NationStates

I've been vegetarian from a very young age and cannot remember what any meat tastes like. My pet peeve is when I tell people that I'm a vegetarian and they ask me if I'm a vegan. No, I'm not. I just told you what I am.

Currently, I am an omnivore but I have reduced my meat consumption to not more than 2 days per week. My next goal is to significantly reduce my dairy intake, which is difficult for me because you know, cheesecake, ice cream, etc. I am trying to live more ethically but without completely depriving myself of things that I enjoy. I apply this philosophy to other issues like carbon emissions. I walk wherever I can and I take public transportation rather than have a car so reduce my contribution to climate change but I am still willing to fly once or twice a year to go on holiday.

My perspective is that meat is generally a luxury in the first world. Not always, there are people in Appalachia for example who can only sustain a healthy diet by hunting, they are too poor to sustain themselves on non-animal products, and when one bullet gets you a whole deer's worth of meat it's entirely ethically justified to kill and consume it. There are villages that rely on fishing to exist, there are necessary medicines made from or tested on animals. I would like to get closer to vegan myself though.

Anyway, when I say meat is a luxury I don't mean it's entirely unnecessary or that no one should have it, but that a medically healthy, middle-class person in a developed country certainly has viable vegan alternatives, and moreover that I think it is problematic that some people consume meat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day.

In the long term I would like to go vegan but with some degree of flexibility, in that I would accept animal-products offered to me at a dinner invitation, that I am still willing to buy and wear secondhand leather and wool products. I am taking it slow because I am trying to live more ethically without overly inconveniencing myself.

Some vegans might ask "why don't you do more?" and that is a fair question, but we all make these compromises. If someone who is homeless approaches me and asks for money I give them 2 euros if I can, I could afford to give them 10 and just give up a few indulgent purchases. I think if everyone tried to do just a bit better rather than make a radical commitment, the world would be a better place. That said, I commend those who are fully vegan for their contribution to the reduction of animal suffering and environmental destruction.

Rojava Free State wrote:

The Allied Tribe wrote:
That’s a pescatarian diet. Most people, including myself, don’t think that’s a vegetarian diet, but I guess that’s still close enough.

I don't eat anything that is definitely sentient. I have a major issue for example with eating a pig

Fish are sentient, but then so are trees
You’d need to focus on algae’s and cellular organisms to be non sentient (not sure about fungi), I’d forgive you for insects and basic molluscs (except Cephalapods)
I eat fish and fowl and Pork (which is cultural and delicious despite being oh so wrong)

Kohr wrote:I've been vegetarian from a very young age and cannot remember what any meat tastes like. My pet peeve is when I tell people that I'm a vegetarian and they ask me if I'm a vegan. No, I'm not. I just told you what I am.

Hah, same with me.

Page wrote:Currently, I am an omnivore but I have reduced my meat consumption to not more than 2 days per week. My next goal is to significantly reduce my dairy intake, which is difficult for me because you know, cheesecake, ice cream, etc. I am trying to live more ethically but without completely depriving myself of things that I enjoy. I apply this philosophy to other issues like carbon emissions. I walk wherever I can and I take public transportation rather than have a car so reduce my contribution to climate change but I am still willing to fly once or twice a year to go on holiday.

My perspective is that meat is generally a luxury in the first world. Not always, there are people in Appalachia for example who can only sustain a healthy diet by hunting, they are too poor to sustain themselves on non-animal products, and when one bullet gets you a whole deer's worth of meat it's entirely ethically justified to kill and consume it. There are villages that rely on fishing to exist, there are necessary medicines made from or tested on animals. I would like to get closer to vegan myself though.

Anyway, when I say meat is a luxury I don't mean it's entirely unnecessary or that no one should have it, but that a medically healthy, middle-class person in a developed country certainly has viable vegan alternatives, and moreover that I think it is problematic that some people consume meat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day.

In the long term I would like to go vegan but with some degree of flexibility, in that I would accept animal-products offered to me at a dinner invitation, that I am still willing to buy and wear secondhand leather and wool products. I am taking it slow because I am trying to live more ethically without overly inconveniencing myself.

Some vegans might ask "why don't you do more?" and that is a fair question, but we all make these compromises. If someone who is homeless approaches me and asks for money I give them 2 euros if I can, I could afford to give them 10 and just give up a few indulgent purchases. I think if everyone tried to do just a bit better rather than make a radical commitment, the world would be a better place. That said, I commend those who are fully vegan for their contribution to the reduction of animal suffering and environmental destruction.

First of all, you can become a lacto vegetarian, which is easier to become compared to a vegan. Also, you are right about some places needing a form of meat to live, and some medicines that need to be tested on animals, which is fine and why I wouldn’t enforce compulsory vegetarianism in the world.

I'm a meat eater, hell I had taco's yesterday. One thing I always find stupid is some people who think that if you eat meat you are evil or something. Like most meat eaters would look at the gross practices in slaughter factories and say "Yeah that needs to change" and instead of vegetarians or vegans trying to support those people in order to give animals a more comfortable life, a lot(not all) instead say that meat eaters are evil bastards who don't care about animals because we eat them. Like what? You can still eat an animal while respecting it and giving it a comfortable life.

Satuga wrote:I'm a meat eater, hell I had taco's yesterday. One thing I always find stupid is some people who think that if you eat meat you are evil or something. Like most meat eaters would look at the gross practices in slaughter factories and say "Yeah that needs to change" and instead of vegetarians or vegans trying to support those people in order to give animals a more comfortable life, a lot(not all) instead say that meat eaters are evil bastards who don't care about animals because we eat them. Like what? You can still eat an animal while respecting it and giving it a comfortable life.

Not if everyone eats meat in the amounts common in western nations. Then factory farming is required; it is not possible to produce the required amount of meat through animal-friendly methods.

Excluding vat-grown meat and such.

The Alma Mater wrote:
Not if everyone eats meat in the amounts common in western nations. Then factory farming is required; it is not possible to produce the required amount of meat through animal-friendly methods.

Excluding vat-grown meat and such.

It's entirely possible, just not as cost effective as the slaughter houses want it to be. There are ways to make the slaughtering and farming of animal much more humane without totally destroying production.

I eat fish, chicken, rice, spinach, curry etc. I want to be a vegan or a vegetarian but I need your help. I have allergies to egg, dairy products, wheat, apple juice...(yeah it looks like a lot) do you have any suggestions on what I could eat if I wanted to go on a vegan or vegetarian diet? because of my allergies, my family thinks that going on a vegan or vegetarian diet could be too restrictive and perhaps problematic, and I agree with them so far since I can't think of vegan foods or vegetarian foods I can regularly eat, thanks.

ArranVidLand wrote:I eat fish, chicken, rice, spinach, curry etc. I want to be a vegan or a vegetarian but I need your help. I have allergies to egg, dairy products, wheat, apple juice...(yeah it looks like a lot) do you have any suggestions on what I could eat if I wanted to go on a vegan or vegetarian diet? because of my allergies, my family thinks that going on a vegan or vegetarian diet could be too restrictive and perhaps problematic, and I agree with them so far since I can't think of vegan foods or vegetarian foods I can regularly eat, thanks.

Well from what I know there's salad, theres also several plant based foods you can make to vary, like zucchini pasta(it's actually pretty good) and other things, If you want to go fully vegan then you'll limit more things, if you don't actually care about full vegan diet then I would recommend continuing to eat at least fish for iron, so that way you don't have to take supplements or the like. Also you should probably visit a doctor in order to figure out a proper vegetarian/vegan diet that won't compromise your health.

Satuga wrote:

The Alma Mater wrote:
Not if everyone eats meat in the amounts common in western nations. Then factory farming is required; it is not possible to produce the required amount of meat through animal-friendly methods.

Excluding vat-grown meat and such.

It's entirely possible, just not as cost effective as the slaughter houses want it to be. There are ways to make the slaughtering and farming of animal much more humane without totally destroying production.

No, we literally do not have enough space for that on the surface of the planet.

Satuga wrote:

ArranVidLand wrote:I eat fish, chicken, rice, spinach, curry etc. I want to be a vegan or a vegetarian but I need your help. I have allergies to egg, dairy products, wheat, apple juice...(yeah it looks like a lot) do you have any suggestions on what I could eat if I wanted to go on a vegan or vegetarian diet? because of my allergies, my family thinks that going on a vegan or vegetarian diet could be too restrictive and perhaps problematic, and I agree with them so far since I can't think of vegan foods or vegetarian foods I can regularly eat, thanks.

Well from what I know there's salad, theres also several plant based foods you can make to vary, like zucchini pasta(it's actually pretty good) and other things, If you want to go fully vegan then you'll limit more things, if you don't actually care about full vegan diet then I would recommend continuing to eat at least fish for iron, so that way you don't have to take supplements or the like. Also you should probably visit a doctor in order to figure out a proper vegetarian/vegan diet that won't compromise your health.

Thank you for your advice yeah I forgot to mention I also eat free-from (free-from means free from egg, wheat, dairy products) pasta for breakfast and lunch (I eat 4 free-from fish fingers for lunch often) and the free-from pasta is fusilli and penne pasta. I'll have a look at zucchini pasta

Satuga wrote:

ArranVidLand wrote:I eat fish, chicken, rice, spinach, curry etc. I want to be a vegan or a vegetarian but I need your help. I have allergies to egg, dairy products, wheat, apple juice...(yeah it looks like a lot) do you have any suggestions on what I could eat if I wanted to go on a vegan or vegetarian diet? because of my allergies, my family thinks that going on a vegan or vegetarian diet could be too restrictive and perhaps problematic, and I agree with them so far since I can't think of vegan foods or vegetarian foods I can regularly eat, thanks.

