals. This helps people realize how they sound when they give excuses for not being vegan, like Stop forcing kindness to animals on me, and, I could never be kind to animals, I love cheese too much.

Some of our friends have actually gone vegan after we explained to them why its so important to us.

Others just give the same kind of excuses as everybody else. I always remind myself that someone surely must not understand the severity of it all if they choose to not be vegan, but its definitely hard to maintain a relationship with someone who claims to recognize our reality and then still chooses to eat animal products.

I havent cut anybody off after theyve expressed their views against veganism. It definitely creates some distance, thoughas Im sure it would for anyone who finds out their morals don't match up with someone elses.

Its such an important thing to me that, if someone has a completely opposing opinion, its really difficult to ignore that.

If Nate told me he wasnt going to be vegan anymore, first I would check that he was okay, because it would be hard to believe that! Then I would listen to why, because something huge would have to happen for him to go against it, and I would want to understand.

But if his explanation didnt change my mind, I dont think I could stay with him. I strongly believe in veganism, and if you dont, your lifestyle would so completely contrast with my beliefs that it would be very hard to live with that every day.

If I were to go through the dating phase again, I would definitely look to date vegans. That said, I wouldnt rule out someone who's respectful of and open-minded to the whole situationthe goal being to change their mind!

I just dont think I could be in a relationshipactually, I know I couldnt be in a relationshipwith someone who isnt vegan.

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Its a way of life, and its recognizing the things in your life that have consequences that impact animals and the environment.

I dont believe people should have more rights than animals.

We share this planet with animals, so I dont believe its okay to play with them like toys, choose when they die, impregnate them, or force them to live so we can take their milk.

We are more than capable of being healthy and happy in the world without doing any of those things.

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Marnie Lines: 'Why It's Hard To Be Close To Non-Vegan's - Women's Health