Vegetarian/Vegan

[Linz_1987]

But surely eating meat alternitives is defeating the object of becoming a vegetarain in the first place???? I wouldnt want my food to taste like meat at all. It would put me off eating it knowing it tastes exactly like meat.

 

[Spring]

Oh, I'm not a vegetarian .

 

[Lissa]

Linz_1987 wrote:

But surely eating meat alternitives is defeating the object of becoming a vegetarain in the first place???? I wouldnt want my food to taste like meat at all. It would put me off eating it knowing it tastes exactly like meat.

Walnut burgers don't taste anything like meat. Obviously if they did tastelike real meatI wouldn't be eating them. lol I do eat a lot ofmock chicken burgers and they taste pretty close to actual chicken. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that, and it would is silly to suggest that it defeats the object of vegetarianism. The "object" of being vegetarian is not about taste, it's about beliefs.

 

[Nadezhda]

I'm bringing this thread back from the dead!

I converted to veganism a while ago, I'm never looking back. The cruel conditions that animals are put through to make meat, milk, and eggs, is disgusting, and would make me never look back.

I am way healthier than I used to be too! Despite what I previously thought, veganism is less expensive for me that omnivorism was! Yay.

 

[Maureen Las]

I just recently stopped eating meat but after looking into the horrendous conditions of dairy cows I feel I should also stop dairy products. This is much harder for me . I can drink soy milk and give up cheese but my weakness is the dairy products used in desserts like ice cream, cake, and even candy like milk chocolate. I am continuing to educate myself on veganism. I ,unlike some others, who give up animal products am doing it not because I don't feel that some animals should be used for human food but ONLY because of the horrific conditions that animals on large scale farms live in. If an animal on a small family farm was killed humanely I would eat the meat. Also I would appreciate it if someone knows of cruelty free hair coloring that is not real expensive as I am also trying to buy at least some products that are not tested on animals. Thanks

 

[Spring]

Way to go guys!

I guess turning veg or vegan right now I don't feel comfortable with doing, but maybe in the near future. I need time to think about things, especially something that's going to affect me in day to day life.

I'm not sure if there is a hair colouring product that isn't tested? I don't colour my hair, but you could maybe phone the product number on the back of the box and ask if they do or don't? Orthat herbal essence brand? I think that's the one that has all natural ingreidents (Or is that shampoo..?). I hope you find something!

I watched an episode of this show called wife swap, and it made me so angry to watch! One family washunters and ate meat ect. but the other family was strong vegan (they didn't even eat cooked food for some reason) and protested with peta ect. The ladies BOTH made the opposite family follow there beliefson what they should or shouldn't eat. I had to turn it because of how each woman was trying to convert each other. I guess that's reality tv for you! You shouldn't be allowed to make someone be something or do something, that's why it made me so angry!

 

[Maureen Las]

The reason that I am doing this now is that my best friend and her daughter just left from visiting me. Neither one of them eat meat so when we go out to eat they are always careful what they order. They don't care whether I eat meat or not. They never said a thing to me about changing. This visit I started to ask some questions etc. and after they left I made myself go on the Peta site and watch videos of farm animals owned by large companies. That pretty much did it for me. I really like meat and I think it is in the normal scheme of things for humans to eat it. I am only not eating it because of how terrible the companies treat the animals and for no health reason whatsoever. I am already thin and actually since I stopped eating meat I really don't feel as well as when I ate it. So there. I am not a fanatic at all.

 

[Spring]

I know,there's so many restrictions. You can't even chew gum or eat jello, skittles, ect because of the gelatin in them. I give you credit for watching the videos, I jsut couldn't. Even if I did turn vegetarian, I'd still feel helpless to the situation, and watching the pain would just tear me apart.

 

[Maureen Las]

I'm not going to do this thing 100%..I would chew gum and as for jello I don't like it anyway. I'm just going to try to do the best that I can without suffering too much.

 

[Nadezhda]

Some gelatin can come from seaweed, I think it may be called agar agar, unfortunately you can't always tell which.

I went vegan to see if it would help my IBS, and now that it has, I'm going to stay this way because of the cruel conditions animals are put through.

I don't believe that anyone should drink cows milk. Cow's milk is the perfect food - for baby calves who gain like 300 pounds in 13 months. No other animal other than humans drink another animals milk. Ignoring the fact that milk tends to leech calcium rather than give it, and ignoring that milk isn't easily digested, and ignoring that the pus levels in milk in North America are considered dangerously high in other continents, milk cows are artificially inseminated, literally raped, in order to keep an unatural flow of milk going year round. A normally 25 (or so?) years of life is usually cut by slaughter by 3 - 5 years.

As for eggs and meat, humans were not originally hunters who ate some berries sometimes. Humans were scavengers! We'd eat whatever we could find. Our digestion systems and our teeth are much more related to herbivores.
Our ancient ancestors, chimpanzees (I think... boy I'm tired) have been shown to be herbivores who can occasionally gang up and eat lower species of monkies, not often though, and not to the gross extreme that is the S.A.D. (Standard American Diet)

Anyways, end rant. I don't want to be too preachy, but the horrors that animals are put through, and the horrible lies the meat industry tells consumers (the myth of 'free-range' and 'cageless' chickens for example) just make me sick. I'm turning into such a fundamentalist vegan....

