Vegemite is okay for those who like it, but I abhor the stuff. Cyanide. I’m not a vegetarian, and Perfectly Normal Beast is delicious.
Vegetables. I have no idea why people are so squeamish over genetically modified veggies and fruit, but organic is good, arugula is good, and jicama is divine.
What the heck is Vegemite??
I’m a vegetarian, possibly going on vegan. For some weird reason, I LOVELOVELOVE tofu and other soy stuff. I was raised with somewhat peculiar meals: broiled eggplants; road-killed squirrel; road-killed rabbit; bean ‘sausages’; garlic-mustard pesto; weird poke concoctions; elder-berry syrup; etc, etc, etc…
So for some weird reason THAT has turned me vegetarian!
Try being a vegetarian with braces then go to a massive cook-out down South where they have 12 kinds of meat and only corn-on-the-cob for their vegitable. Trust me, it’s FUN!! I literally lived on s’mores the whole week…
FREE THE VEGITABLES!!
BUY ORGANIC!!
Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe veganism is a diet on which you eat or wear no animal products what so ever. Not even honey or wool. It sounds really cumbersome, but some people like it, I guess. It takes all kinds. Just so everyone knows, I’m not a vegetarian or a vegan.
I say, now watch what you say,
they’ll be calling you a radical,
a liberal,
oh, fanatical,
criminal.
Oh won’t you sign up your name,
we’d like to feel you’re acceptable,
respectable,
oh presentable,
a vegetable…
I ♥ vegemite!!!!!!
VEGEMITE rules all!
I wrote a letter to Muse suggesting a Vegemite Pie to Kokopelli.
Vegemite is a black concentrated yeast extract paste. Contrary to popular belief it is not an evil smelling vile paste of death, but rather a deliciously strong spread perfect of your morning toast.
My mom is totally organic obsessed, seeing as she is a horticulturist and she works at some place that’s called something like “Project of safe pest control” so all we eat is organic.
I don’t really like meat, I like tofu if cooked right and if it is a good brand. I am not vegetarian.
On the subject of food, I just made myself truffles! I feel proud of myself as I’m not normaly a cooking person. I mixed melted chocolate (okay fine, choklit) with butter (not too much butter though) and lumped it into little lumps then sprinkled cocoa powder mixed with powdered sugar over them. Mmmm.. tasty.
Hey Guys, an actual vegatarian here! I’d like the world to know that all vegatarians are not outdated hippies. (Not that there is ANYTHING wrong with hippies) We are just people that happen to not eat meat. Is there anything wrong with that?
If you’re wondering what is our source of protien it’s tofu which actually tastes very good. There is also source made of various NON-MEAT things that is made to look and taste somewhat like meat. I do not know what meat tastes like and I don’t want to know either.
Also, people wanting to know about vegatarians would also have to know the difference between vegatarians and vegans.
In the words of yesterday’s_kinked_moose I will kindly explain the difference.
“Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe veganism is a diet on which you eat or wear no animal products what so ever. Not even honey or wool.”
First of all, vegatarians AND vegans (unless you’re allergic) eat honey and wear wool. We just don’t like the idea of killing living things for food or other products. This is where the twists come in. Even though the vegans don’t want to kill the animals for food they also don’t like the idea of getting food from animals. So vegatarians DO eat eggs, cheese, milk, chocolate, ect, and vegands DON’T.
Also organic products are VERY good for you because many fruits and vegatabales that are not organic have bug spray on them. EW!!!!
Did you know that 10 (or somewhere around that number) years ago people in various parts in Asia ate dogs and cats? They don’t now but now they eat bugs. Will those people ever learn?
#19- i, the pickest eater on earth, actually like bugs – grasshoppers, fried and salted! veeeeery good.
i also like french fried squid, but, yet, i hate pizza. nasty nasty. yech. i don’t like marshmallows either. or any kind of meat except beef. i looooove beef. of course, i live in wyoming.
#20- who DID tell you the muses aren’t real?! they lied!!!!! don’t listen to a word they say, ever again!!!
I would think that if the animals are treated well- think free-range or grass-fed- it’s not bad to eat them. Get ready for a rant.
Okay, in today’s fast-food and burgeritized world, cows are horribly mistreated. They’re raised in tiny stalls in ginormous barns and never see the light of day. They live in their own filth. They are fed giant quantities of corn– which cows are NOT meant to eat: it makes them sick because they do not have the right kind of stomach for it-, pumped full of artificial vitamins- and believe me, these aren’t your nice human-quality kinds of things- to keep them alive, and forced to eat liquified fat from other cows! I tell you, they are made to become carnivores! All this to fatten them up in two months or so so that they can be killed for a few hamburgers!
Now if they ate only grass and things they’re supposed to, lived outside, had time to then you could justify eating them. But like this? You decide!
And organic? That’s not much better. All it means is that they don’t do the liquid fat, and are allowed acess to pasture. Which means that for maybe a one-week period of their short lives, they can wander outside of their horrid metal barns into a tiny outdoor pen. Which they won’t, because all the food and water is inside.
This came from a diabolical book called The Omnivore’s Dilemma. Read it. Love it. Obey it.
19 (Yotsuba)- Bugs are actually a better, healthier and less fatty source of protein than most other animal products. As a vegetarian, I don’t eat them, but several members of the Chinese sidde of my family do. They say they taste very good. I think the question is more, “Will those steak-every-night people who say vegetarians are going to die young and anything other than red meat isn’t worth eating ever learn?”
NOTICE TO ALL MUSEBLOGGERS:
As intelligent people, I deplore you to not eat veal. Veal calves are kept in pens barely bigger than they are, never allowed to see the outdoors, and fed on a liquid diet. They’re literally made to become anemic so that their flesh is light and tender when they’re killed young, packaged up, and set on tables. It’s this kind of stuff that made me go vegetarian. I’m not saying that you must never eat any meat ever again; I’m just asking that veal not be part of your diet.
19- That’s not entirely true. I know for a fact that some vegans don’t eat honey or wear wool (I was good freinds with one.) Also, eating bugs and cats and dogs isn’t any worse that eating any type of animal. I mean, if you don’t think eating animals is right, that’s fine, but don’t treat it like eating one animal is worse than another.
Also, if you live in a third world country, which many contries in Asia are, I imagine you can’t afford to get all caught up in the moral issues of food. You eat what you can get when you can get it, or you starve.
Also, some vegetarians aren’t vegetarian because they think it is wrong to kill animals. Some just don’t like the taste of meat, or just eat vegetables becasue they are more readily available to them. I know a lot of vegetarians, and some are simply that way for these reasons.
25- Yeah, I’m not vegetarian, but I’ve always made a point to not eat veal.
Okay, I’m not completely veggie, but I am completely organic. I don’t eat cow-fed cows, I don’t eat non-organic chicken, and turkey makes me gag. I would never eat veal, deer, squirrel or fermented anything.
im lacto-ovo, but i probably wouldnt eat eggs if they werent snuck into practically every processed item there is…
so has anyone ever read the back of a food label + been surprised that an animal byproduct has somehow been incorporated into it? it relly makes me mad. for example, do you know that there is gelatin in almost every type of yogurt? its a thickener, i guess. but why does yogurt need to be thickened in the first place? so i buy plain organic yogurt, just to be safe. i like it because you can mix in wvr you want. hot choklit powder is esp good.
tofu is great b/c you can make it taste like almost anything you want. silken tofu is good in smoothies or dips, and firm tofu is esp good for frying. my favourite way to make firm tofu is to
1) drain out all the water + freeze it. (when it is thawed, it will have a texture similar to chicken)
2) fry it in a combination of sesame oil + wok oil
3) top it w/ soy sauce and wasabi.
heh… i do eat morningstar / gardenburger stuff though. come on, its good stuff.
ok. i hav yet another recipe.
HUMMUS
you need:
12 oz chick peas
2 tbsp parmesan
1 tbsp wok oil
1/8 cup olive oil
blender
directions: blend it all together. its not that hard.
I think we should just revert back to the good ‘ol days when Pa went out with his shotgun into the forest and came back a few days later with a deer around his shoulders. That was then your source of meat.
20- are you a muser or not?!?! for crying out loud ! im not a vegetarian.
i know how yo make REAL hummus.
you need-
tahini
canned chick peasblend together.
1 clove of crushed garlic
pour olive oil on top. sprinkle hot pepper on top. add sprigs of parsly
enjoy! this is the basic recipe that my family uses.
hummus is so bland without garlic
34-Did you know that Wal-Mart is considering going organic? I think it’s an interesting idea. I wish more people made hemp clothing (a different plant from marujuana, botanically, scientifically, and plainly) some of you will know that MT makes hemp baseball caps, and someone just ate mine.
35-Vegans don’t use any animal products. No honey, no leather, no wool, no rawhide, and no feathers. I think I left out something in there, but it’s probably unimportant.
Why is hemp any different from, say, flax? I don’t see anyone trumpeting linen fabric or flaxseed oil as symbols of organic wonderfulness. Just curious.
38-Because flaxen hair is creepy. The hair isn’t, but the adjective is. And flax is AWFUL to spin. It takes about 520003 grillion hours for a square inch of material. And linen creases badly if you sit in it. Flaxseed oil tastes disgusting.
19 (AD)- What’s so terrible about eating candy that’s not packed with artificial sweeteners, trans fat, and empty calories?
Seriously, I’m sick of the traditional American mentality that anything different is weird and gross and worth making fun of. We’re supposed to be this wonderful melting pot and bastion of tolerance, and instead we have intelligent MBers putting down Asian cultures and their eating habits because we don’t have the same ones here. THINK BEFORE YOU TYPE.
Note: I’m not trying to be mean or any snarkier than I normally am. I’m trying to correct ignorance.
#37: all yogurt is “watery.” if it sits w/o being disturbed long enough, some of the water will separate from the solids.
#41: i concur with that. anyone who turns away from vegetables, health food, etc will very likely pay for it later in their lives when they end up getting heart disease, diabetes…the list is endless.
you guys should watch SuperSize Me. it sort of elaborates on ^^.
(44) Yeah I saw that movie. It gave me a craving for a BigMac. Not even kidding. I haven’t eaten a BigMac…. ever. I don’t like fast food (except for this one tiny local mexican chain… oh man, there carne asada is like nothing else) It was a good movie though.
Hemp is ok. I like cotton and linen. I will never give up my trusty linen shorts. They are the only article of leg-apparel that I can wear in the summer and not feel like I’m wearing electric blankets.
Yeah. I’m a vegetarian, too, for ethical reasons.
Though I do get cravings.
For a ham.
I love ham.
But I don’t eat it.
I’m rather new to it, I’ve only been doing it for about four or five months.
To other vegetarians: how long have you been sober?
And a couple more things?
Anybody watch the most recent Colbert Report?
They had the guy who wrote “The Omnivore’s Dilemna”.
Ugh.
Even that 10 minute thing put me off corn.
Grooooss.
49 (Queenie J)- Now I know I’m really dense. (Like I didn’t already.) Which three letters?
I have never had Vegemite and don’t particularly want to, either.
Sometimes, being a vegetarian is really difficult. Tonight was Leftover Night at my house, because most nights are. Last night (also Leftover Night), I had finished off the last of a truly yummy kale sauce. No vegetarian dishes in the house. I ended up having cherries for dinner. They were quite good, but they were cherries. *tragic sigh*
45-Try hot pants. Crocheted. I have a pair I adore, and my ‘Novak’ jumpsuit, with the aerating gaps in the thighs, is also good for dancing and quite flexible. Who here likes to figure dance?
55-‘Ion’ and ‘Ard’, in a sense. You’re actually very clever, KZAP. Wow! Your initials are K-ZAP! That’s crazee skid! Can I call you that, KZAP darling?
ive been a vedgehead since november. actually, i dont think ive ever had any cravings / withdrawal symptoms at all. but i do miss marshmallows a bit.
so…today my parents insisted on going to fathers day brunch at a steakhouse. guess it wasnt that bad. i actually managed to snatch the last waffle (the place was a zoo), and they had canteloupe and this bright orange bread that was pretty good.
hehe…i think im going to buy a waffle maker today (provided i can afford one. hope so, b/c i cant stand frozen waffles)! and its not going to be a boring one either – im going to try and find a hello kitty one that stamps a picture onto the waffle…yes, they do make those!
I’m not a vegetarian since I eat poultry and fish, but I don’t eat red meat. And I haven’t had any cravings for it, either (i’ve never eaten ham but I used to eat beef every so often), but what I have had cravings for are fries.
We have a waffle maker. My brother worships it. I just eat the waffles.
I eat mostly chicken and turkey. Salami sometimes. Ham occasionally, but I don’t really like it. We only have beef about once every two months. We have fish a lot. Every week we have at least one vegetarian dinner.
14- Vegimite IS an evil smelling vile paste of death!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
59- Marshmallows arent REALLY made of animal fat like everyone says. They’re really only sugar, with water that was puffed up. So go ahead and eat all the marshmallows you want. Cuase’ veggitarianists can eat ‘m!
#28 – Making hummus takes skill and a magic touch that I unforuntely do not posess. My brother makes the most AMAZING hummus that no-one has topped yet. Our friend (who is Lebonese, I think) says it tastes better than how her family used to make it in the Middle East. I swear, I’m in ecstasy when I eat that stuff. Unfortunately he is in Europe right now, leaving for college in the fall. We’re hoping he sends some packages every few weeks.
Also, how is it possible for eggs to posess a striking appearence similar to that of chicken, even in a Chinise restaurant? (LOOOOVE Chinise food – not dissing on it, just wondering if the waiter took my order wrong and I haven’t eaten eggs and chicken in so long I couldn’t tell the difference.)
Well, I looked up vegemite on Wiki and it looks…*cough*…well…interesting. I found the jingle amusing:
We’re happy little vegemites
as bright as bright can be,
we all enjoy our Vegemite
for breakfast, lunch, and tea
our mummies say we’re growing stronger
every single week
because we love our Vegemite
we all enjoy our Vegemite
it puts a rose in every cheek
65- No it isn’t! You just think that because of the evil subliminal messages sent by the media tell you to think it is! Really it’s a tasty, salty delicous spread.
66- I’m deffinately going to memorize that.
I ate my Vegemite this morning to honor the Australians in their soccer match against Brazil. Sadly, they lost. Ah well. The Vegemite still tasted good.
Marshamllows have gelatin. So I do not eat them. And I thought Gelatin was boiled pig skin…???
I’ve been a vegatarian for about a year and a half(almost)
Advice:never eat Boca burgers. They taste AWFUL!!!
Burger King (in all its evilness) does actually have a good brand veggieburger on the menu-thingy(where live anyway)!
THANKYOU SOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH FOR DOING THIS AWSOME THREAD!!!!!!YOU ARE MAGNIFICENT, WONDERFUL PEOPLE!!!!! I HONOR YOU!!!!!
78- i agree with SM. that is severly awesome.
72- there are plenty of yogurts that don’t. at least where i live. it was king of funny. i was at this comp and you wrote things you liked next to your name and this girl i know put “yoga” and “yogurt” and when they read them off they were like “oh, she must be from *name of city*
dude
vegitarians dont make sense
meat is soo good
animals are gonna get killed anyway
but whatever
and veggies=YUMM!!!!!!
but i will not eat tomatoes
ewwww
i call this kid the evil tomatoe kid cuz he almost made me eat
one once
but i llove ketchup
i like peas. corn. broccli. carrots. beans(green).asparagus. and other stuff
but artichoke is nasssssssty. i once ate toast with artichoke dip and ketchup. i had three bites and had a stomach ache for like, 2 hours. ewwwww.
i gave some to my friend. eww. nasty
veggie tales!!!
i love those guys
if u like to talk to tomatoes…
if a squash can make u smile!!!
oh yeah. not supposed to talk about bob and larry.
k never mind.
wuts vegimite
eww!!!
tofu!!!!!!
i once had it
it was nasty
and once my friend had to eat a big block of tofu in 3 bites.
i almost had to eat t.
he gagged after the first bite
ewwww.
its so groossssss
23- in n out is good. they buy their meat from small companys and they dont fridgerate it. its so good. i dont eat cheeseburgers from anywhere else. unless its homemade hamburgers. well, i do eat them from dicks(dont make fun of the name). but thats only when i go to seattle. but for all of u that dont know wut in n out is, is a california/nevada/arizona thing. you guys from other states are missing out BIG TIME!!!!!
(78) wow, awesome.
(87) saying “the animals are gonna get killed anyway” is like saying “the whales are gonna go extinct anyway.” There’s no “anyway”. There’s just choosing to be part of something or not. Vegetarians choose to not be part of killing animals for food.
I agree with you though, In n Out is the only fast food restaurant I don’t destain entirely. If only for their choklit shakes.
(87) By that logic, we can say that mass murder of children/kittens/small woodland creatures is hunky dory, since they’re going to die anyway. Think before you type, dearie.
Egg rolls are wonderful.
Vegemite is a spread something like peanut butter, but made of vegetables. Aussies love it; the Australian counselors at the camp I go to (we have counselors from around the world it’s really cool) bring packets of the stuff from home. Though supposedly nothing’s better than spreading a whopping amount on your crackers straight out of the jar. -shrug-
I looooooooooove ketchup. But I get sick if I eat too much of it. But I hate when people put it on perogies [sp?] or scrambled eggs. Eew. My dad puts salsa on scrambled eggs. Gross to the nth degree. It’s really annoying how moste fast-food places [where I live] don’t have choklit ice cream!
88- Tofu is actually REALLY good if its cooked right. Once, my dog (who will eat anything, sparing tofu now, I assume from this episode) had some tofu my mum spilled on the floor and puked it back up withing minutes. I refused to eat it afterward. But then a few years later, I had some tofu in a Houston Thai restaurant adn it was GOOD! It was ncine and firm and small: not large and spongey and squishy.
87- Also, if enough people become vegitarians, the demand for meat goes down, thus less animals are killed. And since that would take a fat lot of vegitarians to really make a difference in that way, we can at least, as #90 says. And #91 makes senes too: this means that anything can be killed and murdered and slaughtered because in the end we’ll all die anyway (though not necessarily in that manner). Yes we will all die eventually, because if we’re given life we’re automatically given death as a way of wrapping the good life up. But mindless killing isn’t exactly what most of have in mind when we think of our passing. You’ll see that even though humans will die after a while, we don’t kill each OTHER for food, just ones not of our species. And you may say, “well, in the animal kingdom there’s killing for food all over the place”. Yes, but they need to kill others to SURVIVE. It is not vital that humans kill animals for food. Now we have ways to grow fruits and veggies all year-round so the slaughter isn’t necessary. Even the pre-historic peoples were mostly vegitarians until they were forced to move inland from the coasts by the explorers and settlers. Today we have ways to avoid such, but we have gone out of our way TO mass-produce meat so we can eat as much as our little hearts desire. So you see, there’s really no need. Let the animals live; they have as much of a right as we do, if not more so.
I hate to break it to you all, but organic isn’t that great. (Read post 23 for a little bit.) All that’s different is that the animals have no artifical vitamins or liquid fat. They are allowed access to pasture (meaning, like a little square of grass off of the gigantic steel barn. Plus, none of the animals go out there anyway, as all the food and water is inside), and sometimes they get to live longer.
What you want is free-range, grass-fed, polyculture kinds of food because then the cows/chickens/pigs were happy and healthy. Then, it’s no crime to be eating them. After all, humans evolved as omnivores.
TO UNDERSTAND IT, YOU MUST READ THE BOOK BY MICHAEL POLLAN: “THE OMNIVORE’S DILEMMA”. YOU REALLY MUST. IT’S AN ENLIGHTENMENT. ALSO READ HIS OTHER BOOK, “THE BOTANY OF DESIRE”. IT’S ABOUT PLANTS, AND PEOPLE, AND HOW IT’S REALLY THEM DOMESTICATING US, NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND. (although you may want to know that this last book is banned in many school districts, which only makes it more fascinating.)
i might have said this before but is was reading this essay on how in america we forgotten all about “food with a face”. when we buy meat it doesn’t seem like an animal because it’s cut into little squares and packaged up, so we feel alot less guilty. but in other countries, you buy you meat freshly slaughtered or do it yourself, and it’s alot more meaningful.
I’m a vegetarian, but for a really whack set of reasons, which has nothing to do with the poor animals. Actually, it does a little bit, but not being it’s cruel to kill them.
My main problem with eating meat is that it’s extremely environmentally irresponsible. It takes an phenomenal amount of resources to raise one pound of beef. Granted, beef is the worst of the lot, but when you consider exactly how many pounds of beef are eaten every day in just the US, it adds up much too quickly. Is it really worth all that just to get one meal? Chicken and fish are not as bad, but it still seems irresponsible to participate in that. You can get the same amount of protein and nutrients from eating a good multi-vitamin and a vegetarian dish.
On a less important level, the amount of antibiotics and other chemicals in the meat we eat today is frightening. In fish, you need to worry about mercury poisoning, and in beef and chicken, steriods are used to help the animals grow faster. I don’t care how much protein meat has, if I’m running the risk of being hurt by animal steriods and antibiotics.
I’ve been a vegetarian for over a year now, and while I sometimes have issues getting enough protein, I intend to continue being one.
Randomly, do you Musebloggers think farm-raised (raised to be killed) or animals caught in the wild are better to eat? (in terms of the environment, health etc.)
5- The bad thing about genetically modified organisms (GMO) is that it’s dangerous for the ecosystem. Say you implant genes from a giant sloth into eggplants so that they grow bigger and are poisinous to the black birds that keep pecking them. Now there are two species of eggplant. What if the GMO succeeds in the wild? Since they grow so big, they’ll use up a lot of soil nutrients and water for the other plants and other eggplants. And, the black birds will probably die off because they’re poisinous, then the mosquitos they eat will overpopulate. We don’t want that! The original eggplant might die off. Another thing is we can’t be sure of is weather they’re still nutritious, or if their bird repellant will also be bad for us, or pollute the water.
19- For the record, Hippies prefer to be called The Beautiful People. Maybe if they didn’t use bug spray on the vegetables, they’d be infested with bugs. Wouldn’t that be gross, too? The real problem is with chemical runoff into the environment, where it pollutes and ruins everything.
20- Feather grows vegetarian doughnuts! I don’t know if they’re vegetarian anyways, probably.
23- This is a generalization. I think you mean cannibal, not carnivore. The few hamburgers and two months thing is probably also a exaggeration. What organic meat means is that they aren’t fed antibiotics, which is a good thing, weather or not the meat is treated any differently while alive. I think this was clarified in a later post. Now, I have defended myself eating meat (that doesn’t mean you have to) on the Museblog, even, by saying that we have unfortunately bred livestock so that they are dependant on us feeding them and would probably freeze to death and get eaten by wolves if let run free. I’m not saying we should kill them because they’re going to die anyway; but if we’re not taking care of them for food, why would we take care of the creatures? Do you want cattle to go extinct?
25- The definition of veal does not include being kept miserably. It’s just a good idea to know where your food came from, in case you’re opposed to eating veal kept that way.
27- Are you sure you’re completely organic? Labeling restrictions are only getting weaker, and those darn processed foods… By the way, what do you have against fermented stuff? What about cheese or apple cider?
28- What are they supposed to do with the animal by-products? If we slaughtered animals only to eat the prime parts, and throw the rest away, it would be an outrage! They have to find something to do with all the extras, or else the whole animal would have died for just sandwiches. They can make gelatin, clothing, pillow stuffing, instruments, and stuff with the other parts, so it’s not such a waste.
35- A person is vegetarian or vegan if they call themself one. I’ve known vegetarians that eat fish all the time and have down pillows. The definition isn’t really standard.
37- Who’s seen Wal*Mart- The High Cost of Low Prices? Anyways, I don’t think they would really use organics- they’d probably bend the rules quite a bit and get away with it.
46- Looks can be decieving. Remember the muse about photographing food?
49- Come on, don’t generalize. :p
66- Vegetarians save lives of animals. What about the life of plants? Veggies have feelings too, so be a carnivore. :p For all we know, maybe they do. Maybe they don’t.
67- It doesn’t seem right to prefer the lives of mammals, but that’s none of my business.
71- I’m not a vegetarian, but I eat boca burgers anyways because I like them. I like real burgers to, but they’re not the same.
87- The only explanation I can think of for not liking tomatos is because of our unnatural farming, more and more flavorless tomatos are coming about. Or maybe you just don’t like them. We’re lucky here where we can grow our own tomatoes.
94- It might not be vital for you personally to eat meat, but for some people it is. Okay, provided we could get enough tofu for everyone and withstand the headaches and stomach problems for some (yeah, maybe I’m just weak-willed), still in some parts of the world where food doesn’t come from a grocery store, hunting is pretty much the only way to survive. Also I’m confused by your statement that we were forced to move inland by explorers and settlers.
95- Is the crime in raising factory livestock or in eating it?
103- We would have more food if we ate the veggies fed to animals directly. I don’t think you should say it’s the same nutrition as a multivitamin and veggie dish, because we don’t know how much we know about nutrition. New things are being discovered; scientists thought we’d figured it all out when vitamins were discovered, but then the importance of fiber was discovered. In answer to your question, I say hunting is better for the environment and for health.
I think meat is healthy because it’s part of the diet humans evolved on, in balance with the other food groups. A couple other things I want to mention: People are afraid of red meat because it causes cancer or something, right? That’s probably because they’re inseperable from nitrates and nitrites, toxic preservatives they shake all over the stuff during processing. Also, I’d reccomend looking for milk from rBGH-free cows. You never know what bovine growth hormones are going to do to you.
Even though I am a vegatarian, I guess if I wasn’tone that it would depend on how many animals of the species were in the wild, and if the animals of the farm were treated humanely and not given chemicals, like you said.
Animals are dependant on us because we made them so. Mass-production of meat is wrong because we have a monoploy on the animals.
(106)Can plants feel as you kill them with machinery? Can plants feel as you shove them into holding cages meant for animals half their size? Can plants feel when skinned alive (though those last two are really more for the fur industry.)
I don’t meant to say that meat is evil and we should kill all carnivores, but we don’t need so much of it, plain and simple.
97: Because it talks a lot about evolution, and how plants are smarter than we think, and many unMuserlike people don’t like to believe that.
And also, it says it thing by dealing with four common plants and how they give us (humankind) four of the things we really want. One of these being marijuana, and how the author talks about he grew and used it, you’ll understand.
The apple: sweetness
The tulip: beauty
The potato: control
Marijuana: intoxication
110 – being a vegetarian doesn’t mean you eat only plants, or even eat vegetables all the time. In order to take meat out of your diet, you have to compensate by adding soy protein, foods with iron etc, not just vegetables. If more people became vegetarian, the old animal farms would simply be turned into vegetable farms.
