Vegetarian or Vegan?

[AlethiaSi]

Hello all,
I was curious as to how many of you on here are vegetarian or vegan. Two of my roommates are vegan and I've learned so much from living with them, and I've recently started to read up about it after passing it off as a freak thing to do for so long. I was raised by parents from the midwest, meat was a big thing to us, some of my family even raised cattle and pigs for slaughter. I know it won't be easy, but after reading up about the conditions in slaughter houses, what animals have to go through, the amount of chemicals in said meat and in milk are enough to turn my stomach. It's worth it to me to keep those chemicals away from my body.

I did a search and found a vegetarian/vegan thread in the aka forum, but didn't want to crash but it's here

There is also a thread about the FDA approving meat to be used from cloned animals which they DID approve

there is also another thread that I thought about bumping, but it's here

i'm in the process of reading more about it, but I did most recently read Skinny Bitch
which was a lot of propaganda, but interesting and insightful nonetheless.
This is the PETA website, i know it looks scary, but it's true! This is a link to some of their listed resources

So, I am wondering is anyone else vegetarian? what about tips, tricks, recipes, or resources? I know some of you already are from reading past posts, so please discuss!

[macallan25]

PETA killed almost 98% of the couple thousand some odd animals they "took in" last year. PETA is a bullshit organization.

I eat meat.

[SATX*APhi]

I stopped eating beef, pork, and all red meat over six months ago for health reasons and haven't missed it. My diet now consists of poultry, seafood, and vegetarian dishes but I'm considering going vegetarian.

I thought about all the hormones and other injections in beef and decided I didn't want to ingest that stuff. I stopped drinking milk (Silk Soymilk Light Vanilla is my new best friend!) and stopped eating yogurt and many other dairy products. It's been difficult to stop eating cheese and a few other dairy products so I try to eat those spairingly. I could've decided to eat organically but for whatever reason I chose not to.

In the last couple of weeks I've considered going vegetarian. Living in South Texas makes this extremely difficult though. There aren't any restaurants that cater to a vegetarian lifestyle and most restauarants down here don't offer many vegetarian options. I do cook often but I do enjoy eating out every once in a while. Not to mention, I am SURROUNDED by BBQ joints and the like. Texans eat meat. Period. It took my family and friends a good while to understand and accept that I had decided to stop eating certain meats. It's been over six months and they STILL ask questions!

I'm not sure if I will truly become a vegetarian but it's something I've been thinking about a lot lately. I only eat meat once daily, if even that, so we'll see.

[Tom Earp]

There are called Medical people who say a well rounded diet is good for you!

If you want to eat pine cones and tree bark, then please feel do.

So, do not enjoy Pizza, burgers, or steaks.

You can or cannot do!!!

Guess Taco Salad will not fit in either!

Oh well, if you die, what do you care?

[AKA_Monet]

I was a vegan, but I back to a ovo-lacto vegetarian. I recently tried eating eggs straight up, but cannot hold it down. I cannot eat flesh products.

Anyhow, you need strong amount of organic supplementation and do NOT go vegetarian "cold turkey" Stave off foods slowly, like in months. Increased your consumption of water to cleanse your system. Make sure you are getting active exercise... And proper sleep. You should be alright if you are healthy.

I chose to not eat meat. I could care less about the harm that comes at slaughter. I did it because I had to have plant products balancing my system rather than animal products. But that is my chemical make-up. Yours may be different from mine.

And let's not get into crazy PETA... Those loons would like a car accident child victim die since all the EMT products were tested on animals... What would they do if that Tatiana the Tiger mauled them?

[KappaKittyCat]

Originally Posted by SATX*APhi

In the last couple of weeks I've considered going vegetarian. Living in South Texas makes this extremely difficult though. There aren't any restaurants that cater to a vegetarian lifestyle and most restaurants down here don't offer many vegetarian options.

I work with a customer in south Texas and my team was on-site. A co-worker was from India and he was Hindu and vegetarian. We were at a generic restaurant which was, by virtue of being in Texas, a steakhouse. He politely asked the waitress whether they had any vegetarian options. She looked confused for a moment, then said, "Oh, y'all mean like chicken?"

Thus was born the Texas Vegetarian.

[SATX*APhi]

Originally Posted by KappaKittyCat

I work with a customer in south Texas and my team was on-site. A co-worker was from India and he was Hindu and vegetarian. We were at a generic restaurant which was, by virtue of being in Texas, a steakhouse. He politely asked the waitress whether they had any vegetarian options. She looked confused for a moment, then said, "Oh, y'all mean like chicken?"

Thus was born the Texas Vegetarian.

Ha!

[CutiePie2000]

I recycled this post from another thread, but I feel that 'tis a good one:

Well, no matter what happens, if any of you practice "vegetarianism", please don't go around saying "I'm a vegetarian, I only eat chicken and fish" as those are animals.

KTHXBYE.

[DSTCHAOS]

To hell with PETA and the jargon about what the government does to the meat (sure, something's done to all of the processed stuff we eat). PETA are extremist lunatics, for the most part. I look at a lot (not all) of people who go vegan or vegetarian because of the government or PETA as lunatics who are easily scared into following fads.

