Vegetarians - why?

rhichi

Please do not get offended anybody, but i think it is very unnatural for someone to not eat meat. think about cavemen, they ate meat all their lives, they needed it to survive. they did not eat any grains either. Sure it saves you from the fat, and maybe a heart attack being a vegetarian, but if you eat lean cuts of meat, its even better for your health. Sure they are adorable, but you need meat to survive, or at least be as healthy as can be. I was a vegetarian for a VERY short time, because i joined PETA. sure it kills animals, but you are never 100% vegetarian, because think of all the flies a year that you eat in your sleep... I think its really cool when people are vegetarians, its just not for me, because i love meat too much.

please nobody get offended, this is just my opinion.

*edited to fix a spell error*

Eh, my thought is that we don't do anything natural anymore anyway, so I don't particularly mind bucking that one evolutionary trend. As it is, we stay up way too late using artificial lights, we sit down far more than is good for us, we eat and drink stuff with no nutritional value, we wear clothing made of plastics and petroleum. If we want to go down the "it isn't natural" road, we would be walking it for a loooong time.

Stpjudge

A good, scientific based explanation for adopting a plant based diet can be found in the documentary "Forks Over Knives". It is a non political documentary based on the research of a physician and nutrition expert. It changed the way that I think about food.

daffodilsoup

The real question is why not? Humans don't need animal products to survive - in fact, we can thrive without them. Eating meat is unnecessary killing, and there are tons and tons of delicious meat-free recipes that don't even have a speck of tofu in them

xlolitabandita

I simply feel better. I hardly ever get bloated or have stomach pains anymore. Also, I just feel better about knowing that a living creature didn't have to die for me to have a meal. It's my choice, and I don't really care if others chose to eat meat. I know it's not a lifestyle for everyone. Actually, it was a choice I battled with from the time I was small child so I get how hard it is. It really just boils down to each individual...I always say "do what makes you happy."

KittieLea

To each their own. I eat meat but wouldn't want someone to bash me for it, therefore, I'm not going to bash vegetarians for not eating meat. What works for me isn't going to work for everyone else.

odusgolp

I don't eat ice cream.

Fact.

GermanicKnight

You are what you eat. I eat bacon.

sherry9300

To each their own. I eat meat but wouldn't want someone to bash me for it, therefore, I'm not going to bash vegetarians for not eating meat. What works for me isn't going to work for everyone else.

Exactly. Thank you!

daffodilsoup

You are what you eat. I eat bacon.

With all due respect, what does this have to do with the thread?

rrrbecca11

You are what you eat. I eat bacon.

So...you're a cooked piece of dead animal flesh? Wow, I hope you don't use that for a pick-up line. :laugh: :laugh:

doorki

Ok, I am probably going to offend some, but its not my intention.

Yes it is.

That is not really fair. How can someone ask for clarification on a stance if the people with the answers immediately take this stance?

I think it is perfectly fair, when people start any kind of statement with " I'm not a ...... but…."
What they are really saying is “I know I’m a..... But I'm going to say/act like one anyway”
Be it a troll or a bigot or a racist or just a ****. They know in advance the rise they will get when they say what they say, and get a perverse joy from the attention.

Or perhaps he is stating it that way due to the fact that he believes that he will get this reaction. So is it in response to reactions like yours or are reactions like yours a response to these statements?

Honestly, as touchy and report-happy as the crowd on this forum is, you almost always have to put in disclaimers in order to avoid strikes that will take away your right to post on the forums.

michellegr88

I am on my way to veganism but a little over one year ago I was eating meat and preparing the best meatloafs, fried chicken, homemade chicken nuggets, homemade everything delicious you could think of with meat. My husband and I had our cholesterol checked at a routine physical and his was dangerously high. (he was 24) (it also runs in the family) so we cut out just meat, and found all these yummy fruits and vegetable recipes that we would have never tried then six months later had his numbers check again....his bad cholesterol dropped 45 points in six months and then two months ago when it was checked again, the same thing happened and in the mean time he started lifting weights- he swears that by eating plant proteins the quality of his muscle mass feels better and is easier to build and maintain. He enjoy trying new foods and since becoming vegetarian/ sometimes vegans, we also learned about factory farming.....in good consciousness could never contribute to that....so we dont. We also have been told that our iron levels are higher than most people. I was selected to give a double platelet blood donation based on my iron levels and the nurse couldnt believe I didnt eat meat or dairy products at the time.

vim_n_vigor

I don't eat ice cream.