104 – it’s not the amount of food in the world I’m concerned with, it’s the resources that go into producing that food that worry me. Eating no (or even less) meat is much less of a strain on the natural resources. If every American would substitute soy-protein for meat in one or two meals a week, it would make a world of difference.
I’m not denying meat is healthy, because it certainly can be, but I don’t think you could argue that your average carnivore eats more healthily that your average vegetarian.
I still stand by what I said earlier: balanced vegetarian meals with multivitamins (which everyone should be taking anyway) are just as nutritious as carnivorous meals. I don’t think that the discovery of new nutrients and minerals will change this. Even if a nutrient that can only be found in meat is found, either supplements/additional ways to get it will be made/found, or it must not be that important, seeing as vegetarians have survived without it before.
Additionally, because I know this will come up sometime: Humans’ bodies and teeth may be designed to eat meat, but I don’t think that has any significance in our modern world. In the past, it made sense for humans to eat meat, because the animals were nearby, and there were more of them. Now, however, while it may still be that way for some people, we ought to re-examine our choices. Does it really make sense for us to eat meat all the time? Are there other ways to get what we need to survive? Yes.
Basically, eating meat doesn’t make as much sense as it used to. The world is overpopulated (dangerously so in places) and that problem’s not going away. Maybe our ancestors were carnivores, but that doesn’t mean we should be, seeing as we live in two very different times.
107- i know how my meat was killed. with a sharp knife, no machinery involved.
I happen to like meat. if the animal was killed in a humane fashion, and lived that way too, theres no reason why o shouldnt eat meat, besides i hate soy. not that i dont like veggies, i eat them to. im just (definitly) not a vegetarian.
I’m sorry, but that is not how it’s done anymore, if you’re referring to meat from slaughter houses. They use other methods. And it’s not always humane; I went over this in one of the Hot Topics threads; I don’t want to start to argue as I become a snarky person.
Farm animals are dependant on us because we made them so. This is true. But now what? What can we do to benefit the cattle? As far as I can tell, either we kill them or leave them to die. It’s a lose-lose situation. Pity.
Oh, and I was sorta kidding about the plants have feelings too thing, but it was in response to the statement vegetarians save lives. heh.
(91) Not quite. Vegemite is nothing like peanutbutter and it’s not made of vegetables Well, maybe very distantly. It’s concentrated yeast extract.
(98 and 99) true, organic food is technically better for you, if it’s truly organic. But what I think VF is trying to say is that what the supermarket’s call “orgainc” isn’t nearly as orgainc as we’d like to think it is.
(103)
I think animals raised on small farms are probably the best way to do it- this avoids overhunting, and also the cruelty and destruction of factory farming. Sadly, however, small farms are not what makes the most money.
I think it’s very true that animals are raised and killed cruelly but, and that’s what’s wrong with eating meat, but to play
devils advocate, I’ll say this:
What do we do with the animals we have if we don’t eat them? People have already said that they are dependant on us and couldn’t live on their own, but that’s not all of it. Even if they could survive on their own it would be disasterous for the environment to let them free.
I know nobody was suggesting that as a solution, but it brings attention to the problem- how do you keep animals in humane conditions on such a large scale? I think the idea of cutting down on the amount of meat we eat is a good one, even if not everyone’s vegetarian (I’m not).
Even though I am a vegatarian, I think that it is vital if animals have to be killed, that they are killed in the most humane ways possible. Animals go through agony in salughter houses and fur farms. Even if stricter laws were passed about the treatment of animals in such places, that would be a step forward. I applaud the religions who kill animals in more-humane ways.
119 – it wasn’t the average person, I was refering to, actually. I meant the average vegetarian diet and the average carnivorous diet. Everyone may be different, but we all need roughly the same nutriets, although in different quantities.
118 – I agree, the small-farm idea seems like the best.
I think the hope is that as more and more people stop eating meat or even eat less of it, the industry will adjust, because it won’t be selling enough etc. I’m not sure of that though, it just seems logical to me.
104- Here in America, there is little need for meat, unless if one’s particular diet demands it. We are wealthy enough that we can eat meat substitutes and take vitamins that provide the nutrients from meat. We could not only cut down on the mass production of meat, but also the amount of methane in the atmosphere and protect the Earth from further frying.
I understand that in some places it is vital for poeple to eat meat to survive, in the less developed countries. In small, poverty-stricken countries I can perfectly understand the need to raise meat and because it is most likely produced on smaller farms rather than massive, quantity-focused farms, it’s not harmful to the environment, either.
My dad is a naturlist [spelling??] and studies native anthropology quite a bit. He told me (we were having a similar discussion) that the natives tried to avoid the use of animal material and the dependence upon them for food. When the settlers arrived in Australia, the natives were forced inland and had to look to the animals for their food source. Up until that time, the natives were mostly vegetarian, their ancestors (pre-historic people) probably were as well.
I would also like to say that I am not completely against the consumption of meat. When the natives hunted for food, they would thank the creature for it’s life and death so they themselves could live on. And if you know that the animal your eating lived a good life and was killed in a humane way (as FantasyFan #113 acclaims to) then that is fine with me. (Religious reasons usually sell me, in this case it does.) Raising your own livestock is probably the best way to go if you wish to eat meat, otherwise get it from someone or somewhere that you know treats their livestock right. I have quite a few friends who raise chickens and goats, so that I would feel comfortable eating. It is more the mass-production and inhumane slaughter that most meat manufactorers preform that I would like to rid the Earth of, just so you know.
I’m mainly considered a vegetarian, but I’m not extremely strict. I eat jello and fries and stuff. I don’t eat fish, beef, pork, etc. The only things I do eat are SOME chicken nuggets and chicken soup. I only eat chicken nuggets that are practically burned and extremely dry because otherwise I feel as if I’m eating a raw chicken.I just hate the taste of meat!! I probably haven’t had chicken for a few months but I had rice with chicken broth a few days ago. I’m not a vegetarian for any reason really. I just don’t like the taste and I can’t handle seeing the raw meat on the counter before it’s cooked. And I do have a soft spot for furry little animals!!
I think it’s horrible…Elephants in South Africa are overpopulating, and choking out other species. So they have to kill a LOT of them. It is really sad.
S. Melpomene, don’t you mean a tusk? Methinks it would be very difficult/painful to be run through by a trunk. If only they could move the elephants somewhere, but it is very difficult to move an elephant, and there probably isn’t anywhere for them to go. But aren’t elephants endangered in some parts? Maybe they could put them there. Of course now we come back to the problem of moving them. What a waste of elephants… I apologize for my recent absence. I was working at my church’s VBS. My shoulders finally aren’t sore anymore. YEA! I know this was a while ago, but all of my information about veganism came from my cousin. She is a vegetarian and lived vegan for a week as a project for school. The topic came up at dinner when she was here, along with cars catching fire. I didn’t know until then that two of my poor dad’s cars had burned to a crisp. And one of them was actually his parents’. Yo.
(113) o_o;; I apologize then, I didn’t know the details. Sorry!
I must admit I’m a bit of a misanthrop. People are stupid. But I agree that some meat is needed, just not at the rate we have now. I love animals, and ever since I developed an ardent love of pigs at the age of seven, I have not eaten pork when I could avoid it. Picking out bacon bits, taking out the ham min a sandwich, you name it. I go to a horse-camp every year, and help take care of assorted and various animals. None of them deserve death.
Everyone talks about how out of control or whatever the animal population would be without us. Last I checked, the population will be about…oh, 9 billion in our life time. As in within twenty years or so. I think we’re in danger of decimating the animal population if this keeps up; not good at all.
Well, if someone needs to eat meat to survive it’s a matter of killing an animal, hopefully humanely if they have a good source, or killing a person inhumanely. I would choose the former. The author of one of my favorite books, Animals in Translation, is autistic and has to eat meat. She also works at cattle slaughter houses, making the killing process as humane and trama-free as possible. However, she also has a great love for animals which comes through in her writing. I think if somebody has no personal problem with eating meat and they buy it from a place which raises and kills the animals humanely and without hormones or unhealthy additives and ingredients put into the feed, that is fine. If i ever become a vegetarian, which is not out of the realm of possibility, it would be becuase I don’t want to eat animals, not becuase I think it is wrong. That’s the way it is with lamb for me. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with eating it, I just have an intense desire not to.
I believe that Veggie Tales contributes to the general scornful attitude towards vegetarians in this country. Witness:
Mary (name changed for her protection): I can’t believe that you don’t eat cute little cows but that you do eat cute little Larry.
Penty: I’m not a cannibal.
Mary: You’re not a cucumber.
Penty: What the [censored]?
Mary: Like Larry. Larry the cucumber.
*awkward silence*
You know, from Veggie Tales?
Penty: Oh, that Larry. He’s a bunch of pixels. I don’t think that would taste very good.
Most raw fruits and vegetables are still “alive.” Ever sprouted a potato? As for animals, the only one that North Americans regularly eat alive is oysters.
Vegetarians: Well, I am one. Generally. I eat fish and seafood, Why? because It’s nutritious. And my parents make me. I refuse to eat land animal. I once got yelled at by a friend’s mother for referring to bacon as “dead pig”. She called me an intolerant hypocrite and lots of other things besides that the GAPAs would zap. I did not say anything like “eeewww, look at that! she’s eating dead pig!” I said to one of the two non veggie kids (there were 9 of us) that she might want to move to be next to the other one because they were the only ones who would enjoy the dead pig. Both of the omnivores laughed. Then the mom came out of the kitchen and started her rant.
Vegetarianism: I think people would be healthier if everyone were vegetarians, but this is unlikeley. So for those who do eat meat, I think, as do many nutritionists that I have read that 8 oz. of meat a day should be the limit *backs away* just a suggestion!
Vegetables: yum. At least the kind that are grown. Not the Terry Schiavo kind. They should have thier wishes respected.
I do not eat artificial meat. It’s nasty. I get my protein from tofu and dairy, which is good enough for me. If it’s cooked properly, tofu tastes better than meat anyway. And definitely better than meat substitutes.
mmm tofu. tofu’s loverly. in chinese it’s called do-fu, and there’s also one called do-gan which contains no meat but is really good. meat’s ok to me..but I don’t think I would mind being a vegeterian. all the packaged red stuff i see in the meat isle (excepting chicken) makes me sorta sick.
p.s. sorry for all the no capitalizations. too lazy
(145) Quorn is derived from fungi of some sort and comes in various forms such as “roast,” cutlets, hot dogs, and “ground beef.” Mostly I use the “tenders.” Iin a stir fry they’re virtually indistinguishable from chicken and supply that perfect texture neither vegetables nor tofu can quite achieve. Makes a nice change from Boca burgers and sesame noodles when I need something quick. Which is most of the time. Not that I’m ever bored with sesame noodles, come to think of it.
My mom’s a vegetarian. I am too, well, I MOSTLY am. I call myself a “Chickatarian”, that’s REALLY hard to spell. It means I eat chicken, but otherwise in the meat catagory, I DO NOT EAT ANY OTHER KIND OF MEAT!!
149- FairyDragon, you should call yorself a “Vegichickatarian”. So, you can post about just about everything vegetable-related except Veggie Tales on this thread. Would any comment about Veggie Tales be zapped?
13-not all vegetarians are like that, most of my family and i are vegetarians, and we just dont eat meat, or buy anything that is actually part of the animal, or harmed an animal in the making (ex: leather, products tested on animals)
104-we should take care of the animals becuase they are living things that cant survive on their own becuase humans decided to domesticate them, the poor things
94-AGREED!!!
106- plants dont feel pain and misery when humans slaughter them or stuff them into tiny containers, or treat them like they are useless things they are getting rid of instead of being nice since they ARE providing something for them to enjoy
107-AGREED!!!
136-anyone who eats yogurt eat things that are still living. Ever heard of live cultures?
I was raised as a vegetarian, and then when i was old enough to understand i got to choose whether to stay one or not. I have never had a bite of meat in my life, and i am proud of it, and glad. I dont think animals should be killed unless they are in total and complete misery so they can go to a better place, or if they will spread a deadly disease that is REALLY serious. People get all over me for it, and i dont understand why its so fascinating that i dont eat something. They ask me wierd questions like “what do i eat” well obviously everything else on the food pyramid. AMAZING!!! I am just really sick of it. A month or so ago, some guy that goes to my school said” have you EVER seen a healthy vegetarian? They are so pale and skinny, its so stupid” or something of the sort, and i just wanted to punch him right in the face…..GRRRRRRRRR!!!! I am just another normal person, who chooses what they eat like EVERYONE in the world! Some choose not to eat broccoli, some choose not to eat vegemite, some choose not to eat apples, its not any different to choose not to eat meat in my opinion. Its all ‘food’ so why should it be so different? I am sorry, just really touchy, i explode when anyone insults vegetarians. But one of my favorite things to say that one of my family members came up with to say whenever someone gets on my case about being a vegetarian becuase it was in the Bible (no offense to anyone, and please dont start an argument, i get really nasty when i dont mean to just becuase i am so touchy becuase of something that happened in my past, you can read it on the polling place thread) “Adam and Eve bit into an apple, not a prime rib”. Better go now before i start a war. Bye!! And i didnt mean to offend anyone, i am just stating my beliefs. Bye now!!!!
I’m a vegetarian for a number of reasons. I’ll probably go completely vegan once I move out for college and all. But I get more than enough crap about it from my parents, so I’ll wait. I also have a few veg. friends.
I just don’t like the idea of eating animals. Or wearing them. Things of the like…
So, any yummylicious non-dead-animal-containing recipies?
(166) Vegemite, is kind of a pasty food stuff used as a spread or filling.
As described in Wikipedia, it is “made from leftover brewers’ yeast extract, a by-product of beer manufacture, and various vegetable and spice additives. The taste may be described as extremely salty, slightly bitter, and malty, similar to the taste of beef bouillon. The texture is smooth, resembling margarine, although somewhat firmer and sticky. It is firmer and slightly sweeter than other yeast extracts.”
62. It’s not the actual fries, it’s the animal oil they’re fried in.
I have been a vegetarian since, hmm, December. I don’t eat meat because of animal rights, conservation reasons, health reasons, and because Dancergirl13 is my best friend and kind of got me started. I don’t think it’s that hard not to eat meat.
I do eat marshmallows, but ONLY during camping when we are roasting them on the fire. I don’t eat Jell-O, and I try not to eat fries that much.
I’m a vegitarian, probably partially because we have cows practically in the middle of the city. And, I mean, when you’ve been smelling cow almost every day since you were two-ish, it’s kind of hard to eat cow. I do not eat jello, I do it marshmallows, because they’re tasty, and jello is just wiggly, but not tasty, so I have no reason to like jello anyways. And, um, if it’s possible, I stay away from carmine. Of course, it’s almost impossible.
I have been a vegetarian for my entire life, and couldn’t think of eating something that lives and breathes like me.
Anyway, I wish people would stop talking about how great beef is. NOT WHAT TEH THREAD’S FOR PEOPLE!!!! Maybe they can have their own thread where they can talk about the “great cultural revolution” of doing things like they have been done for so long ago even I can’t remember.
Our bodies aren’t made to process meat. They just aren’t!
169 – I don’t think they’re fried in animal oils anymore, but McDonalds did get into a lot of trouble when vegetarians found out that the fries had a flavoring that included beef by-products.
The reason you are a vegetarian is because
1. You don’t like the taste of meat
2. You don’t like the idea of animals getting killed and you eating them
3. You don’t like the way the animals are treated
4. You don’t like the impact it has on the environment
5. You don’t think our bodies are meant to eat meat
6. Your family/friends/guardians are doing it
7. Meat is too expensive
173- Technically, they don’t. But, I know people who work at at all the nearby McDonalds’ and they all say that they fry the fries with the meat, because “they taste better that way.” Don’t trust the food!
174- One through five.
So, fellow veggies… random questions:
1. Do people ever persist in asking why you don’t eat meat, to the point where you feel like you’re constantly defending yourself?
2. Do people ever expect you to do things such as “just pull the pepperoni off the pizza” or eat soup that is full of vegetables, yet is made with beef/chicken broth or just not eat the meat in a meat sauce? And then get confused when you explain you won’t eat it…?
3. Did you get a lot of…erm, I don’t know what word to use here, save [grief] from your parents/family/friends/teachers/whomever when you first started being a vegetarian, or when they first found out?
4. Do you have difficulties ordering from the menus of various restaurants because most EVERYTHING contains meat products or meat by-products?
5. Do people persist in asking you if you eat seafood?
I dunno, I get this a lot, and probably get overly annoyed about it. Okay, mostly about looks I’ve gotten from staff when I’ve ordered “grilled beef caesar salad, but without the beef or caesar dressing.” Or something of the like.
174-2,3,4,5,9. But I started because my parents were when I popped out.
177-Everything but 3. See above for explanation.
Here’s why for each (from 177):
1. Yes, and it’s weird. You say because you don’t want to eat animals for all of the above reasons, but they still can’t understand. Strange.
2. A little bit. It is annoying, because part of the point is an animal died, and you want to make a point by not consuming meat and giving money to the meat company. But also because it’s like trying to wash e. colli off spinach. You cant really get it all off.
3. no
4. yes. Can’t even get a salad without CHICKEN on it. It’s a salad people! You don’t need meat on everything!!!
5. Yes, and we sometimes put up with a little, like maybe tuna or something. But I hate that we have to. It’s like they think that’s the only thing they can serve with any nutritional content. Even cookies have a little protien!!!
And they ask you what you ate at Thanksgiving dinner. Like everybody else eats nothing but turkey. NOT. EVERYTHING ELSE IS vegetarian at that meal!
174 – 2, 3, 4, 5, 9
There is this great cartoon/movie on the Bizarro website (just search “Bizarro,”) about how humans weren’t meant to eat meat. It’s called the “Talking Pig Video.”
177 – I’m not technically a vegetarian, but I wish I was. If I were a complete vegetarian, I would probably go hungry, because my parents would not put up with it. I do not eat many kinds of meat, though, such as any cow or pig products. I’ve read too many books about the meat industry…But I’ll answer the questions, because they look fun.
1. Do people ever persist in asking why you don’t eat meat, to the point where you feel like you’re constantly defending yourself?
Well, that would kind of be my parents. On days where we have steak or something like that, I just make myself a peanut butter sandwich or something, even though they don’t like me to. But I don’t really know that anyone has ever asked me that much to that point. Although there is this one person in my Spanish class that thinks it’s a sin not to eat meat. And she gets really in-your-face about it. So I guess, yes.
2. Do people ever expect you to do things such as “just pull the pepperoni off the pizza” or eat soup that is full of vegetables, yet is made with beef/chicken broth or just not eat the meat in a meat sauce? And then get confused when you explain you won’t eat it…?
Yes, people just don’t understand that certain things actually have animals, etc. in them (such as broth), and that it isn’t unnatural not to want to eat it. I get the “pull the pepperoni off” type things all the time.
3. Did you get a lot of…erm, I don’t know what word to use here, save [grief] from your parents/family/friends/teachers/whomever when you first started being a vegetarian, or when they first found out?
As soon as I started learning about the Meat Industry and such, and telling my parents, “that wasn’t cooked enough, you could get this and this and this and this and this by eating that,” and decided I wasn’t eating specific stuff, my parents got annoyed, but they didn’t really give me grief about it. I gave good arguments with it, which probably helped, like the fact that I have a chronic digestive disease, and meat probably isn’t that great for me. They were a bit more “okay” with it after that.
4. Do you have difficulties ordering from the menus of various restaurants because most EVERYTHING contains meat products or meat by-products?
Yes! I agree with Rt-H – why do you need chicken on every salad?!?! There is an awesome Vegetarian cafe a few blocks from my house, of which I am a frequent visitor, because I don’t have to worry about stupid meat stuff there.
5. Do people persist in asking you if you eat seafood?
Many people ask me that, even if they know I eat chicken and turkey (which is the only meat I will eat, and even that is sparingly), and it gets quite annoying…
177.- Yes to all! It gets so annoying. My grandma called one time and said she was worried about me not getting enough protein and vitamins. I almost hung up on her, I was soooo mad, even though I can understand that some people don’t know about it.
I confess, I’m not a vegetarian. I eat meat. My favorite food is ham. But I don’t have anything against vegetarians. I know they have a worthy cause, and my family tries to purchase meat from companies who humanely raise their animals.
I’m sorry if you have to deal with annoying people.
174- I’m not, but if I was I would be 3 and 9, which I adhere to most of the time anyways, by eating wild meat or our meat. I’m not especially dedicated, though. I wish I was more dedicated about eating good meat, but a) I don’t want to make a big deal about it and b) unless I’m cooking (and believe me, that is rare) I don’t know where the meat come from; our freezer, or the store, and I quite frankly don’t care enough to get all fussy. (No, I’m not implying that vegetarians are fussy, I’m just saying that it would seem fussy for me to do that.) Also it wouldn’t make much of a difference as long as our store stocked only Flavorite milk.
But this is off the topic of vegetables, not to mention I swore I would never come here again.
172- I have been a Vegetarian for my whole life too, I LOVE morning farms, and boca.
178- I totally agree
I get so mad when people find out I am a vegetarian and ask “what do you eat?”! Meat is not the center of the universe, I mean think about it. If I dont eat meat, I would eat anything without meat. Like salad, pasta, rice, potatoes, I could go on forever.
I also get mad when I hear about kids who want to be a vegetarian, but their parents dont want them to be. We have the right to decide what we eat right? So what is the big deal? One of my friends said she told her mom she wanted to be a vegetarian like me, and her mom put meat in ALL the meals they eat for breakfast, lunch, AND dinner for the rest of the week. This makes me so mad!!!
This is kinda off-subject, but when people dont want others to be a vegetarian becuase they think its unhealthy, dont they realize we are more advanced than we ever have been? Look at all the technology! And I mean people go without eating broccoli, or brussel sprouts, or things they are alergic to, so what is the big fuss over not eating meat? I know it’s a food group but it doesnt seem that different to me when I think of it that way.
I dont mean to offend anyone when I say this, I just like it. When my mom said my Uncle from India was getting on her case for being a vegetarian becuase eating meat is in the Bible, my other Uncle said she should have said that Adam and Eve bit into an apple, not a prime rib. Again no offense, I just like that.
183 (Sweet Melpomene) – I actually talked to them about it yesterday, and they said they were just worried about my nutrition. I have Crohn’s Disease, and certain places in my intestines, well, don’t work, so it’s hard for me to absorb the nutrients I need. When I stopped eating any meat except poultry and fish (a.k.a., red meat), they got worried, because they didn’t think I would get enough iron – I was anemic and had to take iron supplements a few years ago, and they didn’t want that to happen again (red meat has a lot of iron). So now I just eat a lot of other foods which are high in iron, and that seems to be working, so they’re fine with that. I guess they would put up with it, I just don’t know whether I would like to make my own meals pretty much every day, because we usually have meat. But I actually got my parents to like Tofu, so that’s good!
(187) Actually, the apple was designated by tradition; Genesis doesn’t specify. The confusion probably set in because “apple” used to refer to “fruit” in general.
(187, 190) Speaking of apples, does anybody remember the scene in the Disney cartoon version of Aladdin in which Aladdin steals an apple from the market? That annoyed me. Why couldn’t the animators have drawn something more likely to have been for sale in the medieval Middle East — say, a fig or a date?
I mention it here because Musers seem uniquely unlikely to consider that a crazy thing to worry about.
189 (Hawk) – Yeah…I never even considered becoming a Vegetarian until about 2 years ago, when I started learning about slaughterhouse conditions and diseases, etc. But now I know way too much to eat some of that stuff…
191 (Robert) – How….American! I definitely agree…I’ll have to go back and look at that again. I don’t think I’ve seen that movie for…a long time.
191- He steals an apple? Weird. I mean, they don’t even have apples in Arabia or wherever that was. It’s too hot. I don’t watch that kind of thing anyways, so I would never have noticed. Maybe they didn’t know what a raw fig looks like?
Or maybe they figured a lot of little kids would be watching it and wouldn’t know what a fig was, and they were just trying to make it clear that he stole food.
(194) That’s almost certainly what the filmmakers were thinking. It’s understandable, but it’s also a missed opportunity to show how differently people lived at other times and in other places.
I’ll admit that things like that bother me. Another example was in the movie version of 101 Dalmations, when the wild animals of England rallied to rescue the puppies — including skunks. Skunks?! They might as well have shown giraffes and hippopotami poking their heads up out of the hedgerows.
I was just reading in a back issue of Psychology Today, and it said that children who have high IQs are more likely to choose a vegetarian lifestyle as young adults.
199-That is not what we try to do, at all! I respect your decision to eat meat, and I would respect your decision to become a vegetarian or a vegan. We do not mean to offend you!! I know, myself, that eating meat is not for me, but I recognise that people need to make their own personal choices.
200 – I was exaggerating a little bit, but I’ve heard stuff like 198 before and it makes me feel bad and evil. All of my family eats meat, so it would be hard to become vegetarian. (Red-tailed Hawk got the prime vegetarian setup – both parents are doing it.) My family does try and get meat from animals that were humanely raised, and I try to avoid places like McDonald’s where the animals are raised awfully. I just beat down myself whenever I’m talking about this subject.
At least you guys try to get meat from place where they don’t treat the animals terribly. And you know what it is!!!
I had a friend one time, and his younger sister didn’t know what the chicken nuggets she was eating were!!! I don’t know what she thought they were, but somehow it came up that I’m a vegetarian, and she was wondering what I couldn’t eat, and then wanted to know why I didn’t want to. When she realized she stopped chewing and looked like she wanted to throw up. And her mother looked VERY worried, too!
That was just mean hiding the facts from your kids to avoid the possibility of them wanting to be a vegetarian.
203 – That’s sad. A kid should know what they’re eating.
A little while ago I mentioned to my 4-year-old little sister (who LOVES hamburgers) that hamburgers were made from cow. Her eyes opened wide. “COW? I DIDN’T KNOW THAT!” I didn’t even know she didn’t know!
My whole family eats meat, although one of my parents was a vegetarian during college.
It was rather hard, at first, but now I really do not think about it, that much. I just am a vegetarian. Although it is sometimes kind of hard when I smell roasting chicken, or something like that, I don’t really think of ever eating meat.
Does anybody get upset when people use the same utensils that they just used on meat to make your food? I know that it shouldn’t disturb me, but it does…
188- Ah. Ouch. Well, it seems like you’re doing well now ^_^ That’s def. a good thing. And good job getting your parents to like tofu xD
191- Gah! That *is* rather horrifying!
