Are you vegetarian? ..or vegan?

[slavetoabunny]

The nice thing about still eating fish and shellfish, is that you can go out to a restaurant and still have a lot of options. Sushi anyone?

 

[Amy27]

I have been a vegetarian since August 2009. I am a lacto-ovo vegetarian so I still eat diary and eggs. I just decided over night I couldn't eat meat and haven't since.

What made me become a vegetarian was that rabbit drowning at a petstore. I felt so helpless to help animals. I had written letters and made phone calls about those rabbits and I still felt helpless. I started to think what else can I do to help animals, all animals. I decided I had to stop eating them.

It doesn't bother me when other people eat meat. All of my friends eat meat and I do go out to eat when them often. Everyone has to make choices that are best for them.

Nicole, a website that really helped me was veggieboards.com they have a ton of information on different types of vegetarianism and lots of recipes and helpful information.

 

[slavetoabunny]

It doesn't bother me at all when other people eat meat. In fact, my husband is a hunter and a carnivore. I cook meat for him all of the time.

 

[degrassi]

You might want to research into what "free range" actually means. You might have pictures of animals roaming nice pastures but that is FAR from the truth. There is no set definitions of what "free range" is and no real regulation. The broad definitions they do have are just for poultry, not for beef, pork or other non poultry animals. The smaller farms might be producing quality "free range" products but the giant meat industry farmers aren't. A few examples of what can be considered "free range" under these broad "definitions" are if a industry poultry farmer adds a small dirt yard to his chicken warehouse, or if a egg farmer uses a bigger cage then standard(the birds aren't even let out of the cage!). So until the USDA regulates things better its hard to trust the labels.

A good book is the "ominvores delema" by Michael Pollan.He goes into where your food comes from, down to the corn fields and feedlots/farms. Its an easy read and very eye opening. Or watch the doc Food inc. its really good too.

But this is off topic from Veg/Vegan.

 

[Happi Bun]

The book that changed my view on what I eat is called Farm Sanctuary: Changing Hearts and Minds About Animals and Food. Here is some info on the book I pulled from Amazon, "In 1986, after rescuing a live sheep from a pile of dead animals in a stockyard, the author founded Farm Sanctuary, an organization that rescues discarded living animals from stockyards, slaughterhouses and factory farms; provides shelters for them; and advocates for humane animal treatment. In this impassioned book, Baur paints an appealing picture of these shelters and the animals that live there far from the brutality of industrial farming, which he describes in detail. Some of this inhumane treatment is not news—chickens packed into tiny cages—but accounts of living animals discarded like garbage because they are ill or weak surprise. Baur's nonprofit promotes legal remedies to stop the inhumane conditions chronicled. He believes that the best way to demonstrate concern for industrially farmed animals is to adopt a vegan lifestyle, but doesn't proselytize. Rather, he makes a strong case that meat eaters have an ethical responsibility to ensure that the animals they eat have not been abused. His well-argued book includes helpful lists of resources and organizations that deal with factory farming, animal welfare rights, humane food production and the environment."

I'm currently still reading it, but it's already changed my life. It's also a national bestseller. I got the book as a gift from my mother this past Christmas, I had told her I really would love to have it. I started reading it the next day, which just so happened to be Christmas Day. For dinner the family was having turkey. When I looked at the featherless and headless animal on the plate my stomach turned. No longer did I see something delicious. I saw an animal that had suffered horrendously in factory farming, crammed with hundreds other in a building without ever feeling the warmth of the sun, something I believe every living creature has a right to experience. These days they pump them full of such crap and breed them so they are so large their legs cannot withstand the weight of their own body. I also saw an intelligent (just in a different way) and feeling being that is no different than my companion animals I choose to share our home with.

My grandfather used to hunt, and he fishes. I will never preach to him or make him feel less of a human being because of it. It's up to each individual person to decide how they want to live their life. The rest of my family eats meat, but accommodates some vegetarian dishes already because my cousin is a vegetarian. I'm grateful that my family is very open minded and loving, no matter our differences.