 

[MyBabyBunnies]

IMO, I hate PETA. They take things too far. If they got things their way, none of us would have out beloved pet rabbits. And they are known to over exaggerate and even create false evidence on the matter to get what they want. I will never support them.

I am, however, semi vegetarian. I only eat chicken, turkey, and eggsbecause I would literally put my health at risk if I didn't. I'm a rather picky eater and I would not get the protein and other nutrients present in meat to remain healthy. I would be anemic without eating some meat.

I don't have an issue with others eating meat, it's the circle of life and some people require the meats nutrients. The only issue I have is with animals raised as pets that are used as meat. I would hate to know that an animal that once knew love would be someone's dinner.

I don't agree that our teeth are necessarily like a herbaviours. A herbaviours teeth constantly grow to accomodate it while ours do not.

 

[Nadezhda]

Carnivore jaws are long and narrow, with sharp teeth made to rip flesh. They are not made to chew, as all the digestion happens in the stomache and short intestines so that parasites in the meat do not overrun the animal. Their jaws only move up and down.

Herbivore jaws are made to both chomp off hard vegetables, and at the back, grind up the food as part of the digestion happens in the mouth, as well as in our long digestion systems (typical of herbivores). Herbivore jaws are made to chomp off food in an up and down motion, as well as chew it in a slightly side-to-side movement.

Humans have herbivore jaws. If you want to argue that we have 'canines', then take a look at pictures of dog canines, or any other mainly carnivore animals canines.

I'm not saying that humans are only made to eat non-meats... We originated as scavengers. I'm just saying that we are made for more plants than meat. Afterall, rotting meat is toxic to the colon, and many people, even if they don't admit it or know it, do not have proper bowel movements.

I disagree that some people need meat for their protein. If you were a vegan and lived on potato chips and coca-cola, I could see you being sick and protein deprived. Eating a variety of vegetables and grains is an easy enough way to get protein. Variety doesn't mean a huge plateful of greens, it's as simple as pea's and carrots. With grains, many of them have almost-complete proteins. Try some quinoa!
This is ignoring beans. Beans are protein power-houses!

 

[Spring]

I know, I strongly disagree with Peta. After finding out that theyput down I think 85% of the animals they want to rehome, makes me angry. They cannot say that killing animals is wrong if they are doing it aswell because they can't find the poor animals homes. After I found out they euthanise animals, I just think they are hypocrits. They are too forcey as well. Some of their ideas I can agree with, but so much of it I think is just bizzare. They need to down grade their campaigns. If someone wants to become vegan ect. or help out, that's fine, but they shouldn't be allowed to verbally force their opinions at you.

Even if I did go vegan, I'd still eat eggs (But then again, I wouldn't be vegan). I get them from a friend of ours, and her chickens are treated like people here treat their buns!

 

[Maureen Las]

Human beings are omnivores. If they want to eat meat their bodies are well suited to handle it (Are eskimos who depend on seal meat supposed to grow a garden?) They are also herbivores as their bodies are well suited in the digestion of plant material. They can choose to not eat meat but it is a choice.

 

[Lissa]

Congratulations on becoming cruelty free. By the way, I switched from Morningstar Farms to Smart Menu. Their burgers are much more tastier and CHEAPER.

 

[Nadezhda]

There isn't too much choice here. We have two groceries, Save-on-Foods and Safeway! At Save-on, I've gotten Amy's burgers, and they are delicous. If I have time today, I'll check Safeway for vegan goodies, and keep 'Smart Menu' in mind I need to check around town anyway, I can't find any quinoa at save-on! Thanks for the tip!

 

[Lissa]

I eat one of these almost every night. Mmmm.

 

[Eve]

I'm having a bit of a moral dilema here.

I have switched to a vegetarian diet for the past 6 months, because personally I feel really bad about eating meat.

However I am anemic and my doctor has told me that being on avegetarian diet is making me sick. I have been feeling quite weak, havegone paleand am losing weight (which is bad for me as I amalreadytoo skinny).

Ialready takedaily supplements andam trying toeat vegetables rich in iron.

So now it looks like I'm going to have toadd some meat to mydiet again, only the thought of that is making me feel really uneasy.

 

[JadeIcing]

I read through this I understand the arguments, the reasons and so on. I personally don't eat much meat at all.

Honestly I eat some ham very rare for me to. Same with steak.I mean literally months will go by. Seafood I only eat clams. I do eata bit of chicken, and I had chickens as pets.:?Sometimes all my stomach is plain chicken breast. I sufferfrom chronic migraines to the point I get physically ill.


Thanks to Maherwoman I found RiceMilk. I do love cheese. Mac and cheese freak here.

I don't eat eggs but I do use stuff cooked with eggs. Cakes and that is also not often.

I don't think I could change my diet much. I already am very limited towhat I can eat. My stomach is odd and can be set off by the slightestchange in diet. It is rare for me to try anything new. I have one thingthat I can eat at every place I go. No joke I have been known to sit ata restaurant and not eat because I am scared of what my reaction willbe. Sometimes sitting there 2-3 hours not eatting.

 

[Eve]

Thank you so much for that link m.e.,itis really helpful!I am going tomakesome changes to my diet based on that and see how I go.

I will definately try to find blackstrap molasses too, it soundsgreat.

Thanks again! :bunnydance: