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Yeah, I'm considering becoming Vegetarian - it's something I've been considering for a while. There are various reasons, one of the main ones being the ethics of meat production - plus, the more I read and watch about animals (nature fascinates me! ), the more it seems unfair (to me, at least) to kill them and eat them.
The other main reason is just my general health - I need to drop a stone or two, plus I've begun to feel bloated and sick after most meals. I've heard that meat can have that effect on your digestive system, and I eat a LOT of it!

So I'm trying to phase it out gradually, as I'm not sure it would be a good idea to just give up straight away - I might have trouble sticking to it and fall off the (meat) wagon!

I had my first day of not eating meat, and I have to say... it was really easy!

I also feel... better. It's hard to explain, but I feel like I have more energy, that I'm less sluggish.


So, any hints or tips Dakka? Any Veggies on here? Anyone fancy trolling this thread with posts about how much they love killing/eating animals?



That last one was a joke.

In b4 People Eating Tasty Animals.

My house hosts Buddhist Monks 3 months every year ,
so i know alot about vegetarian.

Majority of people cannot stand not eating meat , but if you can , you are already ahead of the game.

Been a vegetarian doesnt mean you have to give meat up completely , aslong as you are eating abundance of vegetable and fruits , there are no down sides to it.

So good for you! Animals will thank you as well!

Honestly i dont see why eating meat itself is unethical. We owe our intelligence to meat. cooked meat was what allowed us to gain an upper edge.
I can understand the ethics the meat industry(i personally dont care).

garret wrote:Honestly i dont see why eating meat itself is unethical. We owe our intelligence to meat. cooked meat was what allowed us to gain an upper edge.
I can understand the ethics the meat industry(i personally dont care).

I'll show you why its unethical but i cant post that picture xD

Wont someone think of the plants....they have feelings too! Ever seen the movie " Th Happening" you better stop eating them they will get you!

Vindicator#9 wrote:Wont someone think of the plants....they have feelings too! Ever seen the movie " Th Happening" you better stop eating them they will get you!

Myth buster did an episode on that.

But, meat is so good.....

Garret wrote:We owe our intelligence to meat. cooked meat was what allowed us to gain an upper edge.

Well, lions only ever eat meat - I reckon I could complete a sudoku before a Lion! Yeah, high protein diets have been shown to boost intelligence, but there are other sources of protein (dairy being a big one, also beans/pulses iirc), plus I drink a protein shake every morning for my breakfast. Not sure about the cooked meat thing - I thought that the cooking process removes a lot of the good stuff? I'll check that out.

Lunahound wrote:Been a vegetarian doesnt mean you have to give meat up completely

Really? I thought that was the whole idea?

Albatross wrote:Really? I thought that was the whole idea?

There are dififerent types of vegetarians. ( i only list what i know , im sure there are more )

a) Medical reasons
b) Ethical reasons ( for example dont want to kill animals )
c) Religious

Normally speaking , if you eat only plants , that can consider you as a vegetarian.

However , you are not a true vegetarian unless you also leave garlic and onion out.
So in a sense most vegetarians are not true 100% vegetarians.

So i guess in that same sense , you are also allowed little bit off the hook to have some meat once in awhile
if you arnt tied to religious reasons.

Animals like to eat each other, so I eat meat out of respect for their beliefs.

The thing about meat is, it gets you all of the amino acids you're supposed to eat. Most (no?) plants aren't going to, so you're going to have to derive protein from many different sources to get it balanced out. Make sure to eat beans, seeds, nuts, and that sort of thing, just eating carrots and lettuce isn't going to work. If you're giving up dairy you'll want to go pretty heavy on dark green plants too, for calcium.

I think meat - even red meat (fish and poultry is still better for you, though) - catches something of an unfair rap, health-wise, probably in part because it's so commonly fried, covered in sauce or cheese, etc. I'd be more concerned with heavily processed grains and sugar (which isn't, of course, incompatible with vegetarianism).

If you feel better having not eaten meat, that's a good sign. It may just be the novelty of it, but you'll never know unless you go further.

Thats why you eat soy beans Orkeo

I never much liked "soy".

