It definitely was the other way around. I first ditched meat and other animal flesh when I was 16, so I haven’t eaten other animals for the past 17 years now, but for the past 9 years I have been on a plant-exclusive diet, what is also known as a vegan diet nowadays – although veganism is more of a philosophy and an ethical stance than a simple 'diet' to stick to.
I could not be aware of what animals go through and continue supporting it at the same time. The reason why I founded the Middle East Vegan Society was that I realized while the majority of middle eastern cuisine is already plant-based, and the animal rights movement is growing in this area of the world, there was not much coverage of this and many people assume that veganism is nothing but a 'western privilege issue'.