Veganism?

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You know my whole life I wanted to be a vegetarian but just couldn't. I have been staying away from pork. I would love to stay away from beef b/c cows are cute but they're delicious too. Now I'm seeing more and more ppl convert to veganism including my brother in law. Veganism is for those who don't eat any product made from any animals including milk, eggs, cheese, meat, etc. OK, I'm somewhat ignorant to this, but how does eating eggs, cheese, and drinking milk harm the animal? Does anyone know about this trend? I would think that not only would you need those essentials to survive but it would also save the animal from be cut to pieces. What's your opinion on this?

I think Vegans just don't like the idea of animals being used. You would probably identify better with lacto-ovo-vegetarianism rather than veganism.

Although most Christians would identify with Genesis 9:3, the original design was 1:29-30 and I think vegetarianism is probably healthier based on that.

Vitamin B-12, which is usually obtained via meat, can also be obtained through some yeasts. I think Vegemite (tm) is one product that has it. Milk does too if I remember correctly.

I would like to be a vegetarian, but I can't right now because of family issues.

That's another problem that I've had with wanting to be a vegetarian. At family dinners esp my grandparents, they would make fun of my idea. They have this belief that God served animals for mankind. Now I respect their faith but at dinners that's when we socialize. All my family has is all kinds of meat. I mean I don't want to complain but nothing very vegetarian about how I was raised. Recently my brother in law who is a vegan came over for dinner, and had hardly anything on his plate. We even told them before he came over that he was a vegan. At dinner, again my grandmother asked why he would even consider not eating meat. I think she put him on the spot and he didn't know how to answere that. So, never in my life did I think food would bring up issues with family. I wish my family was a little more understanding or at least considerate towards the views of one's beliefs.

I could be vegetarian. I eat tons of vegetables and grains, and small amounts of meat. I like meat and it wouldn't be for any sort of ideology. At the very least I would not want to give up eating fish, especially tuna/salmon. I do however avoid pork like the plague. Everything else is fair game but I only eat it in relatively small amounts. I also reserve the right to pig out on meat on rare or special occasions.

I'm a lacto-ovo-vegetarian. If it wasn't terribly hard to find foods without eggs that I enjoy other than fruit, I'd take away the ovo. I've seen what happens to some chickens. The hens cannot flap their wings because the cages are too small.

But, yeah. I accept people that eat meat, even though some don't know that at first. I met a kid who asked me if it was okay for him to eat bologna around me. I basically told him it was fine, don't change what you eat just because I don't eat the stuff. I also knew some people who thought it was funny that I wasn't partaking in their ground up beef patties and shoved it in my face screaming, "MEAT. MEAT." I was okay with this, too.

But now that I've been a vegetarian for over a year now, I can't stand outside a fast food restaurant without thinking that the meat smells terrible. It's annoying, really. People tend to stand around me and say stuff like, "Oh, wow, chicken smells so good, doesn't it?" I have to be honest and say, "No."

But, yeah. It's really too bad about the family thing. If a family truly can't accept that a mamber of their own has a different opinion on food, then that's not good.

So you'd be a flexitarian? Eating meat on certain occasions.

Im a vegan because cows have at least one baby a year to produce milk and all the boy ones are killed. Like wise male chickens are killed and the egg layers are killed after only a year. If you drink milk you might as well eat beef as loads of cows die in the dairy process and otherwise there bodies are just going to waste. Another reason to be vegan is that meat production uses more carbon than everything else, a cow eats 60 ( kilos or tons cant remember) soya which could feed loads of people and they also burn down the rain forest to graze cows ( and I know they burn it down for soya too- so buy organic). I think it is morally right to do what you can for the enviroment and becomeing a vegan saves more carbon than changing your car to electric. I think people would naturally eat mainly vegetables with occasional meat and they certainly are not meant to eat vast quantities of cows breast milk. But I think everyone has to do the right thing for themselves and make there own choices and I am quite happy for my children to eat meat or whatever ( one is vegie and one meater).

I am interested in becoming a vegan, but the prices for vegan food are too expensive!

I was unfamiliar with that term but I guess so. My idea on this isn't so much that it it is wrong to eat meat, but more so that people in America just eat way to much meat for what is healthy for them, and it is wasteful of resources to produce the amount of meat that is needed to meet the high demand. Conversely however I feel that since we are capable as a species of digesting animal protein that that is a powerful resource to not take advantage of as well, given the benefits that are derived from that ability. So I guess to sum it up I just feel people should eat less meat overall and more of other things.

