Different reasons for being a vegetarian

I'm not a vegetarian but I wanted to get some input from this forum. I've started eating tofu, veggie ground round and stuff like that and I like it.

I tried reading some of the threads and didn't find what I was looking for. I guess I would just like to know if there are vegetarians who have other reasons for taking this lifestyle besides being against eating animals.

I'm sorry if this upsets anyone, i'm just not sure I agree that it's wrong since most animals eat other animals.

 

You don't have to eat tofu and meat substitutes to be a veg*n. It is cool that you like them and eat them, but they are not necessary. I rarely eat them.

There are a lot of animals that don't eat other animals, like cows, rabbits, and deer to name a few.

My original reason for going vegetarian was health. Doing research I found that a vegetarian diet could be one of the healthiest and also reduce the risk of diabetes and high blood pressure, which are both problems in my family. I wanted to do what I could to reduce my risk of these as well as be healthier in general. My reasons for staying vegetarian have developed beyond this now.

 

I became veggie for my own health. I've been able to reduce the amount of medication I take on a daily basis and I've lost weight as a wonderful side effect of becoming veggie. The fact that some animals lives were spared in the process is great also.

Kathi

 

I would like to eat healthier and be healthier, however i'm not a huge fan of salads, can you get all the nutrients you need without having to eat alot of salad? Also I hear it's more expensive to keep a veggie diet, is this true?

 

i don't eat a whole lot of salad. probaby the same amount as a meat eater would. You could get all the nutrients you need without ever touching a salad. What specific nutrients are you worried about not getting?
In my experience, it's much cheaper eating vegetarian. I don't eat a whole lot of "fake meat" products (which can be expensive). I eat tons of beans, veggies, carbs, all of which are very cheap. my boyfriend and I have a grocery bill of less than $150 (sometimes $100) a month. I'm not sure how much my meat eating friends spend, but i'm sure a pound of meat is more expensive than a pound of beans or veggies.

 

I'm another health veggie... it seems to be "the other kind of veggie" from what I've seen.

You don't have to eat salads to be vegetarian. Do you like things like veggie sticks with dip? (or fat-free salad dressing) Depending on the type of greens you choose, this can actually be healthier than a salad anyway. What kinds of vegetables you eat doesn't have to change if you choose to go veggie - just what you do to replace meat.

I heard how expensive it was going to be to switch too. And sure, if I look at things like veggie burgers versus a hamburger, THAT can be a whole lot more expensive. But for anything that's not pre-prepared in the freezer section, I save a lot. I have a family of 4, and one month we tallied up what the veggies eat vs the omnis just for giggles. Now my preteen son is GF... so we knew that the guys' bill would be a bit higher by nature, but we were amazed. The guys spend about $200 per month on their food, and my daughter & I spend about $100. I'm GF but on a diet, and DD is 7 years old & eats like a bird, but that's still a HUGE difference! I think it depends on how you look at things. A pound of nuts costs far more than a pound of meat... but you don't eat 4 ounces of nuts in a sitting either.
love,
mom

 

The way I see it, your reasons aren't important because the end result is the same - fewer animals suffering and dying, less damage to the environment, more plant food to feed the world since it isn't being sucked up by cows. Sometimes a moral conviction comes later, sometimes not. But rock on with what you're doing.

And to skyjewelz: Salad (at least the usual, uninspired iceberg lettuce kind of salad) is basically void of any nutritional contribution. If this is the only kind of salad you've ever had, you might try making your own with other leafy greens like spinach or kale, try some fruit in it, nuts, beans, sprouts, whatever. Get (or make) some decent dressing. If you still don't like it, fine. Most of the veg*ns I know don't eat a lot of salad. You can find much more nutrient-dense meals out there.

 

I originally stopped eating meat because I just don't believe in the idea of eating animals, but it just so happens, as a bonus, it happens to be healthy for you as well. I've definitely felt alot better about myself mentally and phisically since I became a vegetarian.

 

In general animal products overall are unhealthy and plant products are healthier.

Their are exceptions however. Poultry is said to contain alot of fats but usually most of the fat in poultry is unsaturated unlike hamburger meat which is mostly saturated fat.

Fish is the other exception which contain the omega 3 fatty acids and most fish fats are of the polyunsaturated fats. Unsaturated are actually beneficial to ones health.

Besides these dairy products are also sources of saturated fats.

I dont think being a vegetarian is healthy. A Vegan or a Pescatarian who eats little dairy would be actually healthier.

Eating fatty fish is actually healthy, but skipping meat altogether and eating alot of dairy products kind of defeats the purpose really.


I think being a vegetarian and eating alot of dairy is really stupid. Being a vegan or a pescatarian is healthier.

Some meats are healthy and this doesnt include hamburgers.

So actually being a meat eater in my opinion is healthier unless u are a hamburger every day meat eater.

Being a vegetarian and eating a ton of cheese and eggs everyday isnt any healthier than being a meat eater who eats just mainly some white meat and red meats on occasion.

As far as plant foods coconuts contain saturated fats which arnt good in excess.

Most nuts though contain alot of unsaturated fats which explains why eating 1.5 ounces a day is good.


Vegetarians/Vegans can eat black beans and rice. That in my opinion is a good meal especially if you throw in some peppers and hot sauce. Beans have alot of nutrients and fiber.

The one advantage to being a vegan is fiber. Animal foods dont have it.