Well from what I know there's salad, theres also several plant based foods you can make to vary, like zucchini pasta(it's actually pretty good) and other things, If you want to go fully vegan then you'll limit more things, if you don't actually care about full vegan diet then I would recommend continuing to eat at least fish for iron, so that way you don't have to take supplements or the like. Also you should probably visit a doctor in order to figure out a proper vegetarian/vegan diet that won't compromise your health.

Yeah I eat a lot of carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, peas, some sweetcorn

The Alma Mater wrote:

Satuga wrote:It's entirely possible, just not as cost effective as the slaughter houses want it to be. There are ways to make the slaughtering and farming of animal much more humane without totally destroying production.

No, we literally do not have enough space for that on the surface of the planet.

We don't have enough space to regulate worker animal abuse? To make the slaughter process quicker? It's not just about space it's about making things quicker, like instead of cutting cows throats make a system that outright kills them instead. This does not require much space change. I'm not saying "Let all the animals free range forever" Because that would be stupid and illogical. We just need to make the slaughter process better and make workers less abusive of the animals they're killing.

You can do 10 poll options; why isn't flexitarian on there?

ArranVidLand wrote:

Satuga wrote:Well from what I know there's salad, theres also several plant based foods you can make to vary, like zucchini pasta(it's actually pretty good) and other things, If you want to go fully vegan then you'll limit more things, if you don't actually care about full vegan diet then I would recommend continuing to eat at least fish for iron, so that way you don't have to take supplements or the like. Also you should probably visit a doctor in order to figure out a proper vegetarian/vegan diet that won't compromise your health.

Thank you for your advice yeah I forgot to mention I also eat free-from (free-from means free from egg, wheat, dairy products) pasta for breakfast and lunch (I eat 4 free-from fish fingers for lunch often) and the free-from pasta is fusilli and penne pasta. I'll have a look at zucchini pasta

Heres a recipe to make it, also the wheat thing kinda sucks cause that really screws with the things you can have.

I'm personally a pescatarian but I could very easily go vegetarian as I only have fish maybe once a week, if that, and I have it mainly because I like the taste. I've been that as long as I can remember.

Satuga wrote:I'm a meat eater, hell I had taco's yesterday. One thing I always find stupid is some people who think that if you eat meat you are evil or something. Like most meat eaters would look at the gross practices in slaughter factories and say "Yeah that needs to change" and instead of vegetarians or vegans trying to support those people in order to give animals a more comfortable life, a lot(not all) instead say that meat eaters are evil bastards who don't care about animals because we eat them. Like what? You can still eat an animal while respecting it and giving it a comfortable life.

Last thing, this title is quite misleading as you say this is the vegetarian thread but being a vegetarian and being a vegan are very different things.

I tend to eat mostly meat these days. With the occasional salad to ensure I don't get scurvy.

Earthbound Immortal Squad wrote:I'm personally a pescatarian but I could very easily go vegetarian as I only have fish maybe once a week, if that, and I have it mainly because I like the taste. I've been that as long as I can remember.

Satuga wrote:I'm a meat eater, hell I had taco's yesterday. One thing I always find stupid is some people who think that if you eat meat you are evil or something. Like most meat eaters would look at the gross practices in slaughter factories and say "Yeah that needs to change" and instead of vegetarians or vegans trying to support those people in order to give animals a more comfortable life, a lot(not all) instead say that meat eaters are evil bastards who don't care about animals because we eat them. Like what? You can still eat an animal while respecting it and giving it a comfortable life.

I personally have nothing against full omnivores. Only when they start preaching about how horrible the killing of animals but are then are happy to have their steak later. I remember that was rife during the horse meat scandal in the UK some years back. But for your second point I would say that most vegetarians don't fit into what you say but more vegans instead. My reasoning being, and feel free to say what you like about this, but veganism is a fad plain and simple. It's rise to popularity came from people either wanting to alleviate their conscious or to appear as part of a trend. The same could be argued about vegetarians, though vegetarianism has been going for far longer and didn't suddenly boom like vegans. I also find that people who are part of fads sometimes like to think they are better than others who are not which is quite frankly a despicable practice which I have seen countless times.

Last thing, this title is quite misleading as you say this is the vegetarian thread but being a vegetarian and being a vegan are very different things.

