Vegetarians - why?

[AWDMANOUT]

I neither know, nor care.

Veggies are living things too, so the argument "animals are alive" means nothing to me.

I guess there's health reasons to consider, but c'mon. I'd trade a couple of minutes of my life for a juicy mushroom and swiss burger.

 

[Rayne870]

no idea, but i didnt climb the top of the food chain to eat rabbit food

Really? You climbed the food chain? I'm pretty sure you were born into your position on the food chain. You make it sound as though you personally struggled to overcome the obstacle of not being able to eat certain things, or the threat of being eaten by others.

Anyway, I've always thought that it was weird that there are so many people that don't count fish as meat. In my conception of what meat means, it's referring to the flesh (particularly the muscles) of an animal in the context of food. I have no idea why people think that fish don't qualify for that. Fish are animals too.

Anyway, while I do enjoy the taste of meat, I can also respect someone's choice to be a vegetarian, whether their reasons are ethical, health/diet, or flavor preference.

dude that just makes it my birthright then. but tbh i couldnt care less what people eat, be it meat, veggies or busted bits of glass. you took what i said way out of context. i choose meat because i enjoy eating it, i also like a side of taters and corn and other veggies too. either way if i can hunt and kill something with nothing but wit and a sharpened stick yeah im on top of it in terms of the food chain. yes i did climb the food chain, we all did as humans, by learning to hunt animals, continuing to do so is a choice for everyone to make individually.

yes fish are animals, i never could understand the concept of fish being excluded.

 

[Darth_Murmeltier]

I'm not a vegeterian, but I'm considering to become one. I don't think that we shouldn't eat meat (it's delicious) in general, but the way it's produced is terrible. Watch this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-uYSafpKmk&feature=related

Also a thing that is not in the video (but in a part of the whole film) is that the chickens are eating the rain forests (not directly of course). The rain forests are getting cleared and then they plant soya there and use the soya as food for the chickens. If you buy chicken meat or any kind of meat of animals (cows, pigs etc.) that ate soya then you support the global warming!

Sorry for my terrible english.

 

[The Gnome King]

And apparently there are less stupid reasons as well. Though I am inclined to ask, do you always refuse to eat animal product or is it more of a "my diet is generally vegan" scenario?

My diet is exclusively vegan. I see food as fuel rather than as some hedonistic pleasure - I'm a rather thin man as you might imagine - and after keeping a vegan diet for so long it just becomes a hassle to deal with meat or dairy. I don't really digest animal products that well anymore - meat isn't appealing to me and dairy is mucus-producing and just... kind of gross to contemplate eating.

That having been said I *do* take 2 nutritional supplements that are derived from or comprised of animal products: Omega-3 fish oil capsules from Nordic Naturals (a brand I think is high quality and Consumer Labs, which I subscribe to, supports) and Vitamin-D3 which is the more bio-available form of Vitamin D. I do this because I get very little sunlight being a typical cave-dwelling gamer type... - though I exercise on a regular basis it happens indoors or when it's overcast or at night. I don't like the Sunlight much at all. The fish oil is more for cardiovascular benefits and as a nod to the fact that some vegans have deficiencies in fatty acids found in fish; then again, so do many omnivores who don't eat fatty fish on a regular basis.

So I suppose you can say that while my diet is entirely vegan I do consume minuscule amounts of animal products in the form of a fish oil and a vitamin supplement. Otherwise, I find eating flesh and dairy distasteful. I don't believe that "eating" animals is cruel, but I do believe the factory farm conditions of animals kept in at least the US are needlessly cruel and somewhat disgusting. That having been said, I see nothing wrong with, say, a farmer killing and eating his own organic meat and eating his own organic eggs.

I hope that clarifies my position a bit.

 

[Pontus Hashis]

REDRUM, REDRUM!!!
Or that it just feels better not to eat animals.
It just feels better when I eat vege-food.
I do still eat meat with my fammily tho, and chicken when I'm out at resturants and stuff.

 

[Julianking93]

Or because they dislike the taste

That's actually it for me.
I hate the taste of meat, so I don't eat it.
Plus, it's healthier (sometimes) and I like the food better.
Yes, I'm an animal lover and I do have a problem with the way animals are treated on corporate farms, but as far as that keeping me from eating it, no.
I simply do it because I despise the taste. I'll stick with tofu, thank you.

 

[HappyStance]

It squicks me out.
I don't like the thought that what I'm eating was walking around not too long ago.

It's not a big deal, and I can push past it... And I often do. I'm not a strict vegetarian by any stretch of the imagination. I still eat fish on occasion, and every once I might have a meal with some meat in it.

I guess the term I should be using is flexitarian, but I just don't really like that word.

Obv. I don't have a problem with people eating meat, or choosing not to. What I *do* have a problem with is people shoving their lifestyles down others' throats.

I actually really like meat in a sort of aesthetic way. I look forward to Epic Meal Time each week, lol.

 

[freaper]

no idea, but i didnt climb the top of the food chain to eat rabbit food

Bears, sharks, and many more animals can easily kill and eat humans. I don't think we're at the top of the food chain

OT: I don't eat meat and it started with cows, because I can't help but think of cows as huge animals that eat grass all day and remain fat. With that thought, it doesn't make sense for me to put it in my body.

Opposable thumbs, remember?

OT: I proudly eat meat, even though I understand why people could dislike meat.

 

[blippity]

I have friends who are 'quasi'-vegetarians. They won't eat 'production' meat (as in what you get from the supermarkets) but will eat game/wild meat.