Fact.

Now this is offensive - not even caramel toffee ice cream, strawberry, or bacon ice cream?

amivox

My reason was quite organic and happened on its own. I didn't make a conscious decision to become one. It wasn't because I wanted to be healthy, thats for damn sure.

I used to be an omnivore. I was one of those people that said "animals taste good."

But then I had a change of heart. I decided that I wanted a pet pig. A little tiny pygmy one. This is where my journey to vegetarianism started. I decided that if I was going to have a pet pig, I couldn't eat pigs anymore. I have dogs and cats, and I sure as hell wouldn't eat a cat or a dog because I know how awesome and intelligent they are.

So then I started thinking that it wasn't fair for me to eat any living creature. I don't believe in God. I don't believe in reincarnation. I don't believe in ANY religion. I believe in science. Science says you only live once. You only get one chance on this planet to have a life. I started feeling like it was fundamentally wrong to eat something that only had one chance to live anyways. So I stopped eating meat entirely. After I made that decision, I started looking into the horrors of factory farming and tried to convince my meat eating friends to at least eat organic and pasture raised animals because those animals at least had a higher quality of life before being killed.

I know that there is no way to convince someone to become vegetarian, but for me, its really a big deal. Eating animals would be like eating human flesh to me. Animals are innocent and beautiful and deserve to live just as much as we do. Humans seem to feel entitled to just destroy life, destroy nature, and industrialize the entire world.

There are many health related reasons to go meatless, too, although they didn't influence my decision. I am altruistic, most people aren't. I guess thats the best way to sum up why I don't eat meat. I don't know if anyone would eat meat if slaughterhouses had glass walls.

On an off note, but completely related, I lived around the block from Chiapetti's slaughterhouse in Chicago. They murder young cows and sheep and sell it as lamb and veal. Well, in the wee hours of the morning, before going to work one day, I saw a truck full of baby animal carcasses. It was a pick up style truck with a cap thing on it, but it was open, so all the animals were just on display for my poor vegetarian bleeding heart to see. I called my boyfriend up, completely devastated, and told him we had to move.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhlhSQ5z4V4

wild_wild_life

Personally I can't understand why everyone isn't a vegetarian. See, we have different opinions. Who cares? If you really want to know people's reasons (and I'm not sure why you do), search the forums. This has been asked a million times.

lucylAnneMason

The reason why we get annoyed is because absolutely everyone asks
1. why?
2.every detail of what you eat
and suddenly everyones an expert, imagine if someone asked you every single time you ate a pice of meat, why? it would probably annoy you

I was a vegetarian for 6 years and have recently just become a Pescetarianism which mean I eat fish i still eat things with animal fats in, i just don't eat the meat because I simply don't like it I feel the same way about meat as you do about tofu
there is no argument, its not a debatable case

renee_chan

I'm a long time vegetarian, I do it for a lot of reasons: ethics, health, environmental impact, and more. But aside from all that, it's my body and my preference. My husband, family, and friends are all meat eaters. I never ask them why. I've met some a-hole vegetarians that throw a hissy fit if someone tries to eat meat at the same table, or cook it on the same grill. That's a little extreme, IMHO.

HotCuppaJo

You are what you eat. I eat bacon.

With all due respect, what does this have to do with the thread?

Not a damn thing...other than the fact that bacon is meat and the topic is about Vegetarians (people who don't EAT meat)....

And, if you've been on the forums before, you'd know that bacon is QUITE special and can be brought up in ANY forum topic at ANY time....

rrrbecca11

My reason was quite organic and happened on its own. I didn't make a conscious decision to become one. It wasn't because I wanted to be healthy, thats for damn sure.

I used to be an omnivore. I was one of those people that said "animals taste good."

But then I had a change of heart. I decided that I wanted a pet pig. A little tiny pygmy one. This is where my journey to vegetarianism started. I decided that if I was going to have a pet pig, I couldn't eat pigs anymore. I have dogs and cats, and I sure as hell wouldn't eat a cat or a dog because I know how awesome and intelligent they are.

So then I started thinking that it wasn't fair for me to eat any living creature. I don't believe in God. I don't believe in reincarnation. I don't believe in ANY religion. I believe in science. Science says you only live once. You only get one chance on this planet to have a life. I started feeling like it was fundamentally wrong to eat something that only had one chance to live anyways. So I stopped eating meat entirely. After I made that decision, I started looking into the horrors of factory farming and tried to convince my meat eating friends to at least eat organic and pasture raised animals because those animals at least had a higher quality of life before being killed.

