So, here is some bits about me personally about how I came to be a vegetarian and then, a vegan later on and plus a vegan-raw as well. Lastly, I add about why/how I founded DVS.


On becoming a Vegetarian: When I was 13 years old, it started with me reading a magazine from PETA for the first time and it really upset me so intensely that it angered me to the point I cried angrily. In other words, it pretty much hit home in the heart for me. That very day, I went up to my mother and said that I was going vegetarian because I would not eat my friends anymore. Thankfully, she respected my opinion & my decision. With that, it was an overnight change that I went vegetarian cold-turkey (no pun intended). I never looked back since I was 13 years old. Plus, after about 6 months or so, my mother got tired of cooking separately for us both and she started to realize the health benefits as a vegetarian & for the love for animals, she became a vegetarian too! It has been 18 years now that I (& my mom) haven't touched meat willingly. Of course, being as a vegetarian newbie in a learning process, I've had very few overlooked accidents/mistakes in the beginning whenever I went out to eat, I learned more & more such as chicken broth, lard, & etc. like that was to cook the vegetables with. Also, I was still eating eggs & cheese at the time. Gradually over time, I became lactose intolerant as I got older. Not only it was just the change in my eating habits, I also removed any leather & silk & wool from my wardrobe. It was the beginning of a new lifestyle at such young age for me. It was so hard in the beginning because you have to keep in mind that it was 1990 at the time and vegetarianism was mocked at and there was inadequate options in the grocery stores and at restaurants. Despite all the immature teasing, belittling, hot debates (sometimes arguments) & many had no confidence in believing that I would last that long, I stood firm on my belief and my
morality up to this day and I still will until I die.

On becoming Vegan-Raw: I was & still am always expanding my reading materials & references on a large spectrum of vegetarianism & eco-lifestyle on all levels. A couple of years ago, I asked a Deaf raw foodist friend, Brenda, where I could find genuine information on raw food and one of her suggestions was Shazzie. For some reason, that name sounded the most appealing to me so, I found Shazzie's website & her blogs on Vegan-Rawism. Again, it hit home for me. It was beyond words and I felt so inspired that I kept reading it while I was at work! I had to hide her website page on my computer and go back & forth between reading her blogs and working on my spreadsheets at the same time. Sneaky, I know, but it was THAT inspiring to me! After I was done with most of her blogs, I went on to borrow few books to further my understanding on detoxing correctly first and then, going raw. Once I started my first detox, it went swimmingly & an interesting experience for me! Omitting all processed foods from my pantry was very easy as a snap of fingers because I had this gain of knowledge of what they really were & how awfully toxic they were. When I started my Raw journey, my main goal from going raw was basically just to be healthy in overall. An bonus that happened to come with the "package deal" which was the weight loss so I lost 30 pounds (I never was concerned nor was sensitive about weight in general & never tried to lose weight on purpose). As a whole, I felt great inside because I felt healthy and my colon felt so cleared up! Not only that, it also lifted me up emotionally & spiritually because raw food comes directly the Earth that has such abundance of deep beautiful energy.

On "backing down" to Vegan after being Raw: After being Vegan-Raw for almost a year, I started to go through a difficult financial hardship due to several changes in my life & having to move back in with my mother. I decided to cut down my grocery expenses which meant less Raw food. I started cooking a little again, but I still kept my rule of using only organics. By this time, I hadn't had any eggs for so many years so that was easy for me of not going back to eggs ever again anyway. However, cheese was the hardest for me to let go for so many years because I LOVE cheese. I felt that it was mentally hard for me to train myself on omitting cheese from my life forever. I usually have a congested nasal airways and I felt that the dairy from the cheese could be the culprit. Finally, about over 7 or 8 months ago, I stopped eating cow cheese & I did not even notice until few months later. I was officially a Vegan! When it dawned on me one day (because I did not really notice it at first), I felt so proud of myself! Obviously, my mentality had finally seeped into my body after years of trying to draw the concept in my soul. It took a while to change that reality & so, in the no-cheese area, it became second skin for me finally. It was such a battle with cheese! Although, I still do pick at very little feta cheese maybe once every two months or so because organic feta comes from goat which has less acid in their only one stomach; unlike the cow's 4 stomachs. In conclusion, I am currently a Vegan. I still make & eat raw dishes at home. I eat raw breakfast every morning. As for dinners, I still have a salad every time, but sometimes I do have cooked dinners. All in all, I still always make sure I incorporate vegan-raw dishes in my daily life one way or other.

On why/how I founded Deaf Vegetarian Society: When I first moved to Phoenix, AZ with my mother in 1997 (I was 19), she & I wanted to find some kind of veggie club so we could meet people of same interests. We found Vegetarian Society of Phoenix. Every month, they had potlucks, discussions & meetings in the same day. It was awesome to find that group. However, I was the only Deaf person in that group. Naturally, as you all Deafies know this very well, I felt left out, kept filling in blanks during conversations & had the difficulties of getting involved in discussions. My mother is a signer. She interpreted for me during every gathering they had. I started to feel bad for her because she would not able to fully process the information for her own brain because she was interpreting for me. So, slowly every now & then, I started to abstain myself from their monthly gatherings and my mom would still attend on her own. Until one day, I stopped showing up completely. I had wished there was a deaf group that had something like that. So, I looked excessively online for one. I learnt that there are SO many (hearing) veg groups all over the world in almost every country, city & even in small towns. But there was no Deaf groups at all. I was surprised & disappointed. It wasn't until years later after I stopped moving around & came back to Phoenix in 2004. The idea came back to me & nagged at me again, but I did not act on it. It kept bothering me & nagging at me in the back of my head for a while. So, a few years later, I talked to very few friends about it and they encouraged me to do it. Deaf people needed this type of thing to keep up on knowledge on natural health via food & a support system as well. So, if no one is doing it, then who will? So, why not I just do it? Evidently, I finally set it up. Deaf Vegetarian Society was born in 2007.

Much Green Love

Veronica Kozlowski

Founder of D.V.S.
DeafVegetarianSociety.org