I am not a vegetarian, but I choose on occasions to go without meat in meals. It's purely a global, economical reason.

 

[rokkolpo]

I mean, I'm apparently in the minority in that I find chocolate ice cream absolutely disgusting and terrible.

You awful awful person!
OT: All has been said before, not liking it, caring for animals, and allergies.

I'm just a regular omnivore though.

 

[The Gnome King]

It isn't exactly meat that raises your cholesterol levels, it's fatty meat - sausages, burgers along with basically anything that has been fried or is very oily or fat based.

If you're worried about your cholesterol levels then just eat lean, good quality meat.

False. All meat contains cholesterol. Fatty meat might contain more but all animal products - dairy, that lean chicken breast you had for dinner - contains cholesterol.

Again, I challenge you to find me one person out there who eats meat who has a cholesterol level of 125, as I do, with LDL and HDL both at approximately 62, being an equal ratio of good to bad cholesterol. Just one. You won't be able to do it. Vegans, on the other hand, have an average cholesterol ranging from 120-130. Average.

The problem I have with vegans / vegetarians is that they put their own personal success as a model everyone can follow. What they don't take into account is that 'the masses' are generally quite stupid.

People are more lazy than stupid, I think. They don't want to adopt a plant based diet because it's "hard" but you get somebody with advanced heart disease and watch how fast they'll "learn" the Ornish plan, for example, and follow it. The problem with people is that they have to be half-dead usually to change their habits, instead of changing them in the first place.

And I honestly don't really mind what other people do - I'm no militant vegan or meat police. I can point to this, though:

http://www.thechinastudy.com/

And you can draw your own conclusions about how healthy it is to eat meat; even in small amounts.

If meat were not available at all, there would be severe protein deficiencies in the population all over the world because they would not target the vegetation that does have proteins (Like... spinach and a few others I think? :S ) and they would not think to take supplements (I mean, a substantial portion might, but they would be in the minority).

No, there are already countries where eating meat is extremely rare - like in rural china where some villagers get meat once a year, if they're lucky - and they still live longer than Americans do and get plenty of protein. All without access to even basic healthcare. Interesting, no? Again, check out the China Study. Or Dr. McDougall's program. Or Dr. Dean Ornish's program. or Dr. Joel Fuhrman's diet - Fuhrman being probably the healthiest diet I've ever seen, focusing on greens as opposed to grains. (Though even McDougall's focus on whole grains is healthier than the SAD - Standard American Diet.)

Dying of protein deficiency is extremely, extremely rare in almost any developed country. There's more protein, gram for gram, in broccoli than there is in steak.

http://www.dachia.com/Broccoli_vs_Steak.html

Can you imagine trying to get the whole of a large country like the US to follow a strict diet? Really? Really?

Humans are omnivores for a reason - we need the meat, it is the most high protein food readily available and relatively cheap. If we were pure vegetarians we would have trouble digesting the plant matter.

Where are you getting that from? Humans have no issues digesting plant matter. At all. Whatsoever. We're designed for it. We're omnivores designed to eat pretty much whatever organic non-toxic material we can find.

People don't need some insane diet, they need a balanced diet and a lot of exercise. It's like the elephant in the room - go for a goddamn run and don't eat fast food!

And better yet, to get your cholesterol really down without having to take statins, eat a vegan diet, exercise, and get 6-8 servings of raw fruits and veggies in every day.

I've had quite a bit of training in nutrition and I used to actually eat a low-carb Atkins diet when I was an athlete as a college-aged guy. The result was, for me, higher cholesterol than I would like and general feeling of malaise. Changing to a vegan diet was probably the healthiest thing I ever did for myself.

Is eating vegan "junk food" good for you, like over-processed soy products, etc...? No, of course not. Making your own food as close to the natural form as possible is usually best - whole grains being better than processed breads, whole vegetables better than freeze-dried crap in a box, etc.

It's a matter of priorities. It's not "hard" to be a vegan and get all the protein and nutrients that you need. I daresay it would be much "harder" to get heart disease in my 40's or 30's like a lot of Americans do.

I don't know a single vegan with heart disease, by the way.

 

[Grimlock Fett]

Because animals.
I mean, I'm apparently in the minority in that I find chocolate ice cream absolutely disgusting and terrible.

I'm with you on that! worst flavour ever!!

 

[The Gnome King]

[. I don't really digest animal products that well anymore - meat isn't appealing to me and dairy is mucus-producing and just... kind of gross to contemplate eating.

Ive found dairy products don't really agree with me anymore for some reason. I can eaisly eat something with traces of dairy in but a milky cup of tea or ice cream gives me the shits chronic now.

Could this be because I stopped eating much dairy for a good 6 months? Not on purpose or owt, just to bloody lazy to buy milk >.<

A *lot* of people are lactose intolerant.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001321/

Lactose intolerance is more common in people with Asian, African, Native American, or Mediterranean ancestry than it is among northern and western Europeans.

Lactose intolerance is very common in adults and is not dangerous. Approximately 30 million American adults have some amount of lactose intolerance by age 20.

To me, this means just don't eat the stuff. Dairy is horrible for you; I'd say worse than meat. It leeches more calcium from the body that it provides. If I had to eat animal products I would easily decide to add meat and fish back into my diet over dairy.

http://www.makingpages.org/health/calcium.osteoporosis.html

 

[The Gnome King]

Lets see how long you keep banging your head against a wall of ignorance. I give you two or 3 pages until you give up.

I'm not trying to change anyone's mind here, I'm responding because it's interesting for me to do so. The moment it stops being interesting I'll stop.

I never give up... I move on.