Robert, sorry… that post wasnt there earlier… I just saw it now, it was only my posts when I had read it that day. The information came from “Harvest for Hope” by Jane Goodall. Sorry.
I was talking about slaughterhouses today with my friend, she said she was sick of me talking about it, that she didnt want to hear it. And do you know what else? She said…..”why do you care”…..I just dont get it….I have just wanted to cry all day. I will go now, I just ramble about this way too much, and people are sick of me complaining, I know it. Sorry all.
(1) Ooh! I love talking about slaughterhouses! *Gets odd looks*
My first post ever on MuseBlog was:
32. Clara �|� March 10th, 2006 at 5:03 pm
I think you should do something about Fast Food – about where they get their stuff (slaughterhouses, etc) and the diseases you can get. I’m really interested in stuff like that.
1) Don’t worry about her. It’s a real mark of goodness, compassion is. Besides, it’s a better thing to ramble on about than others.
Hmm I need to search in the old Hot Topics for my posts…I actually got the same thing from certain MBers about it.
A good book about this sort of thing is called “You Don’t Need Meat” by Peter Cox. Bit grisly in parts though. I’ve only read some of it, it’s my mom’s book.
2-Well, most of my friends are very supportive, but there parents wont let them be a vegetarian becuase of the protein (grr!), but she doesnt really seem to get anything. I mean she is nice at times, but…I dunno. I mean, everytime I tell my friends that I am upset at her they tell me that she is just like that, but I dont think that is a good reason for me to be her friend. I do like her most of the time, but…..its sooooo hard to explain. I guess she just doesnt understand me at all, and she obviously doesnt care about animal rights. I do like her, she is nice, but she doesnt get the vegetarian thing, and I try to explain to her, but she doesnt listen becuase she (it seems like) just wants to take the easy way out. I really dont know what to do. I alread told her she upset me gently (she gets upset easily, but kinda gets immature about it) and I am waiting for a reply. When I was reading the slaughterhouse info to her over the phone she wasnt listening because in between article she kept reading emails to me from our other friends (which I also dont think is right, she talks about other peoples personal business behind their backs, and I know she will be talking about me and this vegetarian thing to our other friend, who I trust, I just wish she wouldnt do that becuase I dont think it is right). I dont know what to do….please help!!!!
4-Thanks, I just feel rather bad when I ramble and complain, becuase I feel like I do it too much, and here I am doing it again. Plus that outbreak from my friend today that I was talking about kinda pushed me over the edge so I had to talk to someone. No one outside of museblog seems to really understand, they think they do, but they really dont. Not yet at least.
I can’t really care passionately about anything but torture of animals. I’ve heard all sorts of terrible things about slaughterhouses, but I can’t make myself care deeply. My mind says, “Oh, how awful,” but my heart doesn’t even register that something disturbing was said. I know that slaughterhouses could be defined as torture; after all, that’s what it is, essentially, but it doesn’t have the malice, the purposefulness that torturing animals contains. It’s for food, right? Even if it is a horrible way to get your food, it’s not as unwarranted as other things.
Don’t kill me. Just bear in mind that I’m the most callous girl you can imagine, that hasn’t had some awful tragedy in her life.
7-I just think it is selfish for people to torture animals for their own gain, and the slaughterhouse owner treat them poorly only becuase they want to make more money in short amounts of time. But um…did you know that….well did you read the slaughterhouse bit about cows and understand that assembly line part? The book said that if people want to know the gruesome truth about cows who manage to avoid the ‘humane’ electric shock and go through the slaughtering assembly line fully conscious to read a different book. Isnt that going too far? Skinning and dismembering cows when they are alive and awake?
I am not going to kill you, you said everything politely. I am still upset at my friend, but you I am not mad at. I do care passionately about it and I understand some people dont, I just want to raise awerness so that those people can help me make a difference.
7) it’s pretty much the same thing as torture. That it benefits humans doesn’t make it less of a bad thing.
Yeah here’s my thing…from the first Hot Topics thread. Comment 86. please excuse my way of writing then, I was but 13. There’s more in the later Hot Topics if you care to look for it.
I’m not a vegetarian, because I eat chicken and fish, but I don’t like the way they treat the animals. I’m thinking about becoming a vegetarian, but I wouldn’t know how to tell my mom. She get’s frustrated enough with me not eating beef and pork. My dad wouldn’t mind so much because some people in his family are vegetarian and vegan.
10 – I have basically the same situation as you. When I’m “older” and in college or something I’ll probably become a vegetarian, but I’m having difficulty not eating red meat, because I have iron-deficiency anemia and need to get a lot of iron. I’m keeping them “at bay” by eating lots of high-iron vegtables and such, but I’m not sure how long that will last…
10- Aww. Try breaking it to your father first? If he’d be more receptive to the idea, he could probably calm your mother down. Just say that you don’t expect different food to be made for you, and that you’ll make sure you “eat right” and get enough protein/vitamins/nutrition.
12- Hmm, that’s depressing. You could probably keep going with that. *pulls out veggie cookbook* Actually, maybe you should look for nutrition-vegetarian cookbooks. There’s probably a vegetarian section in your local B&N…
Anyway, The Garden of Vegan, page 23-24:
“The most powerful vegan food sources for iron and zinc are legumes: lentils and split peas can be made into delicious soups, and chickpeas are found in hummus, curries, and salads. Then there are all sorts of beans: red, white, black, pinto, lima, mung, cranberry, Anasazi, kidney, and many more. Soy foods are outstanding sources of protein and zinc (iron, too): tofu, tempeh, soy mile, and miso. Half the world’s protein comes from grains; whole grains are rich in iron and zinc, too. So make the acquaintance of some new grains: barley, millet, oatmeal, quinoa, rice, whole-wheat flour, and wheat germ. Almonds, cashews, hazelnuts, pine nuts, and various seeds can also provide some of what you need.”
That book is really cute and entertaining. As well as useful.
Also, does anyone else live with people who seem to have an inexplicable fear of tofu and soy in general?
You know, I do sort of. I don’t see why some of my friends hate it. It is good if you let yourself like it. Also, I basically live on soy, so I don’t have much choice but to like it.
One of my all-time favorite cookbooks is Passionate Vegetarian by Crescent Dragonwagon (she’s also an author of children’s books). She emphasizes food that is a pleasure to eat, plus gives lots of information about preparation techniques, variations, and so on.
Since she pointedly does not proselytize, she’s safe for nonvegetarians (though the 1000+ pages is in itself a good answer to the “what do you eat?” question). When I took dishes from her book to pot-luck dinners, people begged me for recipes — which was a new experience for me, I assure you.
12) Yeah I’m like borderline anemic now i think…I used to have to take iron in various forms, including liquid iron which was a nightmare. But as Lizzie said, supplements may help us ^^
13) My mom loves soy milk since she’s lactose intolerant (and I probably am too, I just don’t like milk -__-) so that’s not a problem. Also half of my family is Japanese so we’re cool with tofu haha. Actually my dad eats just about anything now that I think of it. But my mom made me miso soup with tofu in it and it was gooooood. *__* I think it’s the texture that most people don’t like.
My sister is vegetarian, and I hate tofu, but we have to eat it a lot thanks to her. I think she must be borderline anemic at this point but she doesn’t really care no matter how many times I point it out.
11-*laughs* You agree with me? wow…..yay!!! Finally someone who understands, not that the other musers dont, they just seem to be vegetarians for different reasons. Except #9, she doesnt like the way they treat them either. Yay!!!
oh man, I just got a reply from my friend I am scared. I wont know what to say, she is going to be upset. I will come back with news.
So I have a question for all you other vegetarians out there….
I was reading an article about how some scientists took a few cells from a pig or something, and managed to make meat from it or something… please, someone else know what I’m talking about! XD
but, if it was available commercially, would you eat cruelty-free meat?
23-no, I do not eat red meat because I think pigs and cows are to smart to be killed. I eat birds because there dumb. It does not matter were the meat comes from.
23-I know what you are talking about, but I think I read an article about it with alot of information, and I didnt like the sound of it. I wouldnt eat cruelty-free meat, just becuase I wouldnt eat any meat, I dont think animals should be killed for humans period. But I would be extremely glad if other people would buy it.
24-Birds are not dumb, I agree with purple panda. They fly south for the winter dont they? Just read books on them, they are extremely intellegent.
22) Maybe for now you can leave it alone for now…There are going to be people who don’t get it, which is sad but true as I have found. If the subject comes up again and she continues being that way, you can always ask that she at least respect your views, even if she doesn’t understand or feel the same way. Good luck, though! ;____;
23) o_____o Does that mean they could make himan meat…okay I’m going to stop there DDDX
That’s interesting though…
24) Hey what about carrier pigeons? Granted they aren’t the smartest bunch, but birds never forget. Seriously. My mom’s cousin used to put out birdseed for the local birds, and when he stopped they messed up his backyard and stuff. Never mess with birds.
Also pork is not red meat. It’s the other white meat XDDD
I myself avoid pork…ever since I was six or seven I’ve loved pigs so one day I stopped eating them. I had a massive collection of over 100 pig stuffed animals…
27-pigs are nice. and I thought the other white meat was cat XDDD
but people,rellay. look at muse 1/07, or, if you have a lot (and I mean A LOT) of muses look at 2/97. look at the veitarn aritacle. somebody said that biard ared smart. and also I fell that people need some meat and tofu proboly dosn’t cut it for me.
13- I’ve never tried tofu, and I don’t like soy that much…
I have a question for vegetarians. Wouldn’t you still kill a fly, or an ant, or a mouse, or any animal that was bothering you? How is that different from killing and eating, say, a cow?
I’m all for animal rights and everything, but I don’t think I could become a vegetarian. I try to refrain from eating hot dogs and meat in cafeterias because I don’t know anything about how that animal was treated and I don’t know what else is in that meat. The meat I eat at home is as cruelty-free as possible, I think.
I don’t agree with vegans at all. Milking a cow doesn’t exactly hurt it… yes, those cows sometimes in miserable conditions, as some chickens in chicken coops are, but that would be limiting my diet so much as to be unhealthy.
31-Bugs arent tortured and skinned alive for humans to eat. And wouldnt kill a mouse or anything bigger, becuase its just pointless and mean. But they arent tortured and skinned alive for humans to eat either. Cows are tortured and skinned and dismembered while they are fully consious just for humans to eat.
It is very hard to tell how the animal your meat came from was treated, organic meat is the best thing to buy. It has to say like certified organic or something for them to be telling the truth.
Most vegans are vegans because there is rennet in cheese that comes from animals, and becuase the milk/butter/cheese/etc factories give the cows growth hormones to make them produce more milk faster (becuase they say time is money and they dont care a bit about animals feeling discomfort), which causes them to have to carry about 100 pounds of milk around which causes them a huge amount of pain. It also frequently causes utter infections and other things etc that causes extreme pain and discomfort to the cows, and often “there isnt enough time to cure them” (or so they say) and they just make the cows live with it. Now how is that fair? And most vegans are very healthy, you can drink soy milk, and I dont think living without butter is exactly a bad thing, think of all the fat. And it is possible to get eggs from companies that treat their chickens better than the others (cage free/ organic).
34 – But still, at most dairy-producing places (that are non-organic), they treat the animals incredibly poorly. They torture them and they get sick, etc. Just because there’s no RBHG doesn’t mean that there isn’t torture.
Panda’s right: 24-OKAY DON’T GET ME STARTED ON THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Did you even read the Muse issue on birds? Check that out, and if you are still confused, let me know.
33-They do make vegan marshmallows. I have tried them. They are very sweet, becuase I guess they have to fill them up with lots of sugar.
31-No, we have mice in our basement, and we are humanely trapping them. Of course, when we set them free, I have to hold back the urge to catch them naturally, but…
People need to realize that killing another animal is an act of creulty, no matter how dumb our standards of inteligence make them, and we should do unto others as we would have them do unto us. Yes, SOME meat was eaten by cave men, as they were in a situation where they could not get enough otherwise. E.G. Iceages, times/places where they could not farm.
Now. Below is a layout of why I believe we can live without meat:
Are we living in caves?
Are we unable to properly farm?
Are we unable to get enough nutrients by eating vegetables alone?
If you answer those questions with the correct answers, you will see it is quite easy to live on vegetables alone.
38-Well, please do go back and read it. It’s worth it, and if you really still believe birds are dumb after reading the article, you should cancel your subscription right away as Muse is not printing things you want to hear.
If I may kindly point out that I will soon be turning 13, as well as the fact that I have never had meat, maybe people will see how easy it is to live without it.
13-(sorry i take forever to answer) I could break it to my dad first and it would be easier, but my parents are divorced so there will be no calming down of my mother. Bleh. I also have some vitamin problem that caused me to have leg cramps, but I took vitamins and it went away.
I could handle being vegetarian, but not vegan. I love cheesey things and my favorite drink is chocolate milk. I also love seafood, so I might have problems giving it up. I’m going to find out what it means when meat is kosher. I’ve always wondered that, but I’m too forgetful to look for it.