203&204- Ack, that is indeed depressing…… Poor kids…
205- YES. That really does bother me. And then people get all offended when I’m all “Really! It’s okay! I’ll make/get my own food!” Gah.
Any view on hunting? I’m really not sure what I think of it. I come from a region where manymany people hunt; some of my good friends do it. So I really am rather accustomed to tales about that practice. I suppose it’s…acceptable and all if you’re going to use as much of the animal as you can. But definitely not for sport. And it’s better than the animals becoming roadkill, I suppose [is every squirrel and deer in NEPA suicidal?!?]. I guess it’s the “native perspective” I’m chill with: “take only what you need, and waste not.” I dunno, a hunter I know said this and it seemed to make sense. Said hunter does go camping way out in the woods and all…
Meh. Personally, I’d never do it. But I can’t really criticize all of it.
205-Yea, I mean, like, if we don’t eat meat, we don’t want meat on our food! Or they say “Pick the meat Off/out” Um excuse me but…Seems like some of the meat might have gotten cooked into the food, doesn’t it???
211-Well, they live in the wild so I think they are really meant to be that way…but it doesn’t mean I’m not a vegetarian when under this name! I just like the name, and think it would be cool to just soar around all day.
(213) Vegetarian birds don’t get to soar around all day, because they have to hide from predators. There are advantages to being at the top of the food chain.
I live in a whole family of meat-eaters, but they support me and my vegetarian lifestyle. My mom goes out of her way to prepare something meatless if the meal the rest of my family is eating has meat in it. I love her for that!
vegetables are cheaper
we had to do a diet lab for bio class and i did mine on vegetarianism vs omnivorism (which is now a word because i said it), the vegetarian (me) had half the fat and twice the fiber as non-vegetarian…
205-yeah, that bugs me too. also when im eating something and my brother wants to try it but im afraid he’ll bite it and get some sort of meat into it
sort of related… does anyone know anything about dreams? cuz ive dreamed twice that i ate meat, but even thinking about eating meat makes me sick
223- I do have a qualm about eating plants. I love plants. I lov eto grow them. But guess what? I’m not stupid, and I became a vegitarian for ethical reasons.
221- If you are responding to a specific post, put the post number first. Please use your capitals.
223 – wait…what’s wrong with joining for ethics? People can eat vegetables and still be omnivores, and like plants too…and being a vegetarian for ethical reasons does not make you stupid…I agree with Vixen.
Lioness – you’re so lucky! I wish my parents would do that.
Apparantly (say my parents) I ate tofu by the pound as an infant!
I just got back from Mexico, and I am a vegetarian. So is my mom, and we had a hard time finding anything to eat without meat. I am glad to be home becuase now I can actually eat until I am full, there was barely anything we could eat. The worse part is, at one restaurant when we asked for something without meat, the waiter gave us a dirty look. But I try not to let things like that bother me. It’s their problem they cant accept people who are different.
227 – I just got back from Mexico too! (Yesterday), and I’m trying to be a vegetarian (I basically am). So basically all I ate for breakfast and lunch every day was peanut butter on a tortilla. Whee!
If you’re wondering about the ethics of killing plants, there is a rare type of diet called the fruit diet. Follow the fruit diet, and you kill no living thing whatsoever. The catch is all you can eat is fruit. (Tomatoes, cucumbers, squashes, and all the semi-fruits are allowed in this diet.)
228 – I can’t imagine all the non-vegetarian food items in Mexico are just tortillas and peanut butter! What about queso, frijolles, quacamole, and salsa?
227- *tries not to be offended* *bites her tongue* *ponders* Okay, so you’re saying that it’s their fault they have to go to extra trouble for you? That isn’t very nice, if you think about it. Neither are dirty looks, but STILL! Unless, of course, they don’t have to go to extra trouble, in which case it is their fault, and the man was just being mean. I’m not trying to be mean about your vegetarian status, because that has absolutely NOTHING to do with it (just making that clear), but what I didn’t like is the way you phrased that; like it was their fault.
I will now end the meanest post I’ve ever made on MuseBlog.
229 (E2MB) – but then how do you get any type of protein at all? Or other stuff like that? It seems incredibly unhealthy to me…it seems like fasting.
230 (E2MB) – that’s definitely not all of the vegetarian stuff, but we were on-the-go a lot of times, and we only went to a restaurant for dinner. And my parents just packed stuff for us to eat for lunch. Most people had ham or something like that, and I just had what else there was to offer.
231 (Alice) – I agree. People are allowed to be a bit upset if they have to go completely out of their way to make something else. I’m a semi-semi-semi-vegetarian, and one of the reasons I’m not completely is that I don’t like making people go completely out of their way to make other stuff. If you’re going to someone’s house, and they have already made the meal or something…what are you going to do? Refuse to eat it, or ask them to make something else? I don’t eat any meat except poultry or fish, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to not eat those, because then I would practically starve. I know it’s possible, but I don’t know…
I am a vegitarion and have been since i was born. I want to clear some things up:
1- Most marshmallows, meaning all marshmallows, contain gelatain unless they make a big deal out of saying their marshmallow is vegitarion.
2- Gelatin is ground up animal skin, bones, sinew, and claws. It is a thickener for adding texture and keeping jello and marshmallows together.
3- Red meat is meat that comes from slow- twich/ endurance muscles and white meat is meat that comes from fast- twich/ sprint muscles.
4- Eggs that you would eat have nohing alive/ dead in them. The chickens at egg farms never come in contact with male roosters, exept occasionally so there can be another genaration of chickens to lay more eggs, and therefore the eggs are unfertilized and only have white and yolk inside. No deceased chick embryos.
5- All foods listed on this strand (vegemite) can taste good in the eyes of the beholder.
6- Vegans simply do not consume meat, dairy, poultry, fish, or eggs.
7- Genetical modification (of anything) is unrightous and wrong. Still interesting, though.
239- I didn’t really think I would get kicked off MuseBlog, (although I was terrified of that when people didn’t know I didn’t subscribe) but I wanted to know that I was forgiven all the same.
228- Whee, good for you. I also discovered the magic of bran muffins when I went to Mexico. Beware Caesar dressing, for it contains anchovies.
232- Politely let them know beforehand that you’re a vegetarian but assure them that they don’t have to make something special, but only something in the meal that’s completely meat-free That usually works for me. That way, I only eat a little less, and no one has to go out of their way to do something different or gets offended that I’m not eating the meat.
240- The closest thing to an off-kicking was the banning of FS for a week…
I had some lovely General Tso’s Tofu on vacation. Mmm, soy bean protein.
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Red-tailed HAWK, Prime Muser of ICE PLEASE HEAD TO MUSEICA!!! says:
(247) The banning was more for a pattern of behavior than for a single incident.
(248) But I wouldn’t go quite that far. More than one person allowed passion to overtake civility. In addition, if other MBers refused to be baited, FS would not have the power people seem ready to ascribe to him.
Mmm. I don’t go on the controversial threads. After a while, it’s just boring. I go on this thread, which is slightly controversial, but other than that, I don’t.
I suppose that’s why I didn’t understand for the longest time how FS go his bad reputation.
He’s rather good at writing, if you ask me.
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Red-tailed HAWK, Prime Muser of ICE PLEASE HEAD TO MUSEICA!!! says:
Well, in a way, it was sort of banning him when he crossed the line of being too terrible for words. Basically, he called someone something, and I complained, and he called me an emotional wimp because of that. here it is if you dare to look
243 (SM) – I love General Tso’s! And Tofu is flamablamablous! Yay!
244 (Hawk) – I’ve never heard of Tempeh. What is it?
245 (SM) – What if you get an infection or something? Will you take antibiotics of any kind? I wish I didn’t have to take so much medicine, but if I didn’t, I would, well, die (eventually).
252- Yum! And, hmm, never really thought about that. I normally only get colds every so often… I suppose if it were life-threatening… other than that, I could stick it out, I think… Hmm….
231-no that is not what I am saying, I would never say that! I just thought it was rude that he gave us a dirty look when we asked for nachos without meat like we were freaks. There wasnt anything without meat so we had to order something without it. I am sorry if i didnt phrase it right, I was in a hurry.
234- ok where did all this come from? I went to a foreign country, and there wasnt any vegetarian food, so what was i supposed to do? Eat meat? If I went to someones house and they already made a meal I would be polite and say I am a vegetarian sorry, and you know I usually eat dinner before I go to anyones house in case that does happen, but if i dont I do the same thing as post 243. All my friends know I am a vegetarian, and I make sure their parents know before partys, just in case, in a polite way. You make it sound like in that situation a vegetarian would have to eat the meat to be polite. I’m sorry for this blow up but….sorry. I wasnt trying to be rude about the waitor in Mexico, but I dont think a dirty look was necessary. I probably sound like a total snob now, sorry again!
I am really sorry about that, if i sounded rude i didnt mean too!
I find it horribly hard to avoid gelatin, all our favorite yogurt companies started using gelatin except one, and I cant have marshmellows at campouts (my mom let me eat them when i was little becuase i didnt understand the whole gelatin thing, I miss them a tiny little bit, but not eating it makes me feel better). There are LOADS of things that have gelatin in them.
It is also kind of hard to avoid chicken broth in soups, and things fried in animal fat. I dont eat at fast food places or anything, becuase thats usually the case, plus the food there is downright horrible for your body, unless you get a healthy salad or something and resist soaking it in ranch dressing.
It’s ok, I totally understand, it’s hard to say something like that on a computer becuase people cant hear your tone of voice. Dont cry! You didnt sound mean. Your name is at the bottem of my post becuase I was going to say that you didnt sound mean but I got distracted (that happens alot) and thought I had already written it, so your name is left there all alone.
Did we cover the definition of a fruit/vegtable? Because to me it seems it should be more than “has seeds on the inside,” which is what I’ve heard is the definition of a fruit.
237- I was referring to the people who didn’t know that. I agree with your egg farm logic. I was talking about the cruelty- free ones. 244- Not anymore!
Yeah, gelatin is the hardest thing to avoid. On the bus in France there was this girl who claimed to be vegetarian, and was about to eat something with gelatin in it and I pointed that out to her. First off, she didn’t know what it was. Then, when I told her, she ate it anyways. That’s just….ugh. I hate it when people say they’re something just to sound cool. The entire time she was pretending to be all hippy and bohemian, despite the fact that she came on the trip with $600 to spend. And I’m getting off topic.
On a slightly cheerier note, do any of you have any really good vegetarian recipes?
Sorry bout my last post (221), it was kinda stupid.
225- I dont really use caps, does that bother everyone? But i’m making an effort to use caps and apostrophes here (that has nothing to do with vegetarianism, so i’m sorry).
261-Actually, having seeds is a good def. for a fruit. A fruit is the ripened ovary of a plant. It contains the seed(s) and the food the seed(s) will need. When the fruit is ripe, then it is ready to be dispersed so the seed(s) don’t grow too close to the mother plant. Burrs are fruits too, I’m pretty sure. They disperse the seeds by clinging to passing animals.
Anyways, does anyone know what glyceryn is? I’m not sure if it is an animal product or not, but it’s in most toothpastes.
265- Ugh! I hate that too. Of course, this is coming from a really neurotic person who obsessively reads and rereads ingredient labels and then refuses to eat things on the basis that they contain something that’s an extremely removed derivative of an enzyme from a dead animal. But that’s beside the point. Kids these days!
At least some people admit that they “don’t eat meat but wear leather and eat gelatin.” If they’re aware of that, fine. Just so long as they’re honest about it, gosh!
Hmm, I had some old issues of a vegetarian magazine [commandeered from a friend of my mother’s] that had some spiffy recipies…
267- how do you tell if it has an… extremely removed derivative of an enzyme from a dead animal?…..This may sound awefully crazy after that, but I want to eat nothing whatsoever from animals. If anyone knows of any descrete things (other than gelatin and chicken stock) that are used in foods, please tell me!!! Thanks!
Glycerine is made from vegetable oils as a by-product of biodiesel manufacture. I’m sure you could make it from animal fats with similar molecular structures, but that’s not where it comes from nowadays.
269, 271-thanks, my friend said it was animal corpses and my mom said it was soap
i have like eight vegetarian cookbooks, so if anyone wants a recipie just say the general idea and i’ll look.
My dad has a recipe for vegetarian sloppy joes, but I dont care for it that much, it’s too tomato saucey. But I dont know anything about sloppy joes, so maybe it’s supposed to be that way.
Arg! My friend and I were just talking about vegetarianism, and she said her parents wouldnt let her becuase they wouldnt know what to feed her. How aggrivating is that? Why cant parents just except it (no offense)? It drives me mad that some of them wont let their kids carry that out if they dont like the way animals are treated or something becuase they have to leave out meat or something. Again no offense but that just drives me crazy. Unless it really is hard for them to do that, like if they have a big family or something, why not?
270- PETA [crazy extremists though they may be] has a bunch of links on their site about it… There’s one Caring Consumer list that’s really helpful… Ehh, you’ll find links about “lists of animal ingredients” there, that are fairly reliable. You’d also be surprised at what you can find at a library or bookstore…
270- i found my animal product list in a cookbook called raising vegetarian children, which is actually a vegan cookbook (slightly weird) but has a lot of good recipies and vegetarian/vegan information
273- sort of similar story, when i was at camp on sub day i had a cheese sandwich and everyone was asking me what i ate for lunch and if i really ate only cheese sandwiches at home. which i do, as long as it isn’t american cheese. and they asked me what i put on my tacos (everything but meat). vegetarians eat pretty much like everyone else.
just on the topic of people not understanding vegetarians, when i went to canada to see family there, one of my aunts made beef for everyone but chicken special for me cuz i’m a vegetarian, and then everybody made fun of me cuz i wanted a second piece of pie but if i ate meat i wouldn’t be hungry anymore
I dont get why people cant figure out what vegetarians eat. Uhhh, lets think, we dont eat meat, so why dont we just look at what other people eat and subtract the meat. Is that so hard?
275- What is it with people and not understanding vegetarians? I am going to EXPLODE someday….
277 (E2MB)- A lot more easily than they would have in the Middle Ages.
There are soy substitutes for most foods that vegans can’t eat (soymilk, vegan egg substitute that I don’t know the contents of, soy cheese, and of course Boca burgers,) and you can take pills to get the vitamins you miss by not eating any animal products, B-12 being the most prominent.
I’m vegetarian, but am gradually easing myself into veganism.
i’m considering being a vegetarian at home but a vegan when i eat out cuz at home i know the eggs are free range, the cheese has no rennet, etc.
my grandparents might have a shock if i became a vegan, though. butter on all the veggies, cheese on the pasta, i doubt i’d get anything to eat.
278- soy is great in small amounts, but don’t rely on it too much cuz it can be bad for you then.
281- As much as I hate to say this, according to Peta there arent any companies that are really free range. They either arent at all, or claim to be free range and only let the chickens run free for 2 weeks, and its not even that free. Thats why we buy our eggs from our neighbors. After all this it occured to me you might have chickens, oops!! Sorry about that.
285-Why cant people be nice to the poor animals? I would like to find them and…….ARG! What is wrong with people these days? I mean, cutting their beaks off, their tails off, putting them in cages they cant move in, pumping in junk, keeping them locked up, pushing them on with electric prods, dragging injured ones along, leaving them to die, all for someone to then eat them and enjoy it. I AM going to explode, my mom is going to come home to a fuming daughter. I want to like wright an article or something, to get people to be aware.
284- we don’t have chickens but i wish we did. i don’t really like eggs so i don’t eat them very often but yeah it is depressing how much “free range” doesn’t really mean it.
on animal treatment, there is a book called the river cottage meat book and they talk about how it is the meat-eater’s responsibility to make sure the animal lives a good, healthy life and dies painlessly. the author was a vegetarian but decided against it because it undermined death’s role in nature (did not write that last line myself, it was an excerpt from the chicago reader, where the book was reviewed.) i did not read the book, just the review, but it sounded great. we had to read an article about factory farms in bio before we did the fetal pig dissection. it was nauseating. HATE factory farms.
Here’s something interesting. When we eat plants we refer to them by the same names we use when we grow them but with animals we need to start speaking latin (porcus) and french (mouton).
On another note, methane is one of the shortest-lived gasses in the atmosphere. If everyone stopped eating meat* we could weaken global warming relatively quickly.
*That includes you, Frigidsymphony! Sorry.
295- Maybe not better, but easier…..and why not stop eating meat AND stop using cars, it would stop global warming even more (people should just take the bus in my opinion, less car accidents, less gas, saved money, but still scientists are working on a fuel that doesnt pallute so much, maybe even one that doesnt at all, but that is pretty impossible) nottrying to be mean just stating an opinion here, and I hope this doesnt turn into a global warming argument!
Today we went to brunch with a family friend. She is fine…….but she treats me like I am 3, and obviously has no idea that I have a brain much less a strong opinion about things. She is always trying to convince me of things, contradicting me, thinking I am a little kid who doesnt know a thing not caring about my opinion. Well I dont like the way she talks about vegetarians, different countries, different cultures, people who are different. She acts as if she is the best country, culture, meat eater, person, although not as strongly, she is sort of suttle about it, but she talks about these things with a certain look on here face I hate. Like today she was talking about someone and laughed at them becuase they didnt know something, and pushed all her believes at us and pushed our away. Why do people do this? How can I make her stop treating me like a baby? How can I make her realize I have an opinion and disagree with her almost 100% about many things? She also was laughing at me like I was three you know as if I was doing something cute when I said that on my favorite show Little House on the Prairie I get much more upset when animals are abused then when the people have problems (unless it has to do with discrimination….ARG!). It is so madening, and I dont know how to tell my parents, everytime I say something they say I just have to live with it, whatever the problem is, there is nothing I can do. But I believe that everyone has the power to change something, but they are definately not boosting my confidence with this. I am sorry to post all this here, but I am currently reading the last Harry Potter book, and when I went to post on the Random thread I accidentilly read a spoiler from the book, which I am not happy about (no offense, but I just figured all of that would be on the Harry Potter thread), and so I needed to say this somewhere.
i am vegetarien. it makes me sick to eat meat, especialy off the bone. i eat fish and seafood though because if i didnt my mom would complain that i wasn’t getting any protein.
297- You can get protein from nuts, eggs, peanut butter, refried beans, protein bars, boca products, its endless!!! Fish and seafood is not the only source of protein in the world.
Seafood can be good for your body, but a lot of it now has mercury and other fun stuff…I’ll stick with the soy products…
Meat production also takes a huge amount of water, I have the fact somewhere… And way more food to feed the cow/pig/whatever for it’s life than just eating veggies right away…
300- In science our teacher sort of said the same thing about the cows/pigs/whatevers. She gave us a scenario. If we wanted to help a country of starving people, which would be more effective/efficiant etc. with only one square foot of land. Buying a cow and putting it to live on the land, or planting corn? There would be much more corn, so you could feed more people, and corn doesnt eat anything, all you do is plant and water it or whatever.
296- Think about the fuel used to make the non-polluting fuel, and to make the vehicles that can run on it.
297- Fish and other types of seafood are also meat, you know.
I’m vegetarian, and actually think that I’ve said that before. Oh well.
305- Okay, I know, it’s a ridiculous question. But I couldn’t resist, because people used to eat capybara during Lent, claiming that as it swam, it was a fish. Sorry.
We VERY RARELY eat tuna or sardines and such because our little town is iN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE AND GETTING NOWHERE FAST. I. E. there are no fish alternatives in stores here. Waah!!!!
304-Maybe they dont treat fish like they are dirt in fish meat factory thingys, but I wouldnt know, I dont really know anything about the whole fish factory thing. I just know about the land animal factory thing.
309- Our town is also in the middle of nowhere (but a different nowhere) but since we’re near the water, fish are–or ought to be–prolific. In fact, this town used to be supported by gill netting. But there aren’t so many fish anymore, for that very reason.
My opinion, on the matter of fish, is that people should eat locally. That way the strain on the oceans won’t be so hard.
29. Millie Dillie Doo Wad �|� June 15th, 2006 at 9:38 pm
I think we should just revert back to the good ‘ol days when Pa went out with his shotgun into the forest and came back a few days later with a deer around his shoulders. That was then your source of meat.
I will be staying with my grandmother from tonight, till late Saturday, but may not even be on the blog till early Sunday. Please hold anything that involves me, or things that I need to agree to, until I return and can help/decide about.
I am sorry I have to leave you, but I shall miss you all…
316- Yes, but for general sealife population well-being, it’s the better choice. This way, you don’t have domino effects in the wild from lack of food/predators.
Mmmm…. so I did my cooking. I ended up actually doing a swordfish with grilled pineapple salsa, as well as the souffle.
Both were well received, and my great-aunt asked for the recipe.
Turned out quite well, though I’m my harshest critic. I thought the souffle was only so-so, but people kept saying it was delicious and getting more.
Wasn’t really hungry anyways, cooking takes away my appetite.
313-I would much prefer that, but I would still be a vegetarian, the cruelty to animals isnt the only reason I am one, though the main one these days. I just dont really believe in eating meat. Please dont get mad, I am just saying my opinion.
314 (FC)- I’ve heard that wild fish, if caught safely and in moderation, are better for the fish, the environment, and the consumer. Dunno where, though, so your biology teacher could be right.
And I don’t know what Midwest you’re thinking of. The Midwest I live in consists of a) Chicago/suburbs and b) farms. We don’t have that much wildlife. The western US has more. We do have lots of soybeans, though, if you’re interested! And radioactive Lake Michigan fish!
Evangelical vegetarians piss me off. Witness: (quotes not exact)
Penty: (attempting to give a friendly tip, one vegetarian to another) Er, that soup is made with chicken broth.
EV: (looks at soup) Oh, is it? Well, I think that’s okay, as long as I’m not eating an actual chicken.
Penty: (surprised that EV hasn’t flown off handle yet) Oh. Yeah. I just wanted to tell you, because I wasn’t sure if you knew, and some vegetarians, like me, don’t eat chicken broth. Because it’s made from chickens.
EV: (spitting fire) Don’t talk to me like I don’t know what a vegetarian is! I’ve been vegetarian for three years more than you, and I’ve managed to get the word out, unlike you! Your family is over there eating beef, and the most meat mine ever eats is ******* chicken broth!
Penty: (veinpop) I don’t think that you should have to convert people to vegetarianism. It’s their–
EV: How are we ever supposed to make progress otherwise? It’s apathetic people like you who are the reason nobody respects us!
Penty: (muttering) Er, no, it’s nutcases like you…
EV: I can’t believe how selfish you are.
Penty: oh scr00 thiz.
I went to lunch with my friends today and we went to the Flaming Ice Cube. It’s a vegetarian/vegan restaurant and it’s yummy! I had an Asian veggie wrap and a smoothie thingy. I’m not really a vegetarian because I sometimes eat chicken, but I”m going to give it up soon, since I hardly eat it anyway. I’m still going to eat fish though.
324-I hate people like that too. Another thing I hate is this group of people at my school who “are vegetarian but can’t give up chicken.” They annoy me a lot.
326- i don’t understand how one could be vegitarian except for chicken….. i’m not a vegitarian, but the hardest thing to give up for me would be lamb….. not that i eat lamb often, but it is loads better than chicken.
reading all these posts about nasty vegiatarans makes me very happy my friends are nice and polite about it.
323-I dont know, its just, I know some people do, and I didnt want to like…upset anyone. You are nice, so I didnt want you to get mad at me, but now I know you wont. *smiles* I still cant figure out the smiley things, dont laugh.
The food that “tempts” me most is tuna, sadly. I’m usually okay with burgers and stuff, but just this morning I was making some tuna sandwiches for my siblings, and it smelled really good. I didn’t actually eat it, and I probably won’t handle it again for a long time (I really do not enjoy cooking/preparing/touching meat products), but still, that was the first time in a long while that something like that happened to me.
The whole “vegetarian-while-eating-chicken” is okay, I guess, maybe for younger kids, who aren’t ready for the “big step”, or people with health issues. Still, chickens treated pretty brutally, sometimes, aren’t they?
Chickens are treated, if anything, worse than other meat. Maybe. I don’t know. But it seems to me that while cattle and pgs are miserable, they aren’t crammed into a cage with other cattle or pigs and had their beaks cut off.
Which is why there seems to me no point in being vegetarian if you still eat eggs.
But everyone here that I know tries to get their eggs from a good source, so I am by no means criticizing you.
333, 334- BOTH chickens and pigs are treated badly on factory farms. chickens get their beaks cut off and pigs are in a pen, fat and bruised with their tails cut off. it’s all nasty.
324- with an attitude like that, i wonder how many people she converts to vegetarianism (he he). it usually pays to be nice.
i love lox on bagels. if i ate only one non-veggie thing that would be it.
333- I kinda have to agree with you there. Egg farms… *shudder* But I do eat eggs. However, they’re local and from local farms and such so I know that’s not the case. The worst thing that could happen [aside from being killed to be eaten] to the local chickens is [seriously] being run over by a car. They tend to wander and meander everywhere.
It’s almost impossible to be a vegetarian without being hypocritical. Even vegetables need fertilizer.
That said, before you actively give up eating meat because you want to save animals, you should actively go to china and save all the slave labourers.
334-Actually most factories or whatever fence them in like…..one by one you know what I mean? Like they cant move? And they just put food in front of their heads. Like that picture in the Muse Magazine with the vegetarianism article in it, its the 10th birthday issue.
Sorry about the double post, but after reading my last one to 334 I wanted to say something. I didnt mean to sound mean, I just didnt know how to describe it. Sorry!!!
337- It’s impossible to be human without being a hypocrite, dearie. Go figure.
Random thought, needs verification: a friend of mine today told me that in the Bible, in Genesis, there is a quote where God gives Adam/Eve the seed-bearing fruits as their meat. Hmm. Actually, I think I may have a Bible here somewhere. I’ll go see…
God also said: “See, I give you every seed-bearing plant all over the earth and every tree that has seed-bearing fruit on it to be your food; and to all the animals of the land, all the birds of the air, and all the living creatures that crawl on the ground, I give all theh green plants for food.” And so it happened.
Gn 1:29-30
342- I see. Why do we have these nice sharp front teeth then? To bite our enemies? To bite our carrots? To–
What?
Is it only me that has the nice sharp front teeth? Okay, then let’s pick another example… How about mountain lions! Yeah! They don’t eat any of the green plants. But I guess they eat creatures that eat green plants, so if you are what you eat, then they eat green plants.
