The main goal for GetVedgy is to help those who are getting started on their vegan journey or just want to understand more about veganism and plant-based eating. As well as spreading the word about the latest vegan and plant-based products and developments.
Who Runs Things Around Here?
My name is Jonathan and I’m the founder and editor-in-chief at GetVedgy. As a former meat eater who only fairly recently made a commitment to going vegan, I’ve spent a lot of time over the last couple of years researching the subject. It felt like a good idea to share what I’ve learnt and help to answer the questions I’ve had that no doubt many other people interested in veganism will have.
My Vegan Journey
My first step towards veganism from a food perspective happened around six years ago and really started as a health only focussed switch. I had suffered for years with asthma, allergies, sinus problems and various skin issues and after countless appointments with health professionals and a fair amount of personal research I came to the realisation that cows milk was potentially exacerbating my health issues. I decided to cut out all dairy milk and gradually started to notice an improvement particularly with my allergies and skin issues.
Fast forward a few years and while I’d seen some improvements in my health things were far from resolved, I was still on medication for my asthma and allergies and still suffering from skin issues albeit to a lesser extent. Although I had largely removed dairy milk from my diet I was still occasionally consuming cheese, yogurt and other dairy products that’s included in various product ingredients. Again I started to look into going completely dairy free and throughout the various studies and anecdotal evidence from individuals stories online, veganism kept popping up. All my life up to that point I’d been a big meat eater and really there was hardly ever a meal that didn’t contain meat of some sort. So when I initially thought about the prospect of not eating meat at all I thought there would be no way I could manage that. However the more I read the more I realised that my diet wasn’t likely to be doing me any favours and the idea of a least cutting back on animal products started to stick.
For a few months I spent more and more time looking into the potential benefits of cutting out animal products, largely from a health perspective. Then I watched the documentary Dominion. That film hit me like a train. Completely unexpectedly I sat there brought to tears and absolutely horrified at how these animals were being treated. Growing up as a meat eater and everyone around me being a meat eater I had honestly never even considered the realities of animal agriculture. I even considered myself to be an animal lover! A stance which I now realise in hindsight was completely at odds with how I was living my life. Amazingly despite how much of an impact Dominion had on me I didn’t immediately go vegan (which seems insane to me now) although it was clear that there had been a significant shift in the way I viewed what I considered food.
I spent a bit more time looking into the practicalities of making such a significant change to my lifestyle and in May 2021 decided I was no longer going to consume animal products of any kind. Fast forward to the time of writing (January 2023) and while there has been a few bumps in the road I’m as determined as ever that this is the right choice for me. Not only have the majority of my health issues completely disappeared – I’ve gone from being on high strength medication for my asthma to no symptoms and no medication (I was diagnosed asthmatic and on medication since I was 5 years old – I’m now in my mid thirties). My allergies also seem to have completely gone and again I no longer take medication for those and while my skin issues haven’t completely resolved as yet, that continues to improve over time. This is obviously a personal experience and I’m not a medical professional, however it’s abundantly clear to me that my body simply doesn’t get on well with consuming animals or animal derived foods.
Aside from the health side of things I can also honestly say that I feel much more at peace with the way I’m choosing to live. Something that I never expected to feel (and the sort of thing I would have previously dismissed as airy-fairy nonsense) but it’s now undeniable to me. I’ve changed significantly as a person and feel proud of the choice I’ve made.
Anyway that’s enough waffle from me now! I’m looking forward to hopefully growing this site into a community and supporting the vegan movement. If you want to know more or have any questions please feel free to drop me an email.
Get in touch
If you have any questions about anything you’ve read on the site you can contact me via email: hello@getvedgy.com.