Okay, so I have a bit of a biased opinion on going vegan so this might come off as rude or something. I dunno.

I find vegetarianism a bit strange, considering humans are omnivores and were made to eat meat and veggies. And while I agree that many animals are treated miserably, meat from organic sources are actually alright. They are raised in fields and given actual food, unlike some fast food industries or other food companies. Either way, not eating meat isn't really helping the animals (It's all part of the cycle).

(Oh and just as a sidenote plants feel pain too. Oh, and eating more grain and the like, which you may have to in order to go vegan, causes destruction on the ecosystem due to farming techniques.)

Going vegan is just plain unhealthy, and expensive. You will probably want to find substitutes for cheese, milk, etc. which means going for something that is more artificial and probably worse for the environment. You are going to starve your body of basic nutrients, and considering how expensive some organic vegetables and fruits can get you're going to be putting a lot of money into this.

I understand your reasoning, but just know that going vegan might not help the ecosystem as much as you want it to.

I plan on going vegetarian because of how animals in factory farms are treated. I want to do something to change those practices one day, particularly for the treatment of chickens because the poor things are basically abused from birth. But before I give a recommendation about veganism, why do you want to go vegan? Is it because of how the animals who give eggs and milk are treated, or because you feel bad about eating animal products?

There are ways to go around the former, actually. Buying free range eggs (NOT cage free- there is a huge difference!) can help support farms that allow their birds to actually walk around outside and forage, as they are supposed to. I don't know as much about cows, never having researched them, but there's probably something similar. 

If you're worried about the latter, let me explain: Eggs (and milk, I assume) are natural byproducts of the animals. Our chickens basically just lay their eggs and walk away. Store-bought eggs are not fertilized, so they will never hatch into a chicken. I eat eggs because I have pet chickens and know that our birds are not mistreated and live happy, stress free, healthy lives. Veganism seems very difficult to do as well as maintain a healthy lifestyle. A good alternative to meat is tofu, which is high in protein as well. 

I have some allergies, so I'm basically "vegan with meat". Personally I'm not vegetarian simply because I don't want to impose even more dietary restrictions on myself than I already have. But I definitely respect your vegetarianism, and I agree that you might want to wait a while to go vegan. In my experience there tend to be way more vegetarian options at restaurants and supermarkets than vegan. 

Dairy cows are not sent to slaughter at 2 or 3 years unless they have some chronic illness/injury that will cause them pain and discomfort.

Dairy cows do not start making milk until they are 2. They have to have calves first, so 2 years is the standard age for milk production to begin. Dairy cows are bred to calve approximately every 12 months, which is about when they would "in nature".

A cow will not usually reach her peak in milk production until she is about 4 years old, then she will continue to make milk every year she calves.   As you can see it would not be feasible to send them at 3 yrs of age. Not only would the farmer not be getting their best years out of the cows, but they would also not be allowing enough time for the new calves to mature to take over the milk production.

However, if a young cow gets mastitis(an infection of the udder, causing it to become red and swollen, also making the milk undrinkable) or breaks a leg in a bad place (it's practically impossible to put a cast on a 2,000 lb. dairy cow) the farmer is making things better for both himself and the cow by sending her. Most of the time farmers will try to treat mastitis but it is often incurable.

I am a farmer. And I love my cows, I think that all farmers do. I know all my farming friends do. We are trying to show everyone this but farmers tend to be quite shy, making it rather difficult to do this. You would believe me if you knew me irl! xD!

I'm not going to say anything about veganism/vegetarianism because I am obviously very biased.

~

P.S. I love that "peace, love and panda bears"!!

I remain wholly omnivorous, but I think people who give themselves dietary restrictions due to reasons other than health are... (drumroll, please)

Perfectly fine. It's their choice, and really none of my business unless they make it so. There are some good reasons to do it, although I don't believe in the preventing-animal-cruelty argument (they die, we live, it's life. To make an impact on how many die, you need to change the whole market, not just yourself--have a significant portion of people stop consuming meat and animal products. To have them be treated better, try a political angle, join an animal rights group or something).

Just make sure you stay healthy. Meat provides more than protein (which, by the way, you can get from nuts and beans and such), so do some research beforehand and avoid nutritional deficiencies.