BTW, what about bacteria? Do they eat green plants? This needs more research…
Oooh righto. Curse the internet and its inability to properly convey one’s sentiment, even with the use of emoticons!
So this is day one of being vegan for me. Not as hard to cope without dairy, now, than I thought. Just takes a little self-control. Surprisingly enough, I convinced my parents yesterday that I’d be fine and not die of malnutrition or anything. I thought it would take much longer, which was why I started then. I’m not complaining. I even got a cookbook. And successfully cooked stuff today. Even if I had issues with boiling water. Heh.
Am interesting veiw: one time a lady walked up to my Mom and told her it was bad that we are vegan, because eating meat is in the Bible. True, but then the word “meat” meant bread, not flesh.
347~ Great!! Good luck. I promise you won’t die, I’ve been a vegan my whole life, and I’m still around!!!! (much to the dismay of some people…KIDDING!!)
349- The people who come on this thread alot are probably tired of hearing this story, but my uncle from India told us that it was bad that we were vegetarian becuase meat eating is in the Bible, but when we told my other uncle that, he said that we should have said something like “Adam and Eve ate an apple, not a prime rib”.
354- Oh, I don’t know. I think it kind of depends on where our ancestors came from. For example, in a place where there’s a lot of farming, it would be easy to be vegetarian, but on the Steppes of Asia one kind of has to eat meat, because there’s nothing else to eat. Or in Greenland, all there is is fish and seals.
343- well, our nice sharp teeth aren’t as sharp as carnivores, but also the bible was a long time ago and teeth have probably changed since then due to our eating of meat. most of our teeth are for grinding. i was reading something about a culture where they file down the tips of the childrens’ canine teeth. i can’t remember what book so it may have been a fiction one but i don’t think so.
remember the diagrams in muse, guys (and girls)? humans are omnivores. we are in the middle. but most places, especially poor places are mostly vegetarian because it’s cheaper (except in places like the steppes of asia and greenland where you can’t farm).
i feel like i’m just repeating what everyone else was saying, but that wasn’t what i was trying to do. and i apologise for my last comment. it was kinda mean, but at the time my mom was telling me to stop conversing with people i will never meet that could possibly be online stalkers and call my real friends or i won’t have any. so i was mad.
I’d say we’re in the middle. Seeing as we’re able to digest meat, I don’t see why we would have been designed to not eat it. But seeing as we’re capable of living entirely without meat, I don’t see why we would have been designed specifically to eat it. Whee, middle ground.
That being said, my new timesink at work is calculating the percentage of a customer’s order that I can eat, that is, is completely animal-free now. It entertains me. Usually it’s just the produce though.
357- Maybe you’re right. I can’t really think of any other primates that eat meat. But could you please stop telling me that I’m not made to eat the way I do?
Yes, that sounded harsh. But I can’t think of any other way to phrase it. I’m sorry. Perhaps a long time ago, we weren’t meant to eat meat. But since then, we have changed. Modern humans eat meat.* It’s not against our nature or anything. Meat isn’t the thing that I need to eat most, but it’s the thing that I’m going to be eating a lot of pretty soon, because there won’t be much else. Please understand that I’m not being rude, I’m just kind of tired of people saying that it’s unnatural to eat meat.
*That’s not a jibe to the vegetarians, I meant Modern Humans as in not Neanderthals.
359- I choose not to eat meat becuase of the torturing of animals, not because I think our digestive systems are not made for meat, becuase I dont think that exactly….its hard to describe. But my main thing is the horrible animal treatment, just for humans to consume and enjoy as if it were nothing, just another food item, when in actuality they are eating an innocent animal who has been crammed into a cage, and treated like its dirt. But I know what you mean, I dont think humans are expecially made to eat plants, and I dont think they are expecially made to eat meat, they are made so they can eat what they choose, either or. People can be vegetarians, or they dont have to be, our bodies are made so we can eat what foods we want. Sorry about all the animal abuse thing, it wasnt aimed at anyone, I just get tired of people ignoring me when I tell them all this (you know away from Museblog), so I need to tell someone who will listen, and I know you guys already know all of it, but I also know you will listen, so thanks!!!!
360- I also understand. I think I speak for everyone here when I say that we don’t mind your discussing it here. In fact, good for you!
New semi-relevant topic: Activism. When is it appropriate, how much is appropriate, and what gets annoying?
I kinda got two of my friends on vegetarian diets this year. But only because they were already considering it and started talking to me about it. Etc, etc.
363- Activism is a bit boring. (Sorry!) There’s an activismic (no it’s not a word) thingamabobber in our town this week, and all the workshops are activismic. The funnest thing about it is the climb training. Wheeee! In a few minutes I’m going to go pester the people who are teaching climbing.
Ok once again my brain is still shut down from school until I officially start school, so here is my daily obvious question: what is activism? *dodges ‘you should know that’ pies*
the doctrine or practice of vigorous action or involvement as a means of achieving political or other goals, sometimes by demonstrations, protests, etc.
I’m not too good at explaining it. But in this case, I basically mean something along the lines of publicly supporting vegetarianism/veganism and educating people about the benefits and reasons for it.
But I don’t want to seem rude or anything, and I certainly don’t want to force it on anyone, y’know? Maybe start a club for it in school or generally raise awareness about factory farming and puppy mills and animal rights and such there. We have an anime club. So it’s not too out-there.
367-I have always wanted to do that, but some of my friends still dont get why I would give up meat. Either that or they are just to stubbern to realize how horrible it is. I know 3 people at least who would do it, 4, yah four people. Maybe I can get them to do it…..Oh wait, 5 people!!! Ooh, i gotta get going on this. You have inspired me!!!!
368- Whee, have fun with it! Yeah, that’s in issue. The not-getting-it bit. Hmm. That was why I was considering trying to find a teacher who’d go for a club for this sort of thing. To find like-minded people first, or people curious about it.
369-Well I have lots of supportive friends who would help. And I had a teacher last year who I loved, who would help, but then I realized what she was really like.
Creative activism sounds fun, but honestly, what is it going to do for our chances of survival? But I’m talking about climate change, you’re talking about vegetarianism, so we’re no longer on the same page.
I hope my friends will help me, I feel so alone as a vegetarian at my school sometimes. I have yet to meet one (outside of museblog). One of my friends just kind of ignores me, or doesnt say anything when I talk about animal testing and vegetarianism, and it hurts my feelings. This is very important to me and I dont think she gets that. Sorry for rambling, but I just have to tell someone. Most of my friends really have no idea how serious it is to me, they joke about it, and dont mean to hurt me, they just dont get it. I wish I could say something that would make them understand without hurting them. Any suggestions anyone?
372- This is not what you want to hear, sorry. But – what is she supposed to say? “I understand”? What if she doesn’t? What if her main reaction is to leap to the defense of meat-eating, and she’s polite enough not to start an argument, but she can’t show any enthusiasm for vegetarianism, and she wants to avoid any friendship-ruining discussions? What if vegetarianism makes her uncomfortable, like meat-eating makes some people uncomfortable? What if she feels bad but isn’t brave enough to ask her parents to let her be vegetarian? What is she just has nothing to say to that, because she is perfectly comfortable with eating meat, but doesn’t want to dis vegetarians? There are all sorts of reasons why she might ignore you when you talk about vegetarianism. I can easily imagine myself in the same spot, and it would be so awkward it would be better to keep silent if I didn’t have time to think about my words. Why don’t you ask her why she doesn’t say anything? If she’s rude about it, then she isn’t a very good friend. If she tells the truth, so much the better. If she tells a lie to make you feel better, then obviously she doesn’t mean to offend you.
I’m sorry, I started ranting there, but sometimes…well, yes. No offense, Dancergirl, but you’re very sensitive. I am not sensitive about the same things, so I often end up ranting about things that you hold dear. I’m sorry.
I don’t think she is being too sensitive, I just think that when there are no other people like you, people not even being kind enough to realize that and at least hear what you have to say can be frustrating. You may not know yet, as you do eat meat, and live in the middle of nowhere as you like to say, but it does happen. If you lived in a relatively large town even and kept homeschooling you would realize how many people seem like they are either against you or just don’t care.
I do hope a vegetarian meets dancergirl. But I must say, I also hope even a couple of non-vegetarians who are interested in more than what they do enough to care about what other people do meet her. [/very long sentence]
374- Yes, I suppose you’re right. But I can’t help but think Dancergirl ought to ask her WHY she isn’t saying anything. That’s not to say I don’t hope Dancergirl meets some people who care about vegetarianism.
I’ve always thought that I WANT to be different from everyone else, set apart and unclassifiable. But that’s just me, and I’m a show-off.
my mom and i had a bet that i couldnt go vegatarian for 1 week. i told her i could though. i lost, but it isnt really my fault, since we were in the middle of Alaska where my uncle lives (a 10?person “town”) he has a lodge up there.
373-I know, but she is….dunno. She sometimes doesnt think before she says things or does things, and she kind of makes faces like ‘ok..’ when I talk about it. Its really hard to explain, but I have known her for a long time and I can tell kinda…..I dunno. Just…nevermind. But I am not mad. I know I am really sensative, sometimes it gets on my nerves, but I cant help it. Thanks though, I will ask her. I am just afraid she will get mad at me, becuase she gets mad really easily.
374-Thanks, it makes me feel alot better. I mean, I have friends who listen, but they still have NO IDEA. I have one friend who became a vegetarian, but its not the same. She doesnt take it as seriously as I do. Or at least it doesnt feel like it, I mean I have been one my whole life.
375-I ALWAYS want to be different, and really, I mean it! Its just, its really hard to be a vegetarian and take it so seriously and talk about it at lunch when people offer you meat without anyone understanding. Again they listen (kinda) , but they dont understand, and never will unless they become one too and dont have anyone (outside of museblog) who takes them completely seriously. But that wont happen. My best friend who became a vegetarian understands, but I have been one longer, and have had to deal with it longer, so its….different. And, I think it is more centimental to me. Sorry, I ramble too. But I have to tell someone, and you guys always listen and are always so nice, so I know I wont be hurt here. THANKS!!!! It means alot to me…..ok now I am getting waaaaaay to touching….
372- Joke back about meat-eating. My friends do that, too. Joke about it, that is. So I joke back and we all end up feeling fat xD The friend who gets all quiet may just feel awkward and somewhat guilty about it. If you want them to know how serious this is to you, just calmly ask them to listen and stop being immature about it. If you get really annoyed, show them the “Meet Your Meat” video… it shuts people up, at the very least. Just know that your decision is right for you, no matter what their opinion of it is. And, besides, it’s only grade/middle/high school [I forget who’s in which grade, sorry] and won’t really matter so much in the future.
373- Could be. Just please don’t take this thread as an insult to meat-eaters, please? We’re cool with you. : )
374- Agreed.
375- I wanted to be different at one time, until I realized that I’d have to care about and pay attention to whatever made me normal. I’ve given up caring and just go on and do what I think will be educational, ethical, interesting, or just a good time. Sometimes it coincides with whatever the “majority” is doing. Sometimes it doesn’t. Whatever. I’m lazy.
376- In due time, she’ll either “get it” or give up. That’s been my observation with people who go veg. That’s why I only try to talk people into it, who already are considering it. If someone does that just because another person adamantly suggested and promoted it… what’s the point? It’s a personal lifestyle decision. Length of devotion doesn’t matter all too much, I think, so long as you’re wholeheartedly there. I’d say all the vegetarians here know what you mean when you say that certain people don’t understand. Once you make the connection between the living, breathing creature, and what you’re being offered as food, it’s all different and you wonder why people go around gnawing on animal corpses [no offense to any non-vegetarian here]. It just “clicks,” I suppose. The most you can do is understand that it’s right and normal for them, and shrug it off. If you’ve been veg your entire life, I’d assume your parents are veg too? Talk to them about it. You’d be surprised… And, if you’re not in high school yet, just wait. There will be so many more people, and you’re bound to meet at least one like-minded person.
Our school is filled with poser-vegetarians. One of them (one of the most ‘popular’ girls in the school (or so she thinks of herself), I might add) recently went into a hot dog stand and bought a cheeseburger from my friend (who, coincidentally, is vegetarian). I’m perfectly fine (even happy for) most vegitarians, but I can’t stand that kind, who only don’t eat meat because it’s “cool.”
379-No offense, but I dont really find that funny. Vegetarianism is a lifestyle. And I’m sorry if I sound harsh, but vegetariansm is important to me, which you can already probably tell.
Sorry to everyone on this thread who is sick of me rambling on about how vegetarianism is important to me etc. I just need someplace to put it. I am really sorry.
379- Oh, whoops. I meant to type “377.” For that last bit of my horribly long comment of d00m. Sorry for the mixup… ^^;
Also, I have a cousin who was like that. She claimed to be vegan for about half a year. And ate loads of animal products. Sigh. She then got stomach ulcers and gave up.
380- Le sigh. Kids these days.
Well I have a grand total of one friend so far who’d try to start a veg club with me… ^_^
382-I havnt asked anyone about a veg club yet. But I have a friend who I know would do it (shes a vegetarian), and I have a few others in mind that I am pretty sure would help even if they arent vegetarians. I will ask them tonight at the sleepover.
Dancergirl, as I see it, people shouldn’t be mad about you talking about something you believe in, because if it’s important to you, if they care about you, they will want to know. Right guys?
this has nothing to do with the topic at hand but I have proven that all the muses are vegetarians:
feather: it has been stated that his is
mimi: it’s not nice to kill animals
bo: cow
pwt: s/he is the muse of animals and would not eat them
crraw: see aeiou
aeiou: see chad
chad: has no time for food thusly has a vegibar no and then
urania: the god were baned from eating meat
kokopelli: he hates meat because he can not use it in pies and thusly is boycotting it.
384,385,386-You guys are awesome!!!! I wish I could have met you all at the Kokokonvention. You are such good friends. Thank you soooooooooooo much, you have no idea how much that means to me. Oh…..Thanks sooooooooooo much again.
Vegetarians – do you know of any really good non-meat foods with iron? I know of Spinich, but I don’t really know of any others. I’m anemic *again,* and my doctor told me to take iron supplements and eat red meat. But, I don’t eat red meat, so I thought I’d see if there are some good non-red-meat-iron-sources before my parents force me to eat…stuff….
Oh man you guys. I am reading a book about how to eat and help instead of harm the planet, and there is a section on slaughterhouses. It really makes you think twice about eating meat (I dont eat meat, but I mean if you do). I hope it doesnt get snipped. But please dont read it if you dont want to.
IF YOU DONT WANT TO KNOW DONT READ THE FOLLOWING!!!!
ABOUT CHICKENS:
The chickens are kept in cages stacked on top of eachother, and the building is full of them. Their beaks are cut off in a painful process, their toes are cut off, and there is more than one chicken in each cage. When they start to not lay as many eggs they arent fed or given water, and makes them go into shock so they lose feathers and start laying eggs again. But only for a few weeks, and then the birds are used in chicken soup. Baby male chickens that are hatched are called useless biproducts and they put them into plastic bags to suffocate when more chicks are throw on top of them. Some are growned up to feed animals, sometimes while they are still living. (I am like, about to cry)
ABOUT PIGS:
They are put in crowded pens like all other animals, their tales are cut off, and tehy are given growth hormones so they will get fatter quicker for more pork, bacon, etc. When it is time to be slaughtered their legs are weak since they are so big, and actually break. People drag them squeling in pain and terror, to be slaughtered, and they (according to slaugherhouse people) are sure the pigs know what is about to happen, and obviously dont want it to happen. Who would? This is all for people to eat pork, and bacon, and all that other stuff.
ABOUT COWS:
They are of course kept in small spaces where it is muddy and are left in the sun or in the freezing cold weather. Then they are branded which is extremely painful, obviously. A searing red hot metal thing pushed onto your behind is hardly something to look forward to. Then they are pushed into trucks and are not fed or given water, and if a cow lays down (if they find the room) they are trampled to death. They are pulled out even if they have broken limbs. Then the book refuses to describe how horrible the slaughtering process is. Now think about the other horrible stuff you just read, if it doesnt want to describe it, can you even imagine what they do to these poor creatures and then think nothing of it and eat a hamburger? The books says that the cows whow manage to avoid an electric shock people consider “humane” and actually are able to go through the line conscious are put through even more terror. It says there is legislation against cruelty but that those laws are that the cow should be made unconcious and senseless before it is skinned and dismembered. Apparently inspectors only inspect the dead bodies, not the process. WHAT IS WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE? I would be sobbing right now if I wasnt staring at an awefully bright computer screen, I am about to. And what makes it worse, I showed this to my friend, and do you know what she said? She said “is this true?”. And even though she felt bad for the animals it seems as though she lost interest as all my friends do when I tell them this. Even if they care, they havnt tried to become vegetarians yet. I know it isnt for everyone, but…..I mean….did you read that aweful discription?
THE SLAUGHTER HOUSE INFO IS OVER
I am very sorry GAPAs for making you read this to moderate it, and if it couldnt be put on the blog that is ok, it is kinda gruesome.
Oh, and I forgot, sorry about the second post, but if you are interested in how eating organic foods and stuff helps the planet and all this other good stuff that seems extremely boring but makes you want to help, read “Harvest for Hope” by Jane Goodall. Please just check it out, its awesome, and inspiring, and makes you realize what has happened to our world since people actually farmed for themselves and werent overcome with greed for money and tobuilt slaughterhouses that are horrible.
#1 Comment!!! Vegimite is GROSS. I tried it once and almost barfed.
furst post
Ah well 2nd is fine
Never had it…
what does it taste like? what does it look like?
Vegemite is okay for those who like it, but I abhor the stuff. Cyanide. I’m not a vegetarian, and Perfectly Normal Beast is delicious.
Vegetables. I have no idea why people are so squeamish over genetically modified veggies and fruit, but organic is good, arugula is good, and jicama is divine.
vegetarian
steeeeeeeeeaaaak….sooooo yummmeeeeee……
Sorry, but as long as they don’t eat hamsters, I’m not a vegetarian.
It tastes like… A snail!
What the heck is Vegemite??
I’m a vegetarian, possibly going on vegan. For some weird reason, I LOVELOVELOVE tofu and other soy stuff. I was raised with somewhat peculiar meals: broiled eggplants; road-killed squirrel; road-killed rabbit; bean ‘sausages’; garlic-mustard pesto; weird poke concoctions; elder-berry syrup; etc, etc, etc…
So for some weird reason THAT has turned me vegetarian!
Try being a vegetarian with braces then go to a massive cook-out down South where they have 12 kinds of meat and only corn-on-the-cob for their vegitable. Trust me, it’s FUN!! I literally lived on s’mores the whole week…
FREE THE VEGITABLES!!
BUY ORGANIC!!
what is vegan, totally organic?
buy organic and fair trade
I’m a vegetarian. As of very recently, actually. Before I came to MB, though…
Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe veganism is a diet on which you eat or wear no animal products what so ever. Not even honey or wool. It sounds really cumbersome, but some people like it, I guess. It takes all kinds. Just so everyone knows, I’m not a vegetarian or a vegan.
I say, now watch what you say,
they’ll be calling you a radical,
a liberal,
oh, fanatical,
criminal.
Oh won’t you sign up your name,
we’d like to feel you’re acceptable,
respectable,
oh presentable,
a vegetable…
I ♥ vegemite!!!!!!
VEGEMITE rules all!
I wrote a letter to Muse suggesting a Vegemite Pie to Kokopelli.
Vegemite is a black concentrated yeast extract paste. Contrary to popular belief it is not an evil smelling vile paste of death, but rather a deliciously strong spread perfect of your morning toast.
My mom is totally organic obsessed, seeing as she is a horticulturist and she works at some place that’s called something like “Project of safe pest control” so all we eat is organic.
I don’t really like meat, I like tofu if cooked right and if it is a good brand. I am not vegetarian.
On the subject of food, I just made myself truffles! I feel proud of myself as I’m not normaly a cooking person. I mixed melted chocolate (okay fine, choklit) with butter (not too much butter though) and lumped it into little lumps then sprinkled cocoa powder mixed with powdered sugar over them. Mmmm.. tasty.
Oh and I like organic food and corn on the cob. and fair trade.
I’m lacto-ovo. Veggies rule.
13 (YKM)- You’re right. Any thoughts on whether honey is vegan? I’m getting really sick of my friends arguing over it.
Hey Guys, an actual vegatarian here! I’d like the world to know that all vegatarians are not outdated hippies. (Not that there is ANYTHING wrong with hippies) We are just people that happen to not eat meat. Is there anything wrong with that?
If you’re wondering what is our source of protien it’s tofu which actually tastes very good. There is also source made of various NON-MEAT things that is made to look and taste somewhat like meat. I do not know what meat tastes like and I don’t want to know either.
Also, people wanting to know about vegatarians would also have to know the difference between vegatarians and vegans.
In the words of yesterday’s_kinked_moose I will kindly explain the difference.
“Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe veganism is a diet on which you eat or wear no animal products what so ever. Not even honey or wool.”
First of all, vegatarians AND vegans (unless you’re allergic) eat honey and wear wool. We just don’t like the idea of killing living things for food or other products. This is where the twists come in. Even though the vegans don’t want to kill the animals for food they also don’t like the idea of getting food from animals. So vegatarians DO eat eggs, cheese, milk, chocolate, ect, and vegands DON’T.
Also organic products are VERY good for you because many fruits and vegatabales that are not organic have bug spray on them. EW!!!!
Did you know that 10 (or somewhere around that number) years ago people in various parts in Asia ate dogs and cats? They don’t now but now they eat bugs. Will those people ever learn?
If the Muses were real, I bet Feather could write a supr vegatarian cookbook.
*GASP!* Who told you that they are not real!??? They are LYING! *GASP! (Again!)*
#19- i, the pickest eater on earth, actually like bugs – grasshoppers, fried and salted! veeeeery good.
i also like french fried squid, but, yet, i hate pizza. nasty nasty. yech. i don’t like marshmallows either. or any kind of meat except beef. i looooove beef. of course, i live in wyoming.
#20- who DID tell you the muses aren’t real?! they lied!!!!! don’t listen to a word they say, ever again!!!
I would think that if the animals are treated well- think free-range or grass-fed- it’s not bad to eat them. Get ready for a rant.
Okay, in today’s fast-food and burgeritized world, cows are horribly mistreated. They’re raised in tiny stalls in ginormous barns and never see the light of day. They live in their own filth. They are fed giant quantities of corn– which cows are NOT meant to eat: it makes them sick because they do not have the right kind of stomach for it-, pumped full of artificial vitamins- and believe me, these aren’t your nice human-quality kinds of things- to keep them alive, and forced to eat liquified fat from other cows! I tell you, they are made to become carnivores! All this to fatten them up in two months or so so that they can be killed for a few hamburgers!
Now if they ate only grass and things they’re supposed to, lived outside, had time to then you could justify eating them. But like this? You decide!
And organic? That’s not much better. All it means is that they don’t do the liquid fat, and are allowed acess to pasture. Which means that for maybe a one-week period of their short lives, they can wander outside of their horrid metal barns into a tiny outdoor pen. Which they won’t, because all the food and water is inside.
This came from a diabolical book called The Omnivore’s Dilemma. Read it. Love it. Obey it.
And don’t let me get started on chickens!
19 (Yotsuba)- Bugs are actually a better, healthier and less fatty source of protein than most other animal products. As a vegetarian, I don’t eat them, but several members of the Chinese sidde of my family do. They say they taste very good. I think the question is more, “Will those steak-every-night people who say vegetarians are going to die young and anything other than red meat isn’t worth eating ever learn?”
NOTICE TO ALL MUSEBLOGGERS:
As intelligent people, I deplore you to not eat veal. Veal calves are kept in pens barely bigger than they are, never allowed to see the outdoors, and fed on a liquid diet. They’re literally made to become anemic so that their flesh is light and tender when they’re killed young, packaged up, and set on tables. It’s this kind of stuff that made me go vegetarian. I’m not saying that you must never eat any meat ever again; I’m just asking that veal not be part of your diet.
13- The Logical Song! I ♥ Supertramp!
19- That’s not entirely true. I know for a fact that some vegans don’t eat honey or wear wool (I was good freinds with one.) Also, eating bugs and cats and dogs isn’t any worse that eating any type of animal. I mean, if you don’t think eating animals is right, that’s fine, but don’t treat it like eating one animal is worse than another.
Also, if you live in a third world country, which many contries in Asia are, I imagine you can’t afford to get all caught up in the moral issues of food. You eat what you can get when you can get it, or you starve.
Also, some vegetarians aren’t vegetarian because they think it is wrong to kill animals. Some just don’t like the taste of meat, or just eat vegetables becasue they are more readily available to them. I know a lot of vegetarians, and some are simply that way for these reasons.
25- Yeah, I’m not vegetarian, but I’ve always made a point to not eat veal.
Okay, I’m not completely veggie, but I am completely organic. I don’t eat cow-fed cows, I don’t eat non-organic chicken, and turkey makes me gag. I would never eat veal, deer, squirrel or fermented anything.
#25: yeah. its just…wrong (cant think of a better word for it)
YAYS!!!!!!!!!!! vedgeheads unite!!!
im lacto-ovo, but i probably wouldnt eat eggs if they werent snuck into practically every processed item there is…
so has anyone ever read the back of a food label + been surprised that an animal byproduct has somehow been incorporated into it? it relly makes me mad. for example, do you know that there is gelatin in almost every type of yogurt? its a thickener, i guess. but why does yogurt need to be thickened in the first place? so i buy plain organic yogurt, just to be safe. i like it because you can mix in wvr you want. hot choklit powder is esp good.
tofu is great b/c you can make it taste like almost anything you want. silken tofu is good in smoothies or dips, and firm tofu is esp good for frying. my favourite way to make firm tofu is to
1) drain out all the water + freeze it. (when it is thawed, it will have a texture similar to chicken)
2) fry it in a combination of sesame oil + wok oil
3) top it w/ soy sauce and wasabi.
heh… i do eat morningstar / gardenburger stuff though. come on, its good stuff.
ok. i hav yet another recipe.
HUMMUS
you need:
12 oz chick peas
2 tbsp parmesan
1 tbsp wok oil
1/8 cup olive oil
blender
directions: blend it all together. its not that hard.
I think we should just revert back to the good ‘ol days when Pa went out with his shotgun into the forest and came back a few days later with a deer around his shoulders. That was then your source of meat.
Then again… that’s just me.
26- yeah, vegetarians could have been raised that way or do it for the environment or something.
20- are you a muser or not?!?! for crying out loud ! im not a vegetarian.
i know how yo make REAL hummus.
you need-
tahini
canned chick peasblend together.