Here is Farm Sanctuary's website for those interested! I hope to visit their California location sometime soon. http://www.farmsanctuary.org

Just a side note;
I love the brand Morningstar Farms. They make a great veggie "Chicken" Pattie.
It's super delicious sliced up and tossed in romaine salad!

 

[undergunfire]

Happi Bun wrote:

Just a side note;
I love the brand Morningstar Farms. They make a great veggie "Chicken" Pattie.
It's super delicious sliced up and tossed in romaine salad!

That book sounds interesting...I may have to look into it .

I also love Morningstar stuff. Have you tried their pizza burgers? Delicious with spinach, onion, and light ranch. I eat their spicy black bean burgers almost weekly.

 

[Happi Bun]

Oh, it's very interesting! It's not all about tragedy and abuse either, it seems to balance a lot of bad with hope. It's very motivating and Inspiring. The only other Morningstar food I've tried so far is their veg sausage, but I didn't like it at all. I'm quite picky. I will definitelty be on the look out for the Pizza Burgers and Spicy black bean burgers, that sounds delicious and I love food that has a kick to it!

 

[irishbunny]

I'm not but I wish I was! I eat such a small range of food, that if I cut out meat I would eat hardly anything at all. As it is I don't eat much meat anyway, mostly just chicken and a small amount of pork and beef, only in things like sheperds pie/lasange/pizza. I don't eat ''big lump'' of it if you know what I mean, I wouldn't be able to cause it is just icky lol, and fatty and chewy yuck.

 

[Jessyka]

Ugh, Onision is a wonderful example of why I avoid vegetarian discussions, and Youtube videos involving vegetarian/vegan subjects. I'd be a vegan if I could, but my doctor advises against it at least for a few more years.

This debate is not one I will jump into on this forum, because I can't seem to talk about it without hurting people's feelings.

 

[BethM]

slavetoabunny wrote:

The nice thing about still eating fish and shellfish, is that you can go out to a restaurant and still have a lot of options. Sushi anyone?

Oh, Patti, I love sushi so much!
I also find that around here (NE Kansas), not every restaurant has a vegetarian option, but they always have a fish option. My husband loves to eat out, and we try really hard to visit locally-owned restaurants and mostly avoid chains, so I can't always count on a menu trying to cater to the masses.
Luckily, my favorite places are Japanese (sushi, teriyaki salmon, etc) and Cajun (catfish!!!). The only chain we visit regularly is Chipotle, I could eat their veggie bowl every day!

My husband still eats meat. I refuse to cook it for him, so he no longer eats it at home. He'll order it when we go out, and he eats lunchmeat sandwiches for lunch at work.
I LOVE Morningstar Farms products! I was upset that my Target didn't have them for a couple months, and neither did Whole Foods, it freaked me out. They're getting them back, though, so that's good. My absolute favorite one is Mushroom Lover's Burger. Husband likes the Spicy Black Bean. I tried their sausages this morning, and found them ok. I was never a sausage fan, but I found these to be edible. Probably won't buy them again, but I'll finish the box. The "bacon" is pretty gross, though! I like the spicy chicken one, too.

 

[missyscove]

Happi Bun wrote:

The book that changed my view on what I eat is called Farm Sanctuary: Changing Hearts and Minds About Animals and Food. Here is some info on the book I pulled from Amazon, "In 1986, after rescuing a live sheep from a pile of dead animals in a stockyard, the author founded Farm Sanctuary, an organization that rescues discarded living animals from stockyards, slaughterhouses and factory farms; provides shelters for them; and advocates for humane animal treatment. In this impassioned book, Baur paints an appealing picture of these shelters and the animals that live there far from the brutality of industrial farming, which he describes in detail. Some of this inhumane treatment is not news—chickens packed into tiny cages—but accounts of living animals discarded like garbage because they are ill or weak surprise. Baur's nonprofit promotes legal remedies to stop the inhumane conditions chronicled. He believes that the best way to demonstrate concern for industrially farmed animals is to adopt a vegan lifestyle, but doesn't proselytize. Rather, he makes a strong case that meat eaters have an ethical responsibility to ensure that the animals they eat have not been abused. His well-argued book includes helpful lists of resources and organizations that deal with factory farming, animal welfare rights, humane food production and the environment."

