Vegetarians and vegans. Controversial Topic

So.....I'm sure you were not the only person in a Jimmy John's eating meat. Did she tell everyone eating meat they were gross? How did she single you out?

That was my thought too. I've been vegan for about a year, for many different reasons. Started as one reason, and morphed into a couple of others - and after a year of solid research, the only valid reason there is for eating meat - IN MY OPINION - is because it tastes good and we're at the top of the food chain. That isn't a good enough reason for me.

That being said, I would always be up for a rational conversation about veganism, but I would never approach a stranger about it, and I wouldn't even try to convince friends or family.

Did this actually happen, or were you trying to start a discussion? :laugh:

In an effort to lose weight, get my blood sugar under control and just fell better over all, I stopped eating meat. Amazingly, I realized that it wasn't my diabetic medicine that was upsetting my digestive system, it was the meat I was eating. I have also been able to lose weight and my sugar is well controlled. I still eat fish and occasionally some chicken or turkey, but my tummy does not like beef or pork. I am quite content to eat my protein in the form of veggie protein. There are many sources for us to get our protein. Legumes, tofu, seitan, tempeh, grains & nuts are all great sources of protein. Some vegetarians also eat eggs and dairy products. I don't use milk or eggs, but will use a little cheese on occasion. I eat a lot of vegetables and fruit and whole grains. I have gone from being a BIG couch potato to a "happy to go to the gym and work out" kind of person! Yesterday, I did 30 minutes on the stationary bike and 30 minutes on weight training! Three months ago, I would not have believed I could do that.
Everyone has the right to eat the way they choose. We all have to make educated decisions about what works best for out bodies. We can have an opinion about food choices, but we don't have the right to make someone feel bad about liking what they are eating!! sometimes old people are just grouchy and opinionated!

I can not understand people that say "I dont eat meat because the animal suffers". I am a avid hunter, spend hours shooting to make sure I can kill the animal with laser accuracy! This same animal without hunting is either going to die of starvation, hit by a car and may live for days with broken bones, bleeding and many other things that will cause a slow death. or it might get ripped apart by other wild animal and be eaten while still alive. I guess if I had to choose, I would rather be shot! I dont preach to these antis, because I dont care about them! I dont try to force them to hunt, but yet they try to force me not to hunt! It sure would be nice if they would live and let live! GREAT job sending this one packing with her tail between her legs. GREAT job!

maybe in the wild, the animals get licked to death by kittens! maybe we should let every single animal go right now. there is about 500 MILLION cattle alone right now in the U.S, wonder what would happen if we let them all go, not to mention, pigs, chickens and all the other animals. then we stopped hunting! hmmmmmmmmmmm

Uh. Animals are humanely killed, they are not "tortured to death". I have been to slaughterhouses and have seen it firsthand.

Firstly I am a vegetarian of 25 years. I am not particularly fit and healthy, but I'm trying and I don't force my views on vegetarianism. It's my choice. My Husband and Children eat meat and they hunt. My first paid job was in a butchers. But I do have to raise an objection to the above comment. Not all animals are humanely killed. Certainly not in the UK. There are some slaughterhouses which slit the throats of scared animals (they are not stunned) and leave the animals to bleed to death. It is not painless and highly distressing. Unless you buy from a butcher who can trace his meat there is no way of knowing how the animal was killed and meats served in schools and hospitals more often than not come from the less humane slaughterhouses.

Yes, but regardless of how crudely a butcher may kill his stock I am nearly certain that of all the predators on earth humans offer the most blissful death to their prey. I say blissful because compared to dying in the wild it is. In nature an animal such as a cow would be devoured alive by a pack of predators, or starved to death. Animals do not die of old age in the wild, surrounded by friends and family as they slowly pass. They die agonizing deaths. Any death a butcher has to offer them is bliss in comparison to what nature has to offer.

Don't want to eat meat? Fine with me. But don't do it thinking you are doing the animals any favors.

