Jump to content
Snowytoshi

Vegetarianism/ Veganism

Recommended Posts

Regarding the vegetarians, my mother and sister decided to become these. Mom decided to because she has health problems, and meat for her equals massive slowdown in organism restoration, so, yeah. She even made herself some tea from some spruce leaves she got at the forest during her trip.

 

Sister decided to become a vegetarian, because of her hobby and figure. To put it simply, she is doing aikido. Nuff said.

 

I, however, am an omnivore. I eat meat and veggies at 50/50 rate.

Share this post


Link to post

I'm vegan, for heath reasons. My husband is an om-nom-nomivore. wink.gif

 

I lift weights three times a week, run three days a week, and am a really active person. My only friend that can keep up with me is (literally) an Olympic level athlete -- who is vegetarian.

 

Which is always really funny, because we go to races and people start bashing on slow runners for "probably being vegetarian" and then we go out and run the haters into the ground. biggrin.gif

Share this post


Link to post

I'm vegan, for heath reasons. My husband is an om-nom-nomivore. wink.gif

 

I lift weights three times a week, run three days a week, and am a really active person. My only friend that can keep up with me is (literally) an Olympic level athlete -- who is vegetarian.

 

Which is always really funny, because we go to races and people start bashing on slow runners for "probably being vegetarian" and then we go out and run the haters into the ground. biggrin.gif

I think the main thing is that, if you go vegetarian or vegan, you sort of need to know what you are doing; so as to not run into problems with it. More so than if you are an omnivore, I mean, though granted we need to be careful to eat a healthy diet as well. It just requires a bit more balancing, I think; correct me if I am wrong.

Edited by Silverswift

Share this post


Link to post

I've been Vegan for over 20 years. Did it for numerous reasons: health, animals and environment. I admit that it was rather difficult thing to do, and I often fell back on old habits, but once I did my research, spoke with my doctor etc, it proved to be the right thing for me to do, especially, since I have a family history of heart problems. It's worked out quite well for me.

 

Also, I'm not one to preach at people, demanding that they Go Vegan(although you WILL see the phrase in my siggy). I chose to be for myself, not because someone who was screaming at me, made me do it. If you want to eat meat/eggs etc or you want to be Vegan, that's up to YOU, to decide for yourself.

Share this post


Link to post

I'm kinda concerened that processed soy is kinda bad for you in the long run.

 

IDK, I'm waiting for lab grown meat to become an affordable thing, because it will be cruelty-free, will produce less greenhouse gas and will take up way less resources and land.

Share this post


Link to post

I`m Vegan almost one year and it was the best decision in my life. biggrin.gif

Share this post


Link to post

I understand if you're a vegetarian/vegan for health problems but eating meat because you think it's wrong…eh. Vegetarians are more prone to cancer.. So my manager said (who's a certified nutritionist for both humans and animals)

Share this post


Link to post
I'm kinda concerened that processed soy is kinda bad for you in the long run.

 

IDK, I'm waiting for lab grown meat to become an affordable thing, because it will be cruelty-free, will produce less greenhouse gas and will take up way less resources and land.

Yeah, I try not to eat too much soy-based stuff... Although a lot of vegetarian meat-replacement things are soy-based. :/

 

Lab-grown meat is something I'm keeping an eye on, too. I hope they manage to sort out the logistics of it and get it commercial, because it would eventually save money, result in more land being free to grow crops on, etc. biggrin.gif

Share this post


Link to post
I understand if you're a vegetarian/vegan for health problems but eating meat because you think it's wrong…eh. Vegetarians are more prone to cancer.. So my manager said (who's a certified nutritionist for both humans and animals)

Basically this, although I'm doubtful about the cancer thing? I mean, practically everything can give you cancer. There were people panicking over fluorescent lights when those came out, and studies have shown that apple juice will do it if you manage to literally drink more than you can phyiscally digest every day. I feel like people just overreact to cancer-related statistics.

 

The thing is though, as long as we're alive, we're going to negatively impact the environment. And we do it more than most everyone else, but non-human animals do it too! It's not as if animals live off sunshine and morning dew. And veganism isn't even the thing that reduces your impact the most. And yet there are people who go around claiming that people who eat meat are 100% horrible regardless of their reasoning and probably kick puppies every day for fun, and some of them even force a vegan diet on their (carnivorous) pets to "prove a point". People can do whatever they want, but when they're shoving their opinions down people's throats (um, no pun intended?), that becomes a problem.

