James: I initially moved to Hawaii in August of 2006, but I've bounced back and forth between the mainland and here a few times, I just recently got back to the islands a few weeks ago and I'm extremely excited about it.

Saradha: Why are you a vegetarian?

James: When I was 15, some of the bands I listened to were singing about veganism and animal rights so I decided to take a deeper look myself into the meat industry and what happens to animals on factory farms, when I read about chickens being debeaked and cattle having their horns chopped off without any aftercare or pain killers my mind was made up on the spot, I didn't want to be responsible for anybody's pain.

Saradha: What challenges did you find in going or being a vegetarian? How did you overcome them?

James: The only challenging thing about being vegetarian or vegan is learning to accept that others may not always understand or respect your choices -- most people are positive about it but others might question or even ridicule it, and the toughest thing is just letting them think their way and shrugging off any negative jokes with a smile or a laugh and staying upbeat about it, there's people who challenged me about it for years and now I see them eating veggie burgers on a regular basis, and that makes me feel really good.

Saradha: What's your favorite vegetarian dish?

James: Probably my favorite vegan dish to make and share with others is baked ziti, I use soft tofu instead of ricotta cheese and diced mushrooms to replace the ground beef, top it off with the Follow Your Heart brand vegan mozzarella cheese and it's so delicious, I've tricked entire parties full of people without even trying -- I also have the sweetest tooth in the history of sweet teeth, so dessert will always suck me in, I've been known to order French toast with chocolate cake for breakfast if I find myself in a restaurant that offers vegan versions of both.

Saradha: Do you exercise or do certain activities for fitness?

James: I intentionally don't own a car so I do a decent amount of biking around town which keeps me in shape, then on my days off from work I'll pedal my way from Kailua to town or go on a hike with some friends – I'm not much for standard exercising at the gym or anything like that, but I do love activities that make me use my body and break a sweat, so basically I keep in pretty good shape the most fun way possible.

Saradha: As a vegetarian, what kind of snacks or desserts do you like to eat?

James: For desserts, I like every single kind, always, we had a big vegan Thanksgiving at my house this year, I was on the dessert team and we made cherry cheesecake, chocolate haupia pie, pumpkin oatmeal raisin cookies, chocolate banana cupcakes, green tea cupcakes, and pumpkin pie -- for snacking I try to eat a lot of fresh fruit and veggies, like baby carrots or apples, but muffins and banana breads sneak in there way too often as well.

Saradha: Do you have any advice for people who want to or are trying to become vegetarians?

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