6- I know how you feel. I had this friend who was realy sensitive to everything I did and got mad at me for everything. she got mad at me and KEPT BRINGING UP something I did once (having a book open while she was talking to me). I’m not entirely sure why we were friends. we had NOTHING in comon. actually, now that I think about it this has nothing to do with what you were saying. please ignore me.
10- just ask her to respect your beliefs or something.
I eat fish so i’m something like a “pescotarian” or something. i don’t really remember… I was reading some cook book that explained it.
not to be steriotypical or anything but A LOT of the guys I know don’t respect my decision to be vegetarian. they always ask me “why don’t you eat meat” and they just WON’T accept that i don’t like eating animals. they are so anoying. grr…..
45-I know, its extremely aggrivating, why cant people just accept diversity?
28-Just because they arent as intellegent as other animals doesnt make them dumb, and doesnt mean we should torture them.
44-She does respect it, she just doesnt want to understand, and doesnt want to deal with the problem or something. I am still waiting for her to call me to work this out. I will keep you posted.
I think prioritizing certain animals over others over intelligience isn’t good, but that discussion should probably be saved for the Hot Topics thread…it doesn’t really deal directly with happy vegetarianism and such. But maybe I just got a bunch of people mad at me for saying that. I don’t know… *sigh*
47 (aeiou) – I would assume they’ve made some sort of Jell-o for Vegans…but I wonder what it’s made out of. *Researches* – I found a recipe using Agar and Fruit Juice, but I’m not sure what Agar is (except that it’s what you make petri dish food stuff out of) so I don’t know if it’s vegan, or if it would work for Jell-o.
48-No, that is a good idea. *eyes look distant* I can see a future of unhappy campers posting on this thread about prioritizing animals over others based on intelligence. Beware.
I’m a vegitarian, and I’m proud of it, I have many reasons to why I’m proud, but I wont go into that, it’ll take to long. I have othing against those who like meat, its just that I dont, and I wont.
P.S. Its good to like whatever you like to be, its you, and its ood to be you, nomater what anybody in the whole world says. ^@^
8,9- Oh yes, it is terrible. And maybe if I heard it spoken by an actual voice, I would feel differently. I just can’t really feel anything about it. Though granted, I feel decidedly uncomfortable eating chicken. Really uncomfortable. Like, I-think-I’ll-quit-eating-chicken uncomfortable.
55- It doesn’t seem that way to me. Perhaps it’s because the chicken meat tastes like the animals were cruelly treated, and beef doesn’t. Pork does, though. I’ve eaten chicken and pork that was treated well, and it was very good. Heck, when all you think about is the taste, so is chicken and pork that was treated well. But it seems kind of wrong to eat factory raised pigs and chickens. I wonder why I don’t feel that way about beef…?
the man for aeiou (47) and Purple Panda (48):
Agar is made of chains of sugars that come from the cell walls of certain algae. So it would qualify as vegan — algae being plants. I’ve seen it sold in Asian markets as a powder and as sticks (sometimes tinted red with food coloring). I’ve used it to make “jello-ish” desserts by mixing it with fruit juice, heating until the agar dissolves, pouring it into a mold and letting it cool. If you use the sticks, you have to soak them first in cold water for about an hour. In the end, the texture is gelatinous but not as wiggly as jello.
i’m a vegetarian as well, but for a very different reason than most of you seem to be. i’m worried about animal treatment (sort of) and everything, but the real reason i stay away from meat is that it’s incredibly wasteful to produce. i don’t have the stats on hand right this second, but it takes a irresponsibly huge amount of resources to create one hamburger. chicken and pork are less wasteful, but the numbers are still surprising. it just seems so environmentally irresponsible to consume meat on a regular basis.
63- First of all, it feeds all sort of very hungry people in far-off countries, and teaches them how to support themselves by farming. Then, it doesn’t cost any of the aforesaid far-off people any money, and it only costs the donor a little bit of money. These people are sure to be more humane than the big scary factories, and a lot of the animals probably don’t ever get eaten. Have you ever seen the movie “Pay It Forward”? Don’t. It’s an awful movie. But it’s a good concept, and it’s sort of what Heifer International does.
Mind you, I’m not very well-informed, but it seems to me a good deal less harmful to the animals than what we well-to-do people do to get our food, and beneficial to the humans, too.
63- they don’t kill amimal’s. the poor people who get them do. usely the first amimal is keeped ,and some of its offspriings, for breeding. and the cows give milk. and the bees give honey and I know that some say eating meat is wrong but think about it:
you are poor. you can eat meat or stave. what do you do?
The only meat I eat is chicken, turkey, and fish, but I only eat it if it’s either organic or from a certain farm (my neighbor’s dad runs a chicken and turkey farm, and “slaughters” everything himself, so I know exactly what has happened to it and that all the animals are treated nicely [except for the slaughtering part…I don’t really think that qualifies as nice] and such). I never get meat at restaurants simply because I don’t know where it has been and where it came from.
I don’t eat other meat (cow, pig, etc.) because of many reasons: the main ones are the horrible conditions the animals are put in and how badly they are treated, and another is the diseases that could be in the meat. I guess I’ve never really thought about the “waste to produce” idea Zallie brought up, but I agree with that as well.
I don’t think I would ever be vegan (I probably wouldn’t be able to eat half of the stuff), but I respect everyone who is vegan, and share all their ideas…obviously not strong enough to become vegan, but still…
65-But those people dont skin them alive, or boil them, they kill them first. I dont eat meat because of the aweful factories, and I think its awesome people help poor people by giving them animals, so they can get milk and stuff and then eat them, because they arent put through the torture that most are.
66-good for you!!!I read about all the diseases from slaughterhouses in the meat in “Harvest for Hope”, and no offense to anyone, but it really makes me happy I dont eat meat. Meat puts you in more risk than you think, there were people who died from eating something from Jack in the box that had meat in it!!! Creepy!!! But just by talking about the aweful slaughterhouses at restaraunts and grocery stores can make a difference, becuase although it is really sad, there are very few people who know the truth, and if more people know more people will not like it, and wont buy things from these places, thus forcing them to get organic meat or meat from places that dont torture their animals. It works!!!! I can prove it!!!
I read something in the “Harvest for Hope” book by Jane Good all yesterday, it goes along with Zallie’s idea. It takes 26,400 gallons of water to produce about 2 pounds of beef. GALLONS!!!! How aweful is that? ONLY 2 POUNDS!!!!
I RECCOMEND “HARVEST FOR HOPE” BY JANE GOODALL TO EVERYONE!!!!
i dont really mind vegitarians unless they verbally complain alot about dinners, moose heads and other sort on walls, and whenever someone says free hot dogs they yell “do they have vegitarian hot dogs?”
otherwise i dont really mind them! like my other friend is a vegitarian also and she just says no thanks and passes along the meat or orders something else.
I’m not vegetarian, but I really, really want to be when I grow up. I know people who are vegetarian and they have inspired me. You probably wonder why I don’t be a vegtarian now…well, my mom is really, really into meat (because of the protein), so she would probably freak out if I stopped eating meat. So I’ll wait ’til I’m outta the house and can do what I want. (That just sounded sooo bratty. I didn’t mean it that way.)
69- yeah I hate it when people make a big deal about being vegetarien and do what you described. I try to make the least amount of fuss possible, the only thing I do is ask if I can actually eat at the restraunt we’re going to. because in france I couldn’t eat at a lot of restraunts.
my brother is this “I LOOOOOOVE MEEEEAAAT AND CANT SURVIVE WITHOOOUUUUT IT” kind of person. for some reason he always brings up that he loves meat when i bring up me being vegetarien.
I don’t mind vegetarians, and I don’t mind people who eat meat. I do, however, mind the people who do mind either of those people. (That’s a mouthful!)
I think everyone can make their own decisions on what to believe, and do whatever they want with their lives. I don’t personally eat steak, but I certainly have no problem with someone who loves steak.
That was kind of an obvious comment, but it’s on the subject, so…
69-I wouldnt complain about dinners, but I dont like it when people kill things and then stuff them for the heck of it. They are taking an animals ONLY life away from them, and they will never live again. They could have a family just like you and I, and they will never see them again etc. Animals have feelings too, and feel pain. And so what if they ask if they have vegetarian hot dogs? Its just like asking any other question, personally I dont think it is a big deal. We want to eat too, and some people like veggie hot dogs, so whats the problem? Please dont take offense I just dont understand why this is a big deal.
76-Well, almost makes a little bit of a difference, and I am not sure I understand the question, but organic is better because they dont give the animals growth hormones so that their legs break and they get infections etc and are dragged along to be slaughtered. The other stuff may be just as bad, but at least they dont make them freakishly and unnaturally huge so they are in pain even more. My goal is to raise awareness so more people will realize what they are eating and how the animals are treated, and how we are destroying the earth and wasting water etc. it will make a difference, and I am going to have a meeting with my friends next week. Harvest for Hope said alot of things about the better companies, I dont know how to describe it.
ARG! None of my friends came to the meeting, they all waited until the day before to ask their parents and it was too late so they couldnt go, except for one of my friends who was sick that day. ARG! Why do they do that? So annoying!
I have just been told that Certain People had been advising my mother to put ground up bits of chicken and fish into my food for protein. She, however, told me of their scheme, and we shared an astonished laugh about it. But now I am really annoyed at the Certain People, who already think I am a Disturbed and Distraught Teenager, so now I shall try to hide from them (Well, no. But avoid them whenever possible). And not eat any food that they offer me!
purplefinch and Purple Panda –
I know what you mean about the Omnivore’s Dilemma making a big impression. I read it months ago and I still think about it a lot. The information about the sad lives of most beef cattle really upset me. And the realization that most “free-range” chicken really never step outside made me mad.
The food from the sustainable farm sounded great!!
Has it changed how you eat??
I think it has, or, at least, it’s changed how I think about what I eat. It made me really consider my vegetarianism, which I think was a good thing, because I really don’t think about not eating meat anymore. I mean, I just don’t eat meat… It’s become so regular for me, that… I don’t know. But when I kind of had to consider his view, I had to argue the reason for my vegetarianism. And the best argument I could come up with is: It’s better than the alternative for me at the present time. And it’s better for the environment. And I read the ingredient labels on thins, and see how much cornstarch is in things.
I really want to go visit a sustainable farm, now…
Somebody said today was hug a vegan/vegetarian day today.
I just found out that Kraft owns morning star and some other big company that uses growth hormones and other tortureish methods on their dairy cows etc. owns Boca!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *sobs* Now what do I do? I hate those people who could care less about cows!!!!!!!!!!! *cries*
(87) It’s a meat alternative that comes in a variety of forms: cutlets, roasts, ground, and so on. I don’t know if they do burgers or not. For people who miss the texture of meat (or are squeamish about tofu) it is almost indistinguishable from chicken when it’s added to stir fries, casseroles, mock-chicken salad and the like. I also slice the roast for sandwiches.
Thanks. As usual I have gone around school listening to people who know nothing about vegetarianism rant on about how stupid it is and talk about hunting. *clears voice and mimicks guy the other day* “once, like, I shot a deer in the eye, and it died” end of mimick. OMG ITS SO HORRIBLE BECAUSE HE DIDNT EVEN USE IT, HE JUST KILLED IT!!!!!
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MissSwann2223 has decided not to change her name says:
(101, et al.) Do you know the history of this thread? The original stalled out after a month, in July 2006, at 156 posts. Then this past June, almost an entire year later, someone rediscovered it, and in its new career it extended to 400 posts and spilled over into this thread. So I’d say it’s had rather an amazing life.
Burt’s bees is getting bought up by some big company that will put stuff we don’t want in their products, but that isn’t food…just my shampoo… well, I guess I could stop bathing and be real environmental! Stinky, but if NOBODY on the planet will make things naturally, what can I do?
I just checked my morningstar burgers box, and it says it is owned by Kelloggs. But maybe Kraft owns kelloggs, they seem to own everyone.
if i is my cue than i shall make a comment: i am not a vegitarian but i hate most meat. I dont even like looking at blood. I am not a vegitarin because (for some reason) i can’t give up chicken. or turkey. but i hate steak. end of story.
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Miss Swann who is happy it's thanksgiving vacation says:
If I had a lot of money I might buy a few hundred bottles of Burt’s bees shampoo and store them since they are being bought by whatever company….
I just don’t think people should eat meat. If an animal was domesticated by us to be eaten, it no longer represents something necessary nature put out there to keep the secondary consumers happy. Same with drinking cow milk at ridiculous ages, people didn’t drink milk for that long, and they were living rough lives chasing wooly mamoths and camel around (back in early North American Days, really early, but still…) And their bones obviously took a lot of beating, more than the normal american now.
116- There are some people who just don’t care about animals. They think that since meat tastes good, it gives them the right to slaughter living things for it. People in the meat companies don’t care for the welfare of animals, they just want to make a profit. It sickens me just to think about it. Grrr.
117- just like my bro. he is meat lover and any meal without meat is a meal not worth eating, to him. i think he thinks it makes him more of a man if he eats meat. the logic to that? i do not know.
97/98- i bet they think it makes them manly…. the losers.