Something else that I eat very very little of is processed sugars, more for general health concerns. It would be something that I would also reserve the right to pig out on on rare occasions except that I have been off of it about a year and it will make me sick to eat more than a small amount now which I learned the hard way on my birthday (The cake was not a lie) . Things made from it taste ridiculously saccharine sweet to me now. The funny thing is I had stopped drinking soda in any form about 10 years ago but had allowed myself the rare fountain soda, but even that is impossible now. The caffeine made me really wild anyway.

Yeah, I'm for animals. I didn't know cows died in the process of milking. It's all confusing to me though. I was always told if you don't drink milk, later in your life you will develop ostioperosus(don't know if I spelled that right.) But, that's another thing too is I saw a documentary where they would cage these animals up. Now some ppl don't think animals have any concept of what's going on. I might get laughed at, but I think some do just not in the same way ppl do. I'm also real big on the environment. I've often wondered with all this farming why there weren't ways to feed starving ppl. I know things don't always change for the good right away but I'd love to help contribute to that small change.

The "vegetables are a more efficient way to feed people" argument is moot at this point in time because we currently could feed the entire population of the world, and the reason we don't is political and economic. I mean, our government friggen pays farmers not to farm in order to control the price of food, while there are people starving.

I should probably eat less meat, but meat's just convenient and delicious

Yeah, I've heard that many times of farmers being payed not to farm. Wasn't this started around the era of depression? I don't know but it sounds very crazy to me in general.

On getting milk and eggs, it is really not that hard to find free-range products in any local grocery store- and I haven't noticed a substantial price mark-up.

I tend to be a bit suspicious of reasons to turn vegan, because I've seen too many girls try and use it as a fast-track way to unhealthfully lose weight- especially after they discovered they put on a few by trying a vegetarian diet of substituting macaroni and cheese for chicken breast. "Oh, so NOW you suddenly respect the rights of animals, and don't want to take away the milk intended for the young'uns? And when did these newfound morals suddenly hit you- last semester after you first hit 140 lbs? So....the reason you are suddenly living on nothing but carrots is because cows have feelings. I see."


Not that that choice of lifestyle can't be a valid one, I just see so many people jump on the bandwagon without first having the slightest knowledge of basic nutrition.

For instance- did you know that unfermented soy actually mimics the hormone estrogen? And that if you have too much of this in your diet, over time it can lead to a lot of negative health effects?

I personally try to avoid dairy products because I sing, and my voice range is better when my sinuses are clear. But I limit my consumption of soy to the half-cup I have with my cereal in the morning.

And I think everyone knows that fish is good for you- even our ancient ancestors in Africa were able to evolve by settling near bodies of water.

A calcium source is something to take very seriously- I got lazy this year and stopped taking supplements, and broke two bones this month. I was informed (in a rather unsensitive way) by my doctor that this should not have happened at my age; if I had been drinking milk my bones would not be as thin as they appeared in my X-ray.

I haven't eaten "Red Meat" for proably about 20 years now, only boneless, skinless chicken breasts and white meat turkey. However recently, I'v been having what I term "Chicken Issues" meaning everytime I bite into a piece of chicken in my head all I hear is "Yum , flesh of animals" and I end up putting it down.
Have NEVER been an "egg-eater" because when I was little I cracked open an egg and the dead fetus fell out. So thats what I think of ALWAYS. "Yum, FETUS" (even through I KNOW they aren't fertilized)
I'm no animal rights activist or anything, and I work in a restaraunt that serves tons of meat, but after hearing about how the Momma Cows cry and look for their babies who have been sold off for Veal for weeks on end. I don't care how it sounds or what anyone thinks of me. Animals do have "Feelings", maybe goldfish emotions aren't as refined as ours but they HAVE feelings none-the-less I think. If someone stole OUR babies from us to eat them can you guess how long it would take for us to put a stop to it. (proably a LONG time knowing the fallacies of Man)

...I do draw the line at veal though. Free-range products, and no sticking baby cows in pens so they can't move. Other than that, I just try to be healthy.

Yeah, when I first heard about veal made from baby cows, I was so mad. If there was any protesting for that I'd definitely join. As for eggs, lately I've been feeling a little disgusted with them. I've never seen a dead fetus which would make me sick but I still think about fetus when I eat an egg.