Calling all Vegans and Vegetarians...etc...

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MamaKatel
MamaKatel Posts: 180
in Health and Weight Loss
This question is for all of you who don't eat animals products. Can you tell me how you came to your decision as to become a vegan vegertarian etc.? I'm just curious and am trying to make a decide if this is something I should adopt myself. I really don't eat meat (don't like it), the only time I make it is for dinner because my husband can't live without it. I don't like milk or yogurt but I do love eggs!
Thanks :)
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Replies

  • dayzeerock
    dayzeerock Posts: 918 Member
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    My dad made a joke about where my hamburger came from when I was 10 years old...haven't touched meat ever since! A few years ago, I cut out dairy on the recommendation from my rheumatologist to help my Lupus...it truly saved me!
  • deadstarsunburn
    deadstarsunburn Posts: 1,337 Member
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    When I was 3 my mom was cooking us chicken I said "mom that's not the same chicken that goes bawk bawk is it?" of course she said yes, it freaked me out and I haven't eaten meat since. I've been vegan for 4 months now and that was just because I was interested in what it would be like I also don't like milk and eggs anyway lol plus I think cheese is what made me so over weight hah. If you want to be vegan tofu is a great egg replacement =]
  • FaithsVegWorkout
    FaithsVegWorkout Posts: 471
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    Honestly, I was at an Hr block office, and there was a PETA magazine. It was learning about factory farming that did it. I'm probably the only vegetarian I know that was converted by PETA. My husband and I did it together, came home, gave our meat away and never looked back.

    In hindsight, I could see events leading up to it. I was getting slowly grossed out by certain meats.
  • squishycow7
    squishycow7 Posts: 820 Member
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    I was a vegetarian for about 5 years. I've since quit it (mostly due to stress/laziness, to be honest...)

    I decided to become veggie because of sustainability reasons... i.e. it takes a lot more resources/land/feed/etc to raise a cow than a carrot. puts a huge strain on the eco-system.

    I also have sympathy for animals in slaughter houses/poor conditions/etc, although the actual act of killing is less bothersome to me. I can rationalize killing a cow for meat, but I can't rationalize letting it live its life in a cramped, dirty, underfed condition.


    :)
  • CalamityCat
    CalamityCat Posts: 26
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    Well, apparently I wouldn't touch it from the age of 4, with the exception of chicken. I asked my mum what chicken was, and refused to eat it too! I'm now 26 and have never really had any issues with being vegetarian (apart from a few closed minded idiots) and it really is a great diet. Since starting MFP I've seen in the nutrition that I'm not eating as much fat as I thought!
  • FaithsVegWorkout
    FaithsVegWorkout Posts: 471
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    I also have sympathy for animals in slaughter houses/poor conditions/etc, although the actual act of killing is less bothersome to me. I can rationalize killing a cow for meat, but I can't rationalize letting it live its life in a cramped, dirty, underfed condition.


    :)

