Meat

[Kestra15]

Yep, I'm a vegetarian, not a vegan. The eggs are easy to get guilt-free (I live in the middle of nowhere and a bunch of my coworkers have backyard chickens) but there's really no way to get milk without contributing to meat farming.

Just so long as you're aware of that, and that you're still supporting the poor treatment and slaughter of animals by having milk and other dairy products. The only thing is that it contradicts your motives for being a vegetarian in the first place.

[Yowl]

I eat meat, I'm more fond of poultry and fish/shellfish than beef >3<

 

And I totally respect vegans. My best friend's brother is a full-out vegan. What I DON'T like is when vegan talk down on people who like meat, I've been verbally abused by some chick in school who was vegan, because I'm not. That crap ain't cool. :\ I don't look down on you because you don't eat meat. So don't so the same to me.

[potterwolf]

I think you accidentally a word there.

I see what you did there.

[rainbowsmile]

It's really not troublesome to make meatless dishes or to tweak ingredients or the way you make something. It's not even hard to have vegetarian dishes and meat dishes for everyone.

Agreed.

 

I dated a guy whose mom was a vegetarian, but he wasn't and neither was his dad. They seemed to come up with some pretty good compromises. Thanks to her, I'm now a huge fan of spinach lasagna (and I don't even like spinach). She used to eat these "chicken" nuggets made from mushrooms, and I honestly could not tell a difference.

[arula]

Just so long as you're aware of that, and that you're still supporting the poor treatment and slaughter of animals by having milk and other dairy products. The only thing is that it contradicts your motives for being a vegetarian in the first place.

Oh yes, I'm well aware. That's one of the things that gives me a lot of sympathy for people who say "I like animals, but I could never give up meat." I'm very much in favor of making some change in your life for the better, even if it doesn't completely fix the problems you're concerned about. If you try to be a completely perfect person-- eat no animal products, eat no food that was farmed non-sustainably, wear and purchase nothing that was not produced by workers in good conditions and fairly traded for, use no products that cannot be recycled, use no electricity that was not produced sustainably, travel in no vehicle that is not human-powered, live in no house that is not fully environmentally friendly, donate all of your money to charity except as much as you need to stay alive, spend every waking free hour volunteering to help those less fortunate than you-- it's likely that you'll burn out and be unable to go on. Each of those things individually is a great thing to strive for, and there are some people who can manage all of them and still live their lives; and if we lived in a different sort of society, maybe we could all manage all of them. But as it is, I think it's nothing to be ashamed of to make as many changes in those directions as you can, accept your imperfections for the rest of them, and occasionally reevaluate and consider whether you could start doing more than you'd been doing before.

 

Sorry for the novel. This is something I think about a lot.

[Keriel]

So long as i know the place the animal was slaughtered follows good practice i love eating meat!

Lamb is my favorite

 

I'm anti cruelty and killing without reason (trophy hunting, hunting for fun etc) but killing to survive is fine with me. i could never kill an animal, because of how and where i was raised. but i understand it.

 

so many times people have accused me of being vege or vegan. 1 how is that and insult? and 2 i'm not, i'm just against cruelty and needless death.

 

oh and i'm severely iron deficient. so docs orders were eat red meat anyway. but i've also upped intake of iron high vege and seeds. i'ma good girl XP

Edited September 29, 2011 by Keriel

[Aamaranthine]

I eat meat, I'm more fond of poultry and fish/shellfish than beef >3<

 

And I totally respect vegans. My best friend's brother is a full-out vegan. What I DON'T like is when vegan talk down on people who like meat, I've been verbally abused by some chick in school who was vegan, because I'm not. That crap ain't cool. :\ I don't look down on you because you don't eat meat. So don't so the same to me.

Well, I am vegetarian and been verbally abused/insulted all the time. I think that this way (insulting vegetarians/vegans) is more common (than vice versa).

And you know what's even worse? When they try to trick you into eating meat. That's why I rarely eat something not made by myself.

 

My all family eats meat, same with all of my friends. And well I never tried to make them vegetarians or bash their lifestyle.

I respect others and just wish they could respect me.

 

And need to say, I love my sister! She is an amazing cook and she always cooks for me. She tries to come out with new veg meals every day. 100% support from her. Oh yea, i am very lucky here.

[Keriel]

Well, I am vegetarian and been verbally abused/insulted all the time. I think that this way (insulting vegetarians/vegans) is more common (than vice versa).

And you know what's even worse? When they try to trick you into eating meat. That's why I rarely eat something not made by myself.

 

My all family eats meat, same with all of my friends. And well I never tried to make them vegetarians or bash their lifestyle.

I respect others and just wish they could respect me.