Yeah I don't like people who preach "Oh this is absolutely awful, blah, blah ,blah" (kinda like a hunter that got harassed by a parent and his brat for killing a deer even though the two said they buy meat from stores like what?) The only thing is improving the quality of life for animals is always a good thing, and should be something we look for just for being a decent person. And yeah I totally agree with you that veganism is more of a fad from people who think they're better, vegetarians tend to be a lot more reasonable.

I'm a lacto-ovo vegetarian, though I'm pretty vegan-ish (e.g. I've cut down a lot on dairy and eggs). I've been vegetarian for nearly 20 years.

I'm mostly vegetarian for environmental reasons and I've mostly been reducing my dairy intake lately for the same reason.

Aeritai wrote:Opinions on Vegan Burgers? I'm not a Vegetarian myself, but I am curious to what Vegetarians think about Vegan Burgers like the Impossible Whopper from Burger King.

I haven't had Burger King's version, but I have had the BrewDog impossible burger (maybe another one too). It was alright, but I prefer veggie burgers that are either obviously veggies and beans or something like seitan in a burger form.

Being able to grow everything you need to survive is pretty neat!

I like vegetarians, but they're a little stringy, they should eat more meat, you know to make them more tender... okay I might be over cooking them...but still...

The Allied Tribe wrote:As you probably know, the amount of vegetarians (and vegans) is slightly increasing. The usual goal of a vegetarian is to help the environment and to encourage other people to quit their meat-eating ways.

And this is why people despise vegetarians (well vegans). What I eat has nothing to do with you. I don't tell you what to eat, don't tell me what to eat. I'm nor convinced about the environmental argument either. I also very much doubt we could sustain global world population on a plant-based diet

However, there are different kinds of vegetarians, and there are other forms of debatable types of them. Examples are pescatarians and pollotarians, who, in the opinions of most people (including me), are not vegetarians because they eat a form of meat.

Don't care what you eat. Don't care what floats your boat, just keep out of my lagoon

Also, most people tend to be omnivores, who some vegetarians greatly despise.

We despise vegeterians too. It goes both ways.

The main problem with most vegetarians, however, is that there are people with very meat-heavy diets, who tend to be dehydrated and have weak bones

Here we go with this eating meat is bad for your health. I call bullshit on that, but even assuming it was true, this is none of your business either way

But they also forget about the environment and that animals still have feelings.

Oh sweetheart, nobody "forgets" about the environment or "animals have feelings". Nobody eats meat because "duh huh dying animal fun"- well, okay, maybe there's a few nut jobs out there, but the vast majority of people out there don't. Also, as said earlier, I'm not convinced about the environmental benefits of a vegeterian lifestyle, but let's, for argument sake, assume they're true. Nobody eats meat because "duh huh, killing planet fun". Okay, once again, maybe a few nut jobs, but most people don't. Most people recognise that killing animals (and the environment) is an unfortunate but necassery evil

Australian rePublic wrote:

Also, most people tend to be omnivores, who some vegetarians greatly despise.

We despise vegeterians too. It goes both ways.

You're not helping.

Australian rePublic wrote:

The Allied Tribe wrote:As you probably know, the amount of vegetarians (and vegans) is slightly increasing. The usual goal of a vegetarian is to help the environment and to encourage other people to quit their meat-eating ways.

And this is why people despise vegetarians (well vegans). What I eat has nothing to do with you. I don't tell you what to eat, don't tell me what to eat. I'm nor convinced about the environmental argument either. I also very much doubt we could sustain global world population on a plant-based diet

However, there are different kinds of vegetarians, and there are other forms of debatable types of them. Examples are pescatarians and pollotarians, who, in the opinions of most people (including me), are not vegetarians because they eat a form of meat.

Don't care what you eat. Don't care what floats your boat, just keep out of my lagoon

Also, most people tend to be omnivores, who some vegetarians greatly despise.

We despise vegeterians too. It goes both ways.

The main problem with most vegetarians, however, is that there are people with very meat-heavy diets, who tend to be dehydrated and have weak bones

Here we go with this eating meat is bad for your health. I call bullshit on that, but even assuming it was true, this is none of your business either way

But they also forget about the environment and that animals still have feelings.

Oh sweetheart, nobody "forgets" about the environment or "animals have feelings". Nobody eats meat because "duh huh dying animal fun"- well, okay, maybe there's a few nut jobs out there, but the vast majority of people out there don't. Also, as said earlier, I'm not convinced about the environmental benefits of a vegeterian lifestyle, but let's, for argument sake, assume they're true. Nobody eats meat because "duh huh, killing planet fun". Okay, once again, maybe a few nut jobs, but most people don't. Most people recognise that killing animals (and the environment) is an unfortunate but necassery evil

I don't care if you're a meat eater or are vegetarian or vegan. It's perfectly fine for someone to be in either category. Arguing whether "teh vegans r wrong" isn't going to cut it. There are many perfectly good reasons someone might be a vegetarian or vegan.