I'm currently still reading it, but it's already changed my life. It's also a national bestseller. I got the book as a gift from my mother this past Christmas, I had told her I really would love to have it. I started reading it the next day, which just so happened to be Christmas Day. For dinner the family was having turkey. When I looked at the featherless and headless animal on the plate my stomach turned. No longer did I see something delicious. I saw an animal that had suffered horrendously in factory farming, crammed with hundreds other in a building without ever feeling the warmth of the sun, something I believe every living creature has a right to experience. These days they pump them full of such crap and breed them so they are so large their legs cannot withstand the weight of their own body. I also saw an intelligent (just in a different way) and feeling being that is no different than my companion animals I choose to share our home with.

My grandfather used to hunt, and he fishes. I will never preach to him or make him feel less of a human being because of it. It's up to each individual person to decide how they want to live their life. The rest of my family eats meat, but accommodates some vegetarian dishes already because my cousin is a vegetarian. I'm grateful that my family is very open minded and loving, no matter our differences.

Here is Farm Sanctuary's website for those interested! I hope to visit their California location sometime soon. http://www.farmsanctuary.org

Just a side note;
I love the brand Morningstar Farms. They make a great veggie "Chicken" Pattie.
It's super delicious sliced up and tossed in romaine salad!

Personally, I classify farm sanctuary in with PETA. They're located very close to Ithaca, where I go to school.
Last year, in my Animal Agriculture and Society class, where we visited a Marcho Farms Veal farm in Pennsylvania, we studied both sides of the veal argument. (We do the field trip because in past years the argument would get pretty heated, but most people had never seen how veal was really produced, so the trip gives us exposure to that first hand). For the anti-veal side, we looked at some pictures Farm Sanctuary had put on their website and labeled as being Marcho farms calves. They were later forced to remove the Marcho farms name as it turned out the pictures weren't actually from Marcho farms at all. However, the photos showed several dead calves which to the untrained eye, yes, looked heartbreaking, until you realize the calves were definitely under 5 days old and could have been anywhere, like behind an auction. That's when you have to step in and blame the dairy who isn't providing enough care to the bull calves on their way to the veal grower, but then the dairy farmer says they're not getting enough $ for the calf to make it worthwhile to them.
It's also important to recognize that consumers place a lot of demands on animal agriculture and the farmer is more than happy to meet those demands (organic, free range, eliminating veal crates, etc.), however, that costs the farmer more and then the consumers are rarely willing to pay the extra cost.

Just my :twocents. Obviously I could go on for hours about different issues in animal agriculture and you should hear me try and talk my friends into eating more meat and drinking more milk!

 

[Happi Bun]

I don't see how your example classifies them with PETA. Regardless, even if they are, the book is amazing and I believe Farm Sanctuary does wonderful work. It one of those things you have to read before knocking it down. Such a wealth of information (on both sides) from years of personal experience working with the meat industry.

 

[Happi Bun]

Jessyka wrote:

Ugh, Onision is a wonderful example of why I avoid vegetarian discussions, and Youtube videos involving vegetarian/vegan subjects. I'd be a vegan if I could, but my doctor advises against it at least for a few more years.

This debate is not one I will jump into on this forum, because I can't seem to talk about it without hurting people's feelings.

For the record I do not like Onision. I'm happy to see someone so passionate about saving animals, but I honestly believe he gives Vegetarian's a bad name. All the one's I have met are no where near extreme on pushing their beliefs. Calling people who eat meat murderers is wrong and hateful.

