I thought I would introduce myself a bit. I came to this forum in the search for some rational vegan people. I don't mean offence to anyone, but when people think vegan they think crazy hippy that throw red paint at fur, abuse meat eaters and probably don't shower or believe in vaccines. I know this is of course not true, but after attending World Vegan Day in Melbourne a few years ago and Billy Simmonds started talking about the higher energy in food growing higher up towards the sky, I pretty much decided that the vegan community was not one I wanted to be part of. That has now changed, and I'd like to be able to just be a rational vegan and for that to be okay, and to have friends to share salad recipes with ... and sensible arguments ... and the likes. I saw 'Vegan' and 'Atheist' and 'Forum' and, not that all atheists are rational people, but in my experience people who are not atheists are mostly not rational, and hence I'd take my chances and check this place out.
I have a science background, food science as a matter of fact, and so obviously I'm pro GMO (and obviously it's not as simple as being pro or con GMOs, there are obvious issues with certain GMO crops and the bees and other GMO crops and the patenting, but golden rice etc. are fantastic). I also have a Master's Degree in Dietetics and as such am a qualified dietitian. As a dietitian, I'm obviously interested in diet and health, diet related diseases and such, and from the research I have done, the best possible diet for long term health is in fact and whole food based vegan diet (but I'm not 100% strict because quality of life is more important to me than absolutism).
And you've probably already figured out that I'm based in Australia considering my Melbourne comment, but I was born and raised in Sweden, so please excuse me if my English grammar is sometimes sub-par (also I'm a terrible speller, again, I'm sorry). (I also use a lot of commas, I am aware, it's just a thing I do, so ... if you don't like that you'll probably have stopped reading by now anyway.) I'm 28 and live with my son and partner and I currently work in tertiary education (sadly not as a dietitian). I have an Instagram account (not looking for followers and not making money of it) with the same name (GardenFood), which is literally just pictures of food that I cook, if someone is after some vegspiration. I saw some posts of people struggling with the whole vegan concept, and my IG is my little contribution to promote vegan food. I'd like to spread the idea of this lifestyle, and make people realise that it is healthier, better for the environment and certainly more humane to live off plant foods than it is meat, but it is in no way difficult or gross to eat vegan food. I have been vegetarian since I was 9 years old (and saw Babe, the pig movie) so I have quite a lot of experience with both eating and cooking meatless. I have this idea of starting a youtube account to talk about the same, in a rational way with scientific evidence, however as I'm working full time this is slow in progress. In the mean time, I'll hang here and see how it goes.
This ended up being more of an essay than an introduction
, but if you managed to get through, please comment and help me feel like I'm not completely alone to rationalise a vegan lifestyle with scientific arguments rather than pseudoscience and bananas. 
I'd love to get to know some like-minded people!
I am also passionate about science and rational thinking, and love to cook delicious meals for my nonvegan friends & family. I recently made lasagna for my family using this recipe:
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