Vegetarianism

[Belinda]

I've tried being a vegetarian multiple times, however being by a carnivore family always, I just couldn't resist to go back to eating meat. I got sick of being one last time I tried it merely lasted a month, afterwards back to being a meat eater. I have gotten the idea to be partial vegetarian and meat eating (half the month green friendly the other half meat eating). And that's how it is now.

 

[FlameDancer]

I'm vegan for ethical reasons. I always wanted to growing up as well, but since I was so thin and was a dancer, my parents were concerned I wouldn't get adequate nutrition. In my junior year of high school, my teacher wanted me to dissect a house cat and when I refused, he made it an issue and told me that if I did not complete the dissection he would fail me despite my other good grades in his class. When I did my reseach online to see if this was legal, I came across SO many websites and facts and pictures that changed my life, and I knew that after being exposed to what I had seen I couldn't continue on not being vegetarian anymore.

As I see it, humans don't need to harm or consume animals to thrive at all, so why would we? I can eat my dinner, and enjoy it thoroughly, without an animal having to suffer and die for it, so I can't imagine not living my life that way...it seems cruel to me

I am not a judgemental person, and I live this way for myself only. I do not push my personal thoughts or ethics on anyone, and I appreciate it when people respect my decisions like I respect theirs. Soooo that's my story :)

 

[Richard Lynch]

I thought about becoming a vegetarian... for about a business day. I started thinking about the implications; not of the food, but of the philosophy. Veganism in particular perplexes me... the entire philosophy is not eating anything living or anything derived from something living. So, how can you then eat green, when that green was once living? Eating fruit: citrus abortion. Why wash your hands when, in doing so, you kill microorganisms? What denotes a life? And if this is the case, do vegans then empirically claim that their lives, and the lives of other blooded animals, are more important than the lesser lives of plants and cells?

Afterall, you never see an activist group holding signs that say "Save the bacteria!" or "Free the cancer cells!"

Perhaps people can answer my questions here. I'm not mocking the vegans, I'm just curious about the philosophy of it.

EDIT: Just saw this:

And yes, pesticides do actually cause harm. pesticide poisoning, not only to us the consumers, but to the actual farmers harvesting your food. But to tie this back in to the topic...errr nevermind.

There was a time when pesticides could be dangerous, but not really anymore. In fact, most of the commonly used pesticides can be broken down into harmless substances (phosphoric acid, for example - this is actually a preservative) with just water and time. That's how they're made: they're intended to keep crops clean while they grow, and to break down before they reach the shelf. We've advanced enough in this science to bring the pesticide poisoning level to virtually zero. Organic activists, I've found (and no offense to organic activists here) are generally uninformed about that which they fight against. At least in the scientific aspects of it. Just remember that when you eat organic, you're eating food that was grown in cow poop. Simple as that. ;)

 

[poopnoodle]

I thought about becoming a vegetarian... for about a business day. I started thinking about the implications; not of the food, but of the philosophy. Veganism in particular perplexes me... the entire philosophy is not eating anything living or anything derived from something living. So, how can you then eat green, when that green was once living? Eating fruit: citrus abortion. Why wash your hands when, in doing so, you kill microorganisms? What denotes a life? And if this is the case, do vegans then empirically claim that their lives, and the lives of other blooded animals, are more important than the lesser lives of plants and cells?

before i quit my vegan diet my philosophy wasn't about the value of life but the discomfort in eating something that has suffered and died for our gratification. we can reasonably assume that plants and the like don't experience the pain more complex organisms do, so with that mindset, there's less guilt with eating greens. but there are people who only eat what has died naturally, i forgot the name of that diet.

 

[Weeaboo Name]

I'm a strict vegetarian, not a vegan but i only buy milk from brands that i cantrust and i very rarely have eggs (unless i buy them from a farm shop, living in Norfolk i don;t have to go far)

It's 100% for ethical reasons. Yeah, that's about it.

