Flack from Carnivores

I am a vegeterian...much to the dismay of my carnivorus family...but one thing that bugs me the most is the flack I get from meat eater, they cant grasp the idea of someone doing something humane (at least the people at my school) I am a very peaceful person, so I don't tend to yell at those who judge, but I just don't know how to deal with those judgemental carnivores.

Does anyone else have this problem, or now how to deal with it?

 

I have that problem...

I just laugh it off, try not to take them too seriously...

When people find something strange and different to them they poke fun at it. Not to say that it's right, but I can pretty much gaurantee that they don't even realise how annoying or hurtful it can be.

Who knows? Oneday those carnivores might see the error of their ways and become vegetarian themselves. And in some way or other, they'll get their karma just like everybody else.

 

well, as a meat n potatoes kinda person that i am, i say more power to you - anything that makes you feel better, healthier is good and if you stick to it that's wonderful. but - not to start an argument!!!!! please! - but if a vegetarian starts in on me about how that meat sits in my intestines for weeks, yeah i get a little defensive. i don't consider it an 'error' in my ways, it's just MY way, as being a vegetarian is YOUR way. and my karma's just fine, thank you.

i know my opinion hasn't been asked for as a meat eater, but i would say that the way to deal with us unenlightened is not to try to sway us to your way of thinking. nobody likes to think they are wrong. and nobody likes to be converted through force - be healthy, live the good life and when somebody asks you how you do it THEN fill them in on your eating habits.

yeah, omnivors give vegans crap and vegans give omnivors crap - old story. personally, i try to respect anyone who respects me.

now i will take my meat eatin self out of the vegetarian forum - let the words be yours i'm done with mine.

 

I hung up a meat is murder sign at school...I fel proud...

 

The omnivore is right...you probably won't change any minds. Just be educated. Don't fight a fight you don't know much about no matter how true your heart is you won't win. Read all you can! Learn about the benefits of Veganism (which I am) and Vegetarianism as well as the dangers of meat and animal products. PETA has resources for school aged activists that will really help out. The best advice I can give beyond that is f*ck em if they can't hear the truth.


peace~
Kit

 

I agree with the "don't dish it out if you can't take it" attitude. I, myself, am a vegan and most of the time I practice and don't preach my veganism. I usually only talk about it if someone else brings it up. I agree that it's important to be as informed as you can about the benefits of a veg diet vs. a meat diet, that way if a meat eater attacks your way of life, you have some solid data to fight back with. As for trying to convert a meat eater, I've found that unless they are ready to hear what you have to say, it's usually a waste of energy to even try and argue.

 

I don't think either way is more "right" or "humane". A vegetarian or vegan is never going to convince me that their lifestyle is better, but neither is a meat-eater. They're both equal. Animals are going to die either way so power to you if you want to try to make a difference, but also power to you if you want to make a difference in another way that's equally effective (helping stray animals, donating money, etc).

I only have a problem with the PETA militants (not that I have anything against the majority of PETA members, but sometimes the group as a whole can act like complete whackjobs) or redneck hunters who try to force their ways upon each other. I'm a veggie for health reasons and health reasons alone. None of you can convince me that I'm saving animals by not eating them- someone else will, just like a meat-eater isn't going to convince me that I'm going to DIE because I don't eat meat- because you can get protein and vitamins from other sources.

I hope that made sense...

 

SilverCLover14, I agree with you that some of these groups can be pretty mititant...it is better not to try and force our views on other people, but it is good to be armed with knowledge, because as a long time vegetarian, I know how it feels to be constantly criticized for not eating meat. That's great that you are doing it for health reasons, as long as you are aware that being veg is great for so many reasons, including animal kindness as well as the welfare of our planet and it's people. I once heard the saying "you can't be a meat eating environmentalist" and I feel that is true. If you are interested in learning more there are books like "Diet for a New America" and "May All Be Fed" by John Robbins. Good for you for doing it for your body though!! I don't think people realize what goes in their bodies half the time and how it hurts them.

 

Thank you guys for posting........I took time and reflected....people are still giving me problems about being a vegeterian, but I usually say, hey, thats one person's opinion...now theyre more into shrugging me off...which I guess is better than getting lots of flack...

 

I've never seen a person giving a vegeterian problems. Maybe it's because I live in Canada, but so far the only people who rudely try to force their views on others are the vegatarians. All the "carnivores" I've seen have always respected the vegeterians.

