I think this is a great point. At least in the US going meatless for a meal or two or at least cutting down the portion size could make a good impact. Cows are really an inefficient food source. I think there is ethical considerations to but not just of the animals but how workers are treated. I eat meat most days but from an ex learned how to make some good dishes like tofu tacos and a vegetable chili. Just don't try to make it be like meat cause it never will.
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84 Percent Of Vegetarians Become Meat Eaters Again, Study Finds
- Thread starter Dalek
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Visualante2
Member
Now I understand when people say "wow" at me being a vegetarian for over a decade. I always found their surprise a little facetious.
timetokill
Banned
I've always found orange chicken to be the destroyer of veg vows.
Anyway, I have a weird relationship with vegans now. I've always thought veganism to be kind of ridiculous (vegetarian makes sense though), but I find myself searching a lot of "vegan" food out because I became severely lactose intolerant.
Anyway, I have a weird relationship with vegans now. I've always thought veganism to be kind of ridiculous (vegetarian makes sense though), but I find myself searching a lot of "vegan" food out because I became severely lactose intolerant.
Ta at 'ridiculous' probably nicer to say you don't get it.. (nothing like putting someone's beliefs down...).
I was the same, (well 15 years). Resisted the initial jump but these days Vegansim feels the same as Vegetarianism for me... Never really liked eggs but the cheese tastes okay and the best of the rest (meat analogues) are mostly Vegan; really easy jump for me, and I'm a lazy git.
thesoapster
Member
I was raised vegetarian...took me about 19 years to see the light. 
T
thepotatoman
Unconfirmed Member
You're also not one of the many on the front page attacking vegetarians for no good reason.
EdwardTeach
Member
Indian vegetarianism is largely poverty based, not ideological. Middle class Indians are more likely to be meat eaters.
GrooveCommand
Member
Smh. What exactly are the negative effects of being vegan? And what's so hard about being a healthy vegan?
SolidusDave
Member
I eat a ton of meat, so there's that.
But eating a minimal amount of meat once in a while is still the same as eating strictly vegetarian forever, imo.
Depends on their personal opinions of course, but some of the vegetarians I know they don't not eat meat because "oh noes that individual poor baby cow died for this piece of meat" but because they want to reduce animal suffering from mass production, carbon footprint etc.
It's not like you failed because you eat bacon once, that specific animal didn't die because of you. But eating 99% less meat still has the same effect on the market demand.
I like this approach more than the moral one. A friend of mine will e.g. eat meat once a year or so when we are testing dishes from foreign cuisines.
Unless of course they end up eating like me forever, then I don't consider them vegetarian anymore
But eating a minimal amount of meat once in a while is still the same as eating strictly vegetarian forever, imo.
Depends on their personal opinions of course, but some of the vegetarians I know they don't not eat meat because "oh noes that individual poor baby cow died for this piece of meat" but because they want to reduce animal suffering from mass production, carbon footprint etc.
It's not like you failed because you eat bacon once, that specific animal didn't die because of you. But eating 99% less meat still has the same effect on the market demand.
I like this approach more than the moral one. A friend of mine will e.g. eat meat once a year or so when we are testing dishes from foreign cuisines.
Unless of course they end up eating like me forever, then I don't consider them vegetarian anymore
speculawyer
Member
This is why I don't try to fully quit. I know I'd fail. Cutting way down on meat consumption is good enough for me.
Heck, keep chicken and fish in your diet and ditch red meat and you're good.
Doctoglethorpe
Member
What were you eating in place of meat while you were vegetarian?
Exactly, thank you.
And everyone who is complaining about preachy vegetarians and talking trash about them, just look at how you are preaching your own beliefs in doing so. Being an asshole is not a vegetarian thing, its a human thing, unfortunately.
Vegan, and I'm not overweight but have always bordered on it.. you can roast veg, eat chips, eat carbs.. (I may live on pizza/pasta with 5+ veg on and no cheese). Plus veggie meat I'm pretty sure is calorific, as is the soya milk etc.