 

And need to say, I love my sister! She is an amazing cook and she always cooks for me. She tries to come out with new veg meals every day. 100% support from her. Oh yea, i am very lucky here.

it's a damn shame that people can be such choosing to eat differently doesn't mean you should be judged differently. i mean should i be judged because i don't like eating tomatoes??

nup

and you shouldn't be judged for not eating meat. it's a personal decision and should be respected.

[Nine]

I think it's nothing to be ashamed of to make as many changes in those directions as you can, accept your imperfections for the rest of them, and occasionally reevaluate and consider whether you could start doing more than you'd been doing before.

I like that kind of reasoning. Seems to be a popular misconception that 'reducing your carbon footprint' is an all or nothing deal; you support animal cruelty by eating meat or you don't... you're either a full vegan or you're a hypocrite. It's a shame, since even making the smallest steps-- like purchasing free-range eggs**-- is a big help.

 

I'm not a veggie, but there are plenty of meats that I don't go near: swordfish, shark, types of salmon, veal, Cornish hens, etc. etc. So I still eat red meat, doing something is better than nothing =P

 

** Got to be careful with some brands of eggs though. "Free Range" can be slapped onto any carton without actually housing free range chickens. Pretty sad that companies take advantage of customers' sympathies in that aspect.

Edited September 29, 2011 by Nine

[RheaZen]

D' any oh ya have suggestions/recommendations as to what brands to buy that are most green/truthful/etc.?

[Nine]

Dunno about non-poultry, but things with an "organic" label usually mean no growth supplements used, free ranged, and fed natural foods. So I'd look for brands with something like that on it. I know some governments make you jump through hoops to get an "organic" label, so I guess that means something =P

 

The thing about buying fish sucks, though. If you buy wild fish it's depleting wild stocks, but farm raised fish has growth hormones, color dyes, and pollutes environments. It's like a lose-lose situation... and I love me some seafood =o

[gad786]

Meat is a nesessary part of our diet.Without it we can get very sick....i tried being a vegi eater but the first few days i got sick so i started eating meat agian....god made animals for us to eat......just not all animals

[WonderBubbles]

Meat is a nesessary part of our diet.Without it we can get very sick....i tried being a vegi eater but the first few days i got sick so i started eating meat agian....god made animals for us to eat......just not all animals

I haven't seriously eaten meat since I was ten (six years ago) and I'm relatively healthy. Last time I had a blood test (horrible horrible things) I wasn't anaemic, I was fine. I don't eat much mushroom, and I rarely ever eat red meat, if ever.

It's not a necessary part of the diet for all people. x3

[gad786]

If i could find a way.....i would be a vegiterian....

[Kestra15]

If i could find a way.....i would be a vegiterian....

Don't eat meat?

[GoingUnder71]

I will do anything for bacon. 'Nuff said.

[philpot123]

Meat is a nesessary part of our diet.Without it we can get very sick....i tried being a vegi eater but the first few days i got sick so i started eating meat agian....god made animals for us to eat......just not all animals

While I agree that we SHOULD eat meat, just because it's there and I see the gross overpopulation of deer every day (including people getting hurt/dying/incurring 1000s in damages to their car when they hit one), meat is not necessarily an essential part of ones diet. I know plenty of people who just don't eat it. You have to get the nutrients from somewhere, supplements, protein rich vegan foods, etc. But it's perfectly possible.

[JaziandCo]

Meat is tasty but I hate the meat industry. I would be a vegetarian if I could stomach it, but my allergies do not like plant matter it seems. I can't live very well off multivitamins.

[philpot123]

Meat is tasty but I hate the meat industry. I would be a vegetarian if I could stomach it, but my allergies do not like plant matter it seems. I can't live very well off multivitamins.

If you haven't read The Jungle, you'll hate the meat industry even more after reading that book...

[Aamaranthine]

Meat is a nesessary part of our diet.Without it we can get very sick....i tried being a vegi eater but the first few days i got sick so i started eating meat agian....god made animals for us to eat......just not all animals

I have been vegetarian for 4+ years. And I haven't been ill since then. I also had my blood tests made and they went out just perfect. So i cannot agree with you there. (The biggest problem is that people who go veg have no clue what they should eat and therefore they could be sick.)

 

BTW: You could get sick from eating meat as well. There is also a higher cancer risk from eating some types of meat. Not to mention parasites, antibiotics and contamination. Those things are prooven by scientific research.

 

As I wrote before I don't judge people and I don't care what everyone eats.

It's perfectly fine if someone says, I eat meat because I like it.

But not everything you hear/read is true.

[Trikonasana]

As I wrote before I don't judge people and I don't care what everyone eats.

It's perfectly fine if someone says, I eat meat because I like it.

But not everything you hear/read is true.

^ This.

 

I know perfectly healthy vegetarians and perfectly healthy people who do eat meat, as well as both who get sick frequently. I like meat, but I understand the benefits of being a vegetarian as well. (I've always kind of wanted to try being a vegetarian for a period of time to see how it changes up my digestive system, actually.)

