Vegetarianism

[shadow]

I've been thinking about giving up meat for the past few months. I have never really been a big meat eater but lately it has been kind of grossing me out. It's not so much the taste, but the thought of where it came from and how it was prepared I guess. Even the look of it seems gross.

What are all your thoughts on vegetarianism? Are any of you guys vegetarians and what made you decide to become one?

 

[roark]

I like eating meat too much to give it up.

That being said, when you eat meat it sits in your gut for like a week as it decomposes. This is opposed to fruits and vegatables which pass right through as your body extracts the nutrients. It's more efficent.

 

[karltilston]

:thumb: Good Luck! If you do just make sure you replace with some = in carbs and what not cant have you dieing on us :P

 

[Stardust]

I personally see it as unhealthy.  We're omnivores for a reason.  But, I can at least see why you want to stop eating meat.  You can always eat less meat without abandoning it completely, too.  My suggestion is that you should try it for a week or so, and make a decision after that.  It'll give you a better idea of what being a vegetarian means.

 

[bedi nik bzez emak]

;D

 

[007snicker]

You could kill some carnivores to make up the difference so you can eat meat and be good for animals at the same time =D

 

[Thundergod]

While I agree that we should treat our livestock with more respect than is given in a factory farm setting(It would result in more nutritious and better tasting meat for one thing), I disagree with organizations like PETA.

I for one am not a vegetarian, but I do limit my intake of red meat, and try to focus mostly on fish and poultry.  There are certain nutrients that cannot be derived easily from a vegetarian diet, such as iron and protien.

 

[Zelfouz]

I have been a vegan for 5 or 6 months. I do not intentionally eat animals or anything that comes from them.

What convinced me to adopt the diet was the environmental reasons. It takes significantly more water and energy to produce livestock than it does to grow crops. Animals need to eat and drink just like us. A huge portion of crops grown go into feeding livestock, and almost none of this is returned to us when livestock are consumed. Like us, they use up most of the food they eat just living their day to day lives, and then they shit and piss it out again as waste. In a world where food is short in supply and water could be scarce soon too, I didn't think it was ethical to continue eating a diet that was so wasteful.

It was said above that humans are meant to be omnivores. I agree completely. The best evidence of this is in Vitamin B12, a nutrient we require which is only naturally available in meat. However, we now know how to cultivate bacterial cultures to produce this for us in fortified foods or multivitamins. Every other nutrient we need to survive can be acquired from plants without any trouble if you plan things out correctly.

 

[Stardust]

Well, Zelfouz, although you do have a good point, I have to disagree.  Some crops can rob the nutrients from the soil, and most farmers rotate their fields so that, after one of these crops almost destroys the land, the cows or other livestock inhabit it for a year and fertilize it so it can be used again next year.

Maybe I'm just selfish.  I'd rather enjoy my life here than waste it trying to save the planet from the inevitable.  I'll do stuff to help as long as it doesn't interfere with my life.  Recycling is a good idea because it's simple and doesn't interfere with your life, but I'm not going to become a vegetarian.  The main problem, at this point, is that we are extremely overpopulated.  Another problem is that the guys with the most children are usually the lazy, jobless ones that have 6 kids with 5 different women.

 

[Ellie]

With the large amount of farms switching to producing biofuels over meat production, there needs to be more vegetarians otherwise there'll be a food shortage.

I'm a Vegetarian, and what made me become one was... strange as it sounds, it seemed to come naturally - I stopped liking meat, it just all tasted crap. I've never liked red meat anyway, and I hate the way chickens are processed and everything. I wouldn't like to push my ideas on someone though, as much as I hate people pushing their ideas on me, so I'm not gonna say "don't eat meat the world is gonna end". BUT - if you are thinking about it you could do as my sister did, try it out for a week or two. My sister ended up having a huge meat fest the day the week finished, you might feel the same. But I found my health actually improved - I used to be anemic, and have all sorts of problems, but becoming a veggie actually helped that.

Iron is a big problem however. I found I had cravings for things such as walnuts, and such, that contain iron. If you crave something it's probably because you are lacking in something that food provides - if you start wanting fish then try something that contains omega 3 - or just eat some fish. Vegetarianism doesn't have to be a permanent doctrination, you can pick and choose, regardless of what other people say. "OMG you're a vegetarian and you eat fish I hate you", and all that, they don't know what they're talking about. It's your body

Anyway. This post is probably a load of crap as I've been drinking, but whatever.

 

[Stardust]

With the large amount of farms switching to producing biofuels over meat production, there needs to be more vegetarians otherwise there'll be a food shortage.

Well, we're searching for alternative methods of energy.  Senator McCain said something about awarding anyone who can come up with an efficient battery-powered car.  I don't think biofuels will become a big thing in America, which consumes the most energy (I believe) because the fuel companies pretty much own our government, but I've heard it's being used elsewhere. 

If we have a serious problem, the government will probably tell people to eat less meat, much like they did when we were sending food to Britain and France during WWI(?), I'm sure most will agree.  If the government feels the need to issue such a demand, I'll be more than happy to cut down on my meat consumption, but I don't want to have to completely stop eating meat.  Like you said, our bodies often crave what they need, and my body needs at least a little meat every now and then.

Other than that, I agree with you completely.  It's a good post, and you've basically seconded my suggestion to try it out for a week or two.