 

[Katie_Q]

EDIT: Just saw this:



There was a time when pesticides could be dangerous, but not really anymore. In fact, most of the commonly used pesticides can be broken down into harmless substances (phosphoric acid, for example - this is actually a preservative) with just water and time. That's how they're made: they're intended to keep crops clean while they grow, and to break down before they reach the shelf. We've advanced enough in this science to bring the pesticide poisoning level to virtually zero. Organic activists, I've found (and no offense to organic activists here) are generally uninformed about that which they fight against. At least in the scientific aspects of it. Just remember that when you eat organic, you're eating food that was grown in cow poop. Simple as that. ;)

I'm not sure about you, but I actually WASH my food just incase it had cow poop in it. You do know that cow poop isn't always used for organic food though right? ;) Yeah, bit of a failing argument. But I'm no good at arguing so i can't talk. I'd rather eat as naturally as I can. Nature's made earth last a heck of a time, so I think I'd rather trust that then something with chemicals in it thats been around for such a short amount of time. Being in school and doing science, and so far not learning anything about it, I don't want to look up EXTRA science to back me up. (I'm so lazy, right?) But since I've not really heard that organic will harm me, in fact just the opposite, and the fact that natures a little more powerful then me, I just feel better with organic.

But hey, thats just me.

 

[Master Bait]

And if you are a vegetarian, how does it feel? And what reasons made you become one?

Because I hate plants. Eating plants makes me feel strong though.

 

[Richard Lynch]

I'm not sure about you, but I actually WASH my food just incase it had cow poop in it. You do know that cow poop isn't always used for organic food though right? ;) Yeah, bit of a failing argument. But I'm no good at arguing so i can't talk. I'd rather eat as naturally as I can. Nature's made earth last a heck of a time, so I think I'd rather trust that then something with chemicals in it thats been around for such a short amount of time. Being in school and doing science, and so far not learning anything about it, I don't want to look up EXTRA science to back me up. (I'm so lazy, right?) But since I've not really heard that organic will harm me, in fact just the opposite, and the fact that natures a little more powerful then me, I just feel better with organic.

But hey, thats just me.

Oh, of course it's not always grown in cow poop. But (at least here in the States) in order for something to be certified organic, it must be grown using natural fertilizers (poop). I'm not anti-organic by any means, I just think the movement has gone too far... there are people who want EVERYTHING to be organic (as in, mandated by law), and I don't agree with that. The fact of the matter is that chemicals help crops grow faster and larger, and help grow more of them, which means more food for the world. If everything was legally bound to be organic, our food supplies would diminish drastically (and, variably, the price would increase), which means that more people would starve. That's my beef, not with organic food, but the hard-core organic food activists.

 

[Guillermo]

You need to eat meat for various reasons, a big one being health.

With that said, humans are natural plant-eaters.

 

[Rogue planet]

In theory I think it's a very nice idea.

In practice I think it's inconvenient.

I simply don't care enough to fuss about what I eat over. So I'm not a vegetarian.

I have respect for anyone who decides to be vegetarian or vegan, I have the same amount of respect for anyone who doesn't. I don't have respect for anyone who tries forcing others to adopt a particular diet. In the end, it's all down to personal preference. In the end some people are always going to eat meat, if some people choose not to that's their choice, but either side trying to persuade the other to change their dietary ways is just silly.

Also people can remain perfectly healthy with a vegan diet.

 

[MissFrederick]

I'm actually a vegetarian. I follow a diet that doesn't include meat. It does include eggs, milk, etc. The rest of my family however, eat meat (and my Grandma once told me not to be stupid when I said I was considering becoming a vegetarian) while I choose to follow the path of vegetarianism.

Why did I become a vegetarian? because I hate meat. I don't like the taste of meat, and I really don't like the texture of meat. That's the only reason; I just don't like meat. When I was kid and we had roast dinner, I would trade the meat on my plate for the potatoes on my brother's plate. I just eventually thought 'What's the point of eating something if I don't like it?' And that's how I became a vegetarian.

I've been a vegetarian for around two and a half years now and I don't regret it. My Mum has been supportive of my choice too. And I don't understand why people feel the need to apologise when they eat meat products in front of me. Eat your meat products, it's none of my business to tell you what to eat and where. x3

I also feel that people who eat meat help to keep the world in balance.