[ShinyTomato]

If you want to be vegitarian and that's healthy for you, that's great. I have close friends that are vegetarians. (I live in Berkeley, what do you expect).

 

However, not everyone can be a vegetarian and be healthy.

 

The kind of case that I hate most in my job, is when parents start to raise their kids as vegetarian, the doctor says "you have to include one of these meats for your kids well-being at this point."

 

The parents refuse too, and a few weeks later, I'm taking a baby away from loving parents that mean well, but won't change their child's diet.

 

That breaks my heart.

[AlternateMew]

My mother is wishy-washy with this. She says she supports my choice to be vegetarian. But when I bring up that something has gelatin, how many things gelatin shows up in makes her think I've "gone too far". I won't eat Frosted Mini-Wheats or Lucky Charms. I'll take instead Unfrosted Mini-Wheats and Chex, putting a little raw cane sugar on them. Because that is SO much worse.

 

Then she brings up how "it's too expensive to buy special foods for me" (Obviously, I still live with her) Said special foods include 100% Whole Wheat bread over White, an actual variety of vegetables, and FRUIT. She believes fruit has no nutritional value. The "Expensive" part is not my being vegetarian. It's me knowing that diets need to be varied to be healthy. If we didn't buy it last week, it's not something we "need". If we did get it last week, it's being used up too fast. Oh, and ham and cheese every day is fine, because she has it. And the ham and cheese is certainly less expensive to keep a stock of than peanut butter.

[/rant]

 

Point being, I think some meat eaters jump the gun on blaming vegetarian diets for being expensive and unhealthy. Yes, we eat some "less cheap" things, but so do meat eaters. I wholly appreciate any meat eater that doesn't say this. The "expensive" part is an illusion, imo. It's not the diet that's expensive. It's the healthier food choices that come from knowledge of dietary nutrition, which is a side-effect of vegetarianism if you do it right and look into the dietary decision first. Meat is a cultural norm, so I'd expect fewer meat eaters to be nutritionally educated than vegetarians, simply because logically, I'd expect fewer successful vegetarians emerge from dietary ignorance. (And sorry for the links. Couldn't resist.)

 

I don't want meat eaters stressing me to eat meat. But that goes both ways, so I take caution not to tell meat eaters not to eat meat. When I bring up wonderful little facts about the meat industry, I'll often follow with how eggs and milk are made (which I do consume), and acknowledge the common, slightly humorous retort "Plants are alive too". Yes. And I murder them, blasted things. I like to laugh at my own faults like that.

Edited September 30, 2011 by AlternateMew

[Kestra15]

My mother is wishy-washy with this. She says she supports my choice to be vegetarian. But when I bring up that something has gelatin, how many things gelatin shows up in makes her think I've "gone too far". I won't eat Frosted Mini-Wheats or Lucky Charms. I'll take instead Unfrosted Mini-Wheats and Chex, putting a little raw cane sugar on them. Because that is SO much worse.

 

Then she brings up how "it's too expensive to buy special foods for me" (Obviously, I still live with her) Said special foods include 100% Whole Wheat bread over White, an actual variety of vegetables, and FRUIT. She believes fruit has no nutritional value. The "Expensive" part is not my being vegetarian. It's me knowing that diets need to be varied to be healthy. If we didn't buy it last week, it's not something we "need". If we did get it last week, it's being used up too fast. Oh, and ham and cheese every day is fine, because she has it. And the ham and cheese is certainly less expensive to keep a stock of than peanut butter.

[/rant]

 

Point being, I think some meat eaters jump the gun on blaming vegetarian diets for being expensive and unhealthy. Yes, we eat some "less cheap" things, but so do meat eaters. I wholly appreciate any meat eater that doesn't say this. The "expensive" part is an illusion, imo. It's not the diet that's expensive. It's the healthier food choices that come from knowledge of dietary nutrition, which is a side-effect of vegetarianism if you do it right and look into the dietary decision first. Meat is a cultural norm, so I'd expect fewer meat eaters to be nutritionally educated than vegetarians, simply because logically, I'd expect fewer successful vegetarians emerge from dietary ignorance. (And sorry for the links. Couldn't resist.)

 

I don't want meat eaters stressing me to eat meat. But that goes both ways, so I take caution not to tell meat eaters not to eat meat. When I bring up wonderful little facts about the meat industry, I'll often follow with how eggs and milk are made (which I do consume), and acknowledge the common, slightly humorous retort "Plants are alive too". Yes. And I murder them, blasted things. I like to laugh at my own faults like that.

For my sanity, please don't link TV Tropes - I need to do housework this evening!

[Indelicately]

I'm going to be honest, it's not something I think much about. I do eat meat. Granted, I don't eat it often because I'm very picky. I've been anemic a few times for this very reason it seems. So when I don't eat meat I have myself some peanut butter. Everyone should just do what they want and accept others. :]