    I'm with you here. Although I am not interested in eating meat, I respect people who can hunt and eat an animal. I could only do that if I was desperate.
  • BlutAura
    BlutAura Posts: 97
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    I'm neither... But i loooooove tofu!
  • jraps17
    jraps17 Posts: 179 Member
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    During college of course, I decided i was against GMOs - Genetically modifying foods with unatural processes, i became a vegan, organic only. Now i'm a balanced vegetarian, I don't drink milk, i don't like the taste or the idea of it so i drink soy milk or almond milk, i do eat cheese ocasionally and egg whites all the time.
  • maddielu
    maddielu Posts: 12
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    growing up my brothers always made animal noises when we ate meat, naturally i didn't eat meat much. then when my iron levels were in check about 4 years ago i made the switch to strict vegetarian then last year i thought i might be lactose intolerant so i stopped drinking milk for a week. then decided to cut everything out as i became more educated on the dairy industry and realizing that animals are not here for our benefit. for me its not just a diet.
  • veganjeanie
    veganjeanie Posts: 158 Member
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    I became a vegetarian at 15 and a vegan at 35 (15 years ago). My decision was totally driven by my desire to not harm my fellow creatures. However, it has turned out the be the very best choice for my body, too! My cholesterol is always low, energy high, and I look at least 10 years younger than I am. I just needed to get away from the fattening peanut sauces and exercise more to lose that extra 20lb.
  • HeatherMarie1174
    HeatherMarie1174 Posts: 355
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    I never was much of a red meat eater at all, but I did eat chicken. A coworker read Skinny ***** and made the change the next day to veggie. She loaned me the book knowing how much of an animal lover I was. Yeah, that was it for me. A huge plus that came out of it is I haven't had a migraine since I stopped eating meat ... AWESOME!!! I will never eat meat again ... ever.
  • IndigoVA
    IndigoVA Posts: 164 Member
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    I've been a vegetarian for 20 years. I was vegan for about 15 of those years, but during my pregnancies I had some crazy egg cravings, so I started eating them again. Throughout my teens I was bothered by eating meat. I loved the taste of it, but the idea of killing animals really disturbed me. Then when I got into college I realized that if I couldn't kill an animal myself, I shouldn't be eating animals other people have killed. So that's when I became a vegetarian. It was totally for ethical reasons, but I have been generally healthier since becoming veg than I was before.
  • veganjeanie
    veganjeanie Posts: 158 Member
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    Not to scare you,but the more you read about the conditions of the animals, the more you will not want to contribute to the cruelty. Including eggs. Laying eggs life in tiny cages in horrible conditions. "Free range" chickens don't have it that much better, they live cramped together in huge barns, never seeing the outside, and the ammonia from too many animals stings your eyes. Give up the eggs, they are not good for you anyway. Ideas for substitutes for eggs: http://vegetarian.about.com/od/vegetarianvegan101/f/eggsubstitute.htm
  • ladybug11
    ladybug11 Posts: 87 Member
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    Read Skinny B***h cover to cover when I first got pregnant, and never looked back. It utterly disgusted me. I immediately went downstairs and threw away half the ingredients of my fridge and pantry. It was easy to omit these things from my diet "cold turkey" (pardon the pun) when considering the health of my unborn child. I decided to at least continue throughout my pregnancy and breastfeeding. By the end of that time frame, I was hooked. There was no going back for me, and I am the healthiest and most energetic I've ever been.

    I run half and full marathons on a plant-based diet. I lift weights on a plant-based diet. I cook delicious and tasty meals on a plant-based diet. It can be done. I say give it a try! :wink:
  • ElegantErratic
    ElegantErratic Posts: 5
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    I'm a vegetarian. When I was a teenager (age fifteen), I started to think about the world and develop a sense of self. Eating meat was one of the many things I pondered, and I came to the conclusion that I ethically couldn't handle knowing a living animal had to die for my dinner plate. Personal choice, I have nothing against meat-eaters!

    Later on (in my 20's), I discovered PETA on the internet. While a lot of people are turned off by PETA (I agree that their antics detracts from their credibility and their tactics are rather tacky), I have to give them credit for their undercover investigations as well as spreading the word about the cruelty and torture of animals that are raised to be killed for food and fur. I personally had never considered that 20 chickens were crammed in cages, unable to move or stretch their wings, or that animals are sometimes tortured before slaughter. My vegetarian beliefs were strengthened upon finding out what these poor animals suffer!

    While PETA may be a dodgy organization, they have a wealth of information that is invaluable. Check out PETA's videos, it'll open your eyes to the plight of animals. Some are very graphic though, most I cannot even watch, the ones I have been able to sit through have made me cry.

    So, that combined with the impact on the ecology, it's the choice for me.

    I've been a vegetarian for eighteen years. :]
  • taem
    taem Posts: 495 Member
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    I became a starch and veggie person when I became sick with type 2 diabetes. I was told cut out meat, dairy and fish to get better. Well, I read about it when I lost my insurance, I wasn't told by my doctor at the time. It is very difficult to cut out categories of food for me, but I no longer believe in moderation when it comes to eating. Instead of trying to explain the whole mind shift, I suggest you read The Pleasure Trap to understand why if you are inclined. Watching the movie Earthlings brought the morality of animal cruelty into the spotlight. Earthlings, as Ellen puts it, makes Food Inc., look like a Disney movie. I will no longer buy leather but I will keep the leather shoes and belts I do have. Sounds rushed and dramatic I know but this took a while for me to learn and really understand and value.