 

[Kleinchen]

I'm not a vegetarian, but I have considered becoming one. Mostly for personal health reasons -- I have several stomach problems that makes digesting meat rather unpleasant for me if I consume large amounts of it. But my family is definitely a meat-eating family and because I'm still living at home, going vegetarian would be very inconvenient and somewhat impractical. So instead I've just tried to limit my meat-eating to just a couple times a week and try to stick more to white meat and fish instead of red meat. It's been working pretty well for me -- I still get to eat foods I enjoy but on a level low enough that it's not making me sick. :]

 

[PlatinumDude]

I'm not a vegetarian, but I respect the decisions of those who choose that path because I know that people can't eat meat all the time.

 

[twocows]

I'm not going to say I always respect peoples' decisions (because to me, that implies that I think it is a good decision), but I'm usually tolerant unless their decisions negatively affect others. Vegetarianism doesn't really hurt anyone, so I don't have any problems with it. That said, it's something I wouldn't do myself. I can see the reasoning for it but it's not something I'm interested in doing.

 

[Åzurε]

I'm not going to say I always respect peoples' decisions (because to me, that implies that I think it is a good decision), but I'm usually tolerant unless their decisions negatively affect others. Vegetarianism doesn't really hurt anyone, so I don't have any problems with it. That said, it's something I wouldn't do myself. I can see the reasoning for it but it's not something I'm interested in doing.

My words have been taken from me and posted on the internet before I could type them.

 

[Rapidash]

Besides, if I was a vegetarian I wouldn't survive. Not without bacon.

Thiiiiiiiiiiiis. I need bacon.

To me, humans are omnivores, it's just the way it's meant to be.

 

[Bear]

I've been vegetarian for a few years now. It started out with me discovering one day that I hate the taste of pork. It's a dirty animal and you can taste it.
Perhaps I'm just naturally Jewish.

From there I decided to do a bit of reasearch and to familiarise myself with what I'm feeding myself. A few scary documentaries later I made the full transition. It was pretty easy, really. There are loads of different substitutes for meat that are delicious. Plus plant fibre is broken down much faster in the stomach than meat fibre, so you can literally eat all day long and not gain any weight.

 

[Aquacorde]

I agree that some meats and whatnot are filthy foods, but I also know that meat animals that were bred&raised by small-time farmers or hobby farmers are very clean.
I don't agree with vegetarianism because humans are biologically omnivores, and our entire system is tuned to take advantage of it. Poultry and fish are especially good meats.
A misconception that I see a lot is that if you are not vegetarian, you are not expected to eat vegetables. Obviously this is not true. Humans need vegetables as much as other foods because vegetables provide so many nutrients that the body can take advantage of. And the richer the color of the veggie, the more packed it is with good-for-you nutrients.

 

[Metatron]

I don't agree with vegetarianism because humans are biologically omnivores, and our entire system is tuned to take advantage of it.

....Very debatable. Anatomically, humans are far more similar to herbivores than carnivores or omnivores. We have the same intestinal tract length, stomach acidity, alkaline saliva (weaker digestive enzymes ), etc as herbivores. Though we are capable of digesting the flesh of other animals, that does not mean that we are biologically suited to do so.

I have been a vegetarian for going on 3 years now. The decision to cut meat from my diet wasn't something that took much thought beforehand; I literally just woke up one day and decided that it was against my moral character to consume animals simply for how they taste (not to say that I'm "morally superior" to anyone else; it's totally your choice what you want to eat).

...And for the record, I am totally healthy ._.

 

[Yingxue]

Do you have cat or dog? If so do you feed them dog/cat food? If yes, then how come you have no problem feeding them meat?

Because they're obligate carnivores, I am not.

I decided to do it because for me, I cannot justify eating meat. I have no need for it, and I don't even really like the taste/.texture...>>; I also found I lost a lot of weight cutting out meat and fried foods, and I feel better.

People shouldn't be so impolite about a personal decision like what one eats...>>;