Vegetarians and vegans. Controversial Topic

I don't care how people get their nutrients, just as long as they do. The simple fact remains, humans wouldn't have the digestive enzymes for metabolizing animal meat if we weren't meant to eat them. Lest we forget our CANINE teeth? We are omnivores--plain and simple. But, just because we are meant to eat meat doesn't mean we have to. No reason to rage, either way.

I would have told her to go talk crazy to someone who cares. What a wench.

I was raised a vegetarian, and now only eat seafood. My boyfriend is more bothered by me not eating meat than I am with him eating it

I'm a carnivore to the 4th power and your sandwich sounded delish...

I was raised a vegetarian, and now only eat seafood. My boyfriend is more bothered by me not eating meat than I am with him eating it

I know what you mean. Some people get offended when others make different choices then they do. I'm not sure why. I guess it's human nature.

I don't care how people get their nutrients, just as long as they do. The simple fact remains, humans wouldn't have the digestive enzymes for metabolizing animal meat if we weren't meant to eat them. Lest we forget our CANINE teeth? We are omnivores--plain and simple. But, just because we are meant to eat meat doesn't mean we have to. No reason to rage, either way.

We also have a lizard brain as is demonstrated regularly in these forums.

Actually, our teeth are made for grinding, not ripping like true carnivores. That's why they are mostly flat. Compare your teeth to your dog's and you will understand.

I"m a vegetarian. The reasons are complex:

(1) resources: how much land is used to grow food to feed cows so we can eat cows? As someone who studied wildlife management, I can say that a landbase has a limit for how much life it can support. If this is true for landbases, it's true globally. I personally feel that if I don't need to eat meat and I can survive just fine on 1/4 of the resources I would use if I were a meat eater, then it's my moral and ethical duty to do so.

(2) spirituality: I love animals. I believe animals feel pain and are sentient beings, just as I am. While I do not believe that it is ethically wrong to eat meat, I think as a human with a conscience and a choice, it is my moral and ethical duty to not participate in causing more pain than is neceesary for animals as well as people. (Note: a lot of people say "but you are killing the carrot!" Yes. I kill carrots. Carrots do not have pain receptor neurons, nor a brain to interpret that pain, nor the consciousness with which to experience that pain.)

(3) Health. I do believe it is healthier to eat a vegetarian diet for two main reasons: First, bioaccumulation of environmental toxins is a fact. Eating organic meat does not eliminate this problem (enviornmental toxins travel, though I still opt to purchase organic products so as to not economically support the spread of envrionmental toxins). Second, my twin brother died of a heart attack at the age of 24 with veins that were plugged with cholesterol. Cholesterol is strictly an animal product (being animals, we also create our own cholesterol, but we also consume it). There are also parasites and diseases (like mad cow disease which is a protein that cannot be cooked out of your food) which are more risky in meat eating. And it's higher in fat than vegetarian diets.

Now that I'm into heavy lifting, I see how animal products are better in terms of having enough protein in ones diet, but it can be done on a vegetarian or vegan diet as well.

I also agree that the woman was rude. I've seen that behavior a million times, and I'll tell you what she is:

A NEWBY

Only newly vegan/vegetarian people act like that. It becomes the entirity of their identity for a good while. Eventually they get over it.

I was vegetarian for about 12 years and have now been a mostly-vegetarian omnivore for about as long. In my time as a vegetarian I met many, many more preachy meat-eaters than I did preachy vegetarians. As a vegetarian I constantly heard comments like "you eat tofu, gross" and "being a vegetarian is so stupid, we were meant to eat animals," "why would you want to do that to yourself" etc. Since beginning to eat meat again, I have eaten meat in front of any number of vegetarians and vegans and heard not a word of criticism.

Of course, there are preachy people of all sorts, and that woman you met was incredibly rude. However, since meat-eating is the norm in this country, I think you'll find that it's vegetarians and vegans who are more often accosted for their food choices.

Edited to add: I love that you call vegetarianism "madness" in a post where you are claiming harassment from a vegetarian for your personal eating choices.
This!

I always find those situations funny. Everyone traces lines in their morals, I mean everyone.

Everyone on the thread that followed the "I don't want to eat my pets" type of thinking could push the reasoning further and worry about the ethics of keeping them captive to begin with, most of the time sterilizing them, etc. Sure they are treated well, but those animals are put completely out of their natural habitat, purely for our entertainment. Surely, freedom counts for something? Yet we take that away from pets without second thoughts.

That would be just an example, but a PETA freak could have yelled at that vegetarian in that restaurant, and probably that vegetarian girl would have just thought "who cares about that anyway?", without even realizing the irony of the situation.

Yup, people have elastic morals and try to clumsily impose them on other people.

Loved it!... Thanks.

I"m a vegetarian. The reasons are complex:

(1) resources: how much land is used to grow food to feed cows so we can eat cows? As someone who studied wildlife management, I can say that a landbase has a limit for how much life it can support. If this is true for landbases, it's true globally. I personally feel that if I don't need to eat meat and I can survive just fine on 1/4 of the resources I would use if I were a meat eater, then it's my moral and ethical duty to do so.

(2) spirituality: I love animals. I believe animals feel pain and are sentient beings, just as I am. While I do not believe that it is ethically wrong to eat meat, I think as a human with a conscience and a choice, it is my moral and ethical duty to not participate in causing more pain than is neceesary for animals as well as people. (Note: a lot of people say "but you are killing the carrot!" Yes. I kill carrots. Carrots do not have pain receptor neurons, nor a brain to interpret that pain, nor the consciousness with which to experience that pain.)

(3) Health. I do believe it is healthier to eat a vegetarian diet for two main reasons: First, bioaccumulation of environmental toxins is a fact. Eating organic meat does not eliminate this problem (enviornmental toxins travel, though I still opt to purchase organic products so as to not economically support the spread of envrionmental toxins). Second, my twin brother died of a heart attack at the age of 24 with veins that were plugged with cholesterol. Cholesterol is strictly an animal product (being animals, we also create our own cholesterol, but we also consume it). There are also parasites and diseases (like mad cow disease which is a protein that cannot be cooked out of your food) which are more risky in meat eating. And it's higher in fat than vegetarian diets.

Now that I'm into heavy lifting, I see how animal products are better in terms of having enough protein in ones diet, but it can be done on a vegetarian or vegan diet as well.

I also agree that the woman was rude. I've seen that behavior a million times, and I'll tell you what she is:

A NEWBY

Only newly vegan/vegetarian people act like that. It becomes the entirity of their identity for a good while. Eventually they get over it.