Vegetarian/Vegan

[m.e.]

Lissa wrote:

Spring wrote:

What I don't get about the statement of saving 1, 490, 745 animals aday because aren't they still being slaughtered? They're still is ahuge demand of meat and they mostly increase their stock with the highdemand (correct me if I'm wrong) but I wouldn't think that they woulddecrease their stock just for the reason of some people don't eat it ?So correct me if I'm sounding ignorant, but aren't the meat just beingeaten by someone else or being thrown away?

Wow!! If everybody had that attitude, we'd have a HUGEproblem in this world. So we shouldn't give foodandmoney to the dying people in third-world countries becausethe problem is too big??? That's absurd. Everybodyplays their part.

Well, I see what Spring is saying, but Ialso think you have a good point, Lissa. Edmund Burke said all that isnecessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing. And soyou're right, we shouldn't just throw in the towel because the task isdaunting.

Here's what I think, though: while thereare many ways to work towards the goal, some are more effective thanothers. Using the example of third world countries that you gave, justwho do we give the money to? The government? Non-governmentalorganizations? Aid agencies? US or foreign? They all have their uses,and yet they all have their drawbacks. Just this morning NPR wasreporting on Oxfam's efforts in Indonesia towards assisting tsunamivictims. Thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands of dollars, has beenmisappropriated. Lost. It didn't get to the people who neededit.

Money is not the solution. Reform is.

In case you're wondering how this tiesinto veganism, I assure you, I do have a point

I am an activist by nature (can you tell?), and I understand the appeal of a boycott. But lets be honest: aboycott is easy. Not easy in the sense that you give up something(meat, eggs, dairy, Wal-Mart ) for a cause, but easy to usbecause that's where our responsibility ends. We tell ourselves we'vedone our duty.

And yet the machine grinds on whether we participate or not.

Vegetarians are a blip on the radar screenof the factory farming industry. You wanna know what really scaresthem? New legislation. New laws about humane slaughter and cleanfacilities and restrictions on antibiotics usage. That's where you needto hit. That's where the energy should be focussed.

This is all, of course, just my humble opinion

 

[Lissa]

It's not a boycott. It's about doingthe right thing. It's about not eating nasty deadcarcasses. :vomit:

 

[m.e.]

I knowI was mostly responding to Martina's point that we shouldstop eating meat in order to save animal's lives, which spurred on thediscussion over the last few posts.

For what it's worth, it's been over threeweeks since I had meat, dairy, or eggs(yay, Lent!) and I feelgreat

 

[Lissa]

Yay Good for you!

 

[Linz_1987]

I agree with you M.E.

If well all stopped eating meat, then the farmers will have no reasonto breed/keep cows,pigs etc so they will all become exstinct.

But to me, the reason for me being a vegetarian is just the thought ofeating an animal. Ofcourse I care about how they are treated, but thatis my main reason.

I choose not to eat innocent animals.

Its like some people dont own cars because of the pollution. Eventhough the population of cars on the roads is increasing dramaticalyevery day. I think global warming is going to happen muchsooner than we expect it to.

This thread has lots of debates which are all sensible. Eitherwayit will changenothing but thats life.

 

[alfie and angel]

This is true but consider if we neverbegan farming meat and dairy to the proportions we do now:cattle,poultry etc would never have been bred to the numbers we nowhave.They would have probably become extinct centuries ago asmany other ancient species have done, have evolved to species moresuited to the relatively few 'wild' spaces we have, or exist in small(relatively speaking) numbers for those who choose to keep themdomestically or for 'private' consumption.Human agency hascreated the situation that we have now. If everyone in the world turnedvegan overnight, these poor animals would suffer, of course they wouldbecause they already exist but this is an unrealistic hypotheticalsituation.If our population gradually turns vegan there will beless demand to breed NEW animals.Just as with the overpopulationof domestic stray or unwanted animals, it is human intervention thathas caused this situation and it is therefore only us who can doanything (however small or insignificant the contribution) to rectifyit.Good on you Linz! But remember, you might not change much but atleast you know that you're not contributing to the problem!EDITED tolessen my contribution to nonsensicaldiscourseRoseLinz_1987 wrote:

I agreewith you M.E.









If well all stopped eating meat, then the farmers will have no reasonto breed/keep cows,pigs etc so they will all become exstinct.

 

[Martina]

Did I directly say we should stop eating animalsto save theirlives? cause if I did I didn't meanithow you guystook it. the stat was kind of silly Iread it on a vegetarian website and thought it would help some of youguys get it better but apparently not.

Animals even farm animals would not go extinct, so you think if it wasnot for the people wanting them for money and food and usealmostevery last thing from them (leftovers for pet food,gelatin and crap) they would not be here anymore? In a way you wouldnot even notice those ones coming and going anyway, their are animalsanctuary's and good breeders and just plain pets. They would justnever go extinct. Nature has functioned quite well in the past withouthumans, and now we have humans to help them.

Vegans do make a difference, especiallyagainst nothing andsaying if we just treated them better, or lets change the laws insteadbecause I don't see a petition from your end to change how they aretreated, at least I try and I do practice what I preach. Sorry if thissounded mean

 

[Sugar N Spice]

I've always been a vegetarian, well, since I was born......lol.:brownbunny

 

[Linz_1987]

I have been a vegetarian for about 5 months now.

Recently I have started to feel really dizzy most of the time. I was wondering if its because I havent had any nutrition from the meat I use to have?

I Dont know what food I need to eat if I dont eat meat.

I am allergic to cows milk so I am limited a bit.

Any ideas?

I went to the doctors about 8 months ago because I kept getting dizzy, and that was because I wasnt eating proper meals. But now I still arent ever since I have become veggie. As my mum doesnt have time to cook seperate meals and she gives me what ever they have but without the meat. Which I think I shouldnt be doing as I need more nutritien.

