Why I love Ingrid Newkirk and PETA!

It occured to me a few weeks ago that no one will ever know how much you appreciate them if you never tell them. So I sat down one morning and wrote a letter to Ms. Newkirk to let her know how wonderful and important her work has been to me.

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May 12, 2006

Ms. Ingrid Newkirk
PETA
501 Front Street
Norfolk, VA 23510


Ms. Newkirk,

I must write to you today to tell you Thank You! You and all of the wonderful people working at PETA have given me my life back and along with that a sense of compassion that I never knew I had.

Several years ago I had done the “Atkins” diet with some success. After I could no longer stay with it my body went into a complete health reversal. I gained weight and could not lose it. My sinus problems which were always present became unbearable. I developed severe eczema along with a host of other issues. I felt like a 75 year old woman though I was only 36.

Last July a friend of mine who had been vegetarian for about a year convinced me through the changes I saw in her that this was a route I was willing to try, well at least for a week. Within days I started to feel very good and I needed more information on how I could make this a lifetime commitment.

Through my searching for vegetarian information on the internet PETA always came up. I had heard about your group but had thought you were on the fringe. I always considered myself an animal lover but never felt compelled to do more then adopt an occasional stray or rescue.

I must say that within 1 ½ months of my research I knew there was no other choice for me but to go from vegetarian to vegan. I have visited your site so many times and have read I think every page. Through your education and the mass amount of information, you have saved me and the countless animals I now no longer consume. I had no idea the brutality of factory farming. Thank you for opening my eyes.

But your good work has done so much more then change one omni to vegan. The lady who inspired me to become a veggie is now vegan and so is her partner. My daughter who is only 8 is now a card carrying vegan as well. My dear husband who loves meat more then anything has been so impressed by the positive changes in my life that he has cut his consumption to a 10th of what it was.

The health benefits for me of a vegan life are so amazing:
• No more sinus problems
• The eczema has vanished
• I now weigh what I did when I was 20
• My hair is getting so healthy and growing back where it had thinned
• My skin looks amazing
• I can run for an hour in the gym now

I am so glad I found PETA and finally realized how my daily choices affected so many innocent animals. I am now a better person both on a physical and compassionate level and I truly cannot thank you enough.