Vegetarians

[d_flawless]

i gave up meat for lent a few years back and i got really sick from the iron defiency. i know there are other means of getting your protein/nutrients, but after that i got so scared that i make sure to make meat a part of my diet.
now i try and eat lots of veggies, be healthy, and acquire protein from other sources, but in reality, now i only eat meat (including fish, chicken, etc.) like once or twice a week, and i never orden it in restaurants (i work in one, and when profit is the goal of any business, i can only imagine the ways they try and get their products at the most minimal cost). i do support animal rights, but now it's just not in my reach to grow and kill my own food.

 

[adamchristopher]

I have tried many times to become vegetarian. There's no way I could ever be vegan becuase cheese is my life. I lack the self control that is required to be around people who eat meat and not partake in it. I will however, not eat any meat that is not beef or chicken, and a while ago I wouldnt buy anything that wasnt cruelty free (to the point I had natural toothpaste) but stopped, and I am planning to start up again.

I also think it is very hypocritical to be vegan/vegetarian and buy or wear products made from animals or that were tested on them.

 

[Classic Beauty]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ilovedisneyland this has always bugged me, its not vegeterian, its pescetarian, fish certianlly are animals

Lord me too. When ever i tell someone I'm a vegetarian, they always ask me if I eat chicken and/or fish. No, dammit! Last time I checked vegetarians didn't eat animals and last time I checked chickens and fish were animals.

 

[Wattage]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Classic Beauty Lord me too. When ever i tell someone I'm a vegetarian, they always ask me if I eat chicken and/or fish. No, dammit! Last time I checked vegetarians didn't eat animals and last time I checked chickens and fish were animals.

Haha - I totally know what you mean. I was a veg head most of my younger years (I eat a small amount of meat now) and when I would tell people that I was, I would get the same response. I guess it's because there are so many varieties of veggies out there that people never really know what people do/do not eat. I think the general population are not versed in the veg vocab either - lacto-ovo pescetarian bobiolotarian chickenarian what????

 

[Classic Beauty]

what's bobiolotarian?

 

[Katie-Laine]

I'm a vegetarian also! I love it - I'm trying to make the switch to vegan but it is very difficult (for me).

 

[Wattage]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Classic Beauty what's bobiolotarian?

My point exactly!

Haha - that's me being cheeky and making up words... just kinda emphasizing how vegetarians are often grouped as one, when in fact there are many different degrees and types of vegetarianism.

 

[Classic Beauty]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wattage My point exactly! Haha - that's me being cheeky and making up words... just kinda emphasizing how vegetarians are often grouped as one, when in fact there are many different degrees and types of vegetarianism.

lol i thought you were making it up

 

[angel_grll]

I'm a vegetarian and am working on becoming a vegan. I've done a good job cutting out the milk and the cheese (coming from a recovering cheese addict..I majorly deserve a pat on the back for this one! lol!) and the dairy..I'm just having trouble with the eggs. I agree with Risa's explanation. Also, I have PCOS (polcystic ovarian syndrome). My bloodwork was coming back really horrible (high normal levels were supposed to be 6-10 and mine was 169..so yeah..that bad!)! so I was like hmm..I'll cut meat out of my diet. The next blood work was within normal range. So I knew right then that I needed to cut out meat for good.

 

[GLAMORandGORE]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cyens im not LOL

R U D E A S F U C K .

(just fyi: this is probably going to be a long reply, filled with rage.)

i'm vegan. i've been veggie forrr...shit, five years? and vegan for going on two (november will be two years)

i'm vegan for ethical reasons, eating animals is selfish and the torture they are put through to get to your plate is pathetic. beaks are scalpeled off, animals are NEVER given pain medication, are dragged, prodded with electric poles, drained of their blood while conscious, kicked, pushed, not fed, cramped, and that's only the beginning of it.

two of the main reasons i hear people say veganism is dumb or stupid or whatever they want to say are:
1. "i didn't get to the top of the food chain not to eat"
&
2."it's not healthy"

UM, HELLO BULLSHIT.

