For those that don't eat meat, explain your reasoning

oceanrose78

In March my sister was diagnosed with with MS. Research led me to the Swank diet, where he showed a link between MS and saturated fats. She gave up saturated fats, and her symptoms went away. I decided to also go on the diet- giving up all meat except fish, and limited saturated fats.

In my quest to give up more saturated fats, I stumbled upon a vegan cookbook with awesome recipes, and 9 days ago, I also have stopped eating dairy and eggs.

I have found, that most meat (and now dairy) is a mental thing, we 'tell' ourselves we need it. I have loved cooking since I started cooking veg, as I can taste the veggies, the vitamins, and it all tastes so fresh! I love the fact that the calories in my food is lower and healthier.

I have 0 regrets in giving up meat. I still eat sushi or other fish once in awhile as a treat, and I will do the same with cheese. My goal is 80% of the time to eat well. I have no desire to eat meat again, matter of fact the other day I boiled chicken for dog treats and it almost made me puke, it smelled rancid. I was a heavy meat eater, this shows how much my tastes have changed.

It does make me happy on an ethical level that I no longer rely on factory farms, and pain to eat. But I will doubt I will ever be truly 'vegan' I spin yarn out of wool and alpaca (often from animals I know personally, and from small farms) I still use honey (bees always seem happy to me). The fact is, that it's a personal decision, and each person has to decide what they are confident doing.

I also do feel from my studies saturated fat is not healthy, and we overeat meat. I would challenge anyone to give up meat 1 or 2 days a week. or even more, and give veggies and plant based diets a chance!

questionablemethods

My apologies.

I have no true issue with people eating meat that is not factory farmed. For me personally, there is still blood shed for that meal though. I guess I think the lesser of two evils is the one that doesn't end with blunt trauma to the head or a knife across the throat of the animal :-)

Sure, but I wouldn't want to be trapped in a combine or gassed with pesticides, either.

kkerri

This can be debated until the end of time. Unless one abstains from food (or ceases to live at all) there will be some harm to living creatures. I am not a vegan so my diet does contribute to that, too. However, I chose to not eat meat because it is something simple that I can do that does not exacerbate the problem. If I was eating meat and grain, then I would be contributing to death of rodents AND cows, chickens, fish, etc.

questionablemethods

This can be debated until the end of time. Unless one abstains from food (or ceases to live at all) there will be some harm to living creatures. I am not a vegan so my diet does contribute to that, too. However, I chose to not eat meat because it is something simple that I can do that does not exacerbate the problem. If I was eating meat and grain, then I would be contributing to death of rodents AND cows, chickens, fish, etc.

Indeed. I'm not meaning to debate, just discuss. I don't eat grains, but I am sure that some animals end up dying in the planting of the vegetables I eat, too.

a23kiki23

I was a vegetarian for the better part of three years. I haven't had the time to read through this whole forum yet, but in the whole time I was a vegetarian, I never once ran into another person that was a vegetarian for the same reason as me.

Water Conservation.

Yes, you read that right. I agree factory farms are cruel, but that had nothing to do with my choice. I did not make it because I felt bad for the animals or because I didn't like the taste. For me, the whole issue boiled down to water conservation. The knowledge that in 100 years, oil will not be our most sought after resource, but that fresh water would be.

I haven't looked at the statistics in quite a while, but when I first went vegetarian, the average amount of water it took to grow a pound of vegetables (obviously this varies quite a bit) was about 70 gallons, from seed to my plate. Beef, just one pound of beef, however, takes something like 5000 gallons to raise and bring to the table.

questionablemethods

Beef, just one pound of beef, however, takes something like 5000 gallons to raise and bring to the table.

Is this factory-farmed as well as grass-fed?

strawberryromper

i personally am vegan. i dont eat, use, wear anything associated with a living creature.

You do know that plants are living too, right? And so are bacteria...ever use antibacterial soap?