Note to vegetarians who like to travel: don’t visit the alsase! I want there and i mostly ate pasta (except for the ight i accidentaly ate bacon “it’s potato” claimed my mother) so yeah. the alsase isn’t vegetarian friendly.
109-I know!!! It is horrible! I read that in the Jane Goodall book, Boca is also owned by Kraft!!!! *cries* And I also hate that I cant find marshmellows, or gummy bears or anything without gelatin because most people could care less that they are eating boiled tendons from poor animals.
117-I hate that. And I hate it when people say “I would be a vegetarian, but I just cant give up meat, it tastes soooooooooo good” Well I know how hard it is to give up delicious food, I have found out that animal products are in so many of my favorite foods, but if you really care that you are eating poor tortured animals, you should be able to not eat meat.
122- Some aren’t even aware of where gelatin comes from. I have lectured many a person about its origins. And it’s kind of annoying about the ‘I would but meat tastes yummy’ thing. Self-control is not that hard to manage. Just say ‘I wouldn’t,’ people…. -_-
124-Ya, I know, I have lectured people about the cruelty, and they lecture their parents, and their parents still think vegetarianism is wrong, because it is “unhealthy”. ARG!
I was thinking the other day. (Amazing, I know, but there you have it.) And I don’t really mind people eating meat, when they know where it came from and that it’s not neccisary. Someone who can butcher a hog, make sausages and eat them without being too grossed out has every right to eat the thing. Someone who thinks it’s clever of my cousin to draw a picture of a pig “laying” a ham, does not have the right to eat animals.
I’m not saying that I think eating meat id=s a good idea, but I’m saying that if everyone could know and understand just what was on their plate and realize that 1. It’s not nessecary for survival. 2. It’s bad for the environment. 3. It was alive once and there is no getting away from that fact. Of course, the rational conclusion would be more people becoming vegitarian, but so long as they have a mindset about what they are really doing, they can eat whatever they want.
For example, my grandmother refuses to accept thefact that cheese is mold. As long as she doesn’t have to see it or think about it, she has no problem eating it. When you say, “But, cheese is mold.” she gets a grossed out look on her face and makes shushing movements. This I can’t stand.
128-Oh my gosh its like you just read my mind. I know exactly how you feel!!! *hugs Midnight Fiddler as hard as she can* I am always telling people about what is in their food and stuff, because people have the right to know what they eat, and they are just like EW! and then keep eating it because it looks good. I HATE THAT! Now factories are always putting little tiny parts of animals, crushed beetles for color, something extracted from Beaver’s anal gland, and put it in food for little tweaks, like “its only a tiny bit of an animal” but to me its still an animal, so I dont want to eat it, but they dont put all those things under ingredients because of money or whatever. ARG!!!!!!! *stomps off*
Well, I step in once more, but this time it’s in agreement. Are you happy?
I was listening to The Omnivore’s Dilemma the other day and I have made a sort of half-promise to myself not to eat meat unless I know where it came from. This is what I have been telling you from the very beginning. It’s okay to eat meat if you know where it came from and are content with the fact. A lot of the meat that I have eaten comes from a neighbor’s animal or something like that, and in addition to it tasting better, I am not constantly disgusted by the knowledge that it came from an awful place that was both mentally and physically unhealthy. (Then again, I’m not too sure what goes on at the butcher’s. Oh wow. Never thought of it that way. Ick.)
Unfortunately, in the past several months, I’ve noticed that slipping, and myself eating meat that I don’t really want to eat. Except I do. But at the same time, I almost never eat meat anymore. I’m not sure what I do eat, some to think of it, and it probably isn’t half as nourishing as meat, but yeah . . .
When I wrote that I was thinking of a conversation with a guy who was saying that butchering a pig made him hungry. While I don’t share the veiw, (it made me rather sick,) I don’t really mind, since he knew as well as anyone where those sausages came from.
But, once people really realize what’s on their plate and what its affect on the world is, I think we’ll have a lot more vegitarians.
My cousin is in her second year of high school and she became a vegetarian like…….last Christmas. Stories of what people say to her makes me sick. Like this one girl was talking about how much she loved this buffalo wings place, and Katie (my cousin) said that she missed it because she became a vegetarian before it opened. The girl goes, “Well why dont you just eat a little bit and then stop eating meat again?” and Katie goes “because I am a vegetarian” the girl just didnt get it apparently. And people are always telling her how stupid she is etc. *sigh* I cant wait until high school, I can use all my come backs that I have come up with.
Okay… what about ethics of dissection? As in sheep hearts?
*faints even more*
I’m not certain whether to do the alternate assignment, or just live through it (We are doing it with partners, so…). I think if I just do the book work, and maybe watch…but… I can’t decide if I’m just squeamish, or if I think it’s wrong (Yes, I do think it’s wrong, actually, now, when most of us are never going to actually need to know this info after this year, unless we become doctors [no thanks], so…)
But it won’t make any difference, and I don’t want to be fussy and make a scene (although the teacher said that if we were REALLY uncomfortable with it, there was something else we could do). But the sheep hearts are already ordered. And they’re going to be cut up anyway…?
137/139~ There is a website called GoFrog, that allows you do virtually dissect a frog. It actually is pretty good, it has you watch a movies of someone dissecting the frog and talking about what he’s doing, then you answer a few questions that you should have learned by watching it, and go on the the next step.
If anyone else has similar problems about dissecting, you may want to look into it and see if your teacher would be willing to let you do that instead of a real one. Just a suggestion.
the only reason fart smells bad is if you have eaten meat, cheese, eggs, or stuff like that before you farted. If all you’ve eaten is vegetables, your fart doesn’t smell that bad.
144~Hmm, I don’t know. Farts are still unpleasent, even living in a household of vegans. (My mom, dad and I all are.)
However, on the subject, when a person is vegan or vegitarian beans don’t make them fart. People who eat meat have very acidic systems to break down the meat, and it can’t handle beans. Which, ironically, are more natural to eat for a human anyway. Go figure.
Plus, body odor is stronger in meat eating people. A vivid example was when I lent some colonial clothes to a friend, when I stink them up it only take one washing to clean them. After my friend wore them it took several and still had a faint smell. This is no offence to my friend, I’m merely using it as an example.
145-that is really interesting. the other day I was listening to the news and they said that meat eaters are at way more risk to many cancers than vegetarians. Steak can cause colan cancer,
Yet Another Observation of Danish People Other Than Me
Danes have got some sort of problem with vegetarians. I havenever et another danish vegetarian. I was at a class party and there was a buffet. I helped my self to some pasta salad and a mother offered me some flæskesteg. (It’s pork, with fatty pork rinds on. It’s a delecasy. Often eaten at Yule.) I declained, explaining to her that I’m vegetarian. She rolled her eyes and turned away. Her eight-year-old son tugged on her sleeve and asked what a vegetarian is. She replied “It’s a very fancy word for a very fancy, picky, and rude person.*
147- well! what a very fancy piky and rude person she was! honestly calling you rude because you choose not to eat animals is incredibly rude. my advice for the next time this happens is to say (insetead of pointing out you’re vegetarian because some people feel threatened by people pointing out they’re vegitarian) “Oh thank you sooo much. I’ll have some in a bit.” the trick is to fill your plate with salad and whatever else you can eat like bread so you can say “oh I’d love to, it looks so good but as you can see my plate is a little full.” or claim that “It looks so deliciouse but i’m getting kinda full. it’s a real shame, mabe next time.” some might say it’s bad to lie like this and that whats the point of being a vegetarian when you can’t have people accomodate you. well i say there are a lot of evil people out there who don’t understand and it’s better to politely lie than to sya something not intended in a rude way wich leaves you being stabbed in the soul by ruder people.
148- ‘cus it’s not something you can really respond to.
1) Because my parents were
2) Because a freind was
3) Personal health reasons
4) Concern about the environment
5) Concern about animal cruelty
6) Because meat is expensive
7) Because of a bet
My cousin became a vegetarian for 2 months because of a bet. She got off the bet on Thanksgiving and went CRAZY eating all the ham and turkey! It was disturbing
150- i don’t apply to that list. it grosses me out to eat animals. i don’t enjoy it. it feels like i am eating dead people. my answer to why i’m vegetarian is : because i just am. people always want indepth reasons and really it’s non of their buisness. i don’t mind you asking of course but people i barely know at school ask and it’s like “why isn’t my answer good enough?”
by the way… has anyone seen sweeny todd? *chuckles* hehehehe meat pies hehehehehe *shudders*
I do sort-of get annoyed when people I barely know ask me about that, too. It always seems as if I’m being made to feel as if I should be defending myself. Sigh.
I just read that a lot of cat and dog furs are sold as rabbit and foxfur. Check your fur. If it comes from china, japan, korea, vietnam, Russia, Finland, spain, Indonesia, etc, there’s a really big chance that it is cat or dog and is sold as rabbit and fox.
Or just stop buying leather and fur.
AAAAHHHHHHHHHHRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! EEEEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Little pet doggies!!!!! WAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! DDDDOOOOOOGGGGGIIIIIEEEEESSSSS !!!!!!!!!!!! THEY ARE SKINNING DOGGIES ALIVE!!!!!!!!!! *crawls into corner. cries. very hard. *
GRRR I get so mad when something isnt illegal JUST AND ONLY because important people who happen to be involved in the bussiness that make a lot of money only care about money and think that that is a good enough reason to keep doing it. For instance, cigarrettes, tobacco etc. GR
You know I just remembered something. Sometime on museblog someone said that something cant be made illegal unless someone can prove it harms other people (I am sure it is soooo much more complicated than that, and I will feel stupid after posting this, but give me feedback please!!!!). Well slaughterhouses use TONS AND TONS AND TONS of antibiotics on the animals, and I read in “Harvest for Hope” that the germs and bacteria in the slaughterhouses gradually get used to them and the antibiotics arent effected by them anymore, so they have to come up with new antibiotics. Well think about it, it also said that someday, since bacteria is getting used to all these antibiotics we use, that humans etc wont be immune to germs anymore. BIG PROBLEM. Now should antibiotics be illegal in slaughterhouses?
Question:what’s the difference between dogs and cats being killed and skinned and foxes and rabbits being killed and skinned? Answer: None.
Did you guys learn about the beaver pelts and england sveral hundred years ago? no? let me tells you. when people first started coming over to Canada and stuff the found beavers and consequently beaver pelts. they brought the pelts back to england and they were made into hats and the beaver hats became very very poppular so the people back in canada just kept killing beavers. the stupid part is that most of the pelts just lay in storage rooms rotting! and this almost put the beavers into extinction. Canada’s national animal was almost killed off! *ow my carpal tunnel* so uh yeah. that’s how the hudson bay company (the bay) got started!
Yes, and in the meantime they totally cheated the Indians. *cough, cough* All in the name of trade, of course…
Although, I wear leather shoes, because there is simply nothing that works as well. When they come up with a vegan alternative that is as good, looks and works the same way and isn’t hard on the planet to produce, I’ll use it. Untill then, I think I’ll stick to my un-vegan shoes, sorry.
::waves to MF:: Hello! I haven’t seen you in awhile.
I have one vegan friend, and I always go to her house after the holidays to help her out by eating all the chocolate she can’t have. I feel ever so helpful!
But, on a really bright note, my parents started to buy soymilk! ::jumps for joy, dhd::
The best malted milk balls in the world are Maltesers from Great Britain. You can sometimes find them in specialty import shops. I vaguely remember having seen them somewhere in Frederick, Maryland, but I might be confused about that. They leave Whoppers in the dust.
I’ve never had them, but now I really want to try them. My dad loves malted milk balls, but I’ve only had Whoppers, so I probably don’t know what a real malted milk ball tastes like.
Whoppers are good, but my favorite malted milk balls are from Switzerland, where my grandparents went once. It is so true– they are like 300% better that Whoppers.
I hate it when people randomly point out that I am a vegetarian to new people they made friends with. Well acutally I somewhat like it because then they find out what a vegetarian actually is, since apparently most kids at my school are only familiar with stereotypes from their parents. *growls* But I mean then they are like “You are a vegetarian?! What do you eat?! How do you live?!” Its so stupid.
172 through 175~ I’ll have to check that out. Fredrick, Maryland, you say? Hmmm. *ponders* I wonder if one might find them in the fancy (and expensive) candy shop in Merchants’ Square, right outside of Colonial Williamsburg….they have some specialty stuff like that.
Usually I just end up eating the ones that you find at the store in the bulk section: too much cheap chocolate and now at much malted milk. But at Halloween I usually end up with a package or two of Whoppers and savor them to the very last.
176~ What gets me is when these grandmotherly ladies are talking to me and it comes out that I’m vegan. (Ironic, after just writing a long thing on malted milk balls, I know, but please forgive me.) Then, these people start looking at me like I’m going to fall down dead at any minute, and start asking me if I’m healthy enough. *ahem* Yes, I beleive I am.
178-Ok sorry to argue about religion, but they torture animals that people eat in slaughterhouses, they skin and boil them alive, dont feed them barely anything, or meat from their own species, grind baby chickens up alive for chicken soup, keep them in cages they can move in…..I ask you, would God want animals to be treated like that just so you can eat them?