1. considering we are at the top of the food chain, and we have the "power" and "knowledge" (if you will) to NOT eat animals, then why do we have to? even so, are you TRULY okay with eating tortured animals? if you think it's wrong, you can still want to eat meat&dairy, that's completely fine. but what people tend to lose sight of is that veganism/vegetarianism is basically a strike(if they are for ethical reasons, anyway). putting your money where your mouth is.

2. being vegan is MUCH more healthy than eating meat&dairy IF YOU DO IT CORRECTLY. "ZOMGZ WHERE DO YOU GET PROTEINZZZ?!" meet my friends, beans&rice, green leafy vegetables, lagumes, almost ALL food contains some sort of protein besides alcohol. "d00d but what about vitamin d&calcium?!" leafy green vegetables contain MORE vitamin d than milk ever will.

i'm going to stop while i'm ahead and just start completely bashing everyone.

 

[Shimmer]

I'm not okay with eating tortured animals.


But when I KNOW for a FACT the animals aren't tortured?

Fire up the grill.

 

[nebbish]

I'm going vegetarian & possibly vegan. It's a slow process for me because I absolutely adore meat.

I'm doing it one for health reasons, it's just healthier to abstain from animal products. And also because I'm completely grossed out by what factory farms to do the animals we eat. If I could afford real true organic free-range, I would definitely do it.

I definitely don't judge, tho. I fully realize that me not eating meat isn't actually going to make a difference. If you think it is, yer kind of being delusional. It would take ALL OF the world becoming vegetarian or refusing to buy maltreated animals. I also realize that me not eating meat isn't going to stop the maltreatment.

 

[Simply Elegant]

^If everyone thought they alone could make a difference, more people would do it I think.Not just with food either. Small changes add up to big ones.

 

[nebbish]

I mean, a lot of people are vegetarian/vegan for political reasons & look how many changes have been made. None.

 

[Simply Elegant]

Ok, so maybe no big changes regarding food. However, think of other examples. May be extreme, but slavery doesn't exist in well developed countries, equal rights, women can work and vote etc.

 

[kaliraksha]

I use to be a vegetarian for the same reasons regarding the treatment of animals, but I realized by not participating I'm not voting for change in the way animals are treated. I spend more now to make sure that the animals I eat have had a good, fair life and were slaughtered in the most humane way possible. I also support eating all of the animal, if something gives it's life for you I think it's wasteful to not want to eat it all- including offal. Now my money goes to support local farmers who have no problem allowing me to come out and look at the way their animals live and are treated. Also, local farmers meat options are cheaper than the organic free-range stuff you can buy at the grocery store and that label at the grocery store can be misleading. Nothing like going out to see their facilities in person. I am voting with my spending money for more meat produced this way. I have no problem with eating meat, just the treatment until the point of death. We are intellectually on top of the food chain... we all strive and survive here based on other living organisms, I have no doubt in my mind that a carnivore able to outsmart me would eat me given the opportunity. Recently, there are birds that for centuries have been fish eaters but with decline of available food they have had to adapt and have taken to eating small birds of other species. Their numbers are now striving because of an adaptation to survive.

 

[Saraid]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kaliraksha I spend more now to make sure that the animals I eat have had a good, fair life and were slaughtered in the most humane way possible.

I don't think they kiss them too much to kill them. There is no such thing as humane slaughter, ever. It's just a myth created by the industry to make you feel better about yourself.

 

[Shimmer]

The hell it is. Animals are meant to be eaten. Choosing not to eat animal flesh does not put anyone at a morally higher ground than I am, any more than my choosing not to eat HFCS makes me a better person. It's just a different nutritional viewpoint.

 

[kaliraksha]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Saraid I don't think they kiss them too much to kill them. There is no such thing as humane slaughter, ever. It's just a myth created by the industry to make you feel better about yourself.

You're right they don't kiss them too much. But, I have been to a few live slaughters and seen the way the farmers who raised the animal has respect and love for what the animal is providing. I don't believe that if we weren't eating animals for meat they would have a higher quality of life in the wild than what a compassionate farmer can offer.

 

[Shimmer]

Where I grew up, cattle weren't mistreated, are grassfed, and more often than not home slaughtered. Nothing mean about their way of life.