Reasons for ur vegetarianism
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I turned veggie over 20 years ago. In that time I think I've gone through all the reasons to be (and stay) veg.-lol! Now it is simply a way of life, I couldn't imagine going back. My lovely partner of 15 years is also veggie, after living in culinary bliss with him for this long can't say I could ever date another omni ever again. I'm also a good cook though so that helps keep us both happy and healthy long sustaining veggies.
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I used to teach an English class where the topic of all the papers was genetically modified foods - and ended up exploring industrialized food processes in general - after a while all the information I was reading coupled with the documentaries we were watching go me thinking really hard about what I was eating. I toyed with going vegetarian off and on for about a year until it finally seemed to stick this past February.0
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It could be the area I live in, or the people I know, or maybe I look like a mean lady and people are afraid to offend me, but I have rarely been asked that question.
It began as a choice for health reasons. My doc suggested I start eating better to try to lower my cholesterol, blood pressure, and weight. He recommended having a few meatless nights a week. For me, it was all or nothing. I completely stopped eating meat by the end of the next day. That was six or seven years ago. In order to keep it up, I decided to do some research of my own. Somehow I ended up reading a book called "The Pig Who Sang to the Moon," and my paradigm changed. It was no longer about health reasons and was suddenly all about moral reasons.
That's rather long-winded, so the few times I have been asked, I have said "I can't very well consider myself an animal lover if I am willing to eat them".0 -
Off topic, but doesn't it seem sort of wrong that the banner rotation at the top of this page had an ad for Fried Chicken at a local grocery chain when I clicked through to the latest comments? Just saying.0
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I decided to stop eating meat after i watched a movie about how animals are treated and i actually saw what goes on in a slaughter house. I cried like a baby and haven't eaten meat since. I love vegeterianism and wouldn't convertback for anythung. Im saving animals and I feel great inside:)0
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My hubby teases me and says I eat 'plastic' food (i.e. tofu and beans etc) so I ask him how his decomposing flesh meal is!!
I don't eat meat because I can't stand the torture in some slaughterhouses, I can't stand to see an animal killed, even on tv and because of all the health problems associated with eating animal protein.0 -
Somehow I ended up reading a book called "The Pig Who Sang to the Moon," and my paradigm changed.
I just went on Amazon and put this in my wish list. Thank you!
I can already tell it's going to make my heart ache, though
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I've been trying to clean up my diet for about a year now and started thinking about going meatless, thought I would try it for a week and see how I felt, I kept putting it off. About 4 weeks ago I decided to just do it, planning for a week and that week lasted for 10 days because I just felt really good eating this way. I went to a cook out for July 4th where I reintroduced meat for that day and the next day I could tell the difference, decided to go back to a plant based diet. I still have the occasional egg and some dairy, but every thing else I eat is veggie based.0
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I just people the truth - it's the gross-out factor. The thought of eating the flesh of another creature really does make me gag!0
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i don't think it's really necessary to have to justify your eating preferences. when people ask me these kinds of questions, i might reply with "why do you eat meat?"
though i'm not a vegetarian in a strict sense, i feel like there is plenty to eat other than meat, so why eat it when it's so expensive financially and environmentally? i'd rather go straight to the energy source instead of having it bypass through another animal.
but i will eat meat occasionally; i have no moral opposition to it, assuming it is raised with love and kindness. i won't often turn it down if it is offered (not because I want it so much but more of a cultural consideration). luckily, most of our friends know we don't eat meat and therefore provide accordingly if they should invite us for dinner.0 -
To stop cruelty to animals
And it makes you loose a lot of weight!
It annoys me when people eat fish and claim they are veggies - fish have eyes and a smiley mouth! Pescatarian is the name for people who only eat fish.
Sorry to annoy you. But, in my journey, that's where I'm starting. Saying I'm a pescatarian is annoying to people. I'll only say it to people that get it.
I'm doing it purely for health reasons. I've watched all the same shows all of you have and Forks Over Knives was the final straw for me. It's mainly for health reasons though, has nothing to do with being nice to animals. However, I will say that it does just seem more friendly to the world to eat plants instead of animals. And, I do love animals. It's a dog eat dog world though. I think our treatment of animals is shameful and no one should support that. But, I'm not against eating animals that are raised ethically and properly. But, for health reasons, I am going to start with just eating fish, and then if it sticks, eventually get rid of that. It has to be a slow transition. This is all very new. I have no idea how to do this.0 -
I've been a vegetarian for about 3 or 4 years now. I decided to stop eating meat because at the time, I didn't know any chubby vegetarians and I was desperate to lose weight. It sounds silly now, but it was a happy accident.
Within a week, I felt drastically different. I slept better, woke up refreshed, and my digestive system no longer seemed to be full of angry howler monkeys covered in razor blades. Even better, I now had energy to exercise. I shed the weight at a moderate pace, but I felt so much better that I didn't mind. My complexion improved, my hair and nails looked better, and it made me more health conscious overall.
Most of my friends and family were very accepting, even though some of them expected I'd go off the wagon after a while. I originally intended to do just that- lose the weight and then go back to eating lean meats- but after a few weeks without it, I couldn't stomach the thought. Something about the texture was just... off. And don't get me started on the smell. Does cooking chicken smell like wet dog to anybody else? Just me? That's okay. Occasionally I miss having fresh- caught fried fish and hush puppies, or roasted venison. Then I think about actually putting it in my mouth and chewing, and I gag. It's an odd sensation.