Thankyou for your help!

 

[Pipp]

Linz_1987 wrote:

I have been a vegetarian for about 5 months now.

Recently I have started to feel really dizzy most of the time. I was wondering if its because I havent had any nutrition from the meat I use to have?

I Dont know what food I need to eat if I dont eat meat.

Are you drinking a lot? Dehydration makes me very dizzy.

I live on lentil soup. There's protein in the lentilsand nutrients in the veggies. ButIalso still butcher innocent (free run) eggs and eat skim milk cheese.

Other meals off the top of my head... tofu stir fry, veggie hotdogs,veggie bacon and tomatosandwiches, cottage cheese/fruit salads,cheese and veggie casseroles, beans and veggie weiners... I think all those have protein.

What do you eat?

sas

 

[Linz_1987]

I do drink alot! Too much I think lol.

But I eat pasta, cheese, vegetables, potatoes, veggie burgers etc and fruit.

About three timesa week My mum cooks a meat dinner, but I just have the vegetables and the potatoeswithout the meat. Other days I wil have pasta, or veggie burgers and stuff. Lunch time - sandwiches with vegetarian fillings and fruit.

I heard that you are suppose to eatlots of nutsand beans?

 

[Pipp]

You should have a protein (and a whole grain or some otherfiber) with every meal, really.

Protein is lentils, beans, cheese, eggs, most veggie burger/hotdog/bacon products, soya beans, tofu.. (I think nuts, too, but too high fat for me, tho must confess, been dipping into that peanut butter). :eats

I avoid the starches -- pasta, potatoes, etc -- unless it's whole grain.

I always go for lots offruit and veggies.



sas et al

 

[ruka]

This is a bit of a personal question, but you don't need to answer it. Has your menstrual cycle changed in the last eight months since you started feeling dizzy? I noticed when I became irregular, I started to get dizzy and easily tired. I took a blood test and found that my blood had a low amount of iron. Since eating more spinach and iron-enriched foods, I've become a lot better. You might want to look into that.

 

[ratmom]

I've been a vegetarian for 8 years now and don't drink milk or eat eggs. I did used to eat cheese and yogurt, but I recently went off dairy to see if it will help my allergies. I love soy milk and other soy products so it isn't a big deal for me, except for the ice cream of course lol. My hubby went veggie a few years ago and he had a hard transition, because of the iron. He was dizzy for a while until his body adjusted to it, but it's all about getting the right vitamins in you.

 

[alfie and angel]

Hi Linz! I'm so pleased for you being veggie for 5months - that's really great! It sounds as though it could be an iron thing. People who transistion from eating red meat to being veggie without eating enough iron rich veg can often experience dizzyness. Vegetarian diets are often lower fat and lower cholesterol and even if the iron levels in your blood are a bit low, this can be easily sorted by eating more broccoli, spinach etc. If you don't like these or don't want to bother your mum, maybe look into getting an iron enriched vitamin tablet? Otherwise, you could offer to prepare your own meals but still eat with your family? It shouldn't take too much to stop the dizziness by just including more iron-rich protein foods but if it continues for more than a few days after making changes, I'd get it checked out just to be safe. I go dizzy several times a day (even before being veggie) because I'm blessed with low blood pressure that sometimes dips a little too low. Good luck linz - don't let people try tell you it's not possible to be healthy on a veggie diet - it is, and it isn't hard to do it!

 

[Linz_1987]

Thank you for all the help! I have soya milk instead of cows milk every day on my breakfast cereal, as I am allergic to cows milk. I am already taking calcium tablets because I dont drink milk.

I had a blood test about 8 months ago because I was dizzy then and I was always tired. The results was I had very low sugar levels. But everything else was fine.

I have cheese in my sandwiches atleast every day, lol. Im sick of cheese sandwiches now!

Ive got a vegetarian recipe book. I will start cooking my own meals some nights a week.

And i will try and convince my mum that some of the recipes are really nice, and they arent JUST for vegetarians!

As I am doing a cooking course, i really should be practising cooking anyway!

Thankz for the help!

 

[ratmom]

The one thing I wish they had here in the states is that vegetarian logo on stuff like they have in the UK. When I buy food at the grocery store from the UK and see that logo I know I don't have to look at the ingredients.

 

[Linz_1987]

Not all packages have the logo. I didnt know that the US didnt have the logo. They should do really.

I think they should put it on every package everywhere.

 

[naturestee]

ratmom wrote:

The one thing I wish they had here in the states is that vegetarian logo on stuff like they have in the UK. When I buy food at the grocery store from the UK and see that logo I know I don't have to look at the ingredients.

Although some companies will put a small mark or notice on the packaging. For example, some of the packaged noodle stuff I buy for my work lunch has "vegan" typed in bold after the ingredients. Good to know, because otherwise you don't always know where those additives come from.

Linz, I had the same problem when I cut down on red meat in college. I do tend towards anemia, and have since middle school. Instead of taking several types of vitamin pills, try getting a multivitamin designed for women. It would have more calcium than the others, and some brands have higher iron levels too.

You can search around on the internet for vegetarian recipe collections too. They're free. And they can be tasty. I like to eat vegetarian meals at least several times a week and I've found some good ones online. Mmm, sweet potato and peanut stew (has garbanzo beans too!). *drools*

 

[Linz_1987]

Mmmm that sounds nice!

I made aubergine Lasagne from one of my veggie books. It was lush! I had never tryed aubergine before and I wasnt totally convinced that it would taste nice, but it was rly rly lovely!

I will look around for them tablets. We have a shop over here called Holland and Barrats and they sell any tablet you could imagine, also dried fruit and healthy sweets etc. Mmmm.