Vegetarian?

im not a vegetarian anymore but i rarely ever eat meat.
i was for some time but i got pretty sick because i wasnt getting all the nutrients i needed..thats one thing you have to watch. get enough protein. becoming vegetarian really makes your body feel good inside and out but when you dont get the nutrients you need you'll burn out fast.

 

I've never found that to be a problem but then I don't rely entirely on my diet for vitamins and minerals, I take multi vitamins every day and have done from since before I was a vegetarian. Alot would depend on your lifestyle too, although it's easy to include protein without meat.

 

My friend who lives in Texas keeps cows, only three females and a calf..but he never intends to eat them, they are really pets and he enjoys keeping them. On the subject of deer, folks around those parts plant fields to attract the deer, so that they can then be hunted for sport, which to me is a totally abhorent idea.

Was'nt it the responsibilty of the farmer who owned the cows to keep them within the boundaries of his own land??

 

Well, people will eat ANYTHING if they are starving to death, so I am sure vegetarians, including myself, would eat meat under such a circumstance. I can't speak for all vegetarians, but I personally respect the fact that people are not going to change their diets for years to come, if at all. I have a strong belief we are slowly going to develop into a vegetarian world, but I may very well be wrong. There is still a countless number of people who are changing their ways and making a difference by doing so.

Unfortunately, people will always waste food. The Native Americans had a great and moral belief, but they also were not against eating meat. That is where vegetarians/vegans/ect. differ. If I feel harming living beings is wrong, then I don't think I should be held responsible for the meat others are wasting (which should be on animals bodies in the first place, not on a dinner plate or in a trash can). You're right in saying that is not the way things are...for everyone. True, the majority of people still eat meat and animal products, but there are a growing number of people who don't. I've seen at least 6-10 vegetarians in the last few months just in my town, and my town is definitely not the type of place you'd think of seeing veggies. I am not going to give in on my beliefs because of the majority of people don't agree with me. If everyone did that, there would still be slavary and who knows what else going on today.

I don't have much to say about this at the moment, but I am sure there is a better solution. People have been trying to deal with animals eating their gardens and crops for such a long time, so it really has nothing to do with vegetarianism. We just have to find the right way to share the earth, I suppose.

I understand your point, but might I say going vegetarian has actually SAVED me money. I don't know about anyone else, but meat and animal products around here are so expensive. Vegetables, fruits, and grains are generally less costly. I know what you mean about the whole organic deal, but what about growing your own food? Not expensive at all, I find. I am not rich by any means. As far as the poor souls in this world who are starving, I'll quote you from above:

Just a thought!

 

I would be a vegitarian but I dont have any money so I eat dirty doubles from Mcdonalds for a dollar.

Also if I wasnt eating a cheeseburger, what would I be eating? A salad!
I dont think so.

 

yes, the only options in this world are cheeseburger or salad. we must eat all of out meals at McD's!!!

 

Blah... boourns on fast food.

Anyways... been a veg for two and a half years... all I can say is ignore what everyone else says and DO IT if that's what you want.

 

McDonalds is alright on an occasional basis..but as the above poster said, fruit and veg, nuts and pulses are alot cheaper than buying fresh meat and fish, which is why, although I am the only vegeatarian in my household, I seldom buy fresh meat or fish...maybe once, at Christmas to treat the family There is alot of different foods between meat and salad, besides there are probably hundreds of different salad recipes, alot containing, potato, nuts, beans. pulses and other yummy goodness.

 

Unfortunately, what you're saying is true. It is difficult for vegetarians and vegans to get all their nutrients without supplementing. Unless they go 100% raw... then they'll get all the protien, fat and carbs they need. You should try again and be prepared this time to get a lot of nutrients from raw foods.

-Mike

 

That's not true at all. That's propaganda from scientists who are in the pockets
of the trillion-dollar animal product industry. Psuedo-scientists, actually, but
they do have degrees from major institutions of higher learning.

Institutions that receive most of their funding from corporate America.
Many of the large universities are funded almost entirely by the
agricultural corporations.

Considering that over 70% of the farmers in America grow food for
animals, this is bound to have quite a bit of influence on the curriculum
at said institutions.

It doesn't take much googling to find the work of independent scientists
whose research clearly points to the falsehood of your parroted
propaganda.

I did my homework on the subject over 20 years, so I don't have any
links at hand.

Those who want to know the truth will find it.

Animal products addicts who aren't interested in doing anything but
justifying their destructive and selfish addiction won't look because
they aren't interested in the truth.

Know what the main difference between a heroin addict and an
animal product addict is?

The junkie knows that he or she is an addict.

LIttlefoot

"It's The End of the World As We Know it (and I Feel Fine)." REM

 

Radical? I have NO reason to give up meat. I believe in nature and its natural to eat meat. It is needed for proper brain development. Sure there are modern ways around that but I still believe God made us to consume meat. Not that I think its wrong for a person to be vegitarian. I just dont personally think its nessesary.

Also you do not know my situation so dont tell me if its possible for me to stop eating meat.

So how many vegitarians have a problem with other people eating meat? At all? Around you? ect

 

Meh. I don't care. I find it gross... the smell and sight both turn me off now... but that's not my choice to make.

Except when they insinuate I should have a chomp. Then I get fucking perturbed.

 

It takes about 3-1/4 acres of land to grow the food that your animals
consume.