Sure- but they're not "creatures" in the sense that the word creature is used colloquially. Good try though.

sexypr1ncess

Also, it's nice to have a discussion without anybody, meat eater/vegetarian/vegan/raw foodist, and not being insulting, rude, nasty, or judgemental of anybody elses beliefs, as the way it should be.

i'm not vegan or vegetarian- but i have to agree that everyone (s0 far, i'm not done reading them all) has been very informative rather than hateful or insulting. it's really refreshing to gain perspective on how others believe without reading insults and "my way is better than your way" replies.

bregalad5

I'm not really a vegetarian, I just don't eat a whole lot of meat. I do adore chicken, though, and eggs. I eat eggs almost every day for breakfast. So I guess I'm a "poultritarian" if there's such a thing :laugh: Other than chicken, though, I can go days, even weeks eating no other type of meat. It's not that the inhumane treatment of animals bothers me (well, it does, but you know what I mean), it's just that I don't crave it. If someone is cooking it, sure, I'll eat it, I just don't typically cook it myself. I'll make the occasional taco with lean ground beef, but then the other part of the package will sit in my freezer for a month (there's half a package in there now from the tacos I made a couple weeks ago, heh). Not sure if my "diet" makes much sense, but that's how I roll

sexypr1ncess

I'm not really a vegetarian, I just don't eat a whole lot of meat. I do adore chicken, though, and eggs. I eat eggs almost every day for breakfast. So I guess I'm a "poultritarian" if there's such a thing :laugh: Other than chicken, though, I can go days, even weeks eating no other type of meat. It's not that the inhumane treatment of animals bothers me (well, it does, but you know what I mean), it's just that I don't crave it. If someone is cooking it, sure, I'll eat it, I just don't typically cook it myself. I'll make the occasional taco with lean ground beef, but then the other part of the package will sit in my freezer for a month (there's half a package in there now from the tacos I made a couple weeks ago, heh). Not sure if my "diet" makes much sense, but that's how I roll

i am so much the same way. my kids are amazed when we have something other than chicken. my husband will joke about never getting to eat anything but chicken unless we go out for dinner. not to say i never cook anything but chicken, but it definitely is the majority of all my recipes. , i don't have anything against eating meat, i do think animals are treated inhumanely though. thankfully, my in-laws own a diary and whenever they have cows that are ready to pass on, they'll get the meat processed and share among all of us. i see nothing wrong, personally, for using what has been put on earth for our benefit.

ninerbuff

Because I'm straight...................................................oh you mean animal flesh.

WifeNMama

I'm an omnivore, trying to eat less red meat. We mostly get our meat from farmers we know, so we know what the feed was and their methods in butchering, and from hunters, and we know how good their aim is. Best of all, people have given this meat for free or for the price of cut and wrap. On a limited budget, so this is huge for us.

I've always hated it when kids rip the legs off spiders or wings off flies just to be mean. If you're gonna kill something, do it quickly with minimal suffering, and not just for sport. Also, I don't get the point of catch and release fishing.
When it comes right down to it, I like animals, but I cannot value them as I value human life. If there was a famine, I'd feed my dog to my kids. That may make me a bad dog owner, but I'd rather be a good mom.

catdoc1

Read The China Study and see what you think about the connection between cancer and animal proteins. It's interesting and may be what you're looking for.

I was vegetarian for several years (and gaining weight), but morphed to low-fat vegan diet after watching the documentaries "Forks Over Knives" and "PLANEAT." Now I'm losing weight and feel great!! I didn't choose to become vegan for a single reason, I chose it for several reasons.

I believe there are many valid reasons for choosing a vegan diet, including decreasing your carbon footprint by 2/3 (and you can do that in one afternoon with a trip to the grocery store). You can't even do that with a Prius or a Leaf.

Many people choose a vegan diet for issues related to factory farming. Others choose it for personal health reaons or personal dietary tastes. These are all valid reaons, and there are probably more I haven't thought of.

I was afraid that vegan food would be tasteless and boring (I mean, what about cheese?), but the reality is it tastes better than what I ate before, and my husband agrees. It's like your taste buds wake up to the subtle things in a food, and it's fantastic. I did have to re-learn how to cook and invest in a few good vegan cookbooks, but it's been fun!

ninerbuff

Read The China Study and see what you think about the connection between cancer and animal proteins. It's interesting and may be what you're looking for.