Fish has the omega 3 fatty acids which are good for the heart but you still need fiber.

I think eating lots of fish and fresh fruits/ vegetables is the way to go.

The meditteranean diet emphasizes fruits and vegetables as well as beans, and some fish.

Meditteranean diet is basically vegeterian but they dont skip meat altogether.

Believe it or not some meat is healthy. Dont tell me it isn't either.

Most meditteranean diets limit redmeats however. They dont eat steak/hamburger everyday.

Fish is eaten a few times a week for meditteranean cultures.

Basically the best diet is one that limits saturated fats and one that promotes unsaturated fats and fiber rich foods.

 

Thanks everyone for the valuable info. I guess my next step is to find a list of foods and such to make sure I don't miss any important nutrients. I do enjoy fish and chicken, lately i'm just not fond of eating beef...I refuse to eat ground beef anymore because of the crap I find in it while chewing my food and that's when my boyfriend suggested veggie ground round.

I need to be careful about switching to such a diet when I know little to nothing about what nutrients I need because I have an 18month old daughter who needs certain things to grow up healthy. Do you know any sites that will explain needed nutrients and what foods give them?

So...are you still a vegetarian if you eat dairy? What about fish and chicken, what's the stand on that?

 

skyjewelz - if you click under "nutrition" on this website link theres info that will explain vegan nutrition, and what foods give them -- http://www.vegansociety.com/html/
yes, vegetarians can eat dairy
vegans eat no animal by products, including dairy.

 

Saying that fish is healthy in our current reality is questionable due to pollution, especially from mercury. The FDA advises pregnant women, women who are breast feeding, women who could become pregnant, and small children not to eat certain certain fish and not to eat any more than 12 oz total of fish per week.

Also, not all fish are good sources of omega-3. Mostly they are cold water oil fish such as wild salmon.

There are good sources of omega-3 in plants from flax seeds, hemp seeds, purslane, and walnuts to name a few. For those that eat them, eggs can also be a good source of omega-3 if the chickens are allowed to eat a natural diet of plants and insects.

If you want a guide line of what to eat on a vegetarian diet check this out: http://www.pcrm.org/health/veginfo/vsk/4foodgroups.pdf

Eat what you feel comfortable with eating, just don't call yourself a vegetarian if you eat meat please.

 

Whether or not the human being biologically was designed to comsume other animals is debatable. I have read much to suggest the human body is herbivorous in nature, but also a little which could support the idea that we are omnivores. However, i personally have always seen myself as a herbivore. From about the age of 8 or so i was questioning the consumption of meat

Age 12 i saw a documentary showing cruelty in a slaughterhouse. Pigs being beaten, confined and generally abused, not to mention not being killed humanely at the end of it all. I then began my research and found that the way we farm all over the world for every single animal is wrong, inhumane, a disgrace. This is undeniable. Age 13 I stopped eating meat.

It was also for health reasons. In these videos and from research i noted the creatures were pumped with hormones and antibiotics, were often sick, were fed eachothers dead bodies, the list goes on. Meat is also quite a tricky thing for the body to digest, it takes a while and its full of bad fats and stuff like that (Also burgers etc are ground-up God knows what. Toes, eyes, genitals, you name it)

I became vegan after realising one day the insanity of stealing the breast milk which was designed for a baby creature with four stomachs from another species and drinking it ourselves, despite the fact that we are adults, and human. Research into the dairy industry also reveals severe maltreatment of animals.

So really, even if you believe human beings are meant to comsume other animals as carnivores or omnivores in nature do, the way in which we farm is horrendous and reason enough for me personally not to touch meat. I also see no difference between, say, a pig and a dog, or a cow and a cat, and so eating meat has always been difficult for me, as i shared my childhood with many pets

 

I also forgot to mention a biggy-saving this planet from destruction. The amount of grain fed to "livestock" meant for food in America alone in a year, i believe, could feed every single starving person on this planet. They consume so much water, so much energy, cause so much pollution. If you search around the net a little the exact figures should be somewhere

The rainforest and other important plant areas are being destroyed to raise these creatures on too

 

i became a vegetarian for health reasons. meat kinda makes me sick to my stomach now. and as well now it is for animal rights. i have convinced my dad to basically buy free range meat now and he is thinking about becoming a vegetarian. hard for him to give up the steak now though.

 

Lets see...i became a vegetarian 6 years ago as sort of a rebellion to my very very overbearing mother. i was almost 18 years old and she still wanted me to be under her rle of thumb, so i showed her i wasnt going to take it and stopped eating meat. i then about 3 years later became pescatarian after my sister who works at our local hospital scared me with the whole omega 3 fatty acids, and so i ate fish 3 times a week. i then became a vegan this past december when i realized u can get omega 3's from peanuts and flax seeds. i realized there was more to foods nutrition then my mother had ever taught me. lucky for me i have learned to eat a more healthy combination of foods as well. i also then became aware of animal rights, which as well turned me on to environmentalism .now im a pregnant vegan woman and alot more healthy then i woulda been 6 months ago if i had gotten prego

 

This is the biggest reason why i'm contemplating becoming a vegetarian...the stuff i've found while eating ground beef is incredible, definetly not meat in the slightest.

I also have recently seen the documentaries on how the slaughter the animals and I agree it's awful. If only we could go back to the day when there wasn't any big corporations and we were all on the trading system.