1 clove of crushed garlic
pour olive oil on top. sprinkle hot pepper on top. add sprigs of parsly
enjoy! this is the basic recipe that my family uses.
hummus is so bland without garlic
Both your recipes for hummus forgot the peanut oil. Tahini, peanut oil, garlic, squeezed lemon juice, chick peas. Blender. Pita bread.
19- they may eat bugs but to them its like candy
i live in NC but when i went to san fran everyday we would walk by the stores and see big signs that say ORGANIC FOOD
19 – some vegan’s don’t eat honey or wear wool…
28- Yeah, I’m lacto-ovo, too, but the only kinds of eggs I eat are scrambled or in cookies or something of the like.
I thought vegans didn’t wear leather, either.
28-Ever eaten watery yogurt?
34-Did you know that Wal-Mart is considering going organic? I think it’s an interesting idea. I wish more people made hemp clothing (a different plant from marujuana, botanically, scientifically, and plainly) some of you will know that MT makes hemp baseball caps, and someone just ate mine.
35-Vegans don’t use any animal products. No honey, no leather, no wool, no rawhide, and no feathers. I think I left out something in there, but it’s probably unimportant.
Why is hemp any different from, say, flax? I don’t see anyone trumpeting linen fabric or flaxseed oil as symbols of organic wonderfulness. Just curious.
34: yeah, i live around there and organicfullness is really big.
38-Because flaxen hair is creepy. The hair isn’t, but the adjective is. And flax is AWFUL to spin. It takes about 520003 grillion hours for a square inch of material. And linen creases badly if you sit in it. Flaxseed oil tastes disgusting.
19 (AD)- What’s so terrible about eating candy that’s not packed with artificial sweeteners, trans fat, and empty calories?
Seriously, I’m sick of the traditional American mentality that anything different is weird and gross and worth making fun of. We’re supposed to be this wonderful melting pot and bastion of tolerance, and instead we have intelligent MBers putting down Asian cultures and their eating habits because we don’t have the same ones here. THINK BEFORE YOU TYPE.
Note: I’m not trying to be mean or any snarkier than I normally am. I’m trying to correct ignorance.
38 (OEAD)- Because linen doesn’t have the same hippie-style connotations that hemp does.
41 (me)- Bastion of tolerance? Ha. Haha. Hahaha. Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.
The average person swallows [insert number here] spiders a year in their sleep.
I thought it was four, so I looked it up.
One site said five.
Another said six.
Another said eight in a lifetime.
Anyway, we all eat spiders.
#37: all yogurt is “watery.” if it sits w/o being disturbed long enough, some of the water will separate from the solids.
#41: i concur with that. anyone who turns away from vegetables, health food, etc will very likely pay for it later in their lives when they end up getting heart disease, diabetes…the list is endless.
you guys should watch SuperSize Me. it sort of elaborates on ^^.
#43: ew. yeah, ive heard that
(44) Yeah I saw that movie. It gave me a craving for a BigMac. Not even kidding. I haven’t eaten a BigMac…. ever. I don’t like fast food (except for this one tiny local mexican chain… oh man, there carne asada is like nothing else) It was a good movie though.
Hemp is ok. I like cotton and linen. I will never give up my trusty linen shorts. They are the only article of leg-apparel that I can wear in the summer and not feel like I’m wearing electric blankets.
43- I heard it was 6.
I google-imaged vegemite. it looks disgusting.
my yearbook said eight.
I’m a vegetarian. And proud of it!
(I’m to lazy to look for this thread, is threre a site on world religons?)
41-“Bastion of tolerance.” What a great phrase. Can I change those three letters?
Vegemite is not disgusting!
OK, maybe it is. I can see how you would reach that conclusion. But I like it.
48- yes. Just click “Back” And scroll DOWN…………………. Then click on “Previous posts,” And scroll down a little bit.
Yeah. I’m a vegetarian, too, for ethical reasons.
Though I do get cravings.
For a ham.
I love ham.
But I don’t eat it.
I’m rather new to it, I’ve only been doing it for about four or five months.
To other vegetarians: how long have you been sober?
And a couple more things?
Anybody watch the most recent Colbert Report?
They had the guy who wrote “The Omnivore’s Dilemna”.
Ugh.
Even that 10 minute thing put me off corn.
Grooooss.
49 (Queenie J)- Now I know I’m really dense. (Like I didn’t already.) Which three letters?
I have never had Vegemite and don’t particularly want to, either.
Sometimes, being a vegetarian is really difficult. Tonight was Leftover Night at my house, because most nights are. Last night (also Leftover Night), I had finished off the last of a truly yummy kale sauce. No vegetarian dishes in the house. I ended up having cherries for dinner. They were quite good, but they were cherries. *tragic sigh*
(54) Ohh yeah I heard about that book. What exactly is it about?
Are you new? Shall I pie thee?
53- Yeah, not long. Since, um, January. Yeah. It was a newyearsresolution. The only things I really miss are Jell-O and Chicken&Broccoli.
45-Try hot pants. Crocheted. I have a pair I adore, and my ‘Novak’ jumpsuit, with the aerating gaps in the thighs, is also good for dancing and quite flexible. Who here likes to figure dance?
55-‘Ion’ and ‘Ard’, in a sense. You’re actually very clever, KZAP. Wow! Your initials are K-ZAP! That’s crazee skid! Can I call you that, KZAP darling?
ive been a vedgehead since november. actually, i dont think ive ever had any cravings / withdrawal symptoms at all. but i do miss marshmallows a bit.
so…today my parents insisted on going to fathers day brunch at a steakhouse. guess it wasnt that bad. i actually managed to snatch the last waffle (the place was a zoo), and they had canteloupe and this bright orange bread that was pretty good.
hehe…i think im going to buy a waffle maker today (provided i can afford one. hope so, b/c i cant stand frozen waffles)! and its not going to be a boring one either – im going to try and find a hello kitty one that stamps a picture onto the waffle…yes, they do make those!
I’m not a vegetarian since I eat poultry and fish, but I don’t eat red meat. And I haven’t had any cravings for it, either (i’ve never eaten ham but I used to eat beef every so often), but what I have had cravings for are fries.
59- Waffle makers pwn.
I only eat meat if it doesn’t look like real meat. (Baloney, Bacon, hame etc.) But if it’s in those chunks I feel to guilty to eat it.
Red meat as in rare?
Fries are made of potatoes, not meat. ; I
We make waffles all the time – from scratch!
We have a waffle maker. My brother worships it. I just eat the waffles.
I eat mostly chicken and turkey. Salami sometimes. Ham occasionally, but I don’t really like it. We only have beef about once every two months. We have fish a lot. Every week we have at least one vegetarian dinner.
I don’t eat fast food. It disgusts me.
14- Vegimite IS an evil smelling vile paste of death!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
59- Marshmallows arent REALLY made of animal fat like everyone says. They’re really only sugar, with water that was puffed up. So go ahead and eat all the marshmallows you want. Cuase’ veggitarianists can eat ‘m!
#28 – Making hummus takes skill and a magic touch that I unforuntely do not posess. My brother makes the most AMAZING hummus that no-one has topped yet. Our friend (who is Lebonese, I think) says it tastes better than how her family used to make it in the Middle East. I swear, I’m in ecstasy when I eat that stuff. Unfortunately he is in Europe right now, leaving for college in the fall. We’re hoping he sends some packages every few weeks.
Also, how is it possible for eggs to posess a striking appearence similar to that of chicken, even in a Chinise restaurant? (LOOOOVE Chinise food – not dissing on it, just wondering if the waiter took my order wrong and I haven’t eaten eggs and chicken in so long I couldn’t tell the difference.)
Well, I looked up vegemite on Wiki and it looks…*cough*…well…interesting. I found the jingle amusing:
We’re happy little vegemites
as bright as bright can be,
we all enjoy our Vegemite
for breakfast, lunch, and tea
our mummies say we’re growing stronger
every single week
because we love our Vegemite
we all enjoy our Vegemite
it puts a rose in every cheek
VEGETARIANS SAVE LIVES!!
58 (Queenie J)- Oh, definitely. (About the letters and the name.)
62 (Capricious)- Red meat as in comes from a mammal.
65 (TDOW)- Gelatin. Cow hooves. ‘Nuff said. (With the possible exception of “Eeeew!”)
53- i’ve always been a vegetarian
#65: um, most have gelatin in them
65- No it isn’t! You just think that because of the evil subliminal messages sent by the media tell you to think it is! Really it’s a tasty, salty delicous spread.
66- I’m deffinately going to memorize that.
I ate my Vegemite this morning to honor the Australians in their soccer match against Brazil. Sadly, they lost. Ah well. The Vegemite still tasted good.
Marshamllows have gelatin. So I do not eat them. And I thought Gelatin was boiled pig skin…???
I’ve been a vegatarian for about a year and a half(almost)
Advice:never eat Boca burgers. They taste AWFUL!!!
Burger King (in all its evilness) does actually have a good brand veggieburger on the menu-thingy(where live anyway)!
THANKYOU SOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH FOR DOING THIS AWSOME THREAD!!!!!!YOU ARE MAGNIFICENT, WONDERFUL PEOPLE!!!!! I HONOR YOU!!!!!
I thank you also, G.P.A.s. You are TRULY AMAZING!! And I think Stonyfield farm yogourt does not have gelatin.
Sorry. GAPAs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Please forgive me!!!!
For what? Obviously I’m missing something.
I said G.P.As instead of G.A.P.As. I must have been in a rush.
School’s out! You can stop thinking about your G.P.A.
ho-ho-ho. *chortechortle*. What a could joke, Mr. Conntz. hm. hee-hee. hahaha.
My gym teacher used to play on Brazil’s National soccer team..
78- Woah. Cool!
78- i agree with SM. that is severly awesome.
72- there are plenty of yogurts that don’t. at least where i live. it was king of funny. i was at this comp and you wrote things you liked next to your name and this girl i know put “yoga” and “yogurt” and when they read them off they were like “oh, she must be from *name of city*
I just had steak. yuuuuuummmy.
Kiki-
we are not amused…
Boca is Spanish for mouth. Mouth burgers. Like foot shoes, I guess.
hmmmmmmm…
I like asparagus. And artichokes are best with garlic.
Ilike green beans. And vegtavble egg rolls. Yumyum.
dude
vegitarians dont make sense
meat is soo good
animals are gonna get killed anyway
but whatever
and veggies=YUMM!!!!!!
but i will not eat tomatoes
ewwww
i call this kid the evil tomatoe kid cuz he almost made me eat
one once
but i llove ketchup
i like peas. corn. broccli. carrots. beans(green).asparagus. and other stuff
but artichoke is nasssssssty. i once ate toast with artichoke dip and ketchup. i had three bites and had a stomach ache for like, 2 hours. ewwwww.
i gave some to my friend. eww. nasty
veggie tales!!!
i love those guys
if u like to talk to tomatoes…
if a squash can make u smile!!!
oh yeah. not supposed to talk about bob and larry.
k never mind.
wuts vegimite
eww!!!
tofu!!!!!!
i once had it
it was nasty
and once my friend had to eat a big block of tofu in 3 bites.
i almost had to eat t.
he gagged after the first bite
ewwww.
its so groossssss
23- in n out is good. they buy their meat from small companys and they dont fridgerate it. its so good. i dont eat cheeseburgers from anywhere else. unless its homemade hamburgers. well, i do eat them from dicks(dont make fun of the name). but thats only when i go to seattle. but for all of u that dont know wut in n out is, is a california/nevada/arizona thing. you guys from other states are missing out BIG TIME!!!!!
(78) wow, awesome.
(87) saying “the animals are gonna get killed anyway” is like saying “the whales are gonna go extinct anyway.” There’s no “anyway”. There’s just choosing to be part of something or not. Vegetarians choose to not be part of killing animals for food.
I agree with you though, In n Out is the only fast food restaurant I don’t destain entirely. If only for their choklit shakes.
(87) By that logic, we can say that mass murder of children/kittens/small woodland creatures is hunky dory, since they’re going to die anyway.
Think before you type, dearie.
Egg rolls are wonderful.
Vegemite is a spread something like peanut butter, but made of vegetables. Aussies love it; the Australian counselors at the camp I go to (we have counselors from around the world it’s really cool) bring packets of the stuff from home. Though supposedly nothing’s better than spreading a whopping amount on your crackers straight out of the jar. -shrug-
I looooooooooove ketchup. But I get sick if I eat too much of it. But I hate when people put it on perogies [sp?] or scrambled eggs. Eew. My dad puts salsa on scrambled eggs. Gross to the nth degree. It’s really annoying how moste fast-food places [where I live] don’t have choklit ice cream!
i like ketchup w/ eggs!
my uncle liked ketchup so much when he was a kid that he put it on his ice cream. now that is gross.
88- Tofu is actually REALLY good if its cooked right. Once, my dog (who will eat anything, sparing tofu now, I assume from this episode) had some tofu my mum spilled on the floor and puked it back up withing minutes. I refused to eat it afterward. But then a few years later, I had some tofu in a Houston Thai restaurant adn it was GOOD! It was ncine and firm and small: not large and spongey and squishy.
87- Also, if enough people become vegitarians, the demand for meat goes down, thus less animals are killed. And since that would take a fat lot of vegitarians to really make a difference in that way, we can at least, as #90 says. And #91 makes senes too: this means that anything can be killed and murdered and slaughtered because in the end we’ll all die anyway (though not necessarily in that manner). Yes we will all die eventually, because if we’re given life we’re automatically given death as a way of wrapping the good life up. But mindless killing isn’t exactly what most of have in mind when we think of our passing. You’ll see that even though humans will die after a while, we don’t kill each OTHER for food, just ones not of our species. And you may say, “well, in the animal kingdom there’s killing for food all over the place”. Yes, but they need to kill others to SURVIVE. It is not vital that humans kill animals for food. Now we have ways to grow fruits and veggies all year-round so the slaughter isn’t necessary. Even the pre-historic peoples were mostly vegitarians until they were forced to move inland from the coasts by the explorers and settlers. Today we have ways to avoid such, but we have gone out of our way TO mass-produce meat so we can eat as much as our little hearts desire. So you see, there’s really no need. Let the animals live; they have as much of a right as we do, if not more so.
I hate to break it to you all, but organic isn’t that great. (Read post 23 for a little bit.) All that’s different is that the animals have no artifical vitamins or liquid fat. They are allowed access to pasture (meaning, like a little square of grass off of the gigantic steel barn. Plus, none of the animals go out there anyway, as all the food and water is inside), and sometimes they get to live longer.
What you want is free-range, grass-fed, polyculture kinds of food because then the cows/chickens/pigs were happy and healthy. Then, it’s no crime to be eating them. After all, humans evolved as omnivores.
TO UNDERSTAND IT, YOU MUST READ THE BOOK BY MICHAEL POLLAN: “THE OMNIVORE’S DILEMMA”. YOU REALLY MUST. IT’S AN ENLIGHTENMENT. ALSO READ HIS OTHER BOOK, “THE BOTANY OF DESIRE”. IT’S ABOUT PLANTS, AND PEOPLE, AND HOW IT’S REALLY THEM DOMESTICATING US, NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND. (although you may want to know that this last book is banned in many school districts, which only makes it more fascinating.)
I’ve got a long rant coming, but Dad says I have to go to bed now, so expect it tomorrow.
VF (50),
Banned? Why?
organic food IS good for you. it has been scientifically proven that it can help prevent cancer. not all organic farms are bad.
anyway, why was that book banned? it sounds kind of cool
Even though Organic food is usually more expisive, it is definitely worth it! It is better for EVERYBODY involved.
agreed
i might have said this before but is was reading this essay on how in america we forgotten all about “food with a face”. when we buy meat it doesn’t seem like an animal because it’s cut into little squares and packaged up, so we feel alot less guilty. but in other countries, you buy you meat freshly slaughtered or do it yourself, and it’s alot more meaningful.
100% Cotton, I 100% agree with you.
I’m a vegetarian, but for a really whack set of reasons, which has nothing to do with the poor animals. Actually, it does a little bit, but not being it’s cruel to kill them.
My main problem with eating meat is that it’s extremely environmentally irresponsible. It takes an phenomenal amount of resources to raise one pound of beef. Granted, beef is the worst of the lot, but when you consider exactly how many pounds of beef are eaten every day in just the US, it adds up much too quickly. Is it really worth all that just to get one meal? Chicken and fish are not as bad, but it still seems irresponsible to participate in that. You can get the same amount of protein and nutrients from eating a good multi-vitamin and a vegetarian dish.
On a less important level, the amount of antibiotics and other chemicals in the meat we eat today is frightening. In fish, you need to worry about mercury poisoning, and in beef and chicken, steriods are used to help the animals grow faster. I don’t care how much protein meat has, if I’m running the risk of being hurt by animal steriods and antibiotics.
I’ve been a vegetarian for over a year now, and while I sometimes have issues getting enough protein, I intend to continue being one.
Randomly, do you Musebloggers think farm-raised (raised to be killed) or animals caught in the wild are better to eat? (in terms of the environment, health etc.)
5- The bad thing about genetically modified organisms (GMO) is that it’s dangerous for the ecosystem. Say you implant genes from a giant sloth into eggplants so that they grow bigger and are poisinous to the black birds that keep pecking them. Now there are two species of eggplant. What if the GMO succeeds in the wild? Since they grow so big, they’ll use up a lot of soil nutrients and water for the other plants and other eggplants. And, the black birds will probably die off because they’re poisinous, then the mosquitos they eat will overpopulate. We don’t want that! The original eggplant might die off. Another thing is we can’t be sure of is weather they’re still nutritious, or if their bird repellant will also be bad for us, or pollute the water.
19- For the record, Hippies prefer to be called The Beautiful People. Maybe if they didn’t use bug spray on the vegetables, they’d be infested with bugs. Wouldn’t that be gross, too? The real problem is with chemical runoff into the environment, where it pollutes and ruins everything.
20- Feather grows vegetarian doughnuts! I don’t know if they’re vegetarian anyways, probably.
23- This is a generalization. I think you mean cannibal, not carnivore. The few hamburgers and two months thing is probably also a exaggeration. What organic meat means is that they aren’t fed antibiotics, which is a good thing, weather or not the meat is treated any differently while alive. I think this was clarified in a later post. Now, I have defended myself eating meat (that doesn’t mean you have to) on the Museblog, even, by saying that we have unfortunately bred livestock so that they are dependant on us feeding them and would probably freeze to death and get eaten by wolves if let run free. I’m not saying we should kill them because they’re going to die anyway; but if we’re not taking care of them for food, why would we take care of the creatures? Do you want cattle to go extinct?
25- The definition of veal does not include being kept miserably. It’s just a good idea to know where your food came from, in case you’re opposed to eating veal kept that way.
27- Are you sure you’re completely organic? Labeling restrictions are only getting weaker, and those darn processed foods… By the way, what do you have against fermented stuff? What about cheese or apple cider?
28- What are they supposed to do with the animal by-products? If we slaughtered animals only to eat the prime parts, and throw the rest away, it would be an outrage! They have to find something to do with all the extras, or else the whole animal would have died for just sandwiches. They can make gelatin, clothing, pillow stuffing, instruments, and stuff with the other parts, so it’s not such a waste.
35- A person is vegetarian or vegan if they call themself one. I’ve known vegetarians that eat fish all the time and have down pillows. The definition isn’t really standard.
37- Who’s seen Wal*Mart- The High Cost of Low Prices? Anyways, I don’t think they would really use organics- they’d probably bend the rules quite a bit and get away with it.
46- Looks can be decieving. Remember the muse about photographing food?
49- Come on, don’t generalize. :p
66- Vegetarians save lives of animals. What about the life of plants? Veggies have feelings too, so be a carnivore. :p For all we know, maybe they do. Maybe they don’t.
67- It doesn’t seem right to prefer the lives of mammals, but that’s none of my business.
71- I’m not a vegetarian, but I eat boca burgers anyways because I like them. I like real burgers to, but they’re not the same.
87- The only explanation I can think of for not liking tomatos is because of our unnatural farming, more and more flavorless tomatos are coming about. Or maybe you just don’t like them. We’re lucky here where we can grow our own tomatoes.
94- It might not be vital for you personally to eat meat, but for some people it is. Okay, provided we could get enough tofu for everyone and withstand the headaches and stomach problems for some (yeah, maybe I’m just weak-willed), still in some parts of the world where food doesn’t come from a grocery store, hunting is pretty much the only way to survive. Also I’m confused by your statement that we were forced to move inland by explorers and settlers.
95- Is the crime in raising factory livestock or in eating it?
103- We would have more food if we ate the veggies fed to animals directly. I don’t think you should say it’s the same nutrition as a multivitamin and veggie dish, because we don’t know how much we know about nutrition. New things are being discovered; scientists thought we’d figured it all out when vitamins were discovered, but then the importance of fiber was discovered. In answer to your question, I say hunting is better for the environment and for health.
I think meat is healthy because it’s part of the diet humans evolved on, in balance with the other food groups. A couple other things I want to mention: People are afraid of red meat because it causes cancer or something, right? That’s probably because they’re inseperable from nitrates and nitrites, toxic preservatives they shake all over the stuff during processing. Also, I’d reccomend looking for milk from rBGH-free cows. You never know what bovine growth hormones are going to do to you.
That’s all.
Even though I am a vegatarian, I guess if I wasn’tone that it would depend on how many animals of the species were in the wild, and if the animals of the farm were treated humanely and not given chemicals, like you said.
I always thought that not eating meat because its alive is silly. plants are alive to, so want do you want to do? Starve?
Animals are dependant on us because we made them so. Mass-production of meat is wrong because we have a monoploy on the animals.
(106)Can plants feel as you kill them with machinery? Can plants feel as you shove them into holding cages meant for animals half their size? Can plants feel when skinned alive (though those last two are really more for the fur industry.)
I don’t meant to say that meat is evil and we should kill all carnivores, but we don’t need so much of it, plain and simple.
97: Because it talks a lot about evolution, and how plants are smarter than we think, and many unMuserlike people don’t like to believe that.
And also, it says it thing by dealing with four common plants and how they give us (humankind) four of the things we really want. One of these being marijuana, and how the author talks about he grew and used it, you’ll understand.
The apple: sweetness
The tulip: beauty
The potato: control
Marijuana: intoxication
*Hem* It’s time for Phoebe’s definitions!
VEGAN: A person who eats no meat or dairy products. Dunno about wearing them.
…If too many people were vegetarian, the earth would probably run out of fertile farm land…
But I doubt that will happen; billions of vegetarians might do that….
110 – being a vegetarian doesn’t mean you eat only plants, or even eat vegetables all the time. In order to take meat out of your diet, you have to compensate by adding soy protein, foods with iron etc, not just vegetables. If more people became vegetarian, the old animal farms would simply be turned into vegetable farms.
104 – it’s not the amount of food in the world I’m concerned with, it’s the resources that go into producing that food that worry me. Eating no (or even less) meat is much less of a strain on the natural resources. If every American would substitute soy-protein for meat in one or two meals a week, it would make a world of difference.
I’m not denying meat is healthy, because it certainly can be, but I don’t think you could argue that your average carnivore eats more healthily that your average vegetarian.
I still stand by what I said earlier: balanced vegetarian meals with multivitamins (which everyone should be taking anyway) are just as nutritious as carnivorous meals. I don’t think that the discovery of new nutrients and minerals will change this. Even if a nutrient that can only be found in meat is found, either supplements/additional ways to get it will be made/found, or it must not be that important, seeing as vegetarians have survived without it before.
Additionally, because I know this will come up sometime: Humans’ bodies and teeth may be designed to eat meat, but I don’t think that has any significance in our modern world. In the past, it made sense for humans to eat meat, because the animals were nearby, and there were more of them. Now, however, while it may still be that way for some people, we ought to re-examine our choices. Does it really make sense for us to eat meat all the time? Are there other ways to get what we need to survive? Yes.
Basically, eating meat doesn’t make as much sense as it used to. The world is overpopulated (dangerously so in places) and that problem’s not going away. Maybe our ancestors were carnivores, but that doesn’t mean we should be, seeing as we live in two very different times.
107- i know how my meat was killed. with a sharp knife, no machinery involved.
I happen to like meat. if the animal was killed in a humane fashion, and lived that way too, theres no reason why o shouldnt eat meat, besides i hate soy. not that i dont like veggies, i eat them to. im just (definitly) not a vegetarian.
I’m sorry, but that is not how it’s done anymore, if you’re referring to meat from slaughter houses. They use other methods. And it’s not always humane; I went over this in one of the Hot Topics threads; I don’t want to start to argue as I become a snarky person.
Axa,
FantasyFan is a Muslim. They eat halal meat slaughtered in a special way. I don’t know the details, but you could check.
This is a hot topic, and you all have handled it very well.
Robert- I keep kosher (Judaism) and we only eat meat killed in the way that causes the animal the least pain possible.
Farm animals are dependant on us because we made them so. This is true. But now what? What can we do to benefit the cattle? As far as I can tell, either we kill them or leave them to die. It’s a lose-lose situation. Pity.
Oh, and I was sorta kidding about the plants have feelings too thing, but it was in response to the statement vegetarians save lives. heh.
(91) Not quite. Vegemite is nothing like peanutbutter and it’s not made of vegetables Well, maybe very distantly. It’s concentrated yeast extract.
(98 and 99) true, organic food is technically better for you, if it’s truly organic. But what I think VF is trying to say is that what the supermarket’s call “orgainc” isn’t nearly as orgainc as we’d like to think it is.
(103)
I think animals raised on small farms are probably the best way to do it- this avoids overhunting, and also the cruelty and destruction of factory farming. Sadly, however, small farms are not what makes the most money.
I think it’s very true that animals are raised and killed cruelly but, and that’s what’s wrong with eating meat, but to play
devils advocate, I’ll say this:
What do we do with the animals we have if we don’t eat them? People have already said that they are dependant on us and couldn’t live on their own, but that’s not all of it. Even if they could survive on their own it would be disasterous for the environment to let them free.
I know nobody was suggesting that as a solution, but it brings attention to the problem- how do you keep animals in humane conditions on such a large scale? I think the idea of cutting down on the amount of meat we eat is a good one, even if not everyone’s vegetarian (I’m not).
I don’t want to say anything about averages. Everyone’s different. I think genetically some people are more suited to vegetarianism than others.
Even though I am a vegatarian, I think that it is vital if animals have to be killed, that they are killed in the most humane ways possible. Animals go through agony in salughter houses and fur farms. Even if stricter laws were passed about the treatment of animals in such places, that would be a step forward. I applaud the religions who kill animals in more-humane ways.