Share this post


Link to post

I'm an omnivore. I've been good friends with vegans and vegetarians and most of my diet is surprisingly non-meat based, but I love cheese and honey too much. I don't mind people's diet choices, but it does tick me off when people make assumptions about others based on their food habits or try to force their own upon other people.

 

 

 

Share this post


Link to post

Technically, I am an omnivore.

 

When I was 10 years old, I changed school. It was a quite small "waldorf pedagogic" school, and they served vegetarian food all days of the week, except on some occasions. And then we never got 'real' meat, just boiled/fried eggs, salmon, shrimps and cheese. Oh ye, I might mention that both school and school lunch is free (and provided) in Sweden.

 

Ever since then, I have gotten used to not eat much meat at all. I never really have gone 100% vegetarian, even though I don't like the taste of chicken or normal meat. However, I don't want to be a bother to my friends every time we come together, so I guess it plays a part in it too.

 

My family has always been very careful about what we eat. I never had any ready meals from frozen packages (such as premade meatballs/pizza/fried potatoes etc). We always cooked our own food out of good ingredients, even if not always ecological, we usually picked the best alternative. When buying meat though, by rule, we bought it from animals who had a good life. We even ordered some directly from a farm, owned by a friend.

 

To every vegetarian out there, or anyone eating cheese actually, if you haven't tried Halloumi, you should. Seriously. It's a Cyprus cheese which you grill or fry. (don't use butter or oil though, it'll ruin them! Nothing in the pan, just halloumi!)

It's one of my top favourite foods ever.

user posted image

Kinda looks like chicken, but oh, so infinitely more delicious.

 

Also, Sweden in general is very nit-picky about animal and ecological care. I recommend that you come here at least once and try out what we have to offer. Prepare for lots of vegetables and salad!

 

I have no opinion on whether people should be vegan, vegetarian or omnivores. I don't mind and hopefully they don't mind what I eat either. I've ran into people who cared a great deal about what my habits was, even though I pretty much didn't know them at all. I guess, to some, it's a principle thing. I just hope that this principle doesn't ruin their own lives. A person like this is probably pretty restrained due to her beliefs, but at the same time, it's the individuals choice which they have made.

 

I don't mind really, even though it can get annoying after a while. I mean, this behavior isn't limited to veganism/vegetarianism, but appears more than often in political and religious aspects too.

Share this post


Link to post

I'm a vegitarian. For the most part, anyway. Occasionally I eat fish, so I guess that'd make me a pescatarian? I dunno.

.-. Well, I don't really like meat. And ten there are apparently a bunch of people who think that waving bacon in my face and going "BUT IT TASTES GOOD" will make it taste good to me, haha. It's a bit annoying.

Share this post


Link to post
And then we never got 'real' meat, just boiled/fried eggs, salmon, shrimps and cheese.

I would argue that fish and other seafood like oysters, crab, etc are definitely real meat. :P It's the flesh and muscle (or the sea creature equivalent of, in some cases) of an animal, so it's meat.

 

It drives me nuts when I see some people claiming to be vegetarian, yet they eat seafood (this isn't directed at you, Sphinx). I'm over here like "it's still the meat of an animal..." Actually I think there's a proper term for those who are primarily vegetarian but also eat seafood. I just don't remember what it is.

Share this post


Link to post

It drives me nuts when I see some people claiming to be vegetarian, yet they eat seafood (this isn't directed at you, Sphinx). I'm over here like "it's still the meat of an animal..." Actually I think there's a proper term for those who are primarily vegetarian but also eat seafood. I just don't remember what it is.

The word you're looking for is pescetarian, like Qwackie said!

 

That's what I am, even though I only ever eat seafood when I'm visiting my family. I agree that fish and such is definitely meat. In fleeting conversation though, I usually just say that I don't eat meat in general because it's bothersome to explain pescetarianism if the topic isn't really important (like when someone asked me if I was vegetarian as part of a class bingo-like game). But if the conversation starts getting deeper, I'll happily clarify because... well, that's what I am. :3

Share this post


Link to post

I don't understand vegans who don't eat honey when they are trying to advocate for animals. I understand it's an animal product but if you are trying to do the best thing for animals, you'll take the honey not boycott it.

Share this post


Link to post
The word you're looking for is pescetarian, like Qwackie said!