Please dont get mad at me for that statement but I am simply answering your question.
182) okay well you got me there, I admit. Sorry for my poor response.
many people who are vegetarians though, as Dancergirl13, protest the cruelty to animals in the methods of slaughter. I don’t disagree with you that meat is tasty but it’s more the principal of it.
180, 182- Well those comments are very hurtful to me as a vegetarian. And I dont believe god would want animals skinned AND DISMEMBERED alive just for us to eat. Do you even care about animals being tortured? Back when god first created animals it was fine becuase people killed them when they needed them, and didnt turn them into food machines. Saying meat is tasty on this thread isnt nice. So please, respect us vegans and vegetarians.
183-Thank you! I am not very good at defending myself…..wow…I need to work on that becuase i believe in vegetarianism 1000% and will be starting high school soon where everyone will attack me for it……
185) Never give up on the things you believe in. I read somewhere we waste so much time changing ourselves or holding back for the good of people who don’t really care, who matter least (aka the thought of “everyone”.) So it’s better to just be yourself and who cares about anything else
That said I think I’m going to slowly stop eating meat…
I need to stop forgetting to check this thread *pies self*
OK, let’s not begin bringing in religion here. It is true, the current treatment of farm animals is insanely cruel. I have seen movies on the HSUS website of the conditions they are in, and you would feel like removing the last inch of meat from your body the instant you saw it. The conditions are downright unhealthy for people. Mad cow disease. There aren’t too many mad broccoli diseases going around. In fact I just read about mad cow in biology today. Bird flu. It will eventually completely spread to people, and maybe that will be what finally rids the Earth of our hideously wasteful, cruel, and polluting selves. And we will have killed ourselves, yes, the supposed smartest animal on Earth killing itself by mistreating animals we claimed dumb.
My, that was a long rant. But it was all useful, I hope…
Honestly, I don’t know why people get so much grief about being vegetarian. I know tons of vegetarians and am almost a vegetarian myself, and I don’t really see them get any of this at school, and elsewhere. My parents talk about how a vegan diet doesn’t make any sense (which I stand up for and defend if my life depended on it), but it’s hard for me to believe that people don’t understand not-eating-meat. (That’s not meant to deny that it has happened to people, I’m more flabberghasted at the ignorant people who do this.)
Sorry to everyone who didnt want religion in this, because I didnt either, I dont believe all that stuff, I just thought I would try to explain it from someone elses point of view.
191-Oh my gosh I know!!! Its like, I dont eat meat, get over it! Its my decision!
A book I recommend is “You Don’t Need Meat” by Peter Cox. I haven’t read all of it, but my mom read it and read some of it to me as well…It’s scary, there are gruesome bits but really it’s all worth knowing.
188) Not to bring religion into the veggie-tarian topic, but really. God created the animals first, then Adam, who watched over them. There is nothing in the Bible about animals keepig Adam company. I just don’t want people misinterpreting my faith.
—
I’m doing a research report on vegetarianism. Are there any particular books to read/sites to visit?
196- oh, no, read the bible. all of Genesis 2 sounds good. remember, there are two creation stories. in the second one, adam, then animals, then eve.
I’m Christian, but I don’t believe creation. it’s a fable, like noah.
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Sam the Tenrec returns for another episode of-- says:
I really hate vegemite…REALLY…which is hard..living in New Zealand which is Vegemite/Marmite-a-go-go land its like TAR!!!!
sorry if I changed the tune of the thread somewhat but stil
yeuch
also I never knew untill last night that wine has fish in it blargh
I was vegetarian for three weeks in June ’06 and then at my friends party she had chicken pizza and that was where it all went horribly wrong still it was nice
196- I highly recommend “Harvest For Hope” by Jane Goodall. At the beginning it just talks about food, but as you get into it it is almost all vegetarian and vegan pros and cons. Ish. yah. Anyway.
i tried giving up meat for lent one year as an excuse to try vegetarianism, but my mom forced me to stop
my cousins are vegan and they don’t have any problems with it and i tried to live like them and it’s surprisingly easy if u can give up real milk and chocolate. (recommendation-don’t ever try caribou chips, they look exactly like chocolate chips but taste completely different in a bad way)
While I don’t see much to be gained currently by going vegetarian, especially since I haven’t meat in quite a while anyway, I do think that I’d like to try the hundred mile diet, which I was going to do and then never got around to because I started school and was really busy and I needed to eat sandwiches every day which required bread which has to be grown far away.
204~ I am a vegan and my Dad is a beekeeper. Some vegans don’t eat honey, but many do. Some won’t wear wool; I love the stuff. They sometimes don’t use leather or silk either, but I use both. It all depends on how strict you are, or what is practical.
Then again, I’m not a vegetarian, I don’t practice vegetarianism, I don’t like vegetables, and I’ve never even tasted vegemite. I’ll stick with peanut butter, thank you very much.
I’m kind of a “One Meat” vegetarian: I don’t eat any pork products.
my sister is becoming a vegetarian, and I seem to be the only person who has a problem with it. my parents think its cute, and they are letting her do it. too bad my sister is only doing this so she can be diffferent than me, and to make me mad, and shes not doing it for a cause. i guess thats why it makes me mad
I’m planning on becoming a vegetarian as soon as I leave the house. My parents won’t really let me become a vegetarian right now, and it would be kind of impossible at the moment (unless I wanted to cook and buy all of my food). I might still occasionally eat free-range chicken, but that’s all. Yay vegetarian!
176- “what do you eat?” that’s a pretty stupid question as it is rather obviouse….. uh well, stuff that doesn’t have meat in it. in case they hadn’t noticed there are four food groups. FOUR! and you can eat from each of them even if you’re vegetarian (meat alternatives, dairy, grain, fruits and veggies) what silly children. gives consolation pie.
178- i don’t eat animals because it feels like i’m eating dead people.
184- there will always be people out there who don’t understand your views. those coments may have been hurtful but you also need to learn to ignore. you can’t always get mad when people enjoy meat. i’m just saying learn to ignore, though i do understand how you feel.
185- like i said learn to ignore. at my school no one attacks me for being vegetarian. barely anyone knows i’m vegetarian because i don’t make a big deal about it. just keep the fact that you’re vegetarian to yourself and you won’t be attacked by small minded people.
189- totaly.
211- whatever, it’s her diet. i don’t really understand why it bothers you.
209) same with me, no pork. Not for religious reasons, but because as a seven year old I loved pigs and was horrifying by the concept of eating them…no pork since. Of course there’s always the pepperoni I miss when I’m having pizza or something, but I as a rule don’t eat pork.
Maybe that’s how vegetarianism goes… You just get used to it?
1) I read that article in Muse from the first/tenth birthday issue.
2) Pigs are funny
3) Pork is gross in the first place
4) Especially with no mustard
5) In fact, I don’t really like mustard
6) So I probably shouldn’t eat it either
7) STOP KILLING THE MUSTARD!
8) *protests*
I’ve never really eaten meat in my life except for a piece of shrimp when I was two, so I don’t “miss the taste” or anything. I’m glad I’ve never had to get used to being vegetarian. I wish I could be vegan, but my mom won’t let me…=/
I’m not vegetarian, but one of my friends is. She really isn’t that strict…here’s her diet:
-No beef, unless it’s her mom’s beef soup
-No pork, ham, turkey (she’s fairly strict on this)
-No chicken whatsoever (she owns chickens) unless she’s at Panda Express, and then she gets Orange Chicken. Or she steals mine.
She calls herself a Flexitarian. I call her an Idontlikemeatbutimnotreallyavegetarianarian.
I like meat. Meat tastes good. But when I eat meat I can’t shake the fact that I’m eating dead flesh that has been cooked until decomposing process has been stopped, lightly seasoned with salt (mmmmmm, salt.).
I became a vegetarian about three years ago (I think?), although I wish I did it sooner.
I enjoyed the taste of meat, when I ate it.
219-That article (and the drawing of the pigs) caused my little brother to try to be a vegetarian. He quit after a week, though… *grumbles*
147-That’s horrible! That poor child, to have a mother like that…
I disagree with fur-wearing, especially now that we have synthetic stuff (even though it may be made out of some form of oil… I’m not sure).
211-How old is she, approximately? How do you know that she’s doing this for attention? (I, as an older sibling, know that things like that can be sometimes annoying… but if she really wants to, it’s not harming anybody, that I can see, except the meat industry. And that doesn’t bother me…)
I don’t really eat meat that much. I had some on pizza yesterday, but I think I’m going to stop eating meat on pizza because it looks awful, however it tastes.
205-Your comment made me laugh when you said the bread is grown far away. I know you didn’t mean to say it like that so no offense, but I just found it amusing.
I’m a pescetarian, and I think that’s as close to veggie I’ll ever get because I just really love seafood.
I don’t mind people eating meat if the raise the animals humanely on a small farm. At my old school there was a kid who’s family had a farm and they ate their own animals. So many people were offended because his dad killed them, but those animals were treated better and killed more quickly than the ones they eat.
A few days ago in Social Studies a girl was talking about that kid. She said that he shared bacon with her once, and proceeded to state the following “slaughtered meat tastes better than normal meat”. My history teacher and most of the people in the class were laughing histerically.
A guy in my SS class just became an un-vegetarian.
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Aeiou's Homboy who is incredibly sorry he hasn't posted in months!!! says:
ooooo00000OOOOOO!! I’m vehetarian. I’m happy that America has enough corn to feed a third world country, but !@@%$^#$ MAD that they use it to feed cows sick amounts of food just to kill them and sell them off to McDonald’s for like $1!!!
230- Yeah!!! and u know how much gas is ruining the ozone because of the plants that slaughter the cows??? *outraged and throws bunnies at random peeps* GaH!!
one of my friends is outreaged that they’d sell cloned meat, unmareked in supermarekets in the US. I don’t see her point. you’re still eating meat. whats the difference really, when you think about it?
(239) Most avid gardeners clone plants on a regular basis to make more plants for themselves or to share them with friends. It’s cheaper than buying new plants and faster than seeds, though some plants lend themselves to the process more readily than others. Also, some plants are patented and therefore illegal to clone.
These laws typically grant the plant breeder control of the propagating material (including seed, cuttings, divisions, tissue culture) and harvested material (cut flowers, fruit, foliage) of a new variety for a number of years. With these rights, the breeder can choose to become the exclusive marketer of the variety, or to license the variety to others. In order to qualify for protection by plant breeders’ rights, a variety must be new, distinct, uniform and stable.
Genetic modification is quite scary, though I’m not really worried about it, for my own health at least. It has definitely become a problem internationally, but I only eat vegetables from our garden in our backyard so it’s not such a big deal from my family.
It is kind of strange to see how things are marketed, and how they have changed due to hormones and genetic modification. Now, milk containers say in big letters, “No rBGH,” and the new “in” is organic because of genetic modification and pesticides and other such unwanted-things.
I always beg my dad to buy organic food now, because of the genetically modified stuff, it grosses me out so much. And then there are those companies that transport the fruit and put DYE IN THEM to make them look fresh. How discusting is that? I want to eat REAL, FRESHfood thank you very much. I sometimes have to eat non organic fruit and veggies, but if I am lucky mom will go grocery shopping, and she buys organic as much as possible.
IF YOU LIKE MILK AND CANT BUY ORGANIC, OR ARE EASILY DISCUSTED DO NOT READ THE FOLLOWING.
I read in my Jane Goodall book, that when milking cows in factories their utters get all pussy and gross with some wierd problem, and of course the stupid people dont ‘have time’ to help them, so they leave it in your milk and just mix it in. In most countries there is only a 2% amount of pussy stuff aloud in it, but have they made that law in the U.S? NO! How NASTY is that? That is why I will never drink milk that isnt organic again. Who wants to be drinking puss from a cow utter? EW! By the way, sorry for making you read that. *is grossed out*
I eat nothing that walks on land. I eat almost anything that comes from the sea. I’ve been a vegetarian for a while, and I used to eat organic all the time. In my current living situation, however, that’s impossible. At my boarding school, all our meals are supplied by SodexHo. Ew.
245 (Otzi)- Sodexho? I am so sorry. -commiserates-
I realized that I hadn’t posted on this vegetarian thread, just the old one. So here’s Part One of my little vegetarian spiel (Part Two, which is on evangelical vegetarianism, will appear as soon as I write it), which will no doubt put me at odds with pretty much everyone else on the thread. You are welcome to disagree with me, of course.
The Case for Selfish Vegetarianism
I’m vegetarian for a variety of reasons: I don’t like the taste of meat; it’s more healthy for me to be vegetarian; a vegetarian diet costs less to produce and consume. You might notice something missing from this list: the poor tortured animals. While I don’t have to experience the personal guilt that comes from eating a creature that died inhumanely, that’s not why I don’t eat them. My vegetarianism is human-oriented.
By this point the more PETA-ish reader may be thinking that I am a selfish, heartless person who doesn’t understand what vegetarianism is all about. Unsurprisingly, I disagree. Saying that you’re vegetarian for the animals and then expecting people to believe you are a paragon of selflessness is, quite frankly, deception. Vegetarianism “for the animals” is no less selfish or more noble than any other form: what it boils down to is personal distaste for eating slaughtered animals. Of course this can spring from concern for the animals, but you don’t eat meat because it makes you feel bad or irresponsible.
