Sorry if this has been done before. Just wondering the different views about dairy and eggs. Why you do or do not partake in those foods. I'm an omnivore who has been thinking seriously about embracing the vegan lifestyle. But I'm very ignorant in all that it pertains. I'm thinking about it because of the torture of animals, health reasons and earth health. But back to the question at hand. I'm wondering, why do you not eat dair or eggs. I thought this was somthing that the animals did naturally, so why is it wrong to eat it? Please tell me if I'm wrong about this. Like I said, ignorant. Is it because of how the animals are treated? If so, would you eat from free range? If I had cows and chickens that were like pet, would it be okay for me to eat dairy and eggs that came from my own animals that were treated very well? I know it'll be different for everybody out there. I'm looking for all the imput I can get from every different view.
I'm a lacto-vegetarian. Will consume dairy up to a point. (Like I avoid yogurt with gelatin) I gave up eggs a year after becoming vegetarian. I don't mind milk. Its not a flesh food. You don't have to kill the animal to get it. Eggs are the beginning of a life cycle, fertilized or not makes no difference. I've chosen to avoid them for that reason. Been this way over 25 years now. No problemo. x
Cows dont naturally lactate constantly. They are continually (usually articifically) kept pregnant in order for this to happen. Like any mammal, their milk is made for their babies. Once the calves are born theyre usually taken away immediately and either killed on the spot or used as veal. If theyre kept they too become dairy cows and the cycle of abuse continues. Please look up veal and the cruelty behind that as its an important point in terms of animal welfare. A cow is a highly intelligent creature who will actually cry tears and sometimes scream as her newborn is taken Milking the cow, the process of continual pregnancies from as early as possible and the strain of farm life cause many problems for the cows, like painful mastitis, tumours, broken legs from the weight of their unnaturally large udders To me, these beautiful creatures are not ours to use as milk machines From a health perspective, I dont want breastmilk that was designed for a baby animal with 4 stomachs to try and be digested by my adult human body. Aside from that, it is mainly pus and saturated fat. The cows milk is highly processed and pasteurised before becoming a consumable dairy product. In my mind, I would have no desire to approach a mother cow with her new calf, push the calf aside and take its milk and consume it raw, right there and then, so how come eating cheese, something far more processed, is considered a natural thing to do? Human beings are also the only creature to not only drink breastmilk after the stages of infancy and babyhood, when it is not needed, but to drink that milk from a totally different species. I wouldnt even drink human milk, nevermind bovine. The whole thing is just incredibly odd to me Then of course there are the conditions the cows are kept in on some farms. Theres plenty of lit and vids out there showing the horror of that As for eggs, of course there are many welfare issues if you buy our average supermarket eggs. Actually, the reality is horrendous. Finding a local free range farmer, where you can see the birds and the way they live is however completely different Aside from that I dont really see them as food. Theyre a birds...well, egg! Theyre a runny thing that came out of a birds backside, and again, I would have no desire to eat one raw. Just lately however I have been rethinking eggs after 3 yeas vegan. Ive gone 3 years without so much as thinking about them, but a couple of weeks back I began craving. This may be an easily solvable issue or I may seek out a local farmer whose birds I can see having a happy life, Im unsure yet. I doubt Il ever actually be able to eat an egg though. It just seems too gross, and as xex said, is the beginning of life. A birds ovary if you like. And some are indeed fertilised, not many but some. I dont feel my body was designed to consume these things. A stoat would happily pinch a birds egg and eat it raw right there, bits of shell included. I dont think I would You also have to be aware that these "products" will sometimes contain hormones and antibiotics which have passed through the animals system to get into their secretions Sorry this is rushed, Im moving house today! Just had to answer though and also wish you good luck with whatever you decide, and good on you for being open to all this
Thank you both. That was good information. I'm trying to get over my love of certain foods. I could probably give up eggs. I like them, but I don't love them, I get random cravings for an egg sandwich, but I think I could get by. But I love milk. Not the normal 2%, that stuff makes me gag, I like skim milk. With chocolate or cereal, I hardly drink it just by itself though. So maybe. Just recently eating animal products has started to bother me. I feel like a real POS and if I really think about (what exactly I'm eating) I feel sick, even though it tastes good most times. My biggest worry is that I'm so uneducated on vegan lifestyles and diets. I'll probably become sick from lack of nutrients because I won't know what I need. But those are questions for another thread (or for someone who wants to tutor me via PM lol). But this will really help me to make my descision. I really didn't know most of this. I knew it was unatural, and I'm an animal lover so I hated to see the conditions that these animals were forced to live and die in. I grew up very close to a bunch of dairy farms, and I've seen on TV how the chickens are kept. I now live in a more rural area and hope to one day have chickens as pets. Maybe even a cow or goat. I was thinking I could get milk from them, but now that I know the way that it is obtained, I think not. But thank you so much for taking the time to educate me.
if you like skim, some soy milks will be too rich. Try rice. Try cutting down on meat/eggs/dairy until you really don't think of them first anymore. Have a veggie day, them two veggie days per week, then a veg week. Focus on adding new nutritious foods into your diet, rather than eliminating. Plenty of vegans miss an old food, and I know one who says her fave food is steak, but she won't eat it.
that's a good idea. I was thinking that I would have to give it all up at once, but a transition would be better and easier. My body won't go into shock.lol If I put my mind to it, I think I could really make myself hate meat. Like, not even want it anymore. Hopefully.
actually, I simply got to the point where it was a neutral most of the time (some smells still make me gag). Sadly, I am still wired to equate smoke with food, so before the neighbors slap that crap on the barbie, the wood fire makes me very hungry. So I learned how to do various veggie kabobs and grilling wonders.