 

That's what I am, even though I only ever eat seafood when I'm visiting my family. I agree that fish and such is definitely meat. In fleeting conversation though, I usually just say that I don't eat meat in general because it's bothersome to explain pescetarianism if the topic isn't really important (like when someone asked me if I was vegetarian as part of a class bingo-like game). But if the conversation starts getting deeper, I'll happily clarify because... well, that's what I am. :3

I didn't read Quackie's post :P

 

But yeah, it's not so much that I'm annoyed at pescetarians, or those that use vegetarian as a shorthand way to describe themselves. It's those that don't consider themselves pescetarians (not because they didn't know the term) even when they most certainly are. Usually they do it just because they don't consider fish actual meat (though it is). It just really irks me. I agree that it's much different than poultry, pork, or beef, but then again, the meat of birds is often much different than meat of mammals. I'd say fish is certainly closer to poultry, etc than stuff like oysters or lobster.

Share this post


Link to post
I didn't read Quackie's post tongue.gif

 

But yeah, it's not so much that I'm annoyed at pescetarians, or those that use vegetarian as a shorthand way to describe themselves. It's those that don't consider themselves pescetarians (not because they didn't know the term) even when they most certainly are. Usually they do it just because they don't consider fish actual meat (though it is). It just really irks me. I agree that it's much different than poultry, pork, or beef, but then again, the meat of birds is often much different than meat of mammals. I'd say fish is certainly closer to poultry, etc than stuff like oysters or lobster.

As another pescatarian, I certainly agree that fish is meat. Same as all the others. Why do I only eat fish, then? Well, mainly it's because when I was twelve (fourteen?) and wanted to start being a vegetarian, my father refused to let me cut all meat out of my diet in case I couldn't get enough protein. We agreed upon fish, since I do love fish and I was willing to continue eating that if it meant I could stop eating everything else.

 

Now that I am twenty, I could certainly stop eating meat, and even become vegan if I wanted to. But I don't. My reasoning (as I think I have explained before) is that if I can personally catch and kill something, I can eat it without remorse. Perhaps that seems like a strange philosophy to some, but it's how I live. That doesn't mean I go out and kill every single fish I eat, but it does mean I don't eat things like chicken or beef, which comes from animals I couldn't physically kill.

 

There are times when I use vegetarian to refer to myself, for the same reason Dimar does. It's frustrating to say "pescatarian" and receive nothing but blank looks, and then have to explain exactly what that is... But when I can I do use pescatarian in reference to myself, simply because I've run into vegetarians and vegans before who have gotten on my case for "claiming" to be a vegetarian when I eat fish. And when I meet a fellow pescatarian who doesn't know the term, I do try to mention to them, because for one I think it's great that there's a term out there to describe that eating style, and it also saves them from future trouble with vegetarians and vegans who take offense to the misuse of their term.

 

Now, as for people who call themselves vegetarians when they actually consume fish, that's an issue they have to sort out for themselves. Yes, we can explain to them what a pescatarian is, but if they refuse to accept the term or still consider fish to not be a meat, well, everyone has their own way of viewing things. We shouldn't attempt to force our views onto people, even if we consider their views wrong. Especially when it comes to eating, because to be honest, everyone has a slightly different eating style, and that's part of what makes us unique and interesting.

Share this post


Link to post
Now, as for people who call themselves vegetarians when they actually consume fish, that's an issue they have to sort out for themselves. Yes, we can explain to them what a pescatarian is, but if they refuse to accept the term or still consider fish to not be a meat, well, everyone has their own way of viewing things. We shouldn't attempt to force our views onto people, even if we consider their views wrong. Especially when it comes to eating, because to be honest, everyone has a slightly different eating style, and that's part of what makes us unique and interesting.

I'm not trying to force them to call themselves that or anything. Some people just don't like certain labels. I don't like it when they don't take the term because they don't consider fish to be meat, though it is. And technically, because it is meat, it means they wouldn't be vegetarians.

 

It's one thing to say a tomato is a fruit or vegetable (it's technically a fruit, but whatever), and another to say any fish/seafood isn't meat. :U

 

That's what bothers me.

Share this post


Link to post

Same. I findit hilariouswhen vegatarions eat cheese with renet in it and deny it is there. my sister was vegetarian for a year. I have swornof one meat; KFC. I can hardly consider chicken.