Vegetarianism as animal activism doesn’t make a lot of sense either. In an ideal world, everyone would be a happy vegetarian and there would be no need to kill animals at all. But, as I’m sure you’ve noticed, this is not an ideal world, and animals are going to keep on dying for food whether you like it or not. Vegetarians, while we may be standing up for our beliefs, have less impact on the meat industry than concerned, responsible omnivores. Think about it this way: vegetarians take profit away from slaughterhouses, but responsible omnivores take it away and give it instead to meat producers who ensure that their animals are given proper living conditions. In this profit-oriented world, the pocketbook may be the best way to send the meat industry the message that it needs to shape up.
I’m not telling you that you shouldn’t be a vegetarian–that would be rather hypocritical of me–just that you should think about the real effects of your choice before you make it. If you’re really concerned about slaughterhouses and factory farming, you might want to become a more responsible omnivore instead. On the other hand, if you’re worried about your health, your taste buds, or your conscience, go right ahead and stop eating meat. It’s okay to be a selfish vegetarian.
246-Um…actually, I dont like the WAY they kill and treat the animals, not the fact that they kill them (that didnt come out right), I mean, I am more concerned about the way they slaughter them, than the fact that they do it. I totally realize that there is no way everyone will become a vegetarian, but I think it is terrible the way they treat them, and that humans are more civalized than to dismember animals alive and torture them to death. They boil pigs alive, skin and dismember cows alive, keep chickens in cages and make them egg laying machines until they cant stand up anymore, feed calfs practically no iron to a point of such utter sickness they try to eat anything they can get their poor little mouths to.
246-And, beleive it or not, there are millions of vegetarians, and they do impact the meat industry. Think about it, if all those millions of people weren’t vegetarians, the meat industry would produce more meat, torture more animals, and make more money. But they dont, do they, because those millions of people are vegetarians. You may not think it effects them, but just think about it.
Dancergirl13- I’m aware of the horrible conditions in factory farms, and I agree that they’re a problem. But you completely missed the point of the second half of my rant, which is that people who want to make a difference should consider eating meat from well-treated animals instead of cutting it out of their diet completely. That way, the meat industry gets the message that it should be treating its animals better as opposed to simply killing less of them. Of course vegetarians make a difference (I never said they didn’t); I’m just arguing that responsible omnivores have more of an impact.
249-Well I dont say that I agree, but it doesnt really matter.
I just discovered that there is another ingredient fellow vegetarians should be on the look out for in salty foods such as chips. It is called monosodium glutamate and comes from pork or something, but anyhow its not vegetarian. I actually remembered to look after eating a bag of delicious fattening cheetos last night on the way home from a dance concert, and sure enough, there it was. So I am afraid that Doritos and cheetos, though very delicous, are not completely vegetarian if you care. I dont know if my fellow vegetarians on this thread are that strict, but I just though I would inform you. It has also been brought to my knowlage that skittles, starburst, laffy taffy, and conversation hearts (those chalky things) all have gelatin in them also. *sigh* Oh well.
You can relax: monosodium glutamate (MSG) is not an animal product. Here is what the Food and Drug Administration’s website says about it:
Asians originally used a seaweed broth to obtain the flavor- enhancing effects of MSG, but today MSG is made by a fermenting process using starch, sugar beets, sugar cane, or molasses.
251-YAYAYAYAY!!!!! *celebrates* Thank you sooooo much!!!! I missed my Cheetos!!!!
252-I have no idea. But I checked the back of the packages. Sometimes they use it to like, help whatever it is keep fresh longer. But I dont know. Why cant people leave animal products out of things they dont belong in?
Wow, if you guys havnt ever heard of it, there is this really cool website called [sorry! outside link snipped — Rosanne]
It has all kinds of stuff about animal cruelty, the environment, pollution, and government regulations. Also, there are tips about going veg and vegan, and all this other cool stuff. There is stuff you can buy too, and there is a bag with a little chicken on it, that says “I am not a nugget”. So cute!!!
i love vegemite. my mom grew up in australia and she orders a whole lot of australian food from this catalogue she gets. i love australian candy. i have vegemite on my bagels yum!!!
my mom always buys organic/all natural foods. i’m afraid i lack the willpower to become a vegetarian, i love meat too much.
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ZVX, formerly known as Mouse. (210 piepoints, says:
you guys ever heard of a Frutitarian? neither had i until a few days ago when my sisters friend from college was telling me about it.
but apparently they’re people who live solely off….fruit. and it’s got to be fruit that’s fallen from the tree, it can’t be picked.
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ZVX, formerly known as Mouse. (210 piepoints, says:
-178, d’you honestly believe that “God” made animals for us?
no, he didn’t. they all evolved, we started eating them a loooooooooooooooooooong way back, why? because we were trying to survive, if you can’t bring yourself to realize that, then don’t post about things you don’t know. i don’t have a problem with eating animals so long as it’s done ethically, but to use God as an excuse just doesn’t cut the mustard.
Sure, i fish and then eat the fish, but you have to come to terms with it, you can’t just say: “God put this fish here for me, so it doesn’t matter how much pain it endures.”
It’s good to be vegetarian/vegan because cows/sheep produce methane which contributes to global warming and because their are many developing countries with starving people whose farmers grow their crops and sell them to the U.S. to feed the cattle instead of feeding it to the people in their country who are starving because they can get more money for it. With the future population this will not be sustainable because we need to use those crops to feed people not cows! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
257- I agree. I tell people about the horrors of slaughterhouses, and they say “God put the animals on this planet for us to eat” or “It’s in the Bible” and I am just like, I dont really think God would want you to not care about the torture of helpless animals…..
I am a semi-vegeterian (as in *looks guilty* I eat chicken and fish). Whenever I tell people, “I’m a vegeterian but I eat chicken and fish,” they say, “No you’re not.” Whereas when I tell them, “I’m not a vegeterian, I eat chicken and fish,” he/she always says, “Sure you are.” So I am super duper confused.
Hmm. I don’t really know much about the Bible, but I think the part about animals was that we were to control them and be responsible for them or something. Correct me if I’m wrong about that. If that is true though, I don’t think we are doing a good job of being responsible for the animals.
*is a Bible dunce*
274-Ah Its ok, I know this is a bit different since I am not religious, but I could tell you nothing of the Bible except that Adam and Eve bit into an apple that they werent supposed to. Dont feel bad.
Man, within the last month i have been trying to be vegan. But, with no stores around that sell vegan stuff, it was very difficult, and I know I sound like I just dont want to try, or am not ( i get mad at people when they do that) but I really tried. PLus, my parents have had less money recently because of the stupid gas prices which are like 4 bucks a galon now, so ya. My dad really wants to be vegan though too, so we may just get there someday!!!
276-In Asia even though they eat meat they are fairly healthy because its mixed in with other things. My aunt who is originally from China said that when she was little she always wanted to eat a big slab of meat (sorry for the gross thought of one) instead of the little chunks mixed in with other things! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
i did a project on it in history last year, intending to read Vegetarianism and The Bloodless Revolution, but that was a joke because i definately had time for 700+ pages of nonfiction.
but i’ll read them….eventually….like all of my books Dx
Oh my gosh you guys! I ordered a lunchbox that says “no animals in here” from PETA!!! It is so awesome!!! My mom says we may also become a member, I am so excited!!!
I have never tried vegemite, but it sounds……interesting.
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SuperUnicorn (formerly known as killerchipmunk if you were here last july-ish) says:
275 and anyone interested- petakids.com has a link to a page called “accidentally vegan” that lists vegan products by category (breakfast, lunch, snack, etc). you can also get them to mail you free stickers if you search “free stickers” on the petakids website. they say things like “meat’s no treat for those you eat” with a chicken and “100% cruelty free” with two white rats.
279- i have had vegemite a long time ago and didn;t like it, but kind of want to try it again.
about the bible… somehow i can’t be ok with people saying that torture is in the bible. nowhere does it say that you shouldn’t eat meat, but adam and eve were vegetarians until they got kicked out of eden. so sort of in the perfect world you don’t eat the animals (?)…. i guess that’s sort of how i see it.
I’m mostly vegetarian. That is, I avoid meat most of the time, but eat it when not doing so would change my family’s lifestyle. I don’t want my dad to have to drive extra to go to a store that sells tofu, or to have to make two dinners a night (my parents aren’t vegetarian.) It’s an interesting way to live.
282- Maybe my family’s just weird, but I’m the only vegetarian and we make one dinner. (Sorry if that sounded like bragging, it wasn’t, just saying that it’s possible) It’s easy with stuff like pasta, rice and beans or pizza, because most people accept that those can be meatless and they’re still filling. Especially rice or pasta with beans and veggies, which is really good and you can find it at any store. If they have to have meat but cook it on the side then you can still have a healthy meatless meal.
Dancergirl – I get email newsletters from PETA..I really like them! The lunchbox sounds awesome.
I reeeeally want to become vegetarian, but I won’t really be able to, because my parents probably won’t feed me. I just checked out about 20 books from the library about vegetarianism, etc., which will help me figure out how to convince my parents to, well, feed me. *hopes*
284- I have this great book called “raising vegetarian children” that’s aimed at parents who want their kids to be vegetarians or whose kids want to be vegetarians. It talks about how to make sure your kids get the right nutrition, what they need, etc, and has recipies in the back. So, dunno what books you have and what’s in them but if you see that one (would probably be at a bookstore) then take a look.
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Midnight Fiddler (she of the 2 spdzk and 1 B-day point[s]) says:
Oh boy, now we get into meat eating and the Bible…..
Just a note, some people will say that we should eat meat because it’s in the Bible. Well, it’s in the translation. Many time in the Bible when they use the word “meat” they actually meant “bread.” Others might say that it goes against the 10 Commandments, in “Thou shalt not kill.” I usually try not to Bible thump when defending my eating choices, really, I think that the Bible should be used more for setting a spiritual lifestyle than for discussing meat. It’s pretty irrelevant, really.
However, I do stand in favor of vegetarianism, or veganism, in this day and age. In my mind, it’s a responsible and healthy choice. Responsible because meat takes up so many more resources to produce just one pound of it, water to grow the plants the animal ate, water to hydrate the animal, soil to grow the plants, etc., etc. It goes on. If we could use those resources directly, it would be healthier for the planet AND for its people.
Healthy because we simply DON”T NEED to eat meat and dairy to survive. Humans are the only animal that (1.) drinks the milk of another animal; and (2.) drinks milk beyond infancy or childhood. Hmm, so what do we see here? Is dairy necessary? I don’t think so. Obviously, we can survive without meat, I’m even an example of that. I’ve somehow lived for nearly 16 years and been very healthy and never had meat, I rest my case, IT”S NOT NECESSARY.
And even more so now, with all the hormones that are fed to the animals, how do we expect that that won;t end up on our plates?
Anyway, there are some of my ideas, I hope I didn’t bore you to much.
I just don’t eat meat because I just get grossed out at the thought of eating something that has LIVED before. It’s like a thing just ripping you apart and eating you. *shudders* Did you know, that taco bell meat is grade D, which is in DOG FOOD?
I have officially decided to become vegetarian, this summer. I would do it sooner, but my family is under a ton of stress right now, so I’m going to wait until the summer when everything is more calmed down and I have time to make my own meals, if necessary. I still have yet to tell my parents, but I’m going to wait until all of my books come in from the library!
Another thought, did you know that cows can’t actually naturally digest corn? Strange, isn’t it, with so much corn being grown for cows that it isn’t a food that they can eat. Well, in order for them to be able to digest it the farmers have to give the animals–you guessed it– MORE medicines, etc., just so they can eat what they’re being fed! Now, does this make ANY sense to you? If so, please enlighten me.
292~ Yes, it’s opinion. However, there are choices that one can make that are a bit better for their bodies and the planet we all have to live on. I’m not saying that everyone should be vegan, but it might just help out a bit with some of the problems that we’re facing.
293- That’s strange. Since there has been so much corn sold for Ethanol, there’s a corn shortage for animals, which makes all animal products (and by-products) really expensive.
A lot of cow feed is corn, or includes corn.
Have you ever noticed that a lot of products contain whey? If so, did you know that whey is a waste product of milk? So, we’ve got all these milk by-products, what to do with them? Put them in all sorts of other foods!! So we’re actually eating waste. Nice, huh?
298~ Well, this thread has been stagnant for a while now, but it seems that we were talking about the amount of food being grown for feeding cows, which are then turned into meat. If you’d like to add anything about that, go ahead. If you want to talk about a different aspect of vegetarianism, then feel free to change the focus.
Are you new? If so, *pies* Forgive me if I’m wrong, I can never keep up with all the newbies, oldbies, infrequent visitors, etc.
301~ Is it that salty blackish paste that the Aussies love? If so, it’s not too bad, I’ve had it before. It’s just rather……salty and blackish paste. Oh well.