Do wish was easy being a skinny veggie; I have to bike 20+ miles a day during summer (fuck it during winter though).
speculawyer
Member
Yeah, that is my plan. I'm pretty much ditching beef and going with poultry & fish. No steaks, ground beef has been replaced with ground turkey, and bacon has been replaced with turkey bacon (which isn't as good but still tastes good). Other than a couple Big Macs because of a buy 1 get 1 free deal and a little bit of beef in some Beef Chow Fun, I haven't had beef this year.
I'm doing it for health reasons, carbon footprint reduction reasons, and (slightly) moral reasons. I'm trying to be kinder to my brother mammals . . . but fuck birds, they are literally dinosaurs.
entremet
Member
Conventional chicken is pretty high in Omega 6, as is pork. Grass fed ruminants--beef, lamb, goat, venison have better fatty acid profile:
In terms of healthiness you have
Seafood>Grassfed Ruminants>Chicken & Pork.
Seafood is especially awesome due to the iodine content. High seafood eating populations also tend to be healthier overall--Japan is a good example of this.
The problem is that most of our beef is fattened with corn, which led to poor Omega 3/6 ratios. Imbalances in those ratios shown high correlation to heart disease.
I don't know why America doesn't move to more sustainable ruminants like lamb and goat.
I've been Vegan for over a year, and so far it's a smooth ride. It's not as hard as people make it out to be.
These statistics means nothing, most will try going vegetarian or vegan again after that. and Overall, the number of people who reduce their consumption of animal product increases. If anyone here is trying to switch to a vegan or vegetarian diet - We have a thread for you! http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=849008
These statistics means nothing, most will try going vegetarian or vegan again after that. and Overall, the number of people who reduce their consumption of animal product increases. If anyone here is trying to switch to a vegan or vegetarian diet - We have a thread for you! http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=849008
StylesClash
Member
This is my second go around at being vegetarian but there are many more options than there was 15 years ago. I think it will stick this time. A lot of the vegetarian meats are quite good so I don't have an issue.
HiredN00bs
Member
I'm approaching my vegan anniversary, Febraury 9th. My wife was also keeping a vegan diet for a while and then started to introduce some dairy and then some meat into her diet. It's difficult when so much of our culture is steeped in it and so much of our food contain animal products.
Animal products are a much more wasteful use of farming resources, requiring large amounts of feed and converting it into large amounts of waste. That's aside from the question of whether it is immoral to treat sentient beings as a resource to breed, squeeze, and chop up for sale.
Animal products are a much more wasteful use of farming resources, requiring large amounts of feed and converting it into large amounts of waste. That's aside from the question of whether it is immoral to treat sentient beings as a resource to breed, squeeze, and chop up for sale.
entremet
Member
I would agree. However, many shellfish varieties--oysters, mussels, clams, are very sustainable and good for the environment.
Americans aren't big shellfish eaters, tho. I eat oysters 3x per week.
Cheesecakebobby
Banned
That's interesting that you were allowed to witness the inner workings of slaughterhouse, as it is pretty much the rule that outsiders are not allowed anywhere near where the 'magic' happens. How did you arrange that and how much did you see?
I'm assuming you didn't raise the chickens by placing them in pens the size of a small sheet of paper, pumped them full of drugs and bred them so that they physically couldn't survive in any other conditions, etc. If all poultry came from ethical farming there wouldn't be such an issue, but 99.9% of chickens in countries like the US are raised in horrific conditions. So don't focus on the death. Focus on the life. The inhumane suffering of the vast, vast majority of farmed animals. The instant of death is like the light at the end of the tunnel for these creatures.