 

[shadow]

I'm on day 3 so far without meat. So far so good. lol

 

[Venetia]

lately i haven't been eating meat but that's just because i'm on a crazy diet to shed lbs quickly
*eat's a celery*

i used to wonder why anyone would ever even care about anything enough to deny themselves the wonderful flavor of meat, but, since I've been eating healthier, it's weird ... I never get sick, and I always have so much more energy ...

:/ dammit why can't the good things in life be good for you

 

[Cruelty]

water could be scarce soon too,

OMG ITS PEOPLE LIKE YOU THATS RUINING THE EARTH YOURE DRINKING ALL THE WATER AND RUINING EVERYTHING THINK ABOUT THE CHILDREN YOU SELFISH ASSHOLE
vegetarians are to saving the world what george w. bush is to saving afghanistan.



i dont eat ALL meat.
some of it i devour.

 

[Stardust]

lately i haven't been eating meat but that's just because i'm on a crazy diet to shed lbs quickly
*eat's a celery*

i used to wonder why anyone would ever even care about anything enough to deny themselves the wonderful flavor of meat, but, since I've been eating healthier, it's weird ... I never get sick, and I always have so much more energy ...

:/ dammit why can't the good things in life be good for you

Really?  That's interesting.  Maybe I should try eating less meat.  But yeah, the best things are, at the same times, the worst things.  It's even worse because we know it's "forbidden" on our diets or whatever, and that makes us want it more.

 

[Zelfouz]

water could be scarce soon too,

OMG ITS PEOPLE LIKE YOU THATS RUINING THE EARTH YOURE DRINKING ALL THE WATER AND RUINING EVERYTHING THINK ABOUT THE CHILDREN YOU SELFISH ASSHOLE
vegetarians are to saving the world what george w. bush is to saving afghanistan.



i dont eat ALL meat.
some of it i devour.

You're retarded.

 

[Despain]

I've moved this to the Symposium bcause vegetarianism usually (and has begun) to spawn debates, and it's a good topic for the Symposium.

I don't get the POINT of vegetarianism or veganism. The only possible reason I might be able to understand it is for health reasons, but even then it's possible to eat meat, just not so much of it. In fact, in that way it's possible to enjoy meat even more, because if it's a treat or something it tastes even better than usual.

Humans can eat meat and always have eaten meat. Frankly I think it's pretty stupid not to. I usually actually make fun of vegetarians and vegans, but not because of their choices, but because an incredibly large percentage of those people are generally stuck-up assholes. You know the type.

 

[dadevvtsvre]

I once knew someone who was a vegetarian. He said that shortly after he stopped consuming meat, he felt great and a ton better.

Personally, I couldn't live without meat. Heck no. And whilst I agree that the way they process the meat can be a bit...disturbing (some might even say it's cruel, especially when you see the living conditions of certain livestock) humans are omnivores for a reason. Of course, many have their reasons. But what I'm saying is that vegetarianism is definitely not for everyone (like me) and like all things should be used in moderation. (if you're going to be a vegetarian, at least eat some fish!  :wink: )

Also, many forget that meat contains certain minerals that vegetable lack, which is an important aspect.

-Fun fact! Roasted spiders contain ten times as much protein as beef!

 

[Zelfouz]

I respect people's choices for what they eat. I am a vegan for my own reasons, but I don't really care what you eat. However, what does bother me is the statement "humans are omnivores for a reason". As I already stated, I agree that humans evolved to be omnivores. But with our modern knowledge, we are completely capable of living and thriving on an entirely plant based diet. And, in fact, countless people do.

Could you give an example of some of these minerals that vegetables lack? (aside from Vitamin B12, which I already stated needs to be produced by bacterial cultures)

 

[Venetia]

vegetables are deficient in b12, b6, protein, phosphorus, sodium, iron, manganese.

vegetarian diets are excellent for kidney health, heart health, liver health, and galbladder health. it reduces fat in the body, reduces cholesterol (note: some people with a certain condition get WORSE cholesterol on vegetarian diets but that's very rare), and may ward off most forms of cancer.

vegetarian diets, however, increase levels of oxalic acid, potasssium, and zinc. That wouldn't be a problem, except when you get too much of it (which is easy on a vegan diet), you greatly increase the risk of testicular/ovarian cancer, or other genitourinary conditions.

meat is actually especially important for women, who have problems maintaining iron, manganese, calcium, and protein in their bodies. men should actually eat less meat and dairy than women, though this is seldom the case.

an omnivorous diet is important for your health. it's not that vegans are more healthy than carnivores. actually they deteriorate just the same.

the key is to eat meat, but in small portions, and only lean meat or meat heavy in omega-3 fatty acids (like fish) to make up the difference that veggies don't compensate for.

we literally ARE omnivores and we are designed to eat meat, however our nutrition structure is generally geared more toward a slightly more vegetarian influence since we mostly enjoy a sedentary lifestyle.

anyway if you eat a lot of fast food or meat, you WILL experience a LARGE increase in your overall health by eating veggies and whole foods instead of processed ones, it's not rocket science. your body seeks natural food, because there's more nutrition there. but people need to understand that a lean piece of beef or a cut of salmon will do your body just as many wonders as a grapefruit or a piece of broccoli.