In response to “The man for AEIOU”‘s question about vegetarian marshmallows if you live near San Jose there’s a really good place called Taj Mahal Imports store where they sell marshmallows that are vegan, kosher, halal, and vegetarian. Instead of gelatin they use Agar- Agar which comes from plants.
299~ *ducks pie* *misses and ends up getting hit by it anyways because of superb clumsiness* What kinda pie? I either wanna eat it or wash it off.
You know what I hate? When you go to those restaurants that have no vegetarian options! And the few ones they have taste nasty or are just salads, and no offense, but you get sick of those!
Oh, people should know: The Unfortunate Truth and Super Size Me are great movies….
Any green freaks here?? Or am I alone.
Factoid: Macdonald’s was framed; they didn’t cut down the rain forest; as soon as they found out their suppliers were they backed out of the deal and never bought from them. now i am NOT a Macdonald’s supporter, by all means bring down the fast food companies, but they were innocent in that matter.
Another Factoid: Cows are cannibals. They’re fed their own intestines, hearts and liver mashed in the grain. aka: the parts of a cow the companies can’t sell.
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Miss Inpronouncable, previously known as NAPOI says:
304~ What flavor do you want it to be? I made it out of my super-secret-awesome-virtual recipe, so it is whatever flavor you like the very bestest. Dig in!!
Re: Cows as cannibals: yes, they are fed these things to get rid of them, not by choice. Do you honestly think that a plant eating animal such as a cow would eat meat in any form if it were in a natural setting? I certainly don’t. It’s put in their feed, but it’s not because it’s particularly good for the cows, or that they are made for eating that way.
(315) There isn’t that much traffic on this thread, so it’s easy to miss questions once they’ve passed recent comments. One can still ask politely, whatever the case.
Wikipedia defines vegemite as follows:
Vegemite is a dark brown savoury food paste made from yeast extract, used mainly as a spread on sandwiches, toast and cracker biscuits, as well as a filling of pastries like Cheesymite scroll, in Australia and New Zealand. It is similar to British and New Zealand Marmite and to Swiss Cenovis.
This thread is dead. Or dying at least.
In the newspaper recently there was an article about the sustainability of meat eating…looks interesting, I’ll have to go read it later.
322-It was pretty hard, because my family eats a lot of meat, but it got easier when she sent me an e-card from PETA and it made me want to, like, NEVER EAT MEAT AGAIN. Did you know that in every package of chicken there’s a little poop? Ewww.
Can I post the link, GAPAs, or should I just do directions from Google? It’s a pretty safe site, I geuss, but I dunno.
Dad gets Boca burgers, and I just pile on ketsup until I can’t taste it anymore, and there goes my meat cravings. Pretty simple.
323-Yup.
324-lol I saw the word “Clarissa” and I was like “OMG SOMEONE KNOWS ANOTHER PERSON NAMED CLARISSA” and then I was “oh it’s MY Clarissa okay”. Yes. She does like candles.
I do talk about her an awful lot, don’t I?
But everything I do now seems to relate somehow to her, so I geuss it’s not all that surprising.
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Midnight Fiddler (she of 2 spzdk, 500 PiePoints and 30 Muszey points) says:
325~ Hmm, I likeBoca burgers, actually. Have you ever tried the Smart Bacon? (I’ve never eaten “real” bacon, but from friends, and parents who used to eat it they say it’s pretty realistic.)
Yes, you do talk about Clarissa a good bit. It’s cute.
So, are you only vegetarian? Should I start trying to terrify you into becoming vegan (no dairy and eggs) by telling you horror stories about those industries? Or would you prefer not? *maniacal grin*
326-Cute? Hmm. Maybe that has to do with what some people might call “controlling” my life, but what I call “persuasive enhansing”.
Really, she’s cool. She dosn’t control me, but I think a lot of her ideas are aweso–
Wait. I’m talking about her again. Urgh.
Anyway. I generally don’t like eggs, and I’m trying to persuade the ‘rents to get soy milk (I’m a big milk drinker, and milk has PUS in it ewww) but trying to make me go vegan wouldn’t work. Mom’s already freaked about my nutrition as a vegetarian, I don’t think she’d let me.
Clarissa was vegan for a whole MON- No. Stop. This is rediculous.
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Midnight Fiddler (she of 2 spzdk, 500 PiePoints and 30 Muszey points) says:
327~ I’ve been vegan for 16 years. And I’m perfectly healthy. Really. Many people (often kind grandmotherly types) are perfectly fine talking to me, but when I say that I’m vegan, they start looking as though I’m going to die right there becuase I’ve been malnourished.
Okay, I’m smaller than some of my friends, but neither of my parents are very tall either. I am perfectly healthy, and energetic. (Some would say hyper, actually.)
I look like a pixie beside my obese cousin, but do people think he’s unhealthy because he eats nothing but junk food and weighed over 200 lbs. in his early teens? Do they worry about his sister, who chugs down a gallon of milk a day?
No. They wonder if I’m malnourished because I don’t eat meat, dairy and eggs. This is ridiculous.
Obesity is a problem in this country, I get to see several of my cousins who refuse to eat healthy foods (and their parents, who let them). My 10 year old cousin eats little more than chicken, ice cream, bratwurst, corn on the cob, PB&J and apple sauce (reluctantly). And you know what? He’s having hot flashes at age ten.
Yet I am the one that gets questioned about my diet. My parents are the ones that get asked whether they are being responsible in feeding me.
If she’s worried about your nutrition, do some research, and present her with FACTS. She’s freaked out about you being vegetarian? What, precisely, are her worries? Ask her for specifics. Is she worried that you won’t get enough protein? There is plenty of protein in vegetable and plant matter. (yay tofu and TVP- Textured Vegetable Protein!!).
Is she worried that if you don’t drink milk you won’t get enough calcium and your bones will fall apart? It is a fact that milk has calcium, it is also a fact that it has too much for your system to handle. Not cool. Besides, there’s plenty of calcium in other things, if she’s really worried about it, try calcium supplements.
Actually, soymilk (the Silk brand is simply the best, I’ve had milk drinkers try it and they’ve said that it tastes just like milk) has a panel on the side that has all the different benefits of soy vs. cow’s milk, so if she’s worried about that, have her take a peek.
Margarine (the good kind, not the dreadful ones) is just as good as butter (and I think it has better taste, I’ve used “real” butter on occasion and even the freshly churned stuff didn’t have as satisfying of a taste). Earth Balance is quite good, and available in most stores. Many non-vegans use it as well, simply because they prefer the taste and feel that it is healthier.
Also, being vegetarian is different. Many people go at it thinking that they are going to be cooking just the same way, only without the meat. This is where you have people trying it and saying “I tried going veggie, but it was just too expensive.” “I tried that once, but I just always felt that there was something missing from my meals.” or, “I want to, because I feel that it would be a better choice, but I don’t want to have to learn to cook all over again.”
Trust me, I’ve heard all of these.
being vegetarian is not expensive. My mother stopped eating meat because she couldn’t afford to buy it (she had $10 a week for food at one point). What is expensive is people thinking that being vegetarian is just the same as easting meat, only without the meat. They buy soy burgers, hot dogs, cheese, and other “gourmet” vegetarian and vegan items, and then come to the (wrong) conclusion that the vegetarian lifestyle is too expensive.
Many meat alternatives are expensive. But people buy them because they still see their plate as meat, and veggie in the side.
Which brings us to those who say they cannot be a vegetarian because they always feel that something is missing from their meals.
Until you can see vegetables and other plant derived foods as a main part of food, you will feel like you’re not getting enough. Also, many people miss the spices that are used in meat, and the richness of it, and not really the meat itself.
Having to learn to cook all over again for your kids who’ve decided to stop eating meat is a potential mine waiting to explode. But again, I think it’s just how people see food, meat, with veggies on the side, not really that you can’t apply any cooking skills to vegetarian cooking.
I have just realized what a very long post this was, but I do hope that it will contain some information that is relevant for your situation.
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Midnight Fiddler (she of 2 spzdk, 500 PiePoints and 30 Muszey points) says:
I was at a vegetarian/vegan restaurant in DC yesterday. called Java Green. (yumyumyum) anyway, there was a booklet on becoming a vegetarian, plus a guide to vegetarian places in DC (moreyumyumyum).
Beavo, if I’m not mistaken, you live somewhere in the general vicinity of DC (no, I’m not a stalker!), if so, maybe see if you can go to there one day with your parents and have them try it, and pick up some of the free literature while you’re at it. It’s from Compassion Over Killing, so some of it is a bit heavy handed, but it does address nutrition and environmental concerns.
No, I’m not dangerous, really! I won’t eat you, anyway.
Clearly Fern and I demonstrate Vegans and Vegetarians are not limp underfed noodles ready to pass out at any minute.
328-Earth Balance, you say? We’ll have to look for it. We went back to real butter because we didn’t like all of the chemicals in the margarine you can find around here. And, I agree, butter doesn’t taste like butter!
Red-tailed HAWK
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Midnight Fiddler (she of 2 spzdk, 500 PiePoints and 30 Muszey points) says:
330~ “Vegans and vegetarians are not limp, underfed noodles ready to pass out at any minute.”
I howled when I read that. It is now one of my favorite quotes.
Tonight we had Willow Run margarine, it’s pretty good too…
Oh, I heard about Earth Balance. It’s supposed to be good.
I wish I had the strength and willpower to be at least a vegetarian.
328 – My friend is a vegetarian, and she eats soy burgers – but only because her mother, a veggie-plus-fish-tarian says she needs more protein. Heh.
I’m not a vegetarian, but I agree with you about the whole meat-without-the-meat thing. If you’re going to be a vegetarian (or have any dietary restrictions at all), focus on the stuff you can eat – don’t try to replace the stuff you can’t.
Well, except for milk. If you try/like milk, stick with it. It’s so good.
328-She’s worried about me not gaining enough weight (I’m eighty six pounds, which means I lost four pounds in the last four months) (ooh, that’s SOO bad and it’s probably ALL because I’m vegetarian) (even though I’ve only been vegetarian for like, half a month and I eat more than anyone else in the house) and she’s all ranting about vitamins (even when I drink vitamin water and take pills and suchlike). And she tried to mention how I don’t get enough calcium, but I promptly ate two bananas and a glass of milk.
Now that she’s realized she can’t convince me to “come off it”, she’s insisted on getting as much vegan friendly food as possible. We now have fake ground beef, fake ribs, soy milk, chocolate soy milk, fake bacon (which I still wont eat), veggie burgers, cheese, etc. She takes me being vegitarian as a challenge of some sort. A mission. *mission impossible music*
We have margarine, I do like it a lot more than regular butter. Partly because of the salt, (I like salt) but it still tastes better.
Thanks for all the advice, this helped a lot. *vegan choklit duh*
329-Ooh, I’ll have to go there some time! Thanks.
333-I hate boca burgers, but since we stocked (ha, I almost said stalked) up on condaments, I just pile relish and ketsup and mayo on and it’s fine.
The real test: When I go to the awesome crab cake place. I’m going to use all the will power I have.
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Midnight Fiddler (she of 2 spzdk, 500 PiePoints and 30 Muszey points) says:
334~ Have you tried the soy bacon yet? It’s good. Just thinking about it makes me drool. (Get the “Smart Bacon”–it’s the kind I like.)
Silk soymilk is the best. VeganRella (If you have it) is good, and vegan, however if you want a mostly veggie cheese substitute, try the Galaxy Nutritional Foods rice cheese, mozzerella is my favorite, and I’ve had friends try it who said it tasted just like the “real” stuff. (It does have a bit of casiene in it, to make it melt, but it’s mostly veggie.)
And there are other brands than Boca that make veggie burgers, Morningstar Farms is usually pretty good, just make sure that it’s actually vegetarian, or vegan, if you go that path.
“Gimme Lean!” also makes very good sausages (yum) in a few flavors.
Also, if she’s worried about your weight, let her know that from the age 7 to 11 I weighed about 50 pounds. When I turned 12 I gained a bit, and kept gaining in my teens. I’ve been a pretty steady 120 pounds (give or take a little, depending on how much exercise or food I’ve been getting lately ). So, I wouldn’t worry too much about your weight right now, it’ll change, trust me.
If you do keep losing weight and it’s gets worrying, then see your doctor, or try more fatty vegetarian foods. (More veggie burgers!!)
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Midnight Fiddler (she of 2 spzdk, 500 PiePoints and 30 Muszey points) says:
I am tired of my grandmother’s food intolerance. She refuses to eat hummus, because it’s vegetarian. So, she can go “Eeeeeeeeew’ at anything I eat, like mushrooms, but I can’t pass any judgement on what they eat at all. When I expressed amazement at their putting butter on cinnamon bread (that was very good, and so rich it was like cake) I got the evil eye because I exclaimed “How can you stand to have that much butter on it? It’s so good just plain!”
Today I cleaned up the floor after grandma dropped the jar of soup and it broke.
Not to be mean to meat eaters, but I almost gagged with the smell of chicken, and it wasn’t even that much in there.
Yes, I’ll stay a vegan when I grow up, thanks.