119 – it wasn’t the average person, I was refering to, actually. I meant the average vegetarian diet and the average carnivorous diet. Everyone may be different, but we all need roughly the same nutriets, although in different quantities.
118 – I agree, the small-farm idea seems like the best.
I think the hope is that as more and more people stop eating meat or even eat less of it, the industry will adjust, because it won’t be selling enough etc. I’m not sure of that though, it just seems logical to me.
104- Here in America, there is little need for meat, unless if one’s particular diet demands it. We are wealthy enough that we can eat meat substitutes and take vitamins that provide the nutrients from meat. We could not only cut down on the mass production of meat, but also the amount of methane in the atmosphere and protect the Earth from further frying.
I understand that in some places it is vital for poeple to eat meat to survive, in the less developed countries. In small, poverty-stricken countries I can perfectly understand the need to raise meat and because it is most likely produced on smaller farms rather than massive, quantity-focused farms, it’s not harmful to the environment, either.
My dad is a naturlist [spelling??] and studies native anthropology quite a bit. He told me (we were having a similar discussion) that the natives tried to avoid the use of animal material and the dependence upon them for food. When the settlers arrived in Australia, the natives were forced inland and had to look to the animals for their food source. Up until that time, the natives were mostly vegetarian, their ancestors (pre-historic people) probably were as well.
I would also like to say that I am not completely against the consumption of meat. When the natives hunted for food, they would thank the creature for it’s life and death so they themselves could live on. And if you know that the animal your eating lived a good life and was killed in a humane way (as FantasyFan #113 acclaims to) then that is fine with me. (Religious reasons usually sell me, in this case it does.) Raising your own livestock is probably the best way to go if you wish to eat meat, otherwise get it from someone or somewhere that you know treats their livestock right. I have quite a few friends who raise chickens and goats, so that I would feel comfortable eating. It is more the mass-production and inhumane slaughter that most meat manufactorers preform that I would like to rid the Earth of, just so you know.
I’m mainly considered a vegetarian, but I’m not extremely strict. I eat jello and fries and stuff. I don’t eat fish, beef, pork, etc. The only things I do eat are SOME chicken nuggets and chicken soup. I only eat chicken nuggets that are practically burned and extremely dry because otherwise I feel as if I’m eating a raw chicken.I just hate the taste of meat!! I probably haven’t had chicken for a few months but I had rice with chicken broth a few days ago. I’m not a vegetarian for any reason really. I just don’t like the taste and I can’t handle seeing the raw meat on the counter before it’s cooked. And I do have a soft spot for furry little animals!!
I think it’s horrible…Elephants in South Africa are overpopulating, and choking out other species. So they have to kill a LOT of them. It is really sad.
Aww, poor elephants! *hugs one and is run through by a trunk*
S. Melpomene, don’t you mean a tusk? Methinks it would be very difficult/painful to be run through by a trunk. If only they could move the elephants somewhere, but it is very difficult to move an elephant, and there probably isn’t anywhere for them to go. But aren’t elephants endangered in some parts? Maybe they could put them there. Of course now we come back to the problem of moving them. What a waste of elephants… I apologize for my recent absence. I was working at my church’s VBS. My shoulders finally aren’t sore anymore. YEA! I know this was a while ago, but all of my information about veganism came from my cousin. She is a vegetarian and lived vegan for a week as a project for school. The topic came up at dinner when she was here, along with cars catching fire. I didn’t know until then that two of my poor dad’s cars had burned to a crisp. And one of them was actually his parents’. Yo.
123-(haha123 123 123 123 123…sorry) when people need to eat meat to survive, I think that you are right, and allowances should be made.
(113) o_o;; I apologize then, I didn’t know the details. Sorry!
I must admit I’m a bit of a misanthrop. People are stupid. But I agree that some meat is needed, just not at the rate we have now. I love animals, and ever since I developed an ardent love of pigs at the age of seven, I have not eaten pork when I could avoid it. Picking out bacon bits, taking out the ham min a sandwich, you name it. I go to a horse-camp every year, and help take care of assorted and various animals. None of them deserve death.
Everyone talks about how out of control or whatever the animal population would be without us. Last I checked, the population will be about…oh, 9 billion in our life time. As in within twenty years or so. I think we’re in danger of decimating the animal population if this keeps up; not good at all.
Well, if someone needs to eat meat to survive it’s a matter of killing an animal, hopefully humanely if they have a good source, or killing a person inhumanely. I would choose the former. The author of one of my favorite books, Animals in Translation, is autistic and has to eat meat. She also works at cattle slaughter houses, making the killing process as humane and trama-free as possible. However, she also has a great love for animals which comes through in her writing. I think if somebody has no personal problem with eating meat and they buy it from a place which raises and kills the animals humanely and without hormones or unhealthy additives and ingredients put into the feed, that is fine. If i ever become a vegetarian, which is not out of the realm of possibility, it would be becuase I don’t want to eat animals, not becuase I think it is wrong. That’s the way it is with lamb for me. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with eating it, I just have an intense desire not to.
SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I eat any meat that isn’t cute.
i eat meat cause i don’t like Veggies. Any veggies, including Veggie Tales. ESCPECILLAY Veggie Tales.
I believe that Veggie Tales contributes to the general scornful attitude towards vegetarians in this country. Witness:
Mary (name changed for her protection): I can’t believe that you don’t eat cute little cows but that you do eat cute little Larry.
Penty: I’m not a cannibal.
Mary: You’re not a cucumber.
Penty: What the [censored]?
Mary: Like Larry. Larry the cucumber.
*awkward silence*
You know, from Veggie Tales?
Penty: Oh, that Larry. He’s a bunch of pixels. I don’t think that would taste very good.
i don’t eat jello. i like meat (well done) but i don’t eat stuff that’s still alive.
Who eats stuff that is still alive??????
I really do enjoy the song about the pirates who don’t do anything…reminds me of the musers…
RG (136),
Most raw fruits and vegetables are still “alive.” Ever sprouted a potato? As for animals, the only one that North Americans regularly eat alive is oysters.
Vegetarians: Well, I am one. Generally. I eat fish and seafood, Why? because It’s nutritious. And my parents make me. I refuse to eat land animal. I once got yelled at by a friend’s mother for referring to bacon as “dead pig”. She called me an intolerant hypocrite and lots of other things besides that the GAPAs would zap. I did not say anything like “eeewww, look at that! she’s eating dead pig!” I said to one of the two non veggie kids (there were 9 of us) that she might want to move to be next to the other one because they were the only ones who would enjoy the dead pig. Both of the omnivores laughed. Then the mom came out of the kitchen and started her rant.
Vegetarianism: I think people would be healthier if everyone were vegetarians, but this is unlikeley. So for those who do eat meat, I think, as do many nutritionists that I have read that 8 oz. of meat a day should be the limit *backs away* just a suggestion!
Vegetables: yum. At least the kind that are grown. Not the Terry Schiavo kind. They should have thier wishes respected.
Vegemite: no comment.
however, If eating meat is imperative to survive, go ahead. And meat is NOT what is making America obese. It is a contributer, but not the only cause.
I have never eaten oysters before. And I never will…
Who here eats artificial meat? what brand do you use?
is anybody here???????? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO…
*falls into a bottomless pit*
(141) Ruffled Grouse, have you tried Quorn?
I do not eat artificial meat. It’s nasty. I get my protein from tofu and dairy, which is good enough for me. If it’s cooked properly, tofu tastes better than meat anyway. And definitely better than meat substitutes.
No,(143)I haven’t. Is it good? I’m getting bored of my Morningstar Farm foods, although they are better than some of the other brands…
mmm tofu. tofu’s loverly. in chinese it’s called do-fu, and there’s also one called do-gan which contains no meat but is really good. meat’s ok to me..but I don’t think I would mind being a vegeterian. all the packaged red stuff i see in the meat isle (excepting chicken) makes me sorta sick.
p.s. sorry for all the no capitalizations. too lazy
(145) Quorn is derived from fungi of some sort and comes in various forms such as “roast,” cutlets, hot dogs, and “ground beef.” Mostly I use the “tenders.” Iin a stir fry they’re virtually indistinguishable from chicken and supply that perfect texture neither vegetables nor tofu can quite achieve. Makes a nice change from Boca burgers and sesame noodles when I need something quick. Which is most of the time. Not that I’m ever bored with sesame noodles, come to think of it.
I’ll have to try it! It sounds cool!
My mom’s a vegetarian. I am too, well, I MOSTLY am. I call myself a “Chickatarian”, that’s REALLY hard to spell. It means I eat chicken, but otherwise in the meat catagory, I DO NOT EAT ANY OTHER KIND OF MEAT!!
*oww..*
149- FairyDragon, you should call yorself a “Vegichickatarian”. So, you can post about just about everything vegetable-related except Veggie Tales on this thread. Would any comment about Veggie Tales be zapped?
141: I prefer Boca brand meatless burgers. mmmmm. One thing to DEFINITELY avoid is Tofurky, in all its forms. It is MUCH, MUCH worse than Vegemite.
149 (FD)- The official term for that is ‘pollovegetarian’.
151 (Otzi)- Boca burgers need to be better-named. (Mouth Burgers? No.) And they don’t exactly taste good, either.
Boca burgers taste strange, but most fake hot dogs taste worse.
Ah, *sigh* now I am all alone on this poor thread who has scrolled off the front page*sob*.
There’s nothing special about the first page. It’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Yes,
but it is not in plain view, and even less people will go on it.
I”m here now. I’ve forgotten what hamburgers taste like, so I don’t think that veggie burgers taste bad. Just my opinion.
Ooh, the vegetarian thread! That I will not come on after this.
WHOA!!! This thread is a year old in 9 days and it’s still open!
13-not all vegetarians are like that, most of my family and i are vegetarians, and we just dont eat meat, or buy anything that is actually part of the animal, or harmed an animal in the making (ex: leather, products tested on animals)
104-we should take care of the animals becuase they are living things that cant survive on their own becuase humans decided to domesticate them, the poor things
94-AGREED!!!
106- plants dont feel pain and misery when humans slaughter them or stuff them into tiny containers, or treat them like they are useless things they are getting rid of instead of being nice since they ARE providing something for them to enjoy
107-AGREED!!!
136-anyone who eats yogurt eat things that are still living. Ever heard of live cultures?
I was raised as a vegetarian, and then when i was old enough to understand i got to choose whether to stay one or not. I have never had a bite of meat in my life, and i am proud of it, and glad. I dont think animals should be killed unless they are in total and complete misery so they can go to a better place, or if they will spread a deadly disease that is REALLY serious. People get all over me for it, and i dont understand why its so fascinating that i dont eat something. They ask me wierd questions like “what do i eat” well obviously everything else on the food pyramid. AMAZING!!! I am just really sick of it. A month or so ago, some guy that goes to my school said” have you EVER seen a healthy vegetarian? They are so pale and skinny, its so stupid” or something of the sort, and i just wanted to punch him right in the face…..GRRRRRRRRR!!!! I am just another normal person, who chooses what they eat like EVERYONE in the world! Some choose not to eat broccoli, some choose not to eat vegemite, some choose not to eat apples, its not any different to choose not to eat meat in my opinion. Its all ‘food’ so why should it be so different? I am sorry, just really touchy, i explode when anyone insults vegetarians. But one of my favorite things to say that one of my family members came up with to say whenever someone gets on my case about being a vegetarian becuase it was in the Bible (no offense to anyone, and please dont start an argument, i get really nasty when i dont mean to just becuase i am so touchy becuase of something that happened in my past, you can read it on the polling place thread) “Adam and Eve bit into an apple, not a prime rib”. Better go now before i start a war. Bye!! And i didnt mean to offend anyone, i am just stating my beliefs. Bye now!!!!
13- I love that song! Supertramp ftw!
160- I agree very muchly!
I’m a vegetarian for a number of reasons. I’ll probably go completely vegan once I move out for college and all. But I get more than enough crap about it from my parents, so I’ll wait. I also have a few veg. friends.
I just don’t like the idea of eating animals. Or wearing them. Things of the like…
So, any yummylicious non-dead-animal-containing recipies?
Oh! I switched to a vegitarian Diet! Yup! But, it turns out, they’re a lot harder to catch than cows! And the meat is really stringy, too! Ha!
162 – You got that from a Zits comic strip!
Yes, I have been found out…
NOTE: Being all strict like said in post 13 is not being a veggie. Veggies just don’t eat meat. They eat cheese, eggs, and all of that dairy stuff.
VEGANS can’t.
And then some people get very strict about the other stuff AFTER ALSO being a vegan.
E2MB-Actually, I think somebody asked the GAPAs to open this thread and then put it on the don’t forget these threads.
Um……..what is vegemite?
(166) Vegemite, is kind of a pasty food stuff used as a spread or filling.
As described in Wikipedia, it is “made from leftover brewers’ yeast extract, a by-product of beer manufacture, and various vegetable and spice additives. The taste may be described as extremely salty, slightly bitter, and malty, similar to the taste of beef bouillon. The texture is smooth, resembling margarine, although somewhat firmer and sticky. It is firmer and slightly sweeter than other yeast extracts.”
I was such a newbie… *hides head is shame*
I have been realizing that there are many people in my grade who do not eat meat. It was amazing! I thought I was one of the only ones…
I feel really uncomfortable when I wear anything leathery-ish (that is real, of course), so I try not to wear certain kinds of shoes, and stuff.
Is MB having problems?
62. It’s not the actual fries, it’s the animal oil they’re fried in.
I have been a vegetarian since, hmm, December. I don’t eat meat because of animal rights, conservation reasons, health reasons, and because Dancergirl13 is my best friend and kind of got me started. I don’t think it’s that hard not to eat meat.
I do eat marshmallows, but ONLY during camping when we are roasting them on the fire. I don’t eat Jell-O, and I try not to eat fries that much.
169- Good job best buddy!!!
I’m a vegitarian, probably partially because we have cows practically in the middle of the city. And, I mean, when you’ve been smelling cow almost every day since you were two-ish, it’s kind of hard to eat cow. I do not eat jello, I do it marshmallows, because they’re tasty, and jello is just wiggly, but not tasty, so I have no reason to like jello anyways. And, um, if it’s possible, I stay away from carmine. Of course, it’s almost impossible.
Rebecca-Are you a vegetarian???
I use Morning Star Farms foods. YUMMMY!!!
I have been a vegetarian for my entire life, and couldn’t think of eating something that lives and breathes like me.
Anyway, I wish people would stop talking about how great beef is. NOT WHAT TEH THREAD’S FOR PEOPLE!!!! Maybe they can have their own thread where they can talk about the “great cultural revolution” of doing things like they have been done for so long ago even I can’t remember.
Our bodies aren’t made to process meat. They just aren’t!
RtH
169 – I don’t think they’re fried in animal oils anymore, but McDonalds did get into a lot of trouble when vegetarians found out that the fries had a flavoring that included beef by-products.
Vegetarianism poll (post all that apply):
The reason you are a vegetarian is because
1. You don’t like the taste of meat
2. You don’t like the idea of animals getting killed and you eating them
3. You don’t like the way the animals are treated
4. You don’t like the impact it has on the environment
5. You don’t think our bodies are meant to eat meat
6. Your family/friends/guardians are doing it
7. Meat is too expensive
8. It’s part of your religion
9. You’re grossed out by the disgusting stories of meatpacking plants
2, 3, 4, 9
173- Technically, they don’t. But, I know people who work at at all the nearby McDonalds’ and they all say that they fry the fries with the meat, because “they taste better that way.” Don’t trust the food!
174- One through five.
So, fellow veggies… random questions:
1. Do people ever persist in asking why you don’t eat meat, to the point where you feel like you’re constantly defending yourself?
2. Do people ever expect you to do things such as “just pull the pepperoni off the pizza” or eat soup that is full of vegetables, yet is made with beef/chicken broth or just not eat the meat in a meat sauce? And then get confused when you explain you won’t eat it…?
3. Did you get a lot of…erm, I don’t know what word to use here, save [grief] from your parents/family/friends/teachers/whomever when you first started being a vegetarian, or when they first found out?
4. Do you have difficulties ordering from the menus of various restaurants because most EVERYTHING contains meat products or meat by-products?
5. Do people persist in asking you if you eat seafood?
I dunno, I get this a lot, and probably get overly annoyed about it. Okay, mostly about looks I’ve gotten from staff when I’ve ordered “grilled beef caesar salad, but without the beef or caesar dressing.” Or something of the like.
174-2,3,4,5,9. But I started because my parents were when I popped out.
177-Everything but 3. See above for explanation.
Here’s why for each (from 177):
1. Yes, and it’s weird. You say because you don’t want to eat animals for all of the above reasons, but they still can’t understand. Strange.
2. A little bit. It is annoying, because part of the point is an animal died, and you want to make a point by not consuming meat and giving money to the meat company. But also because it’s like trying to wash e. colli off spinach. You cant really get it all off.
3. no
4. yes. Can’t even get a salad without CHICKEN on it. It’s a salad people! You don’t need meat on everything!!!
5. Yes, and we sometimes put up with a little, like maybe tuna or something. But I hate that we have to. It’s like they think that’s the only thing they can serve with any nutritional content. Even cookies have a little protien!!!
And they ask you what you ate at Thanksgiving dinner. Like everybody else eats nothing but turkey. NOT. EVERYTHING ELSE IS vegetarian at that meal!
RtH the Annoyed
174 – 2, 3, 4, 5, 9
There is this great cartoon/movie on the Bizarro website (just search “Bizarro,”) about how humans weren’t meant to eat meat. It’s called the “Talking Pig Video.”
177 – I’m not technically a vegetarian, but I wish I was. If I were a complete vegetarian, I would probably go hungry, because my parents would not put up with it. I do not eat many kinds of meat, though, such as any cow or pig products. I’ve read too many books about the meat industry…But I’ll answer the questions, because they look fun.
1. Do people ever persist in asking why you don’t eat meat, to the point where you feel like you’re constantly defending yourself?
Well, that would kind of be my parents. On days where we have steak or something like that, I just make myself a peanut butter sandwich or something, even though they don’t like me to. But I don’t really know that anyone has ever asked me that much to that point. Although there is this one person in my Spanish class that thinks it’s a sin not to eat meat. And she gets really in-your-face about it. So I guess, yes.
2. Do people ever expect you to do things such as “just pull the pepperoni off the pizza” or eat soup that is full of vegetables, yet is made with beef/chicken broth or just not eat the meat in a meat sauce? And then get confused when you explain you won’t eat it…?
Yes, people just don’t understand that certain things actually have animals, etc. in them (such as broth), and that it isn’t unnatural not to want to eat it. I get the “pull the pepperoni off” type things all the time.
3. Did you get a lot of…erm, I don’t know what word to use here, save [grief] from your parents/family/friends/teachers/whomever when you first started being a vegetarian, or when they first found out?
As soon as I started learning about the Meat Industry and such, and telling my parents, “that wasn’t cooked enough, you could get this and this and this and this and this by eating that,” and decided I wasn’t eating specific stuff, my parents got annoyed, but they didn’t really give me grief about it. I gave good arguments with it, which probably helped, like the fact that I have a chronic digestive disease, and meat probably isn’t that great for me. They were a bit more “okay” with it after that.
4. Do you have difficulties ordering from the menus of various restaurants because most EVERYTHING contains meat products or meat by-products?
Yes! I agree with Rt-H – why do you need chicken on every salad?!?! There is an awesome Vegetarian cafe a few blocks from my house, of which I am a frequent visitor, because I don’t have to worry about stupid meat stuff there.
5. Do people persist in asking you if you eat seafood?
Many people ask me that, even if they know I eat chicken and turkey (which is the only meat I will eat, and even that is sparingly), and it gets quite annoying…
174- 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
177.- Yes to all! It gets so annoying. My grandma called one time and said she was worried about me not getting enough protein and vitamins. I almost hung up on her, I was soooo mad, even though I can understand that some people don’t know about it.
178 –
(Quiz 1) well then that would be 6.
I confess, I’m not a vegetarian. I eat meat. My favorite food is ham. But I don’t have anything against vegetarians. I know they have a worthy cause, and my family tries to purchase meat from companies who humanely raise their animals.
I’m sorry if you have to deal with annoying people.
174- I’m not, but if I was I would be 3 and 9, which I adhere to most of the time anyways, by eating wild meat or our meat. I’m not especially dedicated, though. I wish I was more dedicated about eating good meat, but a) I don’t want to make a big deal about it and b) unless I’m cooking (and believe me, that is rare) I don’t know where the meat come from; our freezer, or the store, and I quite frankly don’t care enough to get all fussy. (No, I’m not implying that vegetarians are fussy, I’m just saying that it would seem fussy for me to do that.) Also it wouldn’t make much of a difference as long as our store stocked only Flavorite milk.
But this is off the topic of vegetables, not to mention I swore I would never come here again.
Heh, thanks for the edit, GAPAs, sorry ^^;
Well, it’s encouraging to know that [a] I’m not the only one who’s noticed this stuff, and [b] I wasn’t completely over-reacting, LOL.
179- Why would your parents not put up with it?
172- I have been a Vegetarian for my whole life too, I LOVE morning farms, and boca.
178- I totally agree
I get so mad when people find out I am a vegetarian and ask “what do you eat?”! Meat is not the center of the universe, I mean think about it. If I dont eat meat, I would eat anything without meat. Like salad, pasta, rice, potatoes, I could go on forever.
I also get mad when I hear about kids who want to be a vegetarian, but their parents dont want them to be. We have the right to decide what we eat right? So what is the big deal? One of my friends said she told her mom she wanted to be a vegetarian like me, and her mom put meat in ALL the meals they eat for breakfast, lunch, AND dinner for the rest of the week. This makes me so mad!!!
This is kinda off-subject, but when people dont want others to be a vegetarian becuase they think its unhealthy, dont they realize we are more advanced than we ever have been? Look at all the technology! And I mean people go without eating broccoli, or brussel sprouts, or things they are alergic to, so what is the big fuss over not eating meat? I know it’s a food group but it doesnt seem that different to me when I think of it that way.
I dont mean to offend anyone when I say this, I just like it. When my mom said my Uncle from India was getting on her case for being a vegetarian becuase eating meat is in the Bible, my other Uncle said she should have said that Adam and Eve bit into an apple, not a prime rib. Again no offense, I just like that.
Somtimes, people ask me why. Really, all they say is “Why?” like it is some big stupid thing that no one in their right mind would do.
184- Actually, it may have been a pomegranate. But that’s totally off topic.
184 – But the apple was what damned them to death and suffering.
183 (Sweet Melpomene) – I actually talked to them about it yesterday, and they said they were just worried about my nutrition. I have Crohn’s Disease, and certain places in my intestines, well, don’t work, so it’s hard for me to absorb the nutrients I need. When I stopped eating any meat except poultry and fish (a.k.a., red meat), they got worried, because they didn’t think I would get enough iron – I was anemic and had to take iron supplements a few years ago, and they didn’t want that to happen again (red meat has a lot of iron). So now I just eat a lot of other foods which are high in iron, and that seems to be working, so they’re fine with that. I guess they would put up with it, I just don’t know whether I would like to make my own meals pretty much every day, because we usually have meat. But I actually got my parents to like Tofu, so that’s good!
188-You have that and you’re still trying to be a vegetarian??? *Congratulatory pies*
(187) Actually, the apple was designated by tradition; Genesis doesn’t specify. The confusion probably set in because “apple” used to refer to “fruit” in general.
(187, 190) Speaking of apples, does anybody remember the scene in the Disney cartoon version of Aladdin in which Aladdin steals an apple from the market? That annoyed me. Why couldn’t the animators have drawn something more likely to have been for sale in the medieval Middle East — say, a fig or a date?
I mention it here because Musers seem uniquely unlikely to consider that a crazy thing to worry about.
189 (Hawk) – Yeah…I never even considered becoming a Vegetarian until about 2 years ago, when I started learning about slaughterhouse conditions and diseases, etc. But now I know way too much to eat some of that stuff…
191 (Robert) – How….American! I definitely agree…I’ll have to go back and look at that again. I don’t think I’ve seen that movie for…a long time.
191- He steals an apple? Weird. I mean, they don’t even have apples in Arabia or wherever that was. It’s too hot. I don’t watch that kind of thing anyways, so I would never have noticed. Maybe they didn’t know what a raw fig looks like?
Or maybe they figured a lot of little kids would be watching it and wouldn’t know what a fig was, and they were just trying to make it clear that he stole food.
What about fig newtons??? I hope there’s a little bit of fig at least in the center!
195- But they still wouldn’t necessarily know what a fig looked like.
(194) That’s almost certainly what the filmmakers were thinking. It’s understandable, but it’s also a missed opportunity to show how differently people lived at other times and in other places.
I’ll admit that things like that bother me. Another example was in the movie version of 101 Dalmations, when the wild animals of England rallied to rescue the puppies — including skunks. Skunks?! They might as well have shown giraffes and hippopotami poking their heads up out of the hedgerows.
I was just reading in a back issue of Psychology Today, and it said that children who have high IQs are more likely to choose a vegetarian lifestyle as young adults.
So that’s what I tell people now.
Grr! These threads always make people who eat meat look like despicable slackers! It’s prejudice, I say! Prejudice!!!
Aladdin could have stolen a Fig Newton…
199-That is not what we try to do, at all! I respect your decision to eat meat, and I would respect your decision to become a vegetarian or a vegan. We do not mean to offend you!! I know, myself, that eating meat is not for me, but I recognise that people need to make their own personal choices.
200 – I was exaggerating a little bit, but I’ve heard stuff like 198 before and it makes me feel bad and evil. All of my family eats meat, so it would be hard to become vegetarian. (Red-tailed Hawk got the prime vegetarian setup – both parents are doing it.) My family does try and get meat from animals that were humanely raised, and I try to avoid places like McDonald’s where the animals are raised awfully. I just beat down myself whenever I’m talking about this subject.
201- I know what you mean. That’s why I originally tried to stay off this thread, but it didn’t work.
At least you guys try to get meat from place where they don’t treat the animals terribly. And you know what it is!!!
I had a friend one time, and his younger sister didn’t know what the chicken nuggets she was eating were!!! I don’t know what she thought they were, but somehow it came up that I’m a vegetarian, and she was wondering what I couldn’t eat, and then wanted to know why I didn’t want to. When she realized she stopped chewing and looked like she wanted to throw up. And her mother looked VERY worried, too!
That was just mean hiding the facts from your kids to avoid the possibility of them wanting to be a vegetarian.
203 – That’s sad. A kid should know what they’re eating.