I still eat what little dairy I can (cheese and egg substitute are really the only thing- I'm lactose intolerant), and I love having honey in my tea. I believe in the ethical treatment of animals, and I do agree that most of the conditions they're raised in are barbaric and cruel. However, I have nothing against people eating animals as long as they're raised and killed cleanly.
When people ask me why I'm a vegetarian, I usually just say it's for health reasons, plus I don't like meat. Then I get free entertainment of watching them wrap their minds around someone who doesn't like bacon.0 -
Well I think the idea of eating a dead body is repulsive now that I have been veg for a while, but that will really piss people off. I usually just say i don't like it and I love animals too much. If you can't visualize killing the animal and feeling good about then how can you eat it? I sure cant.0
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I have several reasons, including but not limited to: environmental concerns, ethical concerns, and my own personal health. I find that it is easier to avoid things like fast food when my options are limited this way as well. Finally I just don't care for the taste of meat all that much, and now that I have been vegetarian for two years, I am really grossed out by it (the turkey carcass at Xmas was really nasty)0
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I was raised vegetarian. Ate a very modest amount of meat from age 11-22 just because it was easier than having people make comments (plus, my parents started fixing it and expected me to eat it). In early adulthood, I realized I was trying not to taste or think about any meat I was eating, or else it would gross me out. Very happily lacto ovo vegetarian since 1988. I don't usually go into all that --- just say I didn't eat it in childhood, so never developed a taste for it, which is true.0
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I tell people I love having a clean kitchen....can you imagine the grime built up in a lot of long-time meat eaters homes?
I made the change originally for health reasons but I do share ethical concerns.....
I heard someone in the super market the other day wondering why someone would waste their money on organic cage-free eggs....It took all of my politeness to avoid the lecture in the middle of the store. Are people REALLY so uninformed? Argghhh!0 -
As I mentioned before, I try to avoid discussions about me being vegetarian, but on Friday night in the pub, a colleague asked me. This caused a couple of people around the table to tut and clearly display displeasure at me not eating meat or fish. I asked why there was so much venom directed at vegetarians and was told "because they always try to force it down your throat". These are people that have known me either 9 years or 9 months, and only now have they found out I'm vegetarian. Been really forcing it down their throats haven't I....
I've had nearly 30 years of this kind of judgmental crap. If it isn't being told that all the animals would die if we didn't farm them, it's being told that we have omnivorous teeth and therefore are meant to eat meat. Do they think I haven't heard this before? I've had nearly 3 decades to think of responses to prove them wrong even though they won't accept my arguments. Bunch of complete holes!
Being a part of these discussions I often found that the vegetarians often cant provide enough valid reasons for not eating meat and sometime try to force down their views to meat eaters.Also some orgs like PETA sometime goes overboard.So ALL that backfires and vegetarians are often ridiculed.
btw I am a vegetarian for last 15+ years :bigsmile:0 -
To stop cruelty to animals
And it makes you loose a lot of weight!
It annoys me when people eat fish and claim they are veggies - fish have eyes and a smiley mouth! Pescatarian is the name for people who only eat fish.
Sorry to annoy you. But, in my journey, that's where I'm starting. Saying I'm a pescatarian is annoying to people. I'll only say it to people that get it.
I'm doing it purely for health reasons. I've watched all the same shows all of you have and Forks Over Knives was the final straw for me. It's mainly for health reasons though, has nothing to do with being nice to animals. However, I will say that it does just seem more friendly to the world to eat plants instead of animals. And, I do love animals. It's a dog eat dog world though. I think our treatment of animals is shameful and no one should support that. But, I'm not against eating animals that are raised ethically and properly. But, for health reasons, I am going to start with just eating fish, and then if it sticks, eventually get rid of that. It has to be a slow transition. This is all very new. I have no idea how to do this.
Nothing wrong with that at all. You're not trying to fool people into thinking you are anything you aren't. Didn't know you were trying this. I've been vegetarian for 30 years, so if you need anything give me a shout.0 -
I still haven't really figured out why I don't like eating meat. I think its partially taste and partially just can't bring myself to think about eating an animal. I always just tell people I don't like the taste though.
It's pretty much the same for me. I never lived the taste of meat and when the Mad Cow disease became a big problem my mom made us all eat vegetarian for a while and I didn't want to go back to the meat.
When people ask me why I don't eat meat and make up crazy reasons I just ask them why they don't eat their least favorite food everyday?0 -
I went veg in 1986 while I was in college and read Animal Liberation. I could not stand to read about the slaughter of animals and could hardly believe what I read in those pages. I was horrified and traumatized. I always liked all foods--even the taste of flesh. I went veg ONLY because I hated the cruelty required to produce meat. Now, however, the thought of eating flesh makes me queazy. I would not consider eating the flesh of a human animal, so why would I consider eating the flesh of a nonhuman animal? Really, flesh is flesh. It took me twenty years to get to the point where I became a serious vegan and left off using any animal secretions for consumption. I went vegan when I got pregnant with my first child and have never regretted the ethical decision to do so. I am, however, very disappointed in myself for being a "convenience-based" vegan and relying heavily on processed foods in my daily life. This is now why I am overweight and unhealthy--because of my addiction to unhealthy processed foods. I have recently decided to do something about it and to start living a more healthy lifestyle. I am at the point where I cannot stand to look at myself and I have a 2-year-old and a 6-year-old. I am not setting a good example for them, either.0