Leafygreen is VERY ANGRY. Today she told me what a Wendy’s placemat said. Here it is, the horror of it all-
I am a true Meatatarian because-
~I feel bacon should be it’s own food group.
~I eat, sleep, and breathe beef and bacon.
~I have ketchup running through my veins.
~I will only recognize cheese if it is on a hamburger.
~I know the secret to true happiness is hickory smoked bacon.
~I believe the Baconator (TM) is the true 8th wonder of the world.
When I heard that, I flared. I hissed at her, “Keep going.” She scowled, and then went on to descibe in a very colorful language how horrible it is. Neither of us eat meat if we can help it, and look what they’re doing!! They’re spurring on people who could become vegetarians to love and savor meat in general, and if we could, we would SUE!!!
236- most plants basically clone themselfs through asexual reproduction. it’s how they reproduce.
304- it was really irresonsible of them not to know hwere their food was coming from.
337- sueing is a ridiculouse american habbit. I am vegitarian and I think the meatitarian ads are hilariouse. that placemat is a bit much. I can’t eat at Wendys they do not have a vegitarian option. trust me. the whole meatatarian thing is just advertizing. noone takes it seriously.
338~ Sadly though, a lot of people do take it seriously.
The ad that gets me is the large billboard that has picture of an egg. Above that, in a cartoon-style thought bubble is a McDonald’s Burger. the caption for the whole thing is, “When Eggs Dream”. ooh yes, when eggs dream they just can’t wait to be EATEN.
I hate that ad.
Also the one that says, “Party With a Pig” and it shows a drawing if a happy, dancing pig, and then underneath, “Pig roasts”
Yes, the pigs WANT to be killed and eaten. Who wouldn’t? Oh, really? You don’t care to be inhumanely slaughtered and eaten? What a freak you are, that’s what all the animals want, it seems, if we’re to believe what we’ve been taught since day one by the meat and dairy industries.
340~ Same.
People say, “so, if you were starving to death and the only food you had was meat, would you eat it?”
My reply, “No. It is not food, it is a corpse, and I would not eat it.” End of discussion.
“Vegetarians, and their Hezbollah-like splinter faction, the vegans, are a persistent irritant to any chef worth a damn. To me, life without veal stock, pork fat, sausage, organ meat, demi-glace, or even stinky cheese is a life not worth living. Vegetarians are the enemy of everything good and decent in the human spirit, and an affront to all I stand for, the pure enjoyment of food. The body, these waterheads imagine, is a temple that should not be polluted by animal protein. It’s healthier, they insist, though every vegetarian waiter I’ve worked with is brought down by any rumor of a cold. Oh, I’ll accommodate them, I’ll rummage around for something to feed them, for a ‘vegetarian plate’, if called on to do so. Fourteen dollars for a few slices of grilled eggplant and zucchini suits my food cost fine.”
-Anthony Bourdain in his book Kitchen Confidential, p.70
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Midnight Fiddler (she of 2 spzdk, 500 PiePoints and 30 Muszey points) says:
I should think that any chef “worth a damn” would gladly take on the opportunity to make an interesting meal without their usual ingredients.
But then again, that’s just my take.
-A member of the “Hezbollah-like splinter faction, the vegans” corner
I don’t eat red meat, because cutting all meat out of my diet and making my family buy alternative protein sources (tofu and such) from a different supermarket that we don’t normally shop at would be horribly inconvenient. So I eat chicken, turkey, and fish at home, but whenever I go out anywhere (friend’s house, restaurant, pot luck) I choose vegetarian stuff.
Makes it difficult at barbecues, where I’m always stuck eating the potato salad.
At a pot luck for my church, I spent at least twenty minutes going around to all the pots of chili and deciding which ones were vegetarian.
342: That’s… intense. One of my guy friends last year said he’d make vegetarianism and veganism illegal if he was president. O_O
The question I get a lot is “Well, plants are alive too! Why do you eat them?” *rolls eyes* Show me a plant with a nervous system and I’ll stop eating it.
So my vegan friend came over for Halloween the other night, and we made her a vegan pizza. It wasn’t all that different, just vegan sausage and mozzarella cheese. The vegan mozz tasted exactly like real mozz! It was awesome. Kind of a runny texture though. I didn’t try the sausage yet.
I would like to be a vegetarian because I can’t stand the thought of unnecessarily murdering innocent animals, but at the same time I can’t imagine never eating meat again, because it tastes so good. So I just eat meat.
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Midnight Fiddler (she of 2 spzdk, 500 PiePoints and 30 Muszey points) says:
346~ Beans and grains supply protein too, you don’t have to rely entirely on seitan and Textured Vegetable Protein.
And many stores do sell tofu. Take a peek in the natural foods section of your grocery store, if the stores near me sell it (and we’re way out in the in the boonies) I’m sure that most others can find tofu where they are. If not, you can probably order it from other stores or co-ops nearby.
Many people fall into the trap of thinking that if they are vegetarian (or vegan) then they will eat all the same things, meaning lots and lots of meat substitutes. Wrong.
You can go without eating any dairy or meat “substitutes” and still have a healthy, complete and interesting diet. The vegetarian “meats” are fun, but entirely unnecessary to complete meals. Sure, your plate may look different than the people around you, but it’s still healthful, balanced and tasty. I’m not saying that we shouldn’t eat the substitutes for dairy and meat, they are fun, add new flavors and (if your family is worried about having everyone’s plates look the same at mealtime) can save some hassle and fights with the parents or other family members.
I guess one of the most important things in becoming a vegetarian is to stop seeing vegetables, fruits and grains as “garnish” to meats. when you think about much of what gives meat it’s flavor is what it’s served with, or the spices used. Vegetables, fruits and grains can be fixed and eaten in a vast array of ways, much more diverse than meat.
347~ If you really want to try, and make a SINCERE effort to eat interesting vegetarian dishes for a few months you probably won’t be too tempted to go back to meat. However, it goes back to seeing vegetables as a main course, not garnish. If you can truly change the way you look at food, I assure you, you can get over the addiction to meat.
(Yes, addiction. Meat and dairy are extremely addictive substances, no kidding.)
(348) Asian markets are another great source for tofu — usually the prices for it are cheaper, too, as they are are many other items, such as certain spices and sesame oils. Besides, the shops are fun to browse.
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Midnight Fiddler (she of 2 spzdk, 500 PiePoints and 30 Muszey points) says:
349~ Oh yes, great fun! Han ha rem (spelled phonetically,because I don’t know how it’s actually written) is a great Asian market near Washington DC, we used to go there whenever we could to look around and stock up on all sorts of neat things. (Like the little lychee gel cups, which are now unavailable in the US because someone stupid choked on one and sued the company, so if I’m not mistaken they’re now illegal. )
One of our favorite memories is going with an Asian friend who’d never been there before, the look on her face when we walked in to this huge grocery store was something I’ll never forget; she gazed around, and then sighed happily “This is wonderful!“
(350) A huge international market just opened in the nearby town of Greensboro. It’s primarily Asian, but many other groups are represented as well, in particular Latino, Indian, and African of several varieties. I love rambling through it! I can find lots of bargains, since many items considered exotic by the chain groceries are, of course, staples in the represented cuisines. Also I enjoy hearing the Korean announcements over the intercom.
The reason I’m a vegetarian, believe it or not, is because I CAN’T eat meat. If I even SMELL it, I get an instant stomach ache. *dies* people don’t usually get that.
my sister is vegitarian and i prettmych am. i dont really eat red meat. i eat poltry, fish, bacon, hotdogs and meatballs. i have never had steak. i like the fake meat things better than real meat. exept hotdogs. fake hotdogs taste weird. we had fake hotdogs and beans the other day. i do like beans. i only eat meat when my sister isnt there because she flips out and runs away. exept salami. i eat that if she isnt in the room. but i like tofu,garden burgers,fake ribs,fake chicken, tvp, all that stuff.
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Zinc the sorceress, who's blogiversery is in THREE DAYS and Leafygreen says:
I refuse to eat ribs. It makes me queasy. You know how I’m skinny? I can see my ribs. When I look at ribs, I lose my appetite. Got my drift? *leaves, unless I become a vegetarian, for that is likely*
97/8- I realize these posts were made over a year ago. all I gots to say is: you americans and your guns. I do not know any children who go out a-hunting. hunting is ofcourse a foul thing to do.
176- yes I do realize that I am responding to ridiculously old posts. To the questions what do you eat? and how do you live? answer this: 1food. 2I consume food, water and oxygen.
236- the majority of plants reproduce by asexual reproduction which is essentially cloning.
346- it is impossible to have a diet that is made up of matter that was never alive. you would be eating rocks. but yeah. I hate when people ask that wuestion.
354- your sister is overreacting to people eating meat.
355- yep. ribs are preetay nasty. when i was little I loooooved them. then I grew up an they disugsted me.
I was a-reading this thread from the beggining and one thing I noticed was a lot of people talking about how they lecture people on what’s in their food and being vegetarian. all I gots to say is that if people ask you can tell them all that stuff. but if they don’t show any interest in knowin’ it is not your job to try to convert them into the Secret Society of Vegetarians. I’m just a-sayin’. It seems kinda invasive to lecture people who don’t ask.
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Midnight Fiddler (she of 2 spzdk, 500 PiePoints and 30 Muszey points) says:
354~ If you eat “poltry, fish, bacon, hotdogs and meatballs” and salami, I’m sorry to say that you don’t really meet my definition of vegetarian. The way I see “vegetarian” is not eating any meat, but eating dairy and eggs. Some people claim to be vegetarian and eat fish and chicken, but hey, that’s meat–it’s still flesh, and flesh isn’t vegetarian.
Not to be mean, but your eating style doesn’t strike me as vegetarian, liking meat substitutes but still eating real meat doesn’t qualify someone as vegetarian.
355~ I can see my ribs a bit. So, I qualify for skinny then? And here I thought I was just on the slim side of normal. Oh well.
356~ I don’t lecture. Many people are very surprised to hear that I’m vegan, because we don’t make a big deal of it. I’m not too hard to please, I’m not a particularly picky eater and a I can usually find something to eat just about anywhere, including some fast food places (like Taco Bell). when people ask me I tell them, when they attack my family’s eating choices I defend them, but I try not to proselytize. Of course, I hate it when anyone proselytizes about anything, so I try to avoid it at all costs on any subject.
345-(Wow, I’m out of order here) It’s actually not bad. I barely notice that I don’t eat meat, except when someone else is eating it and I’m like “Hey can I have a peice of those ribs… oh never mind. *curse being veg*”. Like today.
Ooh, I miss meat so bad!
But I like being veg. I don’t have a rotting carcass in my stomach, and I’m not getting sick as much. And fake chicken nuggets from MorningStar are beast.
358~ YESSSS! Morningstar farms are good…..yumyum. Drat you, now I’m hungry again!
359~ I don’t really like salad either. I just put up with it. but there’s a lot more to being vegetarian than eating salad, in fact I often can’t eat salads at restaurants because they have tons of meat in them!
(362) I had a vegetarian friend who hated most vegetables. He basically lived on beans, rice, and pasta, I think. Not exactly what I’d recommend as a balanced diet, however, as it sort of defeated the purpose to my mind. On the other hand, I’ve known people who lived on burgers and fries, so I guess he was better off than that.
364–does not compute. A vegetarian who doesn’t eat vegetables…..strange. Burgers and fries, though, I could do that (depending on the burgers, and depending on the fries). Although, I’d rather a much more rounded diet–or at least, more variety, even if I do go in for greasy unhealthy stuff, and *apologizes to the vegetarians of MB*–meat.
Of course, since starting college, I’m pretty much surviving on pizza and french fries, and any snack food I have in my room (chocolate rice crispie bars–one of the only edible things in the ******, the place where we can use up unused meals by cashing them in for points. and since I ahve numerous meals at the end of the week, and each meal is 7 points, and nothing is worth more htan like 4 points…….I have more oatmeal and rice crispie bars than I know what to do with. No, scratch that. The rice crispies get gobbled quickly. The oatmeal, well, let’s just say I have enought to last a LONG time).
And when my mom sends a care package, she usually sends a couple cans of chili, so I ahve that, but it goes pretty fast, too, as it is so yummy……I mean, canned chili isn’t normally what I would call super awesome spectacular, but I have gained a new appreciation of it since starting college. Compared to what they feed us here, it is scrumptious and heavenly…..
oh, don’t forget doritos with melted cheese……mmmmmmmm
yeah, none of that is very healthy, but there is not much that tastes good at any of the cafs on campus. McDonalds makes better burgers (and better fries), and what is served in the cafs, even when edible, isn’t very filling, somehow. I have to eat a LOT to get full, and usually it just doesn’t taste good enough to force myself to eat that much……wouldn’t ahve to force myself if it tasted good, but that’s another story…….
um, anyway, I’m babbling, so I shall take my leave. *leaves*
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Zinc the sorceress {One blogiversery point, two b-day points} says:
My parents don’t want me to be a vegetarian, the same way they don’t want me to be atheist. So, starting today, I shall pick out the meat in my lunch sandwiches and any food I can get the meat out of.