 

I agree with you completely. I never condemn people for their meat eating, because i understand that it's their choice, just as it's my choice not to- and i express that when the conversation arises. I don't preach my beliefs unless people ask, yet i still, CONSTANTLY get slack from people who think it's an unhealthy and preposterous lifestyle. I understand that many people think this because they don't understand it, but why why why do people insist on dictating, and lecturing, and proving points with their "facts" that are "right" and mine which are deemed "ludicrous" by the carnivorous population because well.....come on, "man has been eating meat since BLAH BLAH BLAH......"

The only way i've ever gotten anyone to stop harassing me about it, is by telling them that meat is something that disgusts me- the taste, the texture, the feeling i get after i eat it. It's gross TO ME! I'd never tell someone to eat their own vomit because "it's good for you!", so why should anyone tell me to eat something i find gross because in their opinion, it's good for me?

 

That is such a good point! I may try that one!

 

i've found that when someone is extremely persistant and naggy, this is the one way that will be sure to shut them up

 

I've gotta say.......

one thing that sorta bugs me a bit is that 10 or 15 years ago, vegies and vegans would usually talk about their diet choice as the most healthy and most natural, but now that more and more science is confirming the necessity of animal-based nutrients (especially b12), all I NOW hear is that the diet choice is all about morals and spirituality

So, I guess I'm saying that many vegies and vegans have altered their tune just a bit

 

b12 can be found in plants (rarely though)

 

This is why I'm here -- this is not really true (in that it's only half the story), and potentially very dangerous.

Some plant matter that is grown with animal based fertilizers, and is contaminated with animal poo, may contain trace amounts of bioavailable cobalamin b12, but plant food found in the western world is hygienically produced, and therefore will not have any available b12.

If you're not eating any animal products, you should be popping a b12 supplement, or eating foods fortified with b12

This information is widely available on vegan web sites.

Keep in mind that these quotes are from vegan web sites; not so called "vegan bashing" web sites.

http://www.veganhealth.org/b12/all
"The overwhelming consensus in the mainstream nutrition community, as well as among vegan health professionals, is that plant foods do not provide vitamin B12".

"Many have developed classic neurological symptoms of a B12 deficiency

"...a large portion of vegans (and even vegetarians) who do not supplement with B12 have elevated homocysteine levels which are associated with early death, heart disease, stroke, and other diseases"

 

that's funny, cuz more and more i'm hearing that science is proving that being vegan is much healthier and more natural than eating a corpse and i'm doing it for both my health and morals equally.

 

I'd like to see this science.

I bet scientific journal articles don't use words like "corpses"

I'm not a flamer; I'm just interested in the facts.

this is a very good, heavily referenced article:
http://www.powerhealth.net/selected_articles.htm

 

"Because of the plentiful media rhetoric about the supposed dangers of animal product consumption, as opposed to the alleged health benefits of the vegetarian lifestyle, Tanya had deliberately removed such things as cream, butter, meats and fish from her diet. "
pffttt... the media rhetoric about the dangers of animal products, since when have you seen any media condemning or even remotely informing people about eating animal products?
and the lady had a miscarriage because she was a vegetarian?cmon noww....

"It seems as if every health expert and government health agency is urging people to eat fewer animal products and consume more vegetables, grains, fruits and legumes."
have you looked at a food pyramid lately????????

"MYTH #1: Meat consumption contributes to famine and depletes the Earth's natural resources."
that IS true
http://www.taxmeat.com/ecological.html
"Raising animals for food consumes more than half of all water used in the U.S. It takes 2,500 gallons of water to produce a pound of meat, but only 25 gallons to produce a pound of wheat. A totally vegetarian diet requires 300 gallons of water per day, while a meat-eating diet requires more than 4,000 gallons of water per day."
"A typical pig factory generates raw waste equal to that of a city of 12,000 people. In fact, the meat industry is the single greatest polluter of U.S. waters. In December 1997, the Senate Agricultural Committee released a report stating that animals raised for food produce 130 times as much excrement as the entire human population, roughly 68,000 pounds a second."
"The meat industry is directly responsible for 85 percent of all soil erosion in the U.S., because so much grain is needed to feed animals being raised for food. In the U.S., animals are fed more than 80 percent of the corn and oats we grow. The world's cattle alone consume a quantity of food equal to the caloric needs of 8.7 billion people-more than the entire human population on Earth. "


so much for that being a reliable source......