Vegucated

This is high cow country.

This is summer grazing

country, some of the best

in the west.

This is the country of

big beef herds.

It is like a pleasant

dream for this white faced

ruddy coated youngster.

Of all the faithful servants

of man-kind down through the

ages none has served us

better than Old Bossie,

the cow.

Since time began milk has

been one of the most

nutritious of all foods.

The baby chicks are so soft

and cuddly.

This is Betty's and James'

favorite chore.

No dinner bell is needed to

call this chow line

into action.

And it is quite a strain on

masculine discipline to

observe the rule of

ladies first.

Sue-uhh!

Sue-uhh!

Ahhh, Ahhh!

Sue-uhh!

Sue-uhh!

Sue-uhh!

Ahhh, Ahhh!

Sue-uhh!

Uncle Jim?

How do cows make milk?

Oh, they make it out of

what they eat.

Yeah, but what do

they eat?

Well, come on.

I'll show you.

Why that looks like some

of our breakfast cereals.

That's me!

Or rather, could have

been me.

No, I didn't grow up on a

farm, but I had a pretty

idealic American childhood.

I grew up in Evansville,

Indiana, which is a small

city in the middle of

corn country.

I was what my mom called a

good eater because I always

cleaned my plate

and drank my milk.

This is really me.

When I was growing

up my dad worked in concrete

block manufacturing to bring

home the bacon.

And I love me some bacon,

and eggs and

especially cheese.

But after I grew up a little

and moved to New York

that all changed.

Do you know what a

vegan is?

Not really.

A vegan is one who only

eats vegetables.

Close.

In addition to vegetables

they eat fruits, grains,

beans, nuts and seeds.

In short,

anything plant based.

Yeah, so they don't get

muscles like this.

Some of them do fish but

it just depends on

the person.

Not really.

A true vegan doesn't eat

fish, meat, poultry,

dairy or eggs.

A vegan also doesn't buy any

clothing made from animals,

such as leather, fur,

wool or silk.

Could you ever go vegan?

Ahh, I don't think so.

No.

I would love to but I

love my meat.

What about for $10,000?

No.

$100,000?

No.

Why should I change?

Good question.

Why would anybody want to

go vegan?

But right now there are

millions of Americans that

are doing it, which can seem

impossible in the world we

live in.

I always thought vegetarians

were different from me but I

kind of got it.

Now vegans, that was a whole

different story.

I just thought they were a

little off, slightly crazy

and quite extreme.

But then something really

strange happened to me.

I became one of them.

Here is what happened.

I found out that animal food

and clothing production

aren't as idealic as I

thought or as healthy for

the planet or our bodies.

I started to do my homework,

delving deeper and deeper

into the way our food and

clothes are produced and

suddenly veganism and vegans

made a whole lot of sense.

Now don't get me wrong, I

still understand that meat

and dairy currently play a

large role in the economy

and in our cultural heritage

and they can provide

important nutrients for

people in all kinds of

economic and geographic

circumstances.

And of course I realize that

for many people in the world

veganism isn't even a viable

option now.

But there is a whole side of

this story that the vast

majority of us never even

get exposed to

in mainstream culture.

When I was exposed to it I

kind of freaked out.

I wondered if I went vegan,

would I have to eat dry

chalky bran muffins and grow

out my armpit hair?

Would I have to become a

radical lesbian anarchist?

Or, would I have to join the

animal liberation front?

But once I started doing it,

it wasn't so hard

and I felt really good.

In fact, I lost fifteen

pounds in just a few months

without even trying.

Still, I couldn't help

wondering, would anybody

react to this information

the way I did?

I find it easy but what

about people who came from

different backgrounds and

face different challenges?

To find out, I decided to

search for a few regular New.

Yorkers who'd be willing to

go vegan for six weeks and

learn what it's all about.

I'd tell them the side of

the story they hadn't heard

before, see how they reacted

and see if their

veganism stuck.

Like everything in New York

I found what I needed on.

Craig's List.

I interviewed twenty five

potential vegans before I

made my decision.

In the end, I chose three

people from three different

demographics, each with

their own challenges in

going vegan.