Thoughts on veganism?

Not a vegan, and no interest in becoming one. I like my meat and dairy too much.

F4nt4p4nts wrote: »

Veganism is an interesting thing...

And do you use "fake meat" products, e.g. Tofu burgers, with little grill lines? Tofu sausages (looks like a white poo, with grill lines). I only know one vegan, and he uses so many products that replicate meat (even tofu bacon which is painted to look like streaky bacon) that it is actually disrespectful to tofu.

I brought this up on Facebook once. The post wasn't directed at anyone in particular, but one of my vegan "friends" got VERY angry about it. We're not friends any more. LOL

I thought about posting last night but decided against it but today I thought what the hell, with so many opinions flying about I thought I may as well throw mine into the hat.

It's going to be a long one so brace yourself.

I was a omnivore for for 27 years and enjoyed the plethora of meat and and dairy produce, then in early 2013 I became "vegetarian", I only lasted half the year and ended it all with a McDonalds and went back to my meat eating ways but the whole time I felt bad about it. Then I went veggie again at the beginning of this year but it was a half hearted attempt because I had severe depression at the time so didn't care about anything. Roll forward to now and I've been 100% vegetarian for nearly 2 months and vegan for nearly 1.

The reason I chose to do this was because I couldn't justify eating meat when I had so much love for animals and I am super super sensitive to things like nature programmes where you see animals hunting and dying etc.... So I'm like wtf, I get upset about nature yet I'm fine with things being slaughtered by someone else for me.

So simply put, I like animals more than I like eating them.

I'm hesitant to say I'm vegan as I am only doing a month experiment and am likely to reintroduce some dairy into my diet but not a lot because I haven't missed things like cheese as much as I thought I would. I think it's so hard for most because eating all the cheese etc has become a routine you learn from birth so change is difficult. Going down this route has changed me considerably, I felt a lot of guilt eating meat so that isn't there anymore and I also feel like I've gained more control because dairy and meat used to rule my diet.

However I have no problems with people who consume these things unless they attack me or pigeon hole me with extreme vegans. I accept that not everyone is going to become a vegan as some people have no choice but I don't 100% agree with the argument focusing around privilege. Yes I am privileged in the fact I get to choose but I think that because we are able to choose, why not eat less meat etc. I think it's more of a privilege to eat meat that you don't have to hunt and kill or if you do, you have weapons which enable you to do so.

I do try to encourage people in my family to think outside the box when it comes to what they eat and look at the ingredients but I think that's good to do whatever you eat. I think it's in our interests to take more control of what we eat when we can.

So yeah, I'm not better than anyone else, I'm just doing what I believe is the right thing for me to do.

I think it is great if someone is passionate about it, has good reasons to pursue it, and is able to reach their macro/micro nutrient goals while following the lifestyle. I personally have no negative feelings towards it, since it's just another way people can decide to eat.

clewpage wrote: »

Wow, lots of talk about snakes...I'm lost.
Back to the original question.
If you want to be vegan, for whatever reasons you choose, then go right ahead, your diet does not affect me in my life.
The problem lies in the "militant vegan" attitude that is so rampant these days. That vegan is the ONLY way to be, and anyone NOT vegan is a horrible wretched person.
I enjoy meat. I eat steak, I eat chicken, I eat fish.
I try to buy free-range chicken and organic veggies when I can, but lets be honest, that stuff aint cheap, and last time I checked, I don't have a money tree in my back yard.

I also shoot and eat my own wild animals like deer, turkey, dove, duck, quail.
Hunting, (it doesnt get any more free range than hunting, killing, and preparing your own meat), and having my own garden (I control the conditions), enables me to eat a healthful and balanced diet without going broke.
I'm also a firm believer in conservation. In order for the herd to thrive, there has to be sufficient food to support it. By hunting and killing mature animals and keeping the overall population numbers in check, it allows the herd to maintain a steady level of existence.

We could be friends I agree with everything said in her post.

Not directed at @clewpage but I wanted everyone to know, chickens are OMNIVORES. I know this because when I was a kid my mom would throw snakes from the garden into the chicken coop and the chickens would eat that snake up like it was dessert. Also, if you have actually raised chickens, you would know they will eat on each other in a heart beat. They pick at the weakest chicken till they are dead and then they will eat some more. So, not only are they omnivores, but they can also be cannibalistic.

It's always an interesting argument to say the least...

As I mentioned on the honey thread the other day, the ethical implications of not exploiting animals for food is one thing, but what about all of the modern conveniences (health care, automobiles, etc.) that also exploited animals during their nascent years? Do you plan on giving those up, too?

And even factory farming of fruits, vegetables, and grains is not exploitation-free. The itinerant farm workers are some of the lowest paid workers in the US and many of them are here illegally. Unless you are growing everything yourself you are still benefiting at the exploitation of other sentient beings. (And don't forget, even if you are growing it yourself, you'd have nothing without those bees busily pollinating everything...)

Not trying to be argumentative, just genuinely curious on how you compartmentalize this--this is where it always fell apart for me.

I'm not a vegan or even a vegetarian, but I will say that I found a plethora of studies comparing different diets, and veganism consistently comes out on top with positive health outcomes when compared to things like Mediterranean, Paleo, low-fat, etc. If you go to Google Scholar, you'll find tons of studies.

It's not healthier. It's not elevated morality. It doesn't make any sense to me. I have no use for it. Plain and simple.