About 300,000.000 people in the U.S.= 975,000,000 acres
= 1,523,437 square miles of land that have been removed from
primary nature to feed this addiction. (A lot more than that,
actually, because so much else is involved.).

A very large chunk of this contintent.

Then there's the incredible amounts of freshwater needed to both
water those plants that are fed to animals and the incredible amounts
of freshwater the animals consume directly.

Freshwater shortages are a major problem, here and around the
world.

A 'vegan' can get fat on 1/4 acre devoted to their diiet. Total.

And while Americans are getting fat on animal products, millions
of people die of starvation around the world, every day.

So you think it is just fine to trash the planet to feed your addiction
while people starve to death en masse?

Most mammals eat only plants. That includes most of the apes.

Mother's milk, an animal product, is necessary during the very
early stages of life. That's all.

Anyone can believe anything. Doesn't make it true. The god you are referring
to, the one from the bible, also approved of things like selling your daughter
into slavery and killing your wife for weaving two kinds of fiber into the
same garment, etc.

(See the book of Leviticus in the old testament.)

Not a credible source for anyone thinking clearly.

It is if we want a healthy planet and a fair distribution of its resources.

[QUOTE
Also you do not know my situation so dont tell me if its possible for me to stop eating meat.
[/QUOTE]

Sure. Someone is holding a gun to your head and forcing animal products
down your throat.

You are just an addict justifying your destructive and selfish addiction.

I do. Whatever you do for a living, I won't patronize that business.
And I won't pay taxes to a government that supports your addiction.
Which this one does (America).

This is isn't some minor issue.

The world just isn't what it was a hundred years ago.

Littlefoot

"It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine." REM

 

I respect your opinion, and I know many who agree with you. I just wanted to add, though, meat is not needed for proper brain development. Like someone already mentioned, mother's milk is. Many children are raised vegetarian from birth and have no problems with brain functioning. As far as God making us to consume meat, didn't many people once believe God made women to serve men? I notice a lot of people take the Bible and twist it for their convenience. Also, even if God did intend for us to eat meat, would he want it done in such a violent way? A just and loving God approving of animals being defeathered alive and whatnot? I view God as much more loving than that, but who am I to say? I think if people are going to eat meat, they should at least stay away from factory farming, but it's their life. I can only control what I do.

 

Srila Prahupada said that "God doesn't want us to eat meat he just is so good that he gives us a chance to do it" That's tru

 

That's the stupidest thing I've ever read.

I suggest that you find a master who isn't mentally retarded.

Better yet, learn to think for yourself.

God gave you a mind to use, not to turn over to anyone, much less
to idiots.

Littlefoot

"The greatest fine art of the future will be the making of a
comfortable living from a small piece of land."

-- Abraham Lincoln

 

You can't control what others do. But you don't have to help
them do it.

If they are doing something wrong, and you help them do it, then
you are doing something wrong.

Littlefoot

"If you would do good in the world, first make sure that you are doing
no evil." --Ghandi

 

There's only one way that the above statement makes sense.

And that's if you can plug _anything_ in place of "eat meat".

Such as:

Srila Prahaha said that 'God doesn't want us to rape and torture and
murder little children he just is so good that he gives a chance to do it.'

So this 'guru' has figured out what wise people have known since the
beginning of time, that we have free will. That creativity can be used
for good or ill.

But there is a natural tendency to do positive things, without which
the world would descend into chaos and die.

You'll have to forgive me if I am not impressed.

I read the same books and no one calls me a 'guru'.

Guess I'm just not self-important enough.

LIttlefoot

"It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine." REM

 

Hey man... where did I disagree with you? I'm not supporting animal products in any way... my post was about the benefits of a raw diet over a vegan diet. I'm with you on everything you've said.. I'm sorry if it seemed like I was supporting something not true.

All that I was trying to say was that a 100% raw diet will give you more than enough nutrients, and some vegans may not get enough because they may cook their food.

-Mike

 

Biggest trouble with folks who can't accept that all folks are different is that they can only look at things in black and white and refuse to see that different situations provide different conditions, nobody is WRONG about their choices in diet, as long as they make an INFORMED CHOICE, can THINK FOR THEMSELVES and make their OWN CHOICES based on what makes them FEEL GOOD.

Ya know, the only time I eat meat is if it happens to BE THERE in front of me. I don't go out of my way to get it, I go sometimes weeks at a time without it. It does not bother me if YOU eat meat, or weeds. I EAT weeds. Heck, I let edible weeds take over part of my garden and a section of my pond is reserved just for the cattails (yummy).

But, having access to 115 acres, if I decide to keep cows, it's because I need something ON THE LAND that will eat the grass and some of the weeds in order to keep the existing pastures clear. Four legged lawnmowers/fertilizer-makers. It's a farmer thing. And so, if I keep cows (as opposed to horses which are HARD on the land or goats which are nearly impossible to control without a lot of effort) I'm GOING to have either milk or BEEF cows, and if I SELL the cows at some point, someone ELSE will have the milk and meat... Now I suppose I should get into pasturing EXOTIC cows so they are valuable just for their BREED.......

Whatever, there IS no black and white. Not ALL meat is raised by wasting land and water. SOME folks feel healthier eating a bit of meat. SOME folks are grossed out by it. Some will eat anything and not worry so much about it, some feel the need to restrict themselves strictly to a certain diet and disdain all the rest....