A little while ago I mentioned to my 4-year-old little sister (who LOVES hamburgers) that hamburgers were made from cow. Her eyes opened wide. “COW? I DIDN’T KNOW THAT!” I didn’t even know she didn’t know!
My whole family eats meat, although one of my parents was a vegetarian during college.
It was rather hard, at first, but now I really do not think about it, that much. I just am a vegetarian. Although it is sometimes kind of hard when I smell roasting chicken, or something like that, I don’t really think of ever eating meat.
Does anybody get upset when people use the same utensils that they just used on meat to make your food? I know that it shouldn’t disturb me, but it does…
188- Ah. Ouch. Well, it seems like you’re doing well now ^_^ That’s def. a good thing. And good job getting your parents to like tofu xD
191- Gah! That *is* rather horrifying!
203&204- Ack, that is indeed depressing…… Poor kids…
205- YES. That really does bother me. And then people get all offended when I’m all “Really! It’s okay! I’ll make/get my own food!” Gah.
Any view on hunting? I’m really not sure what I think of it. I come from a region where manymany people hunt; some of my good friends do it. So I really am rather accustomed to tales about that practice. I suppose it’s…acceptable and all if you’re going to use as much of the animal as you can. But definitely not for sport. And it’s better than the animals becoming roadkill, I suppose [is every squirrel and deer in NEPA suicidal?!?]. I guess it’s the “native perspective” I’m chill with: “take only what you need, and waste not.” I dunno, a hunter I know said this and it seemed to make sense. Said hunter does go camping way out in the woods and all…
Meh. Personally, I’d never do it. But I can’t really criticize all of it.
205-Yea, I mean, like, if we don’t eat meat, we don’t want meat on our food! Or they say “Pick the meat Off/out” Um excuse me but…Seems like some of the meat might have gotten cooked into the food, doesn’t it???
207 – Yea.
Tofu is yummy yummy yummy…….. *drools* … why do most people despise it?
208- No clue. I quite like tofu, especially in miso soup.
208-I don’t know. I think some people don’t like it soft, and don’t realize you can cook it many ways…
RtH, if you’re a vegetarian, why did you chose a blog name like red-tailed hawk? Hawks are avid carnivors.
sorry if that is offensive
I eat meat, and enjoy it. I will only consider stopping eating meat if humans stop killing each other.
211-Well, they live in the wild so I think they are really meant to be that way…but it doesn’t mean I’m not a vegetarian when under this name! I just like the name, and think it would be cool to just soar around all day.
Oh and that was not offensive.
The veggy HAWK
212-That might be a while!
Of course I really meant veggie. Phooey.
(213) Vegetarian birds don’t get to soar around all day, because they have to hide from predators. There are advantages to being at the top of the food chain.
I live in a whole family of meat-eaters, but they support me and my vegetarian lifestyle. My mom goes out of her way to prepare something meatless if the meal the rest of my family is eating has meat in it. I love her for that!
215-Of course, but I’m special
216-Great!
I have been vegitarian for a while now, but I am still not used to the comments I get just because cows deserve life.
216 – That’s a nice mom.
My parents complain about how they have to spend extra money on me. I might mention that vegetables are cheeper than cows.
vegetables are cheaper
we had to do a diet lab for bio class and i did mine on vegetarianism vs omnivorism (which is now a word because i said it), the vegetarian (me) had half the fat and twice the fiber as non-vegetarian…
205-yeah, that bugs me too. also when im eating something and my brother wants to try it but im afraid he’ll bite it and get some sort of meat into it
sort of related… does anyone know anything about dreams? cuz ive dreamed twice that i ate meat, but even thinking about eating meat makes me sick
220- Le gasp! I get the same thing!!
Vegetarians who join for ethics are stupid. Why don’t you have a qualm about eating plants? They’re alive too, you know.
I guess you’ll have to eat dirt! Oh wait, you can’t! The poor dirt can’t be eatedn, it has feelings too!!
But, yeah…I am a vegetarian. Meat tastes gross.
222- Then you know how it is.
223- I do have a qualm about eating plants. I love plants. I lov eto grow them. But guess what? I’m not stupid, and I became a vegitarian for ethical reasons.
221- If you are responding to a specific post, put the post number first. Please use your capitals.
223 – wait…what’s wrong with joining for ethics? People can eat vegetables and still be omnivores, and like plants too…and being a vegetarian for ethical reasons does not make you stupid…I agree with Vixen.
Lioness – you’re so lucky! I wish my parents would do that.
Apparantly (say my parents) I ate tofu by the pound as an infant!
I just got back from Mexico, and I am a vegetarian. So is my mom, and we had a hard time finding anything to eat without meat. I am glad to be home becuase now I can actually eat until I am full, there was barely anything we could eat. The worse part is, at one restaurant when we asked for something without meat, the waiter gave us a dirty look. But I try not to let things like that bother me. It’s their problem they cant accept people who are different.
227 – I just got back from Mexico too! (Yesterday), and I’m trying to be a vegetarian (I basically am). So basically all I ate for breakfast and lunch every day was peanut butter on a tortilla. Whee!
If you’re wondering about the ethics of killing plants, there is a rare type of diet called the fruit diet. Follow the fruit diet, and you kill no living thing whatsoever. The catch is all you can eat is fruit. (Tomatoes, cucumbers, squashes, and all the semi-fruits are allowed in this diet.)
228 – I can’t imagine all the non-vegetarian food items in Mexico are just tortillas and peanut butter! What about queso, frijolles, quacamole, and salsa?
227- *tries not to be offended* *bites her tongue* *ponders* Okay, so you’re saying that it’s their fault they have to go to extra trouble for you? That isn’t very nice, if you think about it. Neither are dirty looks, but STILL! Unless, of course, they don’t have to go to extra trouble, in which case it is their fault, and the man was just being mean. I’m not trying to be mean about your vegetarian status, because that has absolutely NOTHING to do with it (just making that clear), but what I didn’t like is the way you phrased that; like it was their fault.
I will now end the meanest post I’ve ever made on MuseBlog.
*bursts into tears*
229 (E2MB) – but then how do you get any type of protein at all? Or other stuff like that? It seems incredibly unhealthy to me…it seems like fasting.
230 (E2MB) – that’s definitely not all of the vegetarian stuff, but we were on-the-go a lot of times, and we only went to a restaurant for dinner. And my parents just packed stuff for us to eat for lunch. Most people had ham or something like that, and I just had what else there was to offer.
231 (Alice) – I agree. People are allowed to be a bit upset if they have to go completely out of their way to make something else. I’m a semi-semi-semi-vegetarian, and one of the reasons I’m not completely is that I don’t like making people go completely out of their way to make other stuff. If you’re going to someone’s house, and they have already made the meal or something…what are you going to do? Refuse to eat it, or ask them to make something else? I don’t eat any meat except poultry or fish, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to not eat those, because then I would practically starve. I know it’s possible, but I don’t know…
*dies of confusion*
I’m still here? I haven’t been thrown off the blog? Thank goodness.
I am a vegitarion and have been since i was born. I want to clear some things up:
1- Most marshmallows, meaning all marshmallows, contain gelatain unless they make a big deal out of saying their marshmallow is vegitarion.
2- Gelatin is ground up animal skin, bones, sinew, and claws. It is a thickener for adding texture and keeping jello and marshmallows together.
3- Red meat is meat that comes from slow- twich/ endurance muscles and white meat is meat that comes from fast- twich/ sprint muscles.
4- Eggs that you would eat have nohing alive/ dead in them. The chickens at egg farms never come in contact with male roosters, exept occasionally so there can be another genaration of chickens to lay more eggs, and therefore the eggs are unfertilized and only have white and yolk inside. No deceased chick embryos.
5- All foods listed on this strand (vegemite) can taste good in the eyes of the beholder.
6- Vegans simply do not consume meat, dairy, poultry, fish, or eggs.
7- Genetical modification (of anything) is unrightous and wrong. Still interesting, though.
And 8- You can still be a vegan if you eat honey, but it is a debated issue.
234- But you know, eating eggs from egg farms utterly defeats the purpose of being a vegetarian. In my book, at least.
Oh dear. *leaves*
PS: There is no such thing as a female rooster.
236: Is there always a purpose behind vegetarianism?
237: Yes there is…It’s called a hen.
I’m a pescatarian. Mainly because I could not live without my sushi fix.
232 – (response to 229) I suppose they would get it from nuts or something.
233 – If you thought your post would get you kicked off MuseBlog, don’t look at the hot topics threads. People are 10 times nastier there.
238 – Sushi……………*drools* YUMYUMYUMYUMYUM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
239- I didn’t really think I would get kicked off MuseBlog, (although I was terrified of that when people didn’t know I didn’t subscribe) but I wanted to know that I was forgiven all the same.
240- Do you get It from the library?
241- I did. I subscribe now, though.
228- Whee, good for you. I also discovered the magic of bran muffins when I went to Mexico. Beware Caesar dressing, for it contains anchovies.
232- Politely let them know beforehand that you’re a vegetarian but assure them that they don’t have to make something special, but only something in the meal that’s completely meat-free That usually works for me. That way, I only eat a little less, and no one has to go out of their way to do something different or gets offended that I’m not eating the meat.
240- The closest thing to an off-kicking was the banning of FS for a week…
I had some lovely General Tso’s Tofu on vacation. Mmm, soy bean protein.
Does anyone here eat “tempeh”???
Benefits of being a vegetarian: you can be in a special club with Feather.
234-Are you new? Anyway, I find it hard to avoid gelatin, as it is even in some medicines.
HAWK
244- No idea what “tempeh” is…..
Silly gelatin, popping up EVERYWHERE. Fortunately, I’m one of those ridiculously stubborn people who refuse to take medicine.
243- FS was banned? Wow, I didn’t know that.
246-He called someone ignorant. Guess what he was debating?
246- Yeah, he was basically the cause of the Religions thread closing down.
(247) The banning was more for a pattern of behavior than for a single incident.
(248) But I wouldn’t go quite that far. More than one person allowed passion to overtake civility. In addition, if other MBers refused to be baited, FS would not have the power people seem ready to ascribe to him.
Mmm. I don’t go on the controversial threads. After a while, it’s just boring. I go on this thread, which is slightly controversial, but other than that, I don’t.
I suppose that’s why I didn’t understand for the longest time how FS go his bad reputation.
He’s rather good at writing, if you ask me.
Well, in a way, it was sort of banning him when he crossed the line of being too terrible for words. Basically, he called someone something, and I complained, and he called me an emotional wimp because of that. here it is if you dare to look
243 (SM) – I love General Tso’s! And Tofu is flamablamablous! Yay!
244 (Hawk) – I’ve never heard of Tempeh. What is it?
245 (SM) – What if you get an infection or something? Will you take antibiotics of any kind? I wish I didn’t have to take so much medicine, but if I didn’t, I would, well, die (eventually).
252- Yum! And, hmm, never really thought about that. I normally only get colds every so often… I suppose if it were life-threatening… other than that, I could stick it out, I think… Hmm….
231-no that is not what I am saying, I would never say that! I just thought it was rude that he gave us a dirty look when we asked for nachos without meat like we were freaks. There wasnt anything without meat so we had to order something without it. I am sorry if i didnt phrase it right, I was in a hurry.
234- ok where did all this come from? I went to a foreign country, and there wasnt any vegetarian food, so what was i supposed to do? Eat meat? If I went to someones house and they already made a meal I would be polite and say I am a vegetarian sorry, and you know I usually eat dinner before I go to anyones house in case that does happen, but if i dont I do the same thing as post 243. All my friends know I am a vegetarian, and I make sure their parents know before partys, just in case, in a polite way. You make it sound like in that situation a vegetarian would have to eat the meat to be polite. I’m sorry for this blow up but….sorry. I wasnt trying to be rude about the waitor in Mexico, but I dont think a dirty look was necessary. I probably sound like a total snob now, sorry again!
I am really sorry about that, if i sounded rude i didnt mean too!
I find it horribly hard to avoid gelatin, all our favorite yogurt companies started using gelatin except one, and I cant have marshmellows at campouts (my mom let me eat them when i was little becuase i didnt understand the whole gelatin thing, I miss them a tiny little bit, but not eating it makes me feel better). There are LOADS of things that have gelatin in them.
It is also kind of hard to avoid chicken broth in soups, and things fried in animal fat. I dont eat at fast food places or anything, becuase thats usually the case, plus the food there is downright horrible for your body, unless you get a healthy salad or something and resist soaking it in ranch dressing.
I hope everyone has had an awesome summer so far!
Alice
Hey, this is still open! What is vegemite?
254- I’m so sorry. I get it now. Sorry again. *cries* I hate sounding mean. Did I sound mean? Sorry.
Why is my name at the bottom of your post?
It’s ok, I totally understand, it’s hard to say something like that on a computer becuase people cant hear your tone of voice. Dont cry! You didnt sound mean. Your name is at the bottem of my post becuase I was going to say that you didnt sound mean but I got distracted (that happens alot) and thought I had already written it, so your name is left there all alone.
257- Oh, I see. Thanks.
(255) agagabagabag, there is a description of vegemite in comment #167; more info in comments #14 and #91.
Ah. Great.
Did we cover the definition of a fruit/vegtable? Because to me it seems it should be more than “has seeds on the inside,” which is what I’ve heard is the definition of a fruit.
261- Name a plant, I’ll tell you if it’s a fruit or a vegetable. I’m not sure what makes it a fruit, but I can tell if it is.
No wait, I do know. If something edible is plucked off a plant, then it is a fruit. If it is the plant, then it’s a vegetable.
262- A fruit contains seeds, a vegetable does not.
237- I was referring to the people who didn’t know that. I agree with your egg farm logic. I was talking about the cruelty- free ones. 244- Not anymore!
Yeah, gelatin is the hardest thing to avoid. On the bus in France there was this girl who claimed to be vegetarian, and was about to eat something with gelatin in it and I pointed that out to her. First off, she didn’t know what it was. Then, when I told her, she ate it anyways. That’s just….ugh. I hate it when people say they’re something just to sound cool. The entire time she was pretending to be all hippy and bohemian, despite the fact that she came on the trip with $600 to spend. And I’m getting off topic.
On a slightly cheerier note, do any of you have any really good vegetarian recipes?
Sorry bout my last post (221), it was kinda stupid.
225- I dont really use caps, does that bother everyone? But i’m making an effort to use caps and apostrophes here (that has nothing to do with vegetarianism, so i’m sorry).
261-Actually, having seeds is a good def. for a fruit. A fruit is the ripened ovary of a plant. It contains the seed(s) and the food the seed(s) will need. When the fruit is ripe, then it is ready to be dispersed so the seed(s) don’t grow too close to the mother plant. Burrs are fruits too, I’m pretty sure. They disperse the seeds by clinging to passing animals.
Anyways, does anyone know what glyceryn is? I’m not sure if it is an animal product or not, but it’s in most toothpastes.
265- Ugh! I hate that too. Of course, this is coming from a really neurotic person who obsessively reads and rereads ingredient labels and then refuses to eat things on the basis that they contain something that’s an extremely removed derivative of an enzyme from a dead animal. But that’s beside the point. Kids these days!
At least some people admit that they “don’t eat meat but wear leather and eat gelatin.” If they’re aware of that, fine. Just so long as they’re honest about it, gosh!
Hmm, I had some old issues of a vegetarian magazine [commandeered from a friend of my mother’s] that had some spiffy recipies…
266- That’s like the stuff in soap, right? I don’t /think/ it comes from animals, but I’m not positive.
Ah, wait, it’s a sugar alcohol. Completely vegetarian.
267- how do you tell if it has an… extremely removed derivative of an enzyme from a dead animal?…..This may sound awefully crazy after that, but I want to eat nothing whatsoever from animals. If anyone knows of any descrete things (other than gelatin and chicken stock) that are used in foods, please tell me!!! Thanks!
Glycerine is made from vegetable oils as a by-product of biodiesel manufacture. I’m sure you could make it from animal fats with similar molecular structures, but that’s not where it comes from nowadays.
269, 271-thanks, my friend said it was animal corpses and my mom said it was soap
i have like eight vegetarian cookbooks, so if anyone wants a recipie just say the general idea and i’ll look.
My dad has a recipe for vegetarian sloppy joes, but I dont care for it that much, it’s too tomato saucey. But I dont know anything about sloppy joes, so maybe it’s supposed to be that way.
Arg! My friend and I were just talking about vegetarianism, and she said her parents wouldnt let her becuase they wouldnt know what to feed her. How aggrivating is that? Why cant parents just except it (no offense)? It drives me mad that some of them wont let their kids carry that out if they dont like the way animals are treated or something becuase they have to leave out meat or something. Again no offense but that just drives me crazy. Unless it really is hard for them to do that, like if they have a big family or something, why not?
270- PETA [crazy extremists though they may be] has a bunch of links on their site about it… There’s one Caring Consumer list that’s really helpful… Ehh, you’ll find links about “lists of animal ingredients” there, that are fairly reliable. You’d also be surprised at what you can find at a library or bookstore…
270- i found my animal product list in a cookbook called raising vegetarian children, which is actually a vegan cookbook (slightly weird) but has a lot of good recipies and vegetarian/vegan information
273- sort of similar story, when i was at camp on sub day i had a cheese sandwich and everyone was asking me what i ate for lunch and if i really ate only cheese sandwiches at home. which i do, as long as it isn’t american cheese. and they asked me what i put on my tacos (everything but meat). vegetarians eat pretty much like everyone else.
just on the topic of people not understanding vegetarians, when i went to canada to see family there, one of my aunts made beef for everyone but chicken special for me cuz i’m a vegetarian, and then everybody made fun of me cuz i wanted a second piece of pie but if i ate meat i wouldn’t be hungry anymore
I dont get why people cant figure out what vegetarians eat. Uhhh, lets think, we dont eat meat, so why dont we just look at what other people eat and subtract the meat. Is that so hard?
275- What is it with people and not understanding vegetarians? I am going to EXPLODE someday….
I’m still wondering how vegans even survive in the modern world.
277 (E2MB)- A lot more easily than they would have in the Middle Ages.
There are soy substitutes for most foods that vegans can’t eat (soymilk, vegan egg substitute that I don’t know the contents of, soy cheese, and of course Boca burgers,) and you can take pills to get the vitamins you miss by not eating any animal products, B-12 being the most prominent.
I’m vegetarian, but am gradually easing myself into veganism.
278-Have fun being a vegan! I can’t come wth you! I can’t give up ice cream!
During this shift, will you…maybe consider putting your pants on too? 
279 – Maybe she’s wearing shorts.
i’m considering being a vegetarian at home but a vegan when i eat out cuz at home i know the eggs are free range, the cheese has no rennet, etc.
my grandparents might have a shock if i became a vegan, though. butter on all the veggies, cheese on the pasta, i doubt i’d get anything to eat.
278- soy is great in small amounts, but don’t rely on it too much cuz it can be bad for you then.
278- Ooh, same here. Sigh. As soon as I move out…
Soy products are pure glory.
280- Or a skirt.
281- As much as I hate to say this, according to Peta there arent any companies that are really free range. They either arent at all, or claim to be free range and only let the chickens run free for 2 weeks, and its not even that free. Thats why we buy our eggs from our neighbors. After all this it occured to me you might have chickens, oops!! Sorry about that.
We buy free-range, vegetarian-fed hen’s eggs. I don’t know if it is true, but they make the place sound pretty nice. Meaning it can’t be. *sigh*
285-Why cant people be nice to the poor animals? I would like to find them and…….ARG! What is wrong with people these days? I mean, cutting their beaks off, their tails off, putting them in cages they cant move in, pumping in junk, keeping them locked up, pushing them on with electric prods, dragging injured ones along, leaving them to die, all for someone to then eat them and enjoy it. I AM going to explode, my mom is going to come home to a fuming daughter. I want to like wright an article or something, to get people to be aware.
286-And those terrible pig crates…
284- we don’t have chickens but i wish we did. i don’t really like eggs so i don’t eat them very often but yeah it is depressing how much “free range” doesn’t really mean it.
on animal treatment, there is a book called the river cottage meat book and they talk about how it is the meat-eater’s responsibility to make sure the animal lives a good, healthy life and dies painlessly. the author was a vegetarian but decided against it because it undermined death’s role in nature (did not write that last line myself, it was an excerpt from the chicago reader, where the book was reviewed.) i did not read the book, just the review, but it sounded great. we had to read an article about factory farms in bio before we did the fetal pig dissection. it was nauseating. HATE factory farms.
268- That sounds like a good book.
(209) I love miso soup!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Here’s something interesting. When we eat plants we refer to them by the same names we use when we grow them but with animals we need to start speaking latin (porcus) and french (mouton).
On another note, methane is one of the shortest-lived gasses in the atmosphere. If everyone stopped eating meat* we could weaken global warming relatively quickly.
*That includes you, Frigidsymphony! Sorry.
291- That’s because the upper-class called sheep mutton, pigs pork, etc., while the lower-class just called them sheep, pig, etc.
I knew that. the English raised them and the French ate them.
291-Thats cool, the global warming thing.
291- But we could just use cars less. It would be a much better solution for some people (namely me. I hardly use cars, but I eat a lot of meat).
295- Maybe not better, but easier…..and why not stop eating meat AND stop using cars, it would stop global warming even more (people should just take the bus in my opinion, less car accidents, less gas, saved money, but still scientists are working on a fuel that doesnt pallute so much, maybe even one that doesnt at all, but that is pretty impossible) nottrying to be mean just stating an opinion here, and I hope this doesnt turn into a global warming argument!
Today we went to brunch with a family friend. She is fine…….but she treats me like I am 3, and obviously has no idea that I have a brain much less a strong opinion about things. She is always trying to convince me of things, contradicting me, thinking I am a little kid who doesnt know a thing not caring about my opinion. Well I dont like the way she talks about vegetarians, different countries, different cultures, people who are different. She acts as if she is the best country, culture, meat eater, person, although not as strongly, she is sort of suttle about it, but she talks about these things with a certain look on here face I hate. Like today she was talking about someone and laughed at them becuase they didnt know something, and pushed all her believes at us and pushed our away. Why do people do this? How can I make her stop treating me like a baby? How can I make her realize I have an opinion and disagree with her almost 100% about many things? She also was laughing at me like I was three you know as if I was doing something cute when I said that on my favorite show Little House on the Prairie I get much more upset when animals are abused then when the people have problems (unless it has to do with discrimination….ARG!). It is so madening, and I dont know how to tell my parents, everytime I say something they say I just have to live with it, whatever the problem is, there is nothing I can do. But I believe that everyone has the power to change something, but they are definately not boosting my confidence with this. I am sorry to post all this here, but I am currently reading the last Harry Potter book, and when I went to post on the Random thread I accidentilly read a spoiler from the book, which I am not happy about (no offense, but I just figured all of that would be on the Harry Potter thread), and so I needed to say this somewhere.
i am vegetarien. it makes me sick to eat meat, especialy off the bone. i eat fish and seafood though because if i didnt my mom would complain that i wasn’t getting any protein.
297- You can get protein from nuts, eggs, peanut butter, refried beans, protein bars, boca products, its endless!!! Fish and seafood is not the only source of protein in the world.
297- I also eat fish and seafood, but for cultural reasons.
Seafood can be good for your body, but a lot of it now has mercury and other fun stuff…I’ll stick with the soy products…
Meat production also takes a huge amount of water, I have the fact somewhere… And way more food to feed the cow/pig/whatever for it’s life than just eating veggies right away…
300- In science our teacher sort of said the same thing about the cows/pigs/whatevers. She gave us a scenario. If we wanted to help a country of starving people, which would be more effective/efficiant etc. with only one square foot of land. Buying a cow and putting it to live on the land, or planting corn? There would be much more corn, so you could feed more people, and corn doesnt eat anything, all you do is plant and water it or whatever.
296- Think about the fuel used to make the non-polluting fuel, and to make the vehicles that can run on it.
297- Fish and other types of seafood are also meat, you know.
I’m vegetarian, and actually think that I’ve said that before. Oh well.
I’m making dinner tonight. :]
Fresh striped bass and cucumbers in champagne sauce and a summer squash goat-cheese custard….
The fish here is so amazingly good, and we have a ton of squash.
I’m excited.
And hungry.
Ah well, I’ll get some clam chowder later.
yeah, I eat fish for the protien… and I just don’t think it would work with my mother if I didn’t.
How come people who claim to be vegetarians eat fish? Just ’cause it isn’t red meat doesn’t mean it wasn’t living? Do you eat capybara?
304- I only claim to be vegetarisn because there are a number of stupid people who don’t know what a pescetarian is.
If I wasn’t living at home, I probably would be full-on vegetarian…
however, I have had several friends stop being vegetarian cus they weren’t getting enough protein to stay healthy.
Asking if I eat capybara is just…
well, I’m sure you know exactly what kind of stupid that question is.
305- Okay, I know, it’s a ridiculous question. But I couldn’t resist, because people used to eat capybara during Lent, claiming that as it swam, it was a fish. Sorry.
306- For that matter, lets just eat humans.
;]
304- I don’t know, but I don’t think of them as vegetarians.
We VERY RARELY eat tuna or sardines and such because our little town is iN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE AND GETTING NOWHERE FAST. I. E. there are no fish alternatives in stores here. Waah!!!!
304-Maybe they dont treat fish like they are dirt in fish meat factory thingys, but I wouldnt know, I dont really know anything about the whole fish factory thing. I just know about the land animal factory thing.
310- Oh, I think they do.
309- Our town is also in the middle of nowhere (but a different nowhere) but since we’re near the water, fish are–or ought to be–prolific. In fact, this town used to be supported by gill netting. But there aren’t so many fish anymore, for that very reason.
My opinion, on the matter of fish, is that people should eat locally. That way the strain on the oceans won’t be so hard.
29. Millie Dillie Doo Wad �|� June 15th, 2006 at 9:38 pm
I think we should just revert back to the good ‘ol days when Pa went out with his shotgun into the forest and came back a few days later with a deer around his shoulders. That was then your source of meat.
Then again… that’s just me.
I agree completely.
311- I /think/ fish are harder to breed and keep alive and stuff, so they have to take better care of them.
313- I second that, but it’s impossible with the size of cities these days. Everyone would have to move to the midwest.
312- My biology teacher last year said that wild fish was worse for the enviroment than farmed fish, so that’s what we tend to get now.
!!!!!!!~NOTICE FROM RtH~!!!!!!!!
I will be staying with my grandmother from tonight, till late Saturday, but may not even be on the blog till early Sunday. Please hold anything that involves me, or things that I need to agree to, until I return and can help/decide about.