Yeah, I'm gonna have a problem with the cooking smell in my house. I love the smell of a lot of the stuff cooking. It's usually just the sauces or herbs, but when my brother is cooking up a huge steak, my stomach is gonna be growlin'.
Having now spent time around chickens I can tell you that fertilized or not, almost all eggs will never develop into another chicken. This has little to do with humans removing them. Why? Because for most of a hen's life she doesn't care about those eggs. She lays it and then leaves it. So if a human doesn't eat it something will or it will sit there and rot. If you want to eat eggs I would suggest raising your own chickens since you live in the country as they make wonderful pets and are pretty easy to take care of. Plus they supply great fertiliser for your garden. Even if you decide you don't want to eat the eggs they still make great pets and do a good job on pest control around the yard. Plus it is cool looking out the window and seeing chickens running around out there.
When I have my own land I do plan to have chickens. I used to have one when I was young. An old teacher gave me this little chick that she had in her class room, a child had dropped it and broke it broke one of it's legs. He never was able to use his leg again, it was neat because he was able to use his wing to walk. My mom called him half chick. I loved that little guy. One summer I went out of town to visit my dad and he got sick while I was gone and died. My mom was kinda happy since we found out he was male and would probably start to crow. I don't even know if we were allowed to have him, we lived in the city. But you're right, he was an awesome pet. I can't wait to have more. What do you mean they are good with pest control? Like bugs?
I'm just switching to being a vegetarian and its only been about a week for me. I personally eat cheese and milk products (cheese is my favorite food), but I only eat eggs in bread products or processed foods. This is because I have never liked the taste of eggs my entire life and I don't think I have tried one for at least 25 years except when they are cooked into bread or to hold meatballs (which I don't eat anymore) together. My reasoning for becoming a vegetarian has more to due with getting away from the hormones added to meat than due to the condition of the animals. When I was a child my parents raised free range chickens (for eggs) an a few bulls for meat. I had to take care of allot of the chores involved with them and it never bothered me to look after or eat the bulls when it was time, but the taste of eggs always grossed me out and I wouldn't eat them and I would also bitch about having to care for the chickens.
I have officially decided to become a vegan. I'm starting off slow. Just a couple days this week than add more from there. No dairy or eggs. I've requested info from a whole bunch of organizations (vegan and animal rights). I haven't even officially started and my brother is pissed off and kinda confused why I'm doing it. I've tried explaining it to him. But he just doesn't get it. My mom is supportive, but confused.
I forgot to mention in my post about eggs that the mass produced egg industry involves the killing of amost all male chicks as soon as they can be identified as male. This is oviously because they wont lay. So in effect giving money for eggs to an unknown source is helping to support this killing However as I said before if eggs are bought from a local small farm or pet chicken keeper itd obviously be different as they wouldnt be large scale breeding, theyd just use the hens they already had Good for you for going for it btw! Good luck
Yes, chickens will help keep insect populations under control, which can be nice in the country. Also if you let them into the garden in the off season they will eat over wintering bugs and weed seeds. But by all means don't let them in there while you are growing stuff.
That's good. I'm scared to death of bugs. lol Wondering if anyone can suggest a good cereal. It seems that everything contains honey. I've been vegan for three days now. I'm surprised at how much I like it. A bunch of vegetables that I haven't tried in years because I didn't like them, I love. Soy milk is delicious. My family is happy about the soy milk. My mom likes it and my brother is lactose intolerant. I don't even miss eggs. I'm having trouble finding a good salad dressing though. What is a good one? Veggie burgers and hotdogs take care of my meat needs. I'm doing pretty good with it.
Thats awesome news:cheers2: Good on you! We have a delicious salad dressing but were in the UK so Im not sure if youll be able to get it...Ill look at what it is next time Im near the fridge though! Otherwise, salad dressings are really easy to make yourself, and that way you can make different flavours using oils (whatever oils you prefer-veggie, olive, avocado etc) vinegars, lemon or lime juices, herbs, spices, agave syrup, garlic etc
Thanks. I'm really enjoying this. Not just tolerating it, liking it. I'm getting good food. I feel better. I can fill up on tons of veggies and feel healthier, not like a cow. I'm eating plenty and still being under in calories. I'm making sure to get all of my nutrients. I take a B12 suppliment, always have, and since I love baby spinach I'm getting plenty of iron. I've never felt better. Thank you all so much in helping me along with my transition.
Yay! My husband went straight from being meateaer to vegan and he said he felt the same. I transistioned in stages so it was less obvious to me, but still great Btw that dressing we use is called Meridian French Dressing...no idea if they have it in the US. You should have something similar!
I know we have French dressing. I'm not sure if it's the same, but I'll look for Meridian French. Thank you. I went veggie before, and I tanked so bad. I didn't know what I could eat and I didn't know where to find out. I was only like 12yo. I thought all I could have was salad. I got so very bored, so very fast. This is much better.
