Vegetarians Vegans

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I have been a vegetarian since I was old enough to know were meat came from. I've noticed that there are a lot of vegetarians and vegans on WP.
Are you a vegetarian or vegan?

I posted this on adolescent forum but I wanted to see about what other people have to say.

I'm sort of vegetarian, I eat fish occasionally because the omega-3s help a lot with brain fog and the like. but I haven't eaten any other meat since I was 15.

if I remember correctly I stopped eating meat mainly for ethical/esthetical reasons, but I never liked it anyway because of the texture. I always loved the smell and taste of bacon but I could never eat it because the texture made me sick. soy bacon is the best thing in the world- you still get the taste, but the texture is nowhere near as disgusting. same with other meat replacements.

I mostly eat veggies though.

I agree. Also, I hate food where I can't tell what's in it, and you know what the meat industry's like, anything could be in it. You might not even be eating cow/pig/chicken, if it's a dodgy source you may be eating dog or worse. That's why I like my trusty quorn burgers!

I ate/eat Freegan food whenever possible. If I am shopping, I am about 95% vegan. There is a commune in Virginia that makes the best tofu I've ever had. Do you have any recipes that you can share?

I've been vegan for over two years and don't intend to ever go back. I didn't realize that there were alot of veggies on here. That's cool.

i've been vegetarian for 3 years; the vast majority of the foods i consume are vegan as well. i still find eggs, dairy-milk, and dairy-cheese to be vile [personal opinion-smell, taste, texture, stomach hating it, et cetera], but sometimes baked goods or dishes at a thai or indian place might have a tiny bit of dairy baked/cooked inside something, and i'll still eat.

I became a vegetarian at 15 and was a strict vegan for some years. I would have stopped eating it sooner if my parents didn't force me to eat it. I'm not a strict vegan anymore but I'm still mostly vegan. It's hard to eat out and I don't like to be so fussy.
It really irritates people to call attention to yourself by insisting that the food be completely dairy free. At home I'm vegan.

I was a vegetarian for 10 years, then I seriously fell off the wagon and spent some years going on and off the wagon.
Now I am a vegetarian again. I would strive to be vegan, but sometimes it is hard.

I did like the taste of poultry(although I only like the texture when it's fried and breaded), but I stopped eating that after I watched a cat kill a bird.

I have never liked the texture or taste of beef, and I hate the texture of pork and fish.

That made being a vegetarian easier than not being a vegetarian.

Trying to swallow eggs makes me gag, and even being in the same building as someone who cooks eggs makes me feel as if I have a horrible film on my skin so much that I would leave all of the doors in my home open for hours in the middle of winter and then take a shower to get rid of the feel.

I do like the taste of cheese, so I was not vegan.

I was vegetarian for eight years, but I started eating chicken again because one day I walked by a Chik-Fil-A and smelled some chicken and it reminded me of one time when I was small and I ate Chik-Fil-A and I had been happy, so I started eating chicken again.

I still don't eat turkey or other poultry.

I am vegan. I first stopped eating dairy because of health (I suspect allergy because ever since I was little when I eat dairy I have got scratchy throat and occassionally like when eating a lot like a big glass of milk or some ice cream breathing would get hard and hurting, and other stuff too). Also I was going to the doctor for chronic sinusitis that has been recurring for years and that cleared up, and then I gave up the rest of the animal products for ethical reasons.

I remember when I was about 5 my dad telling me about how some Jains will sweep the ground in front of them to avoid stepping on insects, and I remember insisting on us doing this, as I would get extremely upset when someone would try to kill an insect or other animal and I would try to get an alternative whenever I could.

I also wanted to become vegetarian as a child and did so for a little while, but unfortunately we lacked good information and thought that it would be expensive and require special products like Morningstar burgers to get adequate nutrition.

I think the main thing is that we are taught early on how to plan meals around animal sources, and so any change from that will feel difficult and uncomfortable. (Such as when I was in about third grade after a lesson on the food pyramid, there was a breakfast of pancakes, eggs, a fruit, and something meat-based. Sure you could have vegan pancakes, tofu scramble, fruit, and tofurky sausage if you want, though myself I might prefer a lentil veggie soup and soy yogurt with fresh fruit, or maybe the occasional pancake or tofu scramble, and of course cold cereal in non-dairy milk is awesomely convenient and nutritious).

But, when I was at college, all it took for me was to see that healthy, yummy vegan food could be available (in my case, fortunately, the cafeteria caters pretty well for vegans), and suddenly I put my ethics into practice. Yeah, cheese was the hardest to stop, but there are some good alternatives (particularly I think mozzarella slices, and cream cheese alternatives tend to be more convincing and tasty). I probably wouldn't dive right into a cheese alternative right after having dairy cheese; I would probably wait at least two weeks or a month for cheese. If you don't like soy milk, there's also rice milk or even almond milk depending on where you are.

I love Italian food too much to ever go vegan, same with dairy products. I could never be happy on a vegan or GFDF diet so I don't even bother. but I do try to go for free-range and organic stuff whenever I can.

I follow many vegetarian and vegan blogs with recipes, PM if you want some links, I don't want to sound like I advertise here ;p

Same. Is pasta vegan? If not, I could especially never go vegan!

I am not sure about this. I don't like meat except some chicken and certain fishes. I considered going vegetarian because there's not much reason to eat meat. Most of it is too gross.

But then I consider it okay to kill a cow or a fish or a plant, if I actually eat them afterwards. You know, if a lion ate me, I wouldn't mind much either. Better than being run over by a car and being left to rot under the surface.

I don't understand why we don't eat pets and people too. It's illogical to eat one type of meat and be okay with it but throw a fit and act as if it's the worst to suggest eating another type of meat.

A cow's as much a living being as human or a dog. So if someone say some living being are sacred so should be all. People shouldn't eat cows if they feel they could never eat a cat.

We don't eat humans because we function by society, which would in turn collapse if we were to permit cannibalism. Murder is illegal for the same reasons. Society would fall apart if we didn't create a 'sacred' status for our own kind to prevent a free-for-all massacre. Some might argue that these rules often cease to exist anyway... but they're there for a reason.

We don't eat pets because they're pets. Had you asked why we don't eat cats, or dogs, etc, my answer might be less absolute. But since you specified 'pets'... pets are domesticated animals kept for companionship. That is what their function is. That is what they are sold for. That is why we don't eat them.

On-topic - I'm dairy-free and gluten-free, but I do eat meat. I find it hard to go completely vegan while also cutting out wheat, barley, rye etc. However, although I eat some meat, occasionally, I do love vegetarian/vegan food. I could probably go vegetarian or even vegan quite easily if I wasn't gluten-free.

I am seriously considering it for the most part, but becoming vegan or even a vegetarian takes time.. not an overnight process. I still eat fish and love seafood.. that part of it won't change. So I suppose I can never really become a vegetarian but, I don't need poultry and beef or pork. There are plenty of other good sources of protein.

yes, but cheese isn't. all of my favourite Italian dishes are full with Grana Padano or Parmesan. I often eat just pasta with olive oil, garlic and grated cheese. have tried vegan cheese, but it sucked.