I think I'm still sore about a really bad "soydog" I had once (I thought it was a regular one... I was disappointed).

Does soy have all of the amino acids, though? It might, I'm pretty sure kelp or something does. In that case you might want to work some into your diet.

Also, why wouldn't vegetarians eat garlic and onions?

Soy-(meat product here) always seems comparatively tasteless to me. Meanwhile, Veggie-(meat product here) tastes downright sickening. Silk, on the other hand, is divine.

OT, I think you ought to not make your eating habits ideological. Omnivorism is healthy. If you feel better eating less meat, eat less meat. I'm not sure why the ethics of the meat industry needs to have anything to do with such a decision.

Orkeosaurus wrote:I never much liked "soy".

I think I'm still sore about a really bad "soydog" I had once (I thought it was a regular one... I was disappointed).

Does soy have all of the amino acids, though? It might, I'm pretty sure kelp or something does. In that case you might want to work some into your diet.

Also, why wouldn't vegetarians eat garlic and onions?

Well no offense to vegetarian companies but , yes their soy product are digusting.
I mean i know how they are make , and im utterly confused to how they can make something that has no taste
into something that awful.

Either way , your soy product could be soy milk and especially different types of tofu . Those are easily found everywhere .
I dont know the chemical composition of kelp , but yes they are very rich in nutrient , keeps your hair nice and shinny as well.

Vegetarian for religious purpose bans garlic and onion because the chemicals in those plants produce hmm whats the word...
imbalance hormones i guess that can change human behavior.

Also , soy products produced by Asian will change your minds about not liking soy items. Most of the time if you buy from proper stores ,
you probably cant even tell its not meat.

In relation to the ethical reasons of eating meat:
Yeah it's the natural order of things and all but, if we have the means to survive without taking another creature's life why kill them if we don't truly need to?

rubiksnoob wrote:if we have the means to survive without taking another creature's life why kill them if we don't truly need to?

. . . plants are alive.

Manchu wrote:

rubiksnoob wrote:if we have the means to survive without taking another creature's life why kill them if we don't truly need to?

. . . plants are alive.

srry.

*sentient creatures.

rubiksnoob wrote:In relation to the ethical reasons of eating meat:
Yeah it's the natural order of things and all but, if we have the means to survive without taking another creature's life why kill them if we don't truly need to?

I love you!
I love people like you seriously!

That statement is true , and honest.

You know , so often do i see people's reaction upon visiting meat processing plants , how they go "aw thats so sad , i'll never eat meat again"
and 1 week later they say "oh well , humans are omnivores anyways" when they cant fight their urges to some BBQ steak.

rubiksnoob wrote:*sentient creatures.

There're a lot of assumptions in that one asterisked word. Personally, that sentiment means only this much to me: cannibalism is out.

@Luna: Mencius said the compassionate man stays away from the kitchen. He did not say that the compassionate man gave up eating meat.

Long story short Manchu , humans are weak willed creatures and will resort to any available excuses to cover their weakness.

Thats why i applaud what rubiks said , because it hits the weakness right in the heart.

"In the philosophy of animal rights, sentience implies the ability to experience pleasure and pain."

So sayeth wikipedia.

Just my opinion but, why needlessly cause pain/deny pleasure?
I can survive without eating meat and because of it maybe a few other creatures might survive too.

It also doesn't mean anything because he assumes that all animals are sentient. Or at least the ones that are most popular to eat...


Automatically Appended Next Post:

rubiksnoob wrote:"In the philosophy of animal rights, sentience implies the ability to experience pleasure and pain."

So sayeth wikipedia.

Just my opinion but, why needlessly cause pain/deny pleasure?
I can survive without eating meat and because of it maybe a few other creatures might survive too.

Wikipedia is not what I would call a "trusted" source. If you don't want to eat meat that's fine (More for me!), but don't invent some moral high ground to go with it. If you feel bad just say so, that is totally cool.

rubiksnoob wrote:"In the philosophy of animal rights, sentience implies the ability to experience pleasure and pain."

So sayeth wikipedia.

Just my opinion but, why needlessly cause pain/deny pleasure?
I can survive without eating meat and because of it maybe a few other creatures might survive too.