We can all coexist if we show each other respect and compassion. Not everyone shares the same religion or even desire to be a part of one, not everyone dresses the same, not everyone shares the same moral compass. There is nothing wrong with being different than others, it what makes us individuals.

 

[BethM]

I think the thing that really sealed things for me was one particular scene in the movie Food, Inc., which I just saw mid-October.

It was the undercover footage of a "downer" cow being rolled with the forks of a forklift. The cow was obviously sick, but still alive; it couldn't stand. It appeared that the cow was being rolled towards the production line, but that wasn't clear. In any case.... Every time I start to think that it "couldn't hurt" to have just one burger or steak, the image of that cow being rolled along with a forklift pops into my head, and I literally feel nauseous. I absolutely cannot support an industry that allows that to happen. I don't think there is any reason that cow couldn't have been put down *before* it was rolled along like that.

I'm sure people can argue that this is not a common or widespread practice, but after the meat is packaged and on the grocery store shelf, there is no way to tell if that meat came from a humanely treated animal or not. I would rather buy no meat at all, than accidentally supportone company that would allow that to happen.

Though I'm not vegan, I do avoid processed foods with animal by-products (like gelatin). Although I am very budget conscious, I have no problem paying more money for a higher quality product, or a product that doesn't have animal ingredients.


eta: I also do not go around preaching vegetarianism, though if someone asks why I no longer eat meat, I will tell them. My MIL is a bit resistant, and will invite me to dinner at her house and then not provide a single thin I can eat, which I think is extremely rude. I now demand to know the menu before I go, and if it's all got meat ingredients, I refuse to go. My own family is much more accomodating.

 

[missyscove]

Happi Bun wrote:

I don't see how your example classifies them with PETA. Regardless, even if they are, the book is amazing and I believe Farm Sanctuary does wonderful work. It one of those things you have to read before knocking it down. Such a wealth of information (on both sides) from years of personal experience working with the meat industry.

The reason I place then with PETA in my mind is that both groups may have some philosophical things that are great, I mean, "ethical treatment of animals" sounds great, until you realize that what they really want is for all animals, including pets, to be returned to the wild. I just can't stand when they put out misinformation that is either clearly misinformation, or when the facts about a situation simply aren't clear and they use it anyway.

 

[Stanza]

The book The Food Revolution is what lead me to become vegetarian.

It's all part of learning to live in harmony with our planet

Yaay veggies! lol

 

[GorbyJobRabbits]

I'm nearly strictly carnivore. I don't like vegtables.

Not every slaughterhouse is like you see on here. They blow it way way out of proportion.

I grew up in 4-H. Everything on our farm had to earn its keep, or pay for itself. I was the one that fed and took care of all the animals. So they were my 'children'. But in the end, they fed the family. It is hard to bottle feed calves, and in the end you know they will be on the dinner plate. But a family friend runs a slaughter house/meat processing. I've helped there for years, and still do during deer season. Every animal is killed humanely as possible. They do care about the animals and do it as quickly as they can, so the animal does not feel pain. Its still sad, but thats life.



And forgetting farm animals. Hunting is EXTREMELY important in wildlife. Humans have overbuilt, and animals have less land. There is only so much of a carrying capacity places can hold. For Ohio's deer heard, we hold about 700 thousand deer. And thats pushing it. If hunting did not thin it out, deer would starve.... more disease would spread, exc... Its like that with every species. Its extremely extremely important.

There will never be harmony on this planet, if there is no hunting. You can't imagine the amount of starvation that would happen with deer, and other animals, rabbits, exc... if hunting did not thin out the excess.

Anyways, dont look up slaughter houses via net. Peta and other organizations throw it way out of perportion. Meat industries important. You do realize even if you didnt eat meat, a lot of the stuff you have in your house is made of animals anyway?