Robot Pants
Member
Yea it was an iron deficiency. Lost some hair, corners of my mouth were always cracked and red. Not a good look, but I admit I didn't supplement and it was my own fault.
liliththepale
Banned
Sons of Gondor! Of Rohan! My brothers! I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the lunch from me! A day may come when the intelligence of chicken grows, when they become our friends and break all bonds of animalship. But it is not this day. The fowl evolves and shattered preconceptions when the hunger of Men comes crashing down! But it is not this day! This day we eat! By all that you hold dear on this good Earth, I bid you eat! Chicken is the best!
Mato
Member
I think there's an intended joke in this post going over everyone's head. It's not even subtle or funny or anything. I had to point it out so Dennis can be held accountable for making poor jokes on what is clearly a very important study regarding man and meat.
I'm doing vegetarianism for a month. I'm at the 1 week point, now. Honestly, it's not difficult at all. But, I'm lucky enough to live somewhere with a lot of options. I'm mostly doing it to see if I can, I don't have any issues with eating meat.
That said, I can't imagine doing it for my entire life. The only way I would would be if it were for religious or ethical reasons.
Veganism, however... fuck that. I'm not even going to try.
Yes, that's called being a lacto-ovo vegetarian.
hell yeah. Just got back from an Indian place. Big plate of aloo gobi and some kind of coconut curry with tofu, rice, etc. Fucking delicious.
That said, I can't imagine doing it for my entire life. The only way I would would be if it were for religious or ethical reasons.
Veganism, however... fuck that. I'm not even going to try.
Yes, that's called being a lacto-ovo vegetarian.
hell yeah. Just got back from an Indian place. Big plate of aloo gobi and some kind of coconut curry with tofu, rice, etc. Fucking delicious.
I really tried going veg/pesc but it's pretty hard when a lot of affordable food options contain any sort of meat. I really want to do it. I find it unnerving that bacon comes from an animal comes from an animal smarter than my dog and that the modern animal rights movement was founded by a hollocaust survivor.
Pizza tells me this is a lie. All meals should involve pizza! Indian is alright and I do like a good one but there are much better cuisines imo; (Italian and Mexican with a lot of Asian; Japanese/Thai stuff being a close second).
my brother went vegetarian when he was around 16 and kept it up while he lived in Toronto. But when he moved back up north a few years later it was a lot harder for him - way fewer options, especially for eating out. It was mostly my dad's barbecue that did him in though. The man is a wizard.
Not always. There's a ton of sustainable options out there. I use the Monterey Bay Aquarium Cooking For Solutions app to find responsibly farmed or caught seafood.
Any type of learned behavior is going to take a lot of work to change. Those people did not have enough discipline. I'll bet if they took that exact same group and made them all unlearn a different behavior you'd get similar stats.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extinction_(psychology)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extinction_(psychology)
chaostrophy
Member
Ovo/lacto vegetarian for 19 years now, so I think it's pretty much for life at this point. Really the only exception I'd make is while traveling, like I'd probably be pescatarian for any trip I make to Korea or Japan.
This isn't to say some will not succeed or that it can't be done mind you or that there aren't people who do it successfully and claim it was extremely easy. The problem is that this can often erroneously project on others. In the modern day especially in places like the US, malnourishment isn't exactly a problem people face, it's the exact opposite, we fear what things we do eat and getting too many "toxins" or carbs/fat/sugar. As a result it's typically not on the public's radar to think about it. But when you remove large segments of common foods it actually can start to become problematic. This is Orthorexia and it is incredibly prevalent among vegans and those of similar mind. Being vegan takes some diligence, you need to be meeting certain daily nutrition goals and some are much harder to manage when you refuse to have animal products. If you were to take up a vegan diet you should absolutely talk to a doctor or dietician and have them help you because it is likely you could encounter issues that are not common in the normal food eating populace and may not arise right away either.
Pretty much. It's nice for whoever wants to go that route, but there's nothing normal or natural about vegans and vegetarians. The only time humans didn't eat meat is when they didn't have access to it (or some religious restriction forbidding consumption of an available supply).
The Last Emperor
Member
Am I the only Sikh on gaf lol?
