I've been fasting for 3 years

Well...kind of.  Fasting from meat and dairy anyway.  Which several claim is a not only healthier, but the more Godly path to take. 





For religious groups such as Seventh Day Adventists, the plain and simple reason is to honor God by staying healthy (they are, however, vegetarian as opposed to vegan).  But for others, the reason is much less clear cut.  Where does this reason come from though?
         A commonly cited example in this case is the book of Daniel.  Daniel, the guy who was thrown in with the lions and yet remained unharmed when he was brought out the next day (Daniel 6).  There is another, often forgotten part of the story though.  Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, took Daniel and several of his friends captive during a siege on Jerusalem.  As Daniel was now in the care of the king, he was offered similar food for sustenance.  Due to religious observances, Daniel refused to eat any of the meat or wine offered to him, and instead requested to be fed only "vegetables to eat and water to drink" (Daniel 1:12).
           He then proposed a challenge to the steward in charge of him and the other Jewish youth.  The challenge was to allow Daniel and his friends to eat only vegetables and water for ten days, and for the other youths to eat the king's food for ten days.  Once that time was up, they would see who was in better health and was therefore eating the better food.  The conclusion here, seeing as it's used as an argument for veganism, is obvious.  Daniel and his pals were in better condition, and thus the diet of all the youths was changed to match their's.
           Modern day vegans will point to the improved health of Daniel as evidence that being vegan is clearly the  healthier option, as well as one that is approved of by God.  Verses such as Genesis 1:30, Isaiah 11:7, and Romans 14:3 among others encourage this view point in followers desiring to abstain from meat.




Genesis 1:30- And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.




 The argument here is that this verse was spoken before the Fall.  In being so, it is said that it represents God's vision for the perfect world He had created, one where all things consumed plants as opposed to each other.




Isaiah 11:7- And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.




This verse is referring to the how the world will exist post Second Coming.  As this is often viewed as a perfect and polished world, for it to be said that an iconic carnivore like a lion will eat vegetation rather than meat suggests this is/was God's original vision for His creation.  Cynically, symbolism is heavy here, and so this is not necessarily a literal verse in the way some wish it to be.




Romans 14:3- Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth: for God hath received him.




Alright, in total candid honesty, this is sort of a "get-off-my-back" verse.  In many circles, not eating meat can almost be viewed as a sort of offense to God.  "What, His creation isn't good enough for you?", or  "His word on its acceptability didn't convince you?" are not out of the realm of possibility when it comes to things people might say.  The verse above suggests that it really doesn't matter what you eat, which can confirm and at the same time render vegans' argument useless.
 


            In the end, my conclusion is that while the Bible certainly doesn't condemn veganism, it doesn't endorse it either.  It's a personal choice between you and God, one that should be decided based on your interpretation of these verses and others, as well as what you feel led to do.  If nothing else, I hope you at least enjoyed the little Biblical history lesson.