 

[PL-Reef]

As my wife puts it... I'm a meat and potatoes type of guy. Nothing says dinner to me like a large rare steak. But that's my opinion. Were all entitled to our own.
My wife on the other hand is much happier with a Squash casserole for dinner. Shes not against meat just prefers veggies over it.
Don't get me wrong I love veggies, I just don't think I could do without meat in my diet for an extended period of time. Nor would I want to.

 

[Happi Bun]

AndersonsRabbits wrote:

You do realize even if you didnt eat meat, a lot of the stuff you have in your house is made of animals anyway?

I can't think of 'a lot' of objects in a home that are made from animal meat, excluding of course leather furniture, clothes, shoes, belts, etc. Though most Vegetarian's and especially Vegan's are not going to buy such items. There are plenty of alternatives that do not involve killing an animal.

On that subject though, many people view vegetarianism as pointless because it's such a huge industry. Vegetarians only make up a small percent of the human population. Someone can only do so much to be cruelty free before they are living bare as a newborn in some mud hut in the jungle. However, just because cruelty continues doesn't mean someone is obligated to take part.

For Vegetarians, being one is not something that's debatable. You cannot simply say, "Slaughter houses aren't all bad, trust me. Here's a steak." An animal still died for the sake of your taste buds (note when I say 'your' I'm not directing it literally at you) Many do it because they personally feel better with themselves, spiritually and mentally.

I very greatly dislike vegetables and I'm a fast food junkie, so the transition for me is very difficult. Eating meat is easy. Even if something isn't made out of flesh, when you look at the ingredients it usually will have some form of animal meat. Some fast food joints even cook their only vegetarian options in the oil the meat is cooked in. Kind of defeats the reason for putting it on there.

See, your feel that hunting is fine, actually that it saves our "natural" ecosystem. I disagree and believe me, I have my reasons and would go into great detail. However, I personally do not enjoy debates. I get enough headaches away from the computer. I like it to be my relaxation zone. Plus, I find when people start defending their beliefs in when trouble starts.

 

[GorbyJobRabbits]

Happi Bun wrote:

AndersonsRabbits wrote:

You do realize even if you didnt eat meat, a lot of the stuff you have in your house is made of animals anyway?

I can't think of 'a lot' of objects in a home that are made from animal meat, excluding of course leather furniture, clothes, shoes, belts, etc. Though most Vegetarian's and especially Vegan's are not going to buy such items. There are plenty of alternatives that do not involve killing an animal.

On that subject though, many people view vegetarianism as pointless because it's such a huge industry. Vegetarians only make up a small percent of the human population. Someone can only do so much to be cruelty free before they are living bare as a newborn in some mud hut in the jungle. However, just because cruelty continues doesn't mean someone is obligated to take part.

For Vegetarians, being one is not something that's debatable. You cannot simply say,  "Slaughter houses aren't all bad, trust me. Here's a steak." An animal still died for the sake of your taste buds (note when I say 'your' I'm not directing it literally at you) Many do it because they personally feel better with themselves, spiritually and mentally.

I very greatly dislike vegetables and I'm a fast food junkie, so the transition for me is very difficult. Eating meat is easy. Even if something isn't made out of flesh, when you look at the ingredients it usually will have some form of animal meat. Some fast food joints even cook their only vegetarian options in the oil the meat is cooked in. Kind of defeats the reason for putting it on there.

See, your feel that hunting is fine, actually that it saves our "natural" ecosystem. I disagree and believe me, I have my reasons and would go into great detail. However, I personally do not enjoy debates. I get enough headaches away from the computer. I like it to be my relaxation zone. Plus, I find when people start defending their beliefs in when trouble starts.

I total understand. I like to give my opinion and then thats that. Some people get too heated over the net. =) I just work as a wildlife manager for a living, and deer are my heart, and I've dived in so far on learning management practices and whatnot and just see the distruction when they're not thinned out.

I also believe humans are no better then animals... meaning, when you hear of a couger killing a runner in colorado... What makes a human too good to be a meal?