Because humans like to turn a blind eye upon things that brings themselves inconvenience.

For example , how important are miniatures , how important are human lives?
Have people donated to the starving countries?

Or they rather spend the money on extra box of GW products?

Im not saying im any better , but i do see the problem of our weakness.
And we do turn a blind eye on things.

JEB_Stuart wrote:Wikipedia is not what I would call a "trusted" source. If you don't want to eat meat that's fine (More for me!), but don't invent some moral high ground to go with it. If you feel bad just say so, that is totally cool.

I'm not trying to force vegetarianism on anyone, i'm simply saying why i believe it is right. I don't think less of anyone who eats meat.

Hi Albatross

If that is how you feel go with it.
It isn't that hard. You may eat some now and again at first, but after a short while even that stops- well for me it did any way.

And for the record I don't consider that meat is murder- simply a diet choice. I have no evangelical crusade to pitch.

Like you I just felt very uncomfortable at the lack of animal welfare, so made a personal choice.
The most important thing is to maintain a healthy balanced diet without meat- obviously replacing the protein is important.

I went through a period where i enjoyed eating meat less and less so in a way I weaned myself off it. Do what is comfortable for you in your own time.
All the rest is bunkem.

Luna wrote:However , you are not a true vegetarian unless you also leave garlic and onion out.

You're referring to the more extreme end of the Vegan spectrum here, aren't you? Yeah, I've heard of that - only eating vegetable/fruits which can be harvested without killing the plant. 'Fruitarians' I think they're called. Too extreme for me!

Orkeosaurus wrote:The thing about meat is, it gets you all of the amino acids you're supposed to eat. Most (no?) plants aren't going to, so you're going to have to derive protein from many different sources to get it balanced out.

Well, AFAIK I can get everything I need from dairy, so.... I don't really eat much cheese or eggs at all, but I DO drink quite a lot of milk so I should be fine. Vitamin B12 is the main thing to worry about, apparently, as it can only be found in animal products. Milk should take care of that.

Orkeosaurus wrote:I'd be more concerned with heavily processed grains and sugar

Oh, totally. I don't add sugar to anything I eat/drink, and always choose 'sugar-free' drinks already I have been known to devour the odd Mars bar here and there, though!

Manchu wrote:OT, I think you ought to not make your eating habits ideological. Omnivorism is healthy. If you feel better eating less meat, eat less meat. I'm not sure why the ethics of the meat industry needs to have anything to do with such a decision.

Everything is ideological. Every single choice we make that is not directly related to our survival, and even some of those. How would you feel if your partner wanted to have an abortion? Would ideology not enter into it? You're a religious man - I'm sure Christian ideology informs parts of your life. That's your choice.
In any case, the ethical reasons are only PART of the decision - I'm not giving up dairy, and dairy farming isn't exactly top of Albatross's List of Nice Things To Do To Animals.

Rubiksnoob wrote:Yeah it's the natural order of things and all but, if we have the means to survive without taking another animal's life why kill them if we don't truly need to?

Fixed. And subsequently agreed with.

Well, lions only ever eat meat - I reckon I could complete a sudoku before a Lion! Yeah, high protein diets have been shown to boost intelligence, but there are other sources of protein (dairy being a big one, also beans/pulses iirc), plus I drink a protein shake every morning for my breakfast. Not sure about the cooked meat thing - I thought that the cooking process removes a lot of the good stuff? I'll check that out.

Saw something about the payoff between the nutrients that are destroyed by cooking, which allows the nutrients to be digested more efficiently; and uncooked food having the good nutrient content that the body finds difficult to digest. It is complicated.

and yes, if eating meat increases brain function, how come white mice are the most intelligent beings on the planet?

I've considered becoming a vegetarian from time to time as well,for many of the same reasons you've spoken of,the best I've managed thus far is to "cut down" on pork & red meat.

FITZZ wrote: I've considered becoming a vegetarian from time to time as well,for many of the same reasons you've spoken of,the best I've managed thus far is to "cut down" on pork & red meat.

Oops that came out wrong

Cutting down is still very good.
Its alot better then the crash diet type where you torture yourself and it comes down to test of will everyday.