I am sorry I have to leave you, but I shall miss you all…
Blog safely,
RtH
314- I think I understand, but it’s worse for the fish when they’re farmed.
316- Yes, but for general sealife population well-being, it’s the better choice. This way, you don’t have domino effects in the wild from lack of food/predators.
Mmmm…. so I did my cooking. I ended up actually doing a swordfish with grilled pineapple salsa, as well as the souffle.
Both were well received, and my great-aunt asked for the recipe.
Turned out quite well, though I’m my harshest critic. I thought the souffle was only so-so, but people kept saying it was delicious and getting more.
Wasn’t really hungry anyways, cooking takes away my appetite.
So, does anyone know what, exactly, “PU” material is?
no
313-I would much prefer that, but I would still be a vegetarian, the cruelty to animals isnt the only reason I am one, though the main one these days. I just dont really believe in eating meat. Please dont get mad, I am just saying my opinion.
Plutonium?
321- Why would I be mad? I am fully over that, now that I know you better.
314 (FC)- I’ve heard that wild fish, if caught safely and in moderation, are better for the fish, the environment, and the consumer. Dunno where, though, so your biology teacher could be right.
And I don’t know what Midwest you’re thinking of. The Midwest I live in consists of a) Chicago/suburbs and b) farms. We don’t have that much wildlife. The western US has more. We do have lots of soybeans, though, if you’re interested! And radioactive Lake Michigan fish!
Evangelical vegetarians piss me off. Witness: (quotes not exact)
Penty: (attempting to give a friendly tip, one vegetarian to another) Er, that soup is made with chicken broth.
EV: (looks at soup) Oh, is it? Well, I think that’s okay, as long as I’m not eating an actual chicken.
Penty: (surprised that EV hasn’t flown off handle yet) Oh. Yeah. I just wanted to tell you, because I wasn’t sure if you knew, and some vegetarians, like me, don’t eat chicken broth. Because it’s made from chickens.
EV: (spitting fire) Don’t talk to me like I don’t know what a vegetarian is! I’ve been vegetarian for three years more than you, and I’ve managed to get the word out, unlike you! Your family is over there eating beef, and the most meat mine ever eats is ******* chicken broth!
Penty: (veinpop) I don’t think that you should have to convert people to vegetarianism. It’s their–
EV: How are we ever supposed to make progress otherwise? It’s apathetic people like you who are the reason nobody respects us!
Penty: (muttering) Er, no, it’s nutcases like you…
EV: I can’t believe how selfish you are.
Penty: oh scr00 thiz.
I don’t know why I try with her. Really I don’t.
324- Ouch. I, too, hate them. And the ones who act all superior because they’ve been a vegetarian for x number of years more than you. Gah.
I went to lunch with my friends today and we went to the Flaming Ice Cube. It’s a vegetarian/vegan restaurant and it’s yummy! I had an Asian veggie wrap and a smoothie thingy. I’m not really a vegetarian because I sometimes eat chicken, but I”m going to give it up soon, since I hardly eat it anyway. I’m still going to eat fish though.
324-I hate people like that too. Another thing I hate is this group of people at my school who “are vegetarian but can’t give up chicken.” They annoy me a lot.
Aren’t they called pollo-vegetarians? How is that worse than being a pesco-vegetarian?
326- i don’t understand how one could be vegitarian except for chicken….. i’m not a vegitarian, but the hardest thing to give up for me would be lamb….. not that i eat lamb often, but it is loads better than chicken.
reading all these posts about nasty vegiatarans makes me very happy my friends are nice and polite about it.
323-I dont know, its just, I know some people do, and I didnt want to like…upset anyone. You are nice, so I didnt want you to get mad at me, but now I know you wont. *smiles* I still cant figure out the smiley things, dont laugh.
328- The hardest thing for me is duck….yummyyummy-drool-
I mean…
you know.
whatever.
also, the “real simple” website has really good and really easy veg recipes under the recipes section.
329-*Always wants to help*
To make the basic smiley, type : ) w/out the spaces, and you get
! I won’t go any farther than that if you don’t want to…
The food that “tempts” me most is tuna, sadly. I’m usually okay with burgers and stuff, but just this morning I was making some tuna sandwiches for my siblings, and it smelled really good. I didn’t actually eat it, and I probably won’t handle it again for a long time (I really do not enjoy cooking/preparing/touching meat products), but still, that was the first time in a long while that something like that happened to me.
The whole “vegetarian-while-eating-chicken” is okay, I guess, maybe for younger kids, who aren’t ready for the “big step”, or people with health issues. Still, chickens treated pretty brutally, sometimes, aren’t they?
Chickens are treated, if anything, worse than other meat. Maybe. I don’t know. But it seems to me that while cattle and pgs are miserable, they aren’t crammed into a cage with other cattle or pigs and had their beaks cut off.
Which is why there seems to me no point in being vegetarian if you still eat eggs.
But everyone here that I know tries to get their eggs from a good source, so I am by no means criticizing you.
*bows and exits*
333-Yes, they are in tight places, but pigs are too sometimes…Cows are usually in more open areas, I think, because they need it to feed etc.
333, 334- BOTH chickens and pigs are treated badly on factory farms. chickens get their beaks cut off and pigs are in a pen, fat and bruised with their tails cut off. it’s all nasty.
324- with an attitude like that, i wonder how many people she converts to vegetarianism (he he). it usually pays to be nice.
i love lox on bagels. if i ate only one non-veggie thing that would be it.
333- I kinda have to agree with you there. Egg farms… *shudder* But I do eat eggs. However, they’re local and from local farms and such so I know that’s not the case. The worst thing that could happen [aside from being killed to be eaten] to the local chickens is [seriously] being run over by a car. They tend to wander and meander everywhere.
It’s almost impossible to be a vegetarian without being hypocritical. Even vegetables need fertilizer.
That said, before you actively give up eating meat because you want to save animals, you should actively go to china and save all the slave labourers.
good point but you could also be a vegetarian because you dont like the taste of meat
331- Thanks!!!
(I hope that worked)
334-Actually most factories or whatever fence them in like…..one by one you know what I mean? Like they cant move? And they just put food in front of their heads. Like that picture in the Muse Magazine with the vegetarianism article in it, its the 10th birthday issue.
Sorry about the double post, but after reading my last one to 334 I wanted to say something. I didnt mean to sound mean, I just didnt know how to describe it. Sorry!!!
327- They’re no worse or better. They’re just not vegetarian. Neither is.
337- It’s impossible to be human without being a hypocrite, dearie. Go figure.
Random thought, needs verification: a friend of mine today told me that in the Bible, in Genesis, there is a quote where God gives Adam/Eve the seed-bearing fruits as their meat. Hmm. Actually, I think I may have a Bible here somewhere. I’ll go see…
God also said: “See, I give you every seed-bearing plant all over the earth and every tree that has seed-bearing fruit on it to be your food; and to all the animals of the land, all the birds of the air, and all the living creatures that crawl on the ground, I give all theh green plants for food.” And so it happened.
Gn 1:29-30
342- I see. Why do we have these nice sharp front teeth then? To bite our enemies? To bite our carrots? To–
What?
Is it only me that has the nice sharp front teeth? Okay, then let’s pick another example… How about mountain lions! Yeah! They don’t eat any of the green plants. But I guess they eat creatures that eat green plants, so if you are what you eat, then they eat green plants.
BTW, what about bacteria? Do they eat green plants? This needs more research…
I was just saying that I found it interesting. Not that I was taking it seriously. I’m not even Christian.
304- when i stop living at home i will be an ovo-lacto….i think vegetarian because ill stop eating fish
344- I know. I was just being ridiculous.
Oooh righto. Curse the internet and its inability to properly convey one’s sentiment, even with the use of emoticons!
So this is day one of being vegan for me. Not as hard to cope without dairy, now, than I thought. Just takes a little self-control. Surprisingly enough, I convinced my parents yesterday that I’d be fine and not die of malnutrition or anything. I thought it would take much longer, which was why I started then. I’m not complaining. I even got a cookbook. And successfully cooked stuff today. Even if I had issues with boiling water. Heh.
I don’t eat meat because
a) Modern farming practices are needlessly cruel and
b) I just don’t like it. Never really have.
Am interesting veiw: one time a lady walked up to my Mom and told her it was bad that we are vegan, because eating meat is in the Bible. True, but then the word “meat” meant bread, not flesh.
347~ Great!! Good luck. I promise you won’t die, I’ve been a vegan my whole life, and I’m still around!!!! (much to the dismay of some people…KIDDING!!)
I’m sure the ancient Hebrews had ways of talking about both meat and bread, and of distinguishing between them. They did sacrifice animals, after all.
349- Thanks!
350~ yes, they sometimes ate meat, but it wasn’t all the time like people do today. People now eat so much meat it’s ridiculous.
349- The people who come on this thread alot are probably tired of hearing this story, but my uncle from India told us that it was bad that we were vegetarian becuase meat eating is in the Bible, but when we told my other uncle that, he said that we should have said something like “Adam and Eve ate an apple, not a prime rib”.
Human digestive systems are not suited for very much meat.
354- Oh, I don’t know. I think it kind of depends on where our ancestors came from. For example, in a place where there’s a lot of farming, it would be easy to be vegetarian, but on the Steppes of Asia one kind of has to eat meat, because there’s nothing else to eat. Or in Greenland, all there is is fish and seals.
343- well, our nice sharp teeth aren’t as sharp as carnivores, but also the bible was a long time ago and teeth have probably changed since then due to our eating of meat. most of our teeth are for grinding. i was reading something about a culture where they file down the tips of the childrens’ canine teeth. i can’t remember what book so it may have been a fiction one but i don’t think so.
remember the diagrams in muse, guys (and girls)? humans are omnivores. we are in the middle. but most places, especially poor places are mostly vegetarian because it’s cheaper (except in places like the steppes of asia and greenland where you can’t farm).
i feel like i’m just repeating what everyone else was saying, but that wasn’t what i was trying to do. and i apologise for my last comment. it was kinda mean, but at the time my mom was telling me to stop conversing with people i will never meet that could possibly be online stalkers and call my real friends or i won’t have any. so i was mad.
I’m not just talking about teeth. You have to look deeper than the eye can see. Our digestive track is WAAAY to long to digest meat properly.
I’d say we’re in the middle. Seeing as we’re able to digest meat, I don’t see why we would have been designed to not eat it. But seeing as we’re capable of living entirely without meat, I don’t see why we would have been designed specifically to eat it. Whee, middle ground.
That being said, my new timesink at work is calculating the percentage of a customer’s order that I can eat, that is, is completely animal-free now. It entertains me. Usually it’s just the produce though.
357- Maybe you’re right. I can’t really think of any other primates that eat meat. But could you please stop telling me that I’m not made to eat the way I do?
Yes, that sounded harsh. But I can’t think of any other way to phrase it. I’m sorry. Perhaps a long time ago, we weren’t meant to eat meat. But since then, we have changed. Modern humans eat meat.* It’s not against our nature or anything. Meat isn’t the thing that I need to eat most, but it’s the thing that I’m going to be eating a lot of pretty soon, because there won’t be much else. Please understand that I’m not being rude, I’m just kind of tired of people saying that it’s unnatural to eat meat.
*That’s not a jibe to the vegetarians, I meant Modern Humans as in not Neanderthals.
359- I choose not to eat meat becuase of the torturing of animals, not because I think our digestive systems are not made for meat, becuase I dont think that exactly….its hard to describe. But my main thing is the horrible animal treatment, just for humans to consume and enjoy as if it were nothing, just another food item, when in actuality they are eating an innocent animal who has been crammed into a cage, and treated like its dirt. But I know what you mean, I dont think humans are expecially made to eat plants, and I dont think they are expecially made to eat meat, they are made so they can eat what they choose, either or. People can be vegetarians, or they dont have to be, our bodies are made so we can eat what foods we want. Sorry about all the animal abuse thing, it wasnt aimed at anyone, I just get tired of people ignoring me when I tell them all this (you know away from Museblog), so I need to tell someone who will listen, and I know you guys already know all of it, but I also know you will listen, so thanks!!!!
360- Yeah, I understand about that.
361-Thanks.
360- I also understand. I think I speak for everyone here when I say that we don’t mind your discussing it here. In fact, good for you!
New semi-relevant topic: Activism. When is it appropriate, how much is appropriate, and what gets annoying?
I kinda got two of my friends on vegetarian diets this year. But only because they were already considering it and started talking to me about it. Etc, etc.
363- Activism is a bit boring. (Sorry!) There’s an activismic (no it’s not a word) thingamabobber in our town this week, and all the workshops are activismic. The funnest thing about it is the climb training. Wheeee! In a few minutes I’m going to go pester the people who are teaching climbing.
Ok once again my brain is still shut down from school until I officially start school, so here is my daily obvious question: what is activism? *dodges ‘you should know that’ pies*
Wait! Sorry, I forgot to say thanks to Sweet Melpomene!!! Thanks Sweet Melpomene!!!!
So says dictionary dot reference dot com:
the doctrine or practice of vigorous action or involvement as a means of achieving political or other goals, sometimes by demonstrations, protests, etc.
I’m not too good at explaining it. But in this case, I basically mean something along the lines of publicly supporting vegetarianism/veganism and educating people about the benefits and reasons for it.
But I don’t want to seem rude or anything, and I certainly don’t want to force it on anyone, y’know? Maybe start a club for it in school or generally raise awareness about factory farming and puppy mills and animal rights and such there. We have an anime club. So it’s not too out-there.
367-I have always wanted to do that, but some of my friends still dont get why I would give up meat. Either that or they are just to stubbern to realize how horrible it is. I know 3 people at least who would do it, 4, yah four people. Maybe I can get them to do it…..Oh wait, 5 people!!! Ooh, i gotta get going on this. You have inspired me!!!!
368- Whee, have fun with it! Yeah, that’s in issue. The not-getting-it bit. Hmm. That was why I was considering trying to find a teacher who’d go for a club for this sort of thing. To find like-minded people first, or people curious about it.
369-Well I have lots of supportive friends who would help. And I had a teacher last year who I loved, who would help, but then I realized what she was really like.
Creative activism sounds fun, but honestly, what is it going to do for our chances of survival? But I’m talking about climate change, you’re talking about vegetarianism, so we’re no longer on the same page.
I hope my friends will help me, I feel so alone as a vegetarian at my school sometimes. I have yet to meet one (outside of museblog). One of my friends just kind of ignores me, or doesnt say anything when I talk about animal testing and vegetarianism, and it hurts my feelings. This is very important to me and I dont think she gets that. Sorry for rambling, but I just have to tell someone. Most of my friends really have no idea how serious it is to me, they joke about it, and dont mean to hurt me, they just dont get it. I wish I could say something that would make them understand without hurting them. Any suggestions anyone?
372- This is not what you want to hear, sorry. But – what is she supposed to say? “I understand”? What if she doesn’t? What if her main reaction is to leap to the defense of meat-eating, and she’s polite enough not to start an argument, but she can’t show any enthusiasm for vegetarianism, and she wants to avoid any friendship-ruining discussions? What if vegetarianism makes her uncomfortable, like meat-eating makes some people uncomfortable? What if she feels bad but isn’t brave enough to ask her parents to let her be vegetarian? What is she just has nothing to say to that, because she is perfectly comfortable with eating meat, but doesn’t want to dis vegetarians? There are all sorts of reasons why she might ignore you when you talk about vegetarianism. I can easily imagine myself in the same spot, and it would be so awkward it would be better to keep silent if I didn’t have time to think about my words. Why don’t you ask her why she doesn’t say anything? If she’s rude about it, then she isn’t a very good friend. If she tells the truth, so much the better. If she tells a lie to make you feel better, then obviously she doesn’t mean to offend you.
I’m sorry, I started ranting there, but sometimes…well, yes. No offense, Dancergirl, but you’re very sensitive. I am not sensitive about the same things, so I often end up ranting about things that you hold dear. I’m sorry.
I don’t think she is being too sensitive, I just think that when there are no other people like you, people not even being kind enough to realize that and at least hear what you have to say can be frustrating. You may not know yet, as you do eat meat, and live in the middle of nowhere as you like to say, but it does happen. If you lived in a relatively large town even and kept homeschooling you would realize how many people seem like they are either against you or just don’t care.
I do hope a vegetarian meets dancergirl. But I must say, I also hope even a couple of non-vegetarians who are interested in more than what they do enough to care about what other people do meet her. [/very long sentence]
I hope that helps…
374- Yes, I suppose you’re right. But I can’t help but think Dancergirl ought to ask her WHY she isn’t saying anything. That’s not to say I don’t hope Dancergirl meets some people who care about vegetarianism.
I’ve always thought that I WANT to be different from everyone else, set apart and unclassifiable. But that’s just me, and I’m a show-off.
my mom and i had a bet that i couldnt go vegatarian for 1 week. i told her i could though. i lost, but it isnt really my fault, since we were in the middle of Alaska where my uncle lives (a 10?person “town”) he has a lodge up there.
373-I know, but she is….dunno. She sometimes doesnt think before she says things or does things, and she kind of makes faces like ‘ok..’ when I talk about it. Its really hard to explain, but I have known her for a long time and I can tell kinda…..I dunno. Just…nevermind. But I am not mad. I know I am really sensative, sometimes it gets on my nerves, but I cant help it. Thanks though, I will ask her. I am just afraid she will get mad at me, becuase she gets mad really easily.
374-Thanks, it makes me feel alot better. I mean, I have friends who listen, but they still have NO IDEA. I have one friend who became a vegetarian, but its not the same. She doesnt take it as seriously as I do. Or at least it doesnt feel like it, I mean I have been one my whole life.
375-I ALWAYS want to be different, and really, I mean it! Its just, its really hard to be a vegetarian and take it so seriously and talk about it at lunch when people offer you meat without anyone understanding. Again they listen (kinda) , but they dont understand, and never will unless they become one too and dont have anyone (outside of museblog) who takes them completely seriously. But that wont happen. My best friend who became a vegetarian understands, but I have been one longer, and have had to deal with it longer, so its….different. And, I think it is more centimental to me. Sorry, I ramble too. But I have to tell someone, and you guys always listen and are always so nice, so I know I wont be hurt here. THANKS!!!!
It means alot to me…..ok now I am getting waaaaaay to touching….
370- Hm?
372- Joke back about meat-eating. My friends do that, too. Joke about it, that is. So I joke back and we all end up feeling fat xD The friend who gets all quiet may just feel awkward and somewhat guilty about it. If you want them to know how serious this is to you, just calmly ask them to listen and stop being immature about it. If you get really annoyed, show them the “Meet Your Meat” video… it shuts people up, at the very least. Just know that your decision is right for you, no matter what their opinion of it is. And, besides, it’s only grade/middle/high school [I forget who’s in which grade, sorry] and won’t really matter so much in the future.
373- Could be. Just please don’t take this thread as an insult to meat-eaters, please? We’re cool with you. : )
374- Agreed.
375- I wanted to be different at one time, until I realized that I’d have to care about and pay attention to whatever made me normal. I’ve given up caring and just go on and do what I think will be educational, ethical, interesting, or just a good time. Sometimes it coincides with whatever the “majority” is doing. Sometimes it doesn’t. Whatever. I’m lazy.
376- In due time, she’ll either “get it” or give up. That’s been my observation with people who go veg. That’s why I only try to talk people into it, who already are considering it. If someone does that just because another person adamantly suggested and promoted it… what’s the point? It’s a personal lifestyle decision. Length of devotion doesn’t matter all too much, I think, so long as you’re wholeheartedly there. I’d say all the vegetarians here know what you mean when you say that certain people don’t understand. Once you make the connection between the living, breathing creature, and what you’re being offered as food, it’s all different and you wonder why people go around gnawing on animal corpses [no offense to any non-vegetarian here]. It just “clicks,” I suppose. The most you can do is understand that it’s right and normal for them, and shrug it off. If you’ve been veg your entire life, I’d assume your parents are veg too? Talk to them about it. You’d be surprised… And, if you’re not in high school yet, just wait. There will be so many more people, and you’re bound to meet at least one like-minded person.
378- no im not going veg- i like meat too much, i just wanted to see if i would be able to withstand the temptation of meat!!
my cousin is really funny- she says she’s vegetarian, but she will eat bacon, sausages and steak!!
Our school is filled with poser-vegetarians. One of them (one of the most ‘popular’ girls in the school (or so she thinks of herself), I might add) recently went into a hot dog stand and bought a cheeseburger from my friend (who, coincidentally, is vegetarian). I’m perfectly fine (even happy for) most vegitarians, but I can’t stand that kind, who only don’t eat meat because it’s “cool.”
/(lots of) parentheses.
378-Thanks!
379-No offense, but I dont really find that funny. Vegetarianism is a lifestyle. And I’m sorry if I sound harsh, but vegetariansm is important to me, which you can already probably tell.
Sorry to everyone on this thread who is sick of me rambling on about how vegetarianism is important to me etc. I just need someplace to put it. I am really sorry.
379- Oh, whoops. I meant to type “377.” For that last bit of my horribly long comment of d00m. Sorry for the mixup… ^^;
Also, I have a cousin who was like that. She claimed to be vegan for about half a year. And ate loads of animal products. Sigh. She then got stomach ulcers and gave up.
380- Le sigh. Kids these days.
Well I have a grand total of one friend so far who’d try to start a veg club with me… ^_^
382-I havnt asked anyone about a veg club yet. But I have a friend who I know would do it (shes a vegetarian), and I have a few others in mind that I am pretty sure would help even if they arent vegetarians. I will ask them tonight at the sleepover.
Dancergirl, as I see it, people shouldn’t be mad about you talking about something you believe in, because if it’s important to you, if they care about you, they will want to know. Right guys?
Right.
Definitely.
this has nothing to do with the topic at hand but I have proven that all the muses are vegetarians:
feather: it has been stated that his is
mimi: it’s not nice to kill animals
bo: cow
pwt: s/he is the muse of animals and would not eat them
crraw: see aeiou
aeiou: see chad
chad: has no time for food thusly has a vegibar no and then
urania: the god were baned from eating meat
kokopelli: he hates meat because he can not use it in pies and thusly is boycotting it.
o.k. so it not that go of an arument but still
384,385,386-You guys are awesome!!!! I wish I could have met you all at the Kokokonvention. You are such good friends. Thank you soooooooooooo much, you have no idea how much that means to me. Oh…..Thanks sooooooooooo much again.
Vegetarians – do you know of any really good non-meat foods with iron? I know of Spinich, but I don’t really know of any others. I’m anemic *again,* and my doctor told me to take iron supplements and eat red meat. But, I don’t eat red meat, so I thought I’d see if there are some good non-red-meat-iron-sources before my parents force me to eat…stuff….
389- Apricots, pistachios, anything with Vitamin C, lentils, I think, too…hmm, Google “vegetarian iron sources?”
389-Well, there are those meat substitutes by Boca and morningstar, veggie burgers are delish, I dont know, sorry, I cant think right now.
Some cereals, I think, have a lot of iron in them. And some have vitamin B12, too. But are they “safe” for vegetarians?
Oh man you guys. I am reading a book about how to eat and help instead of harm the planet, and there is a section on slaughterhouses. It really makes you think twice about eating meat (I dont eat meat, but I mean if you do). I hope it doesnt get snipped. But please dont read it if you dont want to.
IF YOU DONT WANT TO KNOW DONT READ THE FOLLOWING!!!!
ABOUT CHICKENS:
The chickens are kept in cages stacked on top of eachother, and the building is full of them. Their beaks are cut off in a painful process, their toes are cut off, and there is more than one chicken in each cage. When they start to not lay as many eggs they arent fed or given water, and makes them go into shock so they lose feathers and start laying eggs again. But only for a few weeks, and then the birds are used in chicken soup. Baby male chickens that are hatched are called useless biproducts and they put them into plastic bags to suffocate when more chicks are throw on top of them. Some are growned up to feed animals, sometimes while they are still living. (I am like, about to cry)
ABOUT PIGS:
They are put in crowded pens like all other animals, their tales are cut off, and tehy are given growth hormones so they will get fatter quicker for more pork, bacon, etc. When it is time to be slaughtered their legs are weak since they are so big, and actually break. People drag them squeling in pain and terror, to be slaughtered, and they (according to slaugherhouse people) are sure the pigs know what is about to happen, and obviously dont want it to happen. Who would? This is all for people to eat pork, and bacon, and all that other stuff.
ABOUT COWS:
They are of course kept in small spaces where it is muddy and are left in the sun or in the freezing cold weather. Then they are branded which is extremely painful, obviously. A searing red hot metal thing pushed onto your behind is hardly something to look forward to. Then they are pushed into trucks and are not fed or given water, and if a cow lays down (if they find the room) they are trampled to death. They are pulled out even if they have broken limbs. Then the book refuses to describe how horrible the slaughtering process is. Now think about the other horrible stuff you just read, if it doesnt want to describe it, can you even imagine what they do to these poor creatures and then think nothing of it and eat a hamburger? The books says that the cows whow manage to avoid an electric shock people consider “humane” and actually are able to go through the line conscious are put through even more terror. It says there is legislation against cruelty but that those laws are that the cow should be made unconcious and senseless before it is skinned and dismembered. Apparently inspectors only inspect the dead bodies, not the process. WHAT IS WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE? I would be sobbing right now if I wasnt staring at an awefully bright computer screen, I am about to. And what makes it worse, I showed this to my friend, and do you know what she said? She said “is this true?”. And even though she felt bad for the animals it seems as though she lost interest as all my friends do when I tell them this. Even if they care, they havnt tried to become vegetarians yet. I know it isnt for everyone, but…..I mean….did you read that aweful discription?
THE SLAUGHTER HOUSE INFO IS OVER
I am very sorry GAPAs for making you read this to moderate it, and if it couldnt be put on the blog that is ok, it is kinda gruesome.
Oh, and I forgot, sorry about the second post, but if you are interested in how eating organic foods and stuff helps the planet and all this other good stuff that seems extremely boring but makes you want to help, read “Harvest for Hope” by Jane Goodall. Please just check it out, its awesome, and inspiring, and makes you realize what has happened to our world since people actually farmed for themselves and werent overcome with greed for money and tobuilt slaughterhouses that are horrible.
(393) What is the name of the book in which you found this information, and who is the author? It’s good to cite your sources.
Sorry for the triple post, I will stop, but THANKS SO MUCH GAPAS for letting me post the slaughterhouse bit.
Just say where it came from, please.
391- Last time I checked, you could get yummy veggie burgers from BK.
yumyum
want.
can we have a new therd?
(399) Makes sense to me. Voilà .