I don't think that in the slightest. As you can see from my post my family hunts their meat and my first job was in a butchers. I did not choose to give up meat for the poor fluffy animals, I chose to give it up as I'd much rather my food wasn't manhandled and used for pranks before it was sold on (I could tell you some stories) and I didn't like the taste.

What was she doing at Jimmy Johns in the first place? Sounds fishy to me. My gut tells me this is a bull**** story.

I'm with you. I call B.S. on the O.P.
Any veg*n can tell you that preachy omnivores will simply not let go harassing them about their food choices. As a vegetarian myself for the past two years, I have experienced my share of these episodes, mostly within my family. Frankly, I could not care less what someone else is eating.
The notion that anyone, including this mythical "lady in the Jimmy John's" to approach a stranger eating his lunch and berate him for eating meat in his submarine sandwich simply strains credulity. Why Jimmy John's? Why not a steak house or KFC? Why wasn't she carrying a protest sign outside the restaurant?
The original post was nothing more than a creative writing assignment. I give it a D-.

i do think it's funny that veg*ns get all kind of crap for being uppity at omnivores, because i am a vegan and i have NEVER just come out of nowhere and started ragging on someone for what they're eating, but it happens to me coming from meat-eaters ALL. THE. TIME.
makes it a little hard for me to understand this reputation that veg folks supposedly have, because i have only observed it in reverse.

Actually, it makes sense. The meat-eaters who confront vegetarians about their food choices, are also likely to complain about them to others.

Every group will have some members who behave badly. It's impossible not to. The mistake is generalizing to the whole group, assuming all or most members are like the one you encountered. Also people who hold their opinions dear are more likely to pay attention to and generalize from the people whose behavior supports their view and not notice, or consider as a rare exception, the ones who contradict it.

I totally agree! Here I am just peacefully practising yoga and chowing down on my vegan salad, and someone will come along and take "I am vegan" as an attack on their personal dignity. You can't please everyone, unfortunately, so I just focus on doing what I feel is right.

We raised and butchered our own chickens for awhile, so I spent a lot of time on backyard chicken boards. Some funny trolls in there. My two favorites were "Your children should be taken away by CPS!" and "Why don't you get your meat from the store, WHERE IT'S MADE!" :laugh:

Seriously?!? Absurd.

WHY I'M A VEGETARIAN: 16 YEARS!!!

I'm 25 and have been vegetarian since I was 8. After a year, my father saw my energy improve and became vegetarian; my younger brother, who idolized my dad, followed suit. We are part of a religious Jewish community that loooves meat so we sometimes have difficulties going to friends' meals, eating out etc.

Why did I become vegetarian? Because my parents raised me with 15 pets, multiple camping trips each summer and a compost bin before they were mandated. I learned how to garden and I was the youngest person in my city to volunteer with injured wildlife. When I hit 8 and saw a roasted turkey, it hit me really hard - the thing had been alive! There was no way I could eat meat after that.

Was I a stupid kid? Of course! I spent the first 2 weeks of being a vegetarian going "mooo!" to my friends when they ate meat. I didn't have friends for a few days after that. I learned very quickly that my choice not to eat meat is MY choice. I NEVER EVER tell other people how to eat. I NEVER EVER tell other people not to wear leather.

I still go camping, I still recycle and I still love animals. I don't eat meat and I don't wear leather for my own very personal ethical and spiritual reasons. I am so sorry a stupid lady spoke to you that way, but please don't let all veggies be represented by her actions. Most of us are just trying to make the world a better place in our little way.

As for preachy meat eaters... You guys need to drop it too. I don't tell YOU to stop eating meat - so stop telling ME that tofu is gross or I'm weak or my lifestyle choice is silly.

WHEW thanks for letting me rant!

I'm into eating meat, just not much for eating antibiotics or hormones or eating animals that have eaten other animals. Love some good, ethically grown chicken thighs or a great grass-fed burger though.