I was vegetarian for several years (and gaining weight), but morphed to low-fat vegan diet after watching the documentaries "Forks Over Knives" and "PLANEAT." Now I'm losing weight and feel great!! I didn't choose to become vegan for a single reason, I chose it for several reasons.

I believe there are many valid reasons for choosing a vegan diet, including decreasing your carbon footprint by 2/3 (and you can do that in one afternoon with a trip to the grocery store). You can't even do that with a Prius or a Leaf.

Many people choose a vegan diet for issues related to factory farming. Others choose it for personal health reaons or personal dietary tastes. These are all valid reaons, and there are probably more I haven't thought of.

I was afraid that vegan food would be tasteless and boring (I mean, what about cheese?), but the reality is it tastes better than what I ate before, and my husband agrees. It's like your taste buds wake up to the subtle things in a food, and it's fantastic. I did have to re-learn how to cook and invest in a few good vegan cookbooks, but it's been fun!

I've read enough of the China Study to know that there's a lot of selective "evidence" in it. Sorry don't buy it.

ninerbuff

If you have Netflix, or if you don't I am sure you can watch it somewhere, I strongly advise you to watch Forks Over Knives it tells you a lot about how meat and dairy isn't very healthy for you and eating a vegetarian diet can get rid of diseases etc. Here is their website http://www.forksoverknives.com/

If that were true then we wouldn't need medical cures for cancer, Hodskins, Alzheimers, etc. Pretty bold blanket statement.

ninerbuff

If there was no cruelty to animals, and no environmental impact, would you still obstain from meat?

AZTrailRunner

If there was no cruelty to animals, and no environmental impact, would you still obstain from meat?

Makes you wonder what would happen to the environment if we all stopped eating meat. Could the land support the higher demand of veggie eaters PLUS the saved animals who also rely on non-meat food sources. Something to ponder.

RangerSteve

I see quite a few posts about environmental impact of eating meat.

Let's get a couple things straight here. What is worse?

a) Eating meat that was locally raised

or

b) Buying a bag of vegetables that was imported from a foreign country where native animal lands were planted on and then having the item shipped half way around the world in a machine that burns fossil fuels?


Yes, both are extremes as not all veggies are imported and not all meat is locally grown. Still, it's something to consider if you have the option of buying local meats, especially if you're a chain-store shopper that buys fruits, veggies and soy products that are imported....and a lot of them are.

Eating locally seems to be the best option for the environment, whether it's meat or not.

LilMissFoodie

If there was no cruelty to animals, and no environmental impact, would you still obstain from meat?

Makes you wonder what would happen to the environment if we all stopped eating meat. Could the land support the higher demand of veggie eaters PLUS the saved animals who also rely on non-meat food sources. Something to ponder.

I do see your point here but remember that most of these animals are not 'naturally' occurring, they are farmed and essentially force-bred specifically to be eaten. Edited to add that from the original post, I think many people see 'cruelty to animals' as including the killing of the animal so I'm not sure you could take that away and still have meat.

Oh, I eat meat by the way. I don't think being vegetarian is necessarily healthier, in fact many people do it poorly and it becomes far less healthy. I do think it could be considered more ethical for both animal cruelty and environmental reasons.

Brooke1542

I do eat meat, but not a lot. I'm single and don't like cooking for just myself and it usually takes too much time. But I do eat it probably once a day or a few times a week. I don't eat eggs or drink milk, dont like the taste of either.

But I would like to just say that I grew up on a farm that raised both cows and pigs. The cows were out in the pasture during the nicer months and were in a field where we could feed them either alphalfa or corn during the winter months. The pigs were kept in a pen that was a suitable size for the number that we had and were fed whatever pigs eat. (we only had pigs for a few years and I was young so I dont remember). So not all animals are treated horrible before being sold for slaughter.

Also, I tried to be a vegetarian for about 9 months and hated it. I felt like there weren't very many options, again single and dont like to cook for just myself. And I found myself over compensating with carbs since I got tired of eating veggies and fruit.