Ex-veteran Paul William Minter says he ‘could never go back’ to eating animal products after discovering veganism at the beginning of this year.

Minter, who will soon be running the circumference of the U.K to raise money for his mental health charity Head Up, made the comment in an exclusive interview with Plant Based News.

‘Peak performance’

“Throughout my life, I always thought meat and products like eggs were the way forward [and that] you have to eat them to have a healthy balanced diet,” he told PBN.

“So last year, for example, I did bodybuilding, an Iron Man competition, Crossfit competition, and several other stuff and I was pretty much living off a fish and egg diet throughout the time – and I was like ‘I cannot be at peak performance if I don’t have this stuff’.”

‘I was completely oblivious’

Minter credits his lifestyle change to his new partner, who told him a plant-based diet can be rich in ‘fiber, vitamins, and minerals’.

“I learned about red meat and how bad it is for you so I said ‘right take red meat out of the equation straight away’ and then it was just birds and fish,” Minter added, “Then I started learning more about the ethical and environmental reasons.

“I didn’t even know [about]deforestation, I didn’t realize when you saw the eyes of animals as they go into a slaughterhouse and stuff like that, [the] separation, and how they impregnate cows – I was completely oblivious to it – whether I was deliberately oblivious to it or I just generally didn’t know but it opened my eyes up.

“The environmental and ethical reasons for me outweighed the health benefits for me so after seeing the way they treated animals I could never ever going back to being part of that myself.”

You can donate to Minter’s fundraiser here