I know that there is no way to convince someone to become vegetarian, but for me, its really a big deal. Eating animals would be like eating human flesh to me. Animals are innocent and beautiful and deserve to live just as much as we do. Humans seem to feel entitled to just destroy life, destroy nature, and industrialize the entire world.

There are many health related reasons to go meatless, too, although they didn't influence my decision. I am altruistic, most people aren't. I guess thats the best way to sum up why I don't eat meat. I don't know if anyone would eat meat if slaughterhouses had glass walls.

On an off note, but completely related, I lived around the block from Chiapetti's slaughterhouse in Chicago. They murder young cows and sheep and sell it as lamb and veal. Well, in the wee hours of the morning, before going to work one day, I saw a truck full of baby animal carcasses. It was a pick up style truck with a cap thing on it, but it was open, so all the animals were just on display for my poor vegetarian bleeding heart to see. I called my boyfriend up, completely devastated, and told him we had to move.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhlhSQ5z4V4

RilantheFirebug

I'm not a vegetarian, but I can see the appeal. I'm turned off by all the additives to meat and often how animal are raised/kept that eventually go to slaughter. We end up paying a lot more money for food that certified humane and additive free. If we had the space and means I think I would prefer to do it myself so that I'd know what I was eating.

TKHappy

Everyone has their own personal reasons. I can't remmeber why I even started anymore because it was so long ago but I'm happy with the way I eat, I'm healthy (give or take the 5lbs I could afford to lose), and I just have no desire to even eat meat! I do not question people who eat meat or try to push my eating habits on to anyone....if anything I'm lucky to have the family and friends I do that don't question it and actually thank me because they include more veggies when we come around LOL!

BondBomb

OMG I am SO glad you asked this question! I have never heard either side debate their stance before...NEVER.EVER. FACT. :flowerforyou:

Jess81620

Maybe you should ask yourself "why not"? I am not a vegatarian myself I love meat.

rhichi

Well, OP, I have to go to work now. If you're interested in talking more about this in a less congested manner, feel free to send me a PM.

morgansmom02

I am looking to eat less meat due to the movie Contagion. Any good suggestions on alternatives? That movie freaked me out. I did eat some deli turkey today. Bad me.

UrbanRunner81

why does it matter

exactly. i live my life, you live yours.

:flowerforyou:

Beastette

Because if I hadn't changed my habits in my late teens, I'd be on cholesterol meds by now. Several doctors have confirmed this, and I am the only one in my family who isn't on any meds at my age. My family medical history is that extreme. My cousin just had a stroke, and he is a few months older than I am.

That's why.

msgremmy

One of the things I've learned throughout my 17 years as a vegetarian (13 of those vegan) is that I don't have to explain myself or my choices to anyone.

Frankly, you don't understand my veganism any more than I understand your eating dead animals. And there isn't common ground for some. Your extreme aversion to tofu demonstrates that you're not willing to learn. No matter what anyone says, you will likely never understand why some of us value the lives of animals and therefore do not eat them.

And that's fine.

The other thing I've learned is that its best not to judge. So I don't. Each person is an individual and will his/her own decisions regarding what they choose to consume.

So why am I vegan? My body does not need animal flesh to thrive, so I prefer to let the cows eat their grass and the pigs play in mud. It's the past of least harm, I believe.

Jain

Why do you care?

You have your way of eating, I don't expect you to give a reason so why do you expect veggies to explain.

Leslie85

You'd eat any tofu recipe I made and you would ask for seconds.

This. Even my meat-eating husband adores my beer-breaded tofu. And that's only one example. :-)

As to why, it's because all my research and my gut feeling and the looks and diseases and overweight of people who chow down the meat constantly have convinced me. Do whatever you want. I don't preach. I don't have to. If my absolutely marvelous health, stamina, energy, positive outlook and MUSCLES don't win any converts, then nothing I can say would either.

Oh, and also so I don't have to pick user names like "Big Mama Rebecca". :bigsmile:

Haha...I chow down on meat pretty much constantly...does my "look" convince you?

But in all seriousness...I'll never understand why people do it, I personally couldn't...but at the same time I really don't care why people do it...or don't do it for that matter.

I do get a little offended with blanket statements like the above though. Not everyone who eats meat is diseased and overweight....I'm not! I'm healthy as a horse, feel great, and LOVE meat!