My religion says i shouldn't eat meat eggs,or fish (for the sake of others) but my father saidit was alright so long as we didn't eat beef. I have had caribou, but never beef

Share this post


Link to post
Same. I findit hilariouswhen vegatarions eat cheese with renet in it and deny it is there. my sister was vegetarian for a year. I have swornof one meat; KFC. I can hardly consider chicken.

80%+ of the cheese made in USA and UK is made with fermentation-produced chymosin (produced in trangenic bacteria and yeasts), the main enzyme found in rennet, so yes, most cheese IS lacto-vegetarian friendly.

Share this post


Link to post

I live in Japan where vegetarianism is basically unheard of, and in conversation with adults they CONSTANTLY tell me "seafood isn't meat". I've been to restaurants with (American) vegetarians and they tell the waiter, "I need this pasta to have NO MEAT IN IT. DO YOU UNDERSTAND? NO MEAT." and it comes back with the bacon picked out, but shrimp and scallops prominently displayed. The waiter is always absolutely mindblown when the vegetarian tries to explain that sea animals are animals (there's another point of contention in the language... they refuse to accept that anything other than a mammal is an 'animal'...including insects and shellfish) and they CANNOT EAT SHRIMP or something.

The waiter/chef is just always like "what...what do you mean... you can't eat scallops? Why?"

"Because it's MEAT."

"....whuh? ....no it's not."

 

repeat for 20 minutes.

There are animal products in EVERYTHING here. Lard in the white bread, fish broth in the powdered flour takoyaki mix, fish broth in the vegetable soup, pork broth in the vegetable curry, etc etc. You'd think in a country that is predominantly Buddhist they would have a concept of vegetarianism, but in fact the strict regulations for Buddhist practitoners that are upheld in other countries were thrown to the dogs when it was brought to Japan, and Buddhist monks are allowed to drink alcohol, smoke, eat meat, get married, etc. etc. so very very few people are actually vegetarian here. :c

 

This causes plenty of problems for foreigners who can't even FIND vegetarian food in the supermarket without making everything from scratch. Ironically, it's easier to just go to your local Indian restaurant where you know for sure a vegetarian dish will be vegetarian.

Share this post


Link to post

Unfortunately, I have a big-mouthed relative who practices veganism.

4/5 times whenever we get anywhere within a proximity of talking about food around him, he starts pushing that censorkip.gif on us.

Sometimes, I wish he'd just zip it.

Share this post


Link to post

Unfortunately, I have a big-mouthed relative who practices veganism.

4/5 times whenever we get anywhere within a proximity of talking about food around him, he starts pushing that censorkip.gif on us.

Sometimes, I wish he'd just zip it.

^^^^THIS! Honestly that is the ONLY real issue I have with Vegans/Vegetarians.

 

The whole pushing the idea onto other people/creatures thing. Granted that not all of them do this. I don't mind if you don't eat meat. You are free to make that choice and more power to you.... whether it be for health reasons, environmental reasons, the simple fact that you don't LIKE meat or what ever. Where we are going to have issues is when you try to push it on me. I am an omnivore (I eat both plants and animals) And am pretty much unrepentant about the thing. I don't mind if other people go vegetarian, but I couldn't my self and, if I am honest, I tend to get more than a little defensive if someone else tries to tell me I should. Can't we all just be RESPECTFUL of others?

 

It would go far in helping vegetarianism be more respected, too, I would think.

Edited by Silverswift

Share this post


Link to post
^^^^THIS! Honestly that is the ONLY real issue I have with Vegans/Vegetarians.

 

The whole pushing the idea onto other people/creatures thing. Granted that not all of them do this. I don't mind if you don't eat meat. You are free to make that choice and more power to you.... whether it be for health reasons, environmental reasons, the simple fact that you don't LIKE meat or what ever. Where we are going to have issues is when you try to push it on me. I am an omnivore (I eat both plants and animals) And am pretty much unrepentant about the thing. I don't mind if other people go vegetarian, but I couldn't my self and, if I am honest, I tend to get more than a little defensive if someone else tries to tell me I should. Can't we all just be RESPECTFUL of others?

 

It would go far in helping vegetarianism be more respected, too, I would think.

This. Exactly. I have fortunately not met many people who try to force their views of food consumption onto me, but when they do, I make it very clear that although I respect their opinions, I stand by my own and won't be changing them anytime soon.

Share this post


Link to post


  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.