It's not that hard to not eat meat and still be a boss
It's not that hard to not eat meat and still be a boss
Fried Food
Banned
That sounds like such a miserable existence, vegetarianism that is
If only. I love me some goat. But it's expensive. I was a vegetarian for a bit like a year and a half because I shared groceries with my strictly vegetarian roommate.
I've never been big into meat though.
Edit: I eat it very infrequently now. I was pretty close to vegan since I don't like dairy or eggs.
liliththepale
Banned
Genuinely curious: have you ever eaten meat? I ask because it's easy to avoid stuff if you don't know what you're missing.
I stopped eating meat 2 years ago for ethical reasons. Occasionally I've fallen for meat cravings, but eating meat 3 times a year as opposed to 365 is a huge difference. The stuff I cheated with never tasted as good as my cravings led me to believe.
Having friends who are also in on the vegan deal is a big help. Find people who can give you recipes, etc. My family has also been super supportive of me even though they still eat meat.
Wegmans "Don't Be Chicken" is a great chicken substitute, for anyone interested.
Having friends who are also in on the vegan deal is a big help. Find people who can give you recipes, etc. My family has also been super supportive of me even though they still eat meat.
Wegmans "Don't Be Chicken" is a great chicken substitute, for anyone interested.
I went vegetarian for about two or three years, with a few month lapse in between, and decided to pick up meat again because I decided a chicken breast was healthier than potato chips and cheese.
I'm coming up on a year of going vegan now and have no desire to turn back. I think it's all about the motivations that get us into becoming vegan or vegetarian in the first place. In the former scenario I was just sorta curious. In this present-day situation I'm more aware of the transition and why I made it.
I'm coming up on a year of going vegan now and have no desire to turn back. I think it's all about the motivations that get us into becoming vegan or vegetarian in the first place. In the former scenario I was just sorta curious. In this present-day situation I'm more aware of the transition and why I made it.
You truly think that people can only abstain from eating meat because they know not what "they are missing?"
I have eaten meat for 24 years of my life, have been vegetarian for the past 3 and half years, and I am not missing it at all. Some of the spices in it are certainly delicious, luckily, I can use those spices in my vegetarian/vegan alteranatives as well. "Meat is delicious though" means nothing to me. It might as well be "death is delicious though". To each of his own.
liliththepale
Banned
No, and that's not what I said. You pulled that out and I don't know why you did.
I said it's easier if you don't know what you're missing. I didn't say that it's the only way. That's not what easier means.
It's my understanding that most Sikh were raised that way, as is their right, so I was questioning whether that meant he had never tried meat.
I love meat. I don't have any moral, ethical or medical reasons to abstain, so my purpose in this topic is only to gain understanding. My only intention is to generate conversation.
Sorry for misunderstanding it then.
I must repeat myself, though, maybe I was raised by bad meat cookers, or had limited acces to the "fancy stuff", however:
a. I do not feel it is truly superior in taste to its alternatives, and indian dishes seem to agree with my position
b. Even if it were superior, the morality (or lack of it) attached to the food's generation would not allow me to eat it. Even if I were actively missing on some superior tingiling in my taste senses.
I must repeat myself, though, maybe I was raised by bad meat cookers, or had limited acces to the "fancy stuff", however:
a. I do not feel it is truly superior in taste to its alternatives, and indian dishes seem to agree with my position
b. Even if it were superior, the morality (or lack of it) attached to the food's generation would not allow me to eat it. Even if I were actively missing on some superior tingiling in my taste senses.
The Last Emperor
Member
Nah, never had meat.
CornBurrito
Member
I eat meat. I'd also eat horse, cat, and dog. I'd probably even try some monkey species if they were certified ebola free. Fuck any meat eater who judges me for that.
Also as a meat eater: beef is overrated. I'll eat steak every now and then, but I prefer chicken or fish for most of my meals.
Also as a meat eater: beef is overrated. I'll eat steak every now and then, but I prefer chicken or fish for most of my meals.
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