Happy Vegiversary to VT Reader Danne Dzenawagis

Each month, we highlight a different reader’s “vegiversary”—the anniversary of when they went veg. Share yours at vegetariantimes.com/vegiversary.

Reader: 
Danne Dzenawagis
Location: 
Ann Arbor, Mich.
Vegetarian Since: 
June 1995

What motivated you to 
go veg? 

I was in the sixth grade and saw a cow get branded on TV. I swore right then and there I’d never eat meat again—20 years later and 
I still haven’t!

What’s your favorite veg-
friendly restaurant, and what do you order there?

I love, love, love Life Alive 
in Cambridge, Mass. The Green Goddess bowl is one of my all-time favorite meals. Their Ginger Nama Shoyu Sauce is unreal.

What fruit or veggie best describes you, and why?

A sweet potato: sweet and grounded with strong roots.

What’s your most 
treasured piece of heirloom cookware?

My (still-growing) collection of hand-painted Polish stoneware that my mom has been buying for me for years.

What’s your best advice for new vegetarians/vegans?

Do your homework. When 
I went veg at the age of 
11, my parents took me 
to see a nutritionist so 
I could really understand what a healthy vegetarian diet looked like. It was the best thing they could have done for me.