    The principle of moderation allows, say, you can take recreational drugs such as smoking, cocaine, alcohol, what amounts are good for you? The answer is none. So, the principle (as Dr. Lisle puts it) if something affects your body's nervous system artificially, then that should be avoided. Admittedly, it is extreme and I am trying to practice it when it comes to food. Sage advice otherwise, moderation is.
  • Kristhin
    Kristhin Posts: 442 Member
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    I had already been vegetarian twice in my life and had a natural aversion to meat although I was not a vegetarian anymore. Then I met a girl who was a vegan animal rights activist. She'd recently returned from an internship with PETA. She told me she thought everyone should be vegan. I began educating myself on the human body, nutrition, and the effects of eating meat (world hunger, environmental devastation, etc.) as well as the inhumane animal farming practices most are at least somewhat knowledgeable of. I also began going to local vegetarian meetups. Once I began delving into this whole other world, immersing myself in all the knowledge I possibly could, something just clicked. I know now that I will never go back to my old ways. My life has changed forever in a really good way. :)
  • mandij86
    mandij86 Posts: 5 Member
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    I chose to drastically cut out my animal intake when I saw the PETA video and read skinny *****! (awesome book) I started this weight loss due to health problems and it only made sense to cut out these products which are really bad for you, cause cancer, weight gain, heart and cholesterol problems, promote cruelty to animals and make you feel sluggish. Of course I was raised on meat so it isn’t always so easy to say no when I am at my family members house and they made one of their “famous” dishes with meat in it. I can say that my body has become accustomed to the way I feel after eating a vegan or vegetarian meal. You just feel lighter, don’t feel guilty because you “shouldn’t have eaten that!” and you eventually have an almost non-existent meat craving. My GYN told me to make my diet more Asian and I did and I couldn’t thank her enough for that idea! I am living proof that a healthy diet, weight loss and little to no meat intake can help rid your body of the unwanted (toxins, weight, cancer)! I have a great tofu recipe for you that might help you in your transition.
    Fried “chicken”
    ¼ packet -Good Seasons Italian dressing seasoning mix
    ¼ cup –breadcrumbs plain
    Mix together in a bowl
    Cut up tofu into ½”X2” pieces and cover with breading mixture. No need for an egg wash for this, the tofu is already wet and the breading sticks perfectly.
    Fry with very little vegetable oil until each piece is golden brown
    Once finished, place on a paper town to soak up any extra oil and sprinkle a little salt over top.
  • ElegantErratic
    ElegantErratic Posts: 5
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    I also have sympathy for animals in slaughter houses/poor conditions/etc, although the actual act of killing is less bothersome to me. I can rationalize killing a cow for meat, but I can't rationalize letting it live its life in a cramped, dirty, underfed condition.


    :)

    I'm with you here. Although I am not interested in eating meat, I respect people who can hunt and eat an animal. I could only do that if I was desperate.

    I agree 100%. The men in my family hunt and they are humane, and that's very important. Also, for someone who doesn't have a problem eating meat, I always encourage purchasing meats from local farmers as their animals are not abused, neglected, tortured or fed things they shouldn't eat like in factory farming. My uncle and grandparents go together and "buy a cow" or a pig, which a local farmer feeds and raises until it's time to be slaughtered. It's cheaper, too, so extra bonus there. :]
  • BlutAura
    BlutAura Posts: 97
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    Also worth pointing out I'm the opposite of most people. My mum has been a vegetarian most of her life as she thought meat made her ill (turned out to be a different allergy) anyways I was basically bought up as a vegetarian all through my childhood until late teens. After seeing how fanatical and damn right fascist some of the more hardcore V&Vs are it put me off for life ever joining that crowd again. Plus after 18+ years of no meat... Steaks taste damn fine now :)

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