I don't eat meat that often but I can't confine myself to being a vegetarian or a vegan. I eat vegetarian and vegan dishes on almost a daily basis but am also a seafood lover. Plus, I like ground turkey in a nice bowl of chili with cheese sometimes.

Health, religious, and taste reasons for going (or just eating) vegan or vegetarian make more sense to ME than saying you saw a chicken with a machine up it's ass and was turned off. But I by no means have finished my "I rule the world" indoctrination yet...lengthy process.

[Scandia]

I'm vegetarian. It was a gradual process. Part of it was due to the ideals- helping the planet, animal rights, and so on. And part of it was for health reasons- any more details beyond this would be TMI.

As AKA Monet said, do not go cold turkey. Remove meats gradually- like one per year.

[ThetaPrincess24]

There's nothing like a juicy medium cooked filet mignon!!

[jess_pom]

Originally Posted by AlethiaSi

I know it won't be easy, but after reading up about the conditions in slaughter houses, what animals have to go through, the amount of chemicals in said meat and in milk are enough to turn my stomach. It's worth it to me to keep those chemicals away from my body.

I just wanted to take a minute to address the misconception about hormones in dairy. Some dairy farmers choose to use synthetic hormones with some of their cows as a management tool on their farm. The hormones are a synthetic version of a naturally occurring hormone called bovine somatotropin and given to the cows, not added to milk. If you take a glass of milk from a cow treated with supplemental hormones and compare it in a laboratory to a glass of milk from a cow not treated, you will not be able to tell the difference. All vitamins are hormones and naturally occur in most foods. Also, your body does not absorb bovine hormones... they are processed and passed through your digestive system.

As for chemicals, milk is one of the most highly regulated and tested foods in America. From farm to table, milk goes through up to 17 tests for quality and contaminants. If it's not perfect, it's pitched. Dairy farmers take pride in producing safe, wholesome, nutritious milk.

[jmagnus]

I was a "pescetarian" for about a year and a half. (for those of you who dont know, no animal products except seafood). I actually started getting really tired and sick all the time. And it wasn't because I didn't take care of myself, I ate really well. It was just something went wrong in my body. I went to the doctor and he told me I needed beef(midwest, go figure)

So I started eating meat again. Since the doctor didn't really give me any guidelines, I went to BK and got 2 double whoppers....I'll bet you can guess what happened. Wel, after spending 2 days in the bathroom eating nothing except bread and cranberry juice...I felt just fine. I actually have not had a problem since.

I put on about 20lbs(but I really needed to...I had to wear my girlfriend's jeans because mine wouldn't fit right) and feel great. I still support people who want to go veg, I just won't do it myself. It was an experience to say the least.

But yeah, stay away from PETA. I used to be a member but they got too crazy. I went to one fo their KFC protests and left after about 10 minutes. You know those Pro-Life people who stand on the side of the road with pictues of aborted babies? The stuff the PETA demonstraters where showing was even worse. They are way to extreme. Not to mention they fund eco-terrorism. Not only do they fund it but they are proud of it.

Kinda crazy if you ask me...

[PeppyGPhiB]

Originally Posted by jmagnus

But yeah, stay away from PETA. I used to be a member but they got too crazy. I went to one fo their KFC protests and left after about 10 minutes. You know those Pro-Life people who stand on the side of the road with pictues of aborted babies? The stuff the PETA demonstraters where showing was even worse. They are way to extreme. Not to mention they fund eco-terrorism. Not only do they fund it but they are proud of it.

Kinda crazy if you ask me...

This is very true. Many PETA supporters also support Animal Liberation Front (ALF) and Earth Liberation Front (ELF), which are considered terrorist organizations by the federal government. They are radical to the extreme. It's one thing to be a vegetarian, it's another to be a PETA person. I think many people support PETA without really realizing what the organization does.

Another organization people should stay clear from is the Humane Society of the United States. DO NOT confuse it with your local humane society that takes in animals and adopts them out. HSUS is an activist organization that is similar to PETA and ALF in many ways, and most people donate money to them without realizing that it is not connected to their local humane society. Always donate your money and time to your local society, not this organization.

[DSTCHAOS]

Originally Posted by PeppyGPhiB

This is very true. Many PETA supporters also support Animal Liberation Front (ALF) and Earth Liberation Front (ELF), which are considered terrorist organizations by the federal government. They are radical to the extreme. It's one thing to be a vegetarian, it's another to be a PETA person. I think many people support PETA without really realizing what the organization does.

Another organization people should stay clear from is the Humane Society of the United States. DO NOT confuse it with your local humane society that takes in animals and adopts them out. HSUS is an activist organization that is similar to PETA and ALF in many ways, and most people donate money to them without realizing that it is not connected to their local humane society. Always donate your money and time to your local society, not this organization.

I really appreciate this post. VERY informative.

I remember how wierd that episode of the The Two Coreys (Coreys Haim and Feldman) was when the PETA rep came to dinner. Like a cult. Borderline Scientology.