So apparently I registered in August, but I haven't used the forum yet... awkward.
In any case, I'm a Swedish guy who is currently living in Scotland. I became a vegan 5 months ago but I'm embarrassed to say I had been thinking about it for years before I took action. The first seed was sown when I read the Cambridge Declaration on Consciousness and, as a Psychology and Biology student I started reading a lot of research in animal consciousness. So my turn to veganism built up over the years, but was triggered by a very particular confrontation with my own hypocricy. I lived in Asia for a year as an exchange student where I met many Westerners who were traveling. I was furious over their cluelessness when it came to interacting with animals during their travels, visiting "owl cafés" in Tokyo, riding elephants in India who have been abused since birth, petting tigers in Thailand who are kept in states of constant sedation etc. But at the same time I was eating animal products every day, and eventually had to accept that I was just as complicit in the exploitation of animals as them.
I started learning more about veganism and eventually transitioned over-night. Of course I never expected any of the magical benefits that some recent vegan converts talk about, but the feeling of finally ending my own hypocricy is fantastic, even if it's long over-due.
I care a lot about debate and science, and even as a new vegan I feel like sometimes these are very lacking in the movement. That's why I'm here. I'm gonna end this over-long introduction now but I look forward to some interesting discussions on the forum!
(Broken beer bottle..)