BOOKS TO LOOK UP: Veganomicon: the Ultimate vegan cookbook by Isa Chandra Moskowitz & Terry Hope Romero Very interesting and has a good bit of information on vegan/vegetarian food in general–mostly on how to find/prepare/balance a vegan diet, but it’s pretty good. I’d reccommend it to the MBers who are vegetarian and their parents tell them they are now in charge of their own food, or for the parents of a vegan child to give them interesting ideas for food–more than just “garnish” style vegetarian cooking.
And another one we found awhile ago, The Vegetarian Manifesto (I can’t remember the author)
It’s an interesting book that talks primarily about nutrition (in a very assesible way) and should help you convince your parents (and yourself) that this is a easy and good choice to eat.
These books are pretty kid friendly, and would be good for any of you who are thinking about becoming vegetarian, to answer your own questions and those of your parents.
Another book, which is very good is Diet for A New America (Again, I can’t remember the author). It’s very good and a little more technical, but well worth th read. Tell your parents to get it (from the library perhaps) and read it if they have any objections.
man. we are keeping track of what we are eating in health class. all I can say is that I am absolutely not even close to getting the recomended servings of each food group. also, acording to the BMI, I am under weight. which is kinda weird because I’ve always thought I was the right weight for my height. turns out my gym teacher (who is 5’2″) weighs the same as me.
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Midnight Fiddler (she of 2 spzdk, 500 PiePoints and 30 Muszey points) says:
369~ What are you eating? Are you not getting enough of any particular thing? If not, why? Is it because you are vegetarian and living in a household that refuses to cook in a veggie friendly way?
I don’t think being vegetarian is the problem, I think it’s that as vegetarians we can’t always find balanced meals everywhere we go.
Although, I can’t imagine that a hunk of steak or a hamburger is a very balanced meal either. But that’s culturally accepted, while having a perfectly healthy vegetarian (or, *gasp* vegan) meal is above all horrors!
One time, we had a substitute teacher for science who happened to be talking about herbivores, carnivores, etc. so started telling me why I shouldn’t be veg. I HATE Mr. Busch. Although he’s not the worst sub I’ve ever had. Mrs. Loedel takes the cake.
369 (Kagcomix) – Don’t worry about your BMI. Most BMI calculations are for adults, who have stopped growing. When you’re still growing, it’s hard for your weight to keep up for your height, so you are skinnier, relatively speaking. Also, BMI numbers in general are full of crap. They only take into account a few things, and leave out frame-size, genetics etc. I really wouldn’t worry about it. Besides, in a few years, you’ll wish you were still as skinny as you are now! You probably should eat more, though!
370 (Midnight Fiddler) – Agreed. It’s difficult to find healthy veggie meals at a lot of restaurants in the US. I get so tired of side salads.
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Midnight Fiddler (she of 2 spzdk, 500 PiePoints and 30 Muszey points) says:
372~ I can just about always find something, even in the most unlikely of places to be vegan friendly. However, it takes not being afraid to ask for something if you need it, return dished that have meat put in them accidentally and get the waiter to understand what your dilemma is. Generally they’re okay, but it’s sometimes hard, and many people will jump on the vegetarian for “making a scene” by asking for foods they can eat.
374- Well, my family just doesn’t ever visit anyone for Thanksgiving. I think the only time we (me, my mom and my dad- I’m an only child) ever visited anyone was when I was three or four. When they brought out the turkey, I was like, “Eww, what’s that awful smell? Get that AWAY from me!!”
Yeah. I was, actually, three or four. Or even two. Um…
Yeah, so anyway. My parents have spaghetti squash casserole, acorn squash, and mashed potatoes. I have… whatever I feel like, me being the picky eater that I am. I usually have some squash though.
(374)- Thanksgiving is actually not that difficult for my family. We are all vegan, so we just make food that fits our diet. I HATE Tofurky, so that’s not generally on the menu, but there’s plenty of stuff out there. (Wait- the computer thinks that “vegan” isn’t a word! *rage*)
I have a pretty easy time finding food that I can eat, because my hometown is full of hippies and vegetarians. I sometimes have issues when I travel though, especially to countries who speak a different language. When I went to Korea a couple summers ago, I survived on rice and juice for three days straight.
I laugh whenever someone says that all vegans are pale and skinny. I have a summer tan year-round and am slightly chubby, and am actually a lot healthier than many of my friends.
I’m probably eating a Morningstar burger and some corn for Thanksgiving. I really don’t like eating all that food, it’s such a waste, and leftovers are gross.
365- Heehee, I eat rice all the time. Mumsy sends it to me. The University has a really awesome vegetarian selection. My favourite thing ever…tacos with refried beans. Sadly, that’s about once a month, but they also have curried tofu, stir-fry tofu, vegan egg rolls, cheese burritos, GODLY chili, and lasagna. Basically the only thing I don’t nom voraciously is the mushrooms. Why must they make mushrooms? They scare me. You should transfer to here. I don’t think I’m allowed to say where, though, so this is moot, eh?
I’m rambling. But when my dad visited, I got him to eat all the vegan stuff and he really liked it. And he’s usually all for “LET US PUT MEAT IN EVERYTHING.”
370- Too true. Outside one of the dining halls, you’re screwed if you want veggie food. There’s that, and Subway. Also this amazing Vegan place but you have to walk for about half an hour to get there…
374- Yes, but only because of my family. I really didn’t want to go home. Sulksulk. Anyway, it’s mostly because my mother puts meat in everything but the corn and mashed potatoes. And that’s because she finally stopped drowning them in turkey gravy before they were served. Before anyone asks, I shall have you know, she puts beef in the stuffing. Yes.
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Midnight Fiddler (she of 2 spzdk, 500 PiePoints and 30 Muszey points) says:
374~ No, I like it. My (extended) family, for being a bunch of rather close-minded people like to think of themselves as very up to date and open minded. Savvy, if you will. And that means not dealing too harshly with the vegans and vegetarians in the family. In recent years there have been more and more of them, I’m not sure how much of it was influenced by my section of the family being happy vegan for quite a while. Anyway, they’re there, and they must be fed, and fed well, so we are. There’s always two gravies: dad’s for everyone who has tried it before and knows how wonderful it is even though it’s vegan, and the other one, which the die-hard meat eaters have because they can’t bring themselves to admit that dad’s is so much better.
There’s two dishes (sometimes three) of stuffing again, vegan, and meat, and occasionally another vegan one made with whole wheat bread and other interesting ingredients.
Turkey we simply ignore, it gets served, and eaten and we are indifferent because we’re stuffing ourselves on everything else that is vegetarian. Funnily enough, there’s usually more leftovers of meat dishes than vegetarian/vegan, and the veggies get snatched up quicker, often times everyone clamors for all the vegetarian food and the turkey is largely forgotten. It’s quite amusing, really.
So no, I don’t hate Thanksgiving, I think it’s a lot of fun because we get to eat tons and tons of food and not get called a glutton.
376~ Another completely vegan family! Yay!
You are incredibly lucky to live in a town of vegetarians and hippies, I might as well live in a black hole as far as food goes. Where I live “eating” consists of white bread, white noodles, overcooked everything, lots and lots of meat, lots and lots of junk food (chips, pretzels, potato chips, etc.), tons of dairy, everything fried in lard (eew) and skippy peanut butter. a lot of our local food culture comes from the Mennonites who are everywhere here, cheap unwholesome food with lots of calories that they burn off growing vegetables (to sell, they don’t seem to eat them that much). Yeah, going to the grocery store is hell. That, and the cashiers don’t know what anything in the produce section is and they bang it around and totally kill all the fragile fruits and veggies (one time we got bananas and the cashier whumped them so hard they had fingerprints in them where she grabbed them).
it’s not as bad as I’ve seen way up in the mountains of WV, but it’s most certainly not the best.
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Umm I’m a new Vegetarian…like yesterday I made the switch. Does anyone have any tips or stuff I should be doing? My mom says that anytime the family has meat I have to gt myself my own meal. And does being a vegetarian mean I have to give up milk and cheese and eggs because if so I’m not a vegetarian.
383- thanks.
What I REALLY need is really easy tips and really easy foods that you can make as a vegetarian. My family not being vegetarian I have to fend for myself and right now we are planning on beef stew for tonight. That and we’re going shopping tonight too so easy foods would be appreciated.
370- I don’t get enough of anything. we did a food log for a week or two and I seriously don’t get the recomended serving of anything. I do live in a household the cooks in a veggie friendly way. my mom really tries.
380- if she sends it to you will you send it to me, please? I love gravy, but can’t have it anymore.
382- yep. you can still eat dary and eggs. what I suggest is doing some reaserch about being veggitarian because your family doesn’t want to cook something special for you. My advice for making your own meal is PB sandwidges with cut up veggies on the side. (that is what I would eat for lunch everyday if I could). Because it gives you a complete protein or something. Maybe suggest to your mom that she make a meat dish for everyone and a veggie dish as a side dish for them and a main dish for you. But totaly offer to help make dinner if that’s more than she usualy makes.
382–vegetarianism only means giving up meat (correct me if I’m wrong, vegetarians). Only vegans give up all other animal products (milk, eggs, cheese, etc) in addition to meat.
So, I’m curious. Does it bother you guys who are vegetarians to see other people eat meat?
According to my gramma, my cousin was dating this girl (maybe a year or so ago?) who is a vegetarian. Anyway, for his b-day, my cousin went out to dinner with his parents and our gramma, and invited his girlfriend along. Of course, my cousin eats meat, and he chose to go to a restaurant that served ribs and he ordered for himself a rack of ribs (which, by the way, is exactly what I would have done. I confess that is my favorite birthday dinner…..). The girl apparently make some huge scene or wahtever, going on and on and on and on all throught he dinner about “do you know waht you’re eating? That used to be alive. It had eyes–I never eat anything with eyes!!!!!!!” And on and on and on (while my gramma was thinking, as I did upoln hearing the story, “does that mean you don’t eat potatoes?”) Well, needless to say, that didn’t exactlyw ork out–my cousin apparently broke up with her sometime in the folloiwng month.
So, don’t get me wrong–I couldn’t care less if someone is a vegetarian, it doesn’t make any difference to me, but……that seemed very rude of the girl, the equivalent of a non-vegetarian haranguing on someone for NOT eating meat……..
(387) Clearly the girlfriend was rude, no excuse for that, but why would the boyfriend choose a ribs place to eat if he was going to invite her? They generally don’t provide much by way of vegetarian dining options.
388–I’m not sure if it was solely a ribs place. I mean, obviously it served ribs, but I don’t know that that was necessarily the restaurant’s specialty, or merely one of many things they served. (I don’t know what restaurant he went to.) But given that my cousin seems incredibly thoughtful and sweet for a teenage boy, I have to believe wherever he went offered vegetarian items, or at least something that the girl would’ve eaten…..
Of course, I could be wrong, even the sweetest of boys have a habit of not thinking sometimes, and so maybe the place didn’t have emuch in the way of vegetarian options…..although, even if this is true, and he were thoughtless on this count, I still don’t think there was much call for the girl’s attack on what he chose to eat….
(389) Oh, I agree as far as her behavior goes, as I said before. It’s always impolite to criticize someone else’s food choices while en is eating it, unless en happens to be a younger sibling. I just find the whole situation odd. I mean, this presumably wasn’t their first date.
384) there are plenty of website and cookbooks out for vegetarians if you poke around on the internet or at a bookstore…I even see a lot of vegan friendly recipes. good luck!
387) your grandma’s thought about the potatoes made me laugh
But I agree, the dinner table is the worst place to talk about eating habits like that.
one of my teachers told us that vegetarianism is a more effective way of getting energy, since you lose so much in the trophic levels blah blah etc etc. it makes more sense to eat what the animal eats than to eat the animal, basically.
YodaShmoda~ I would recommend the book Veganomicon, it is a cookbook, but also includes a great deal of cooking help (if you don’t cook already and need some pointers or if cooking with vegetables is new to you) and information about vegetarian food. It is a vegan book, so it doesn’t include any dairy or eggs, but it should make a good starter book if you need help fast.
Another I’d suggest is The Vegetarian Manifesto (I can’t remember the author), that has lots of information on how to get the nutrition you need and various ways of surviving as a vegetarian in a meat dominated society. (It’s not always easy, and be prepared to get lots of questions about protein )
That’s where I’d suggest looking first, to get started on the right track so you won’t get discouraged, they should also lead you to other resources.
And of course, there’s this nice thread on MuseBlog where we’d all be pleased to offer advice if you want it.
By the way, vegetarian versus vegan: a vegetarian is someone who does not eat, but does eat dairy (milk, cheese, yogurt, ice cream, etc.) and eggs.
A vegan, like the vegetarian doesn’t eat meat, but en also eschews dairy and eggs. In some cases en refuses to eat honey as well. They also sometimes don’t wear leather or fur, and occasionally won’t wear wool or silk wither. Thus, when one refers to “vegan shoes” (or any other such non-edible object) they mean simply that the object in question has all man-made parts and were manufactured with no cruelty to animals.
I hope that made sense.
387~ I don’t mind if someone eats meat in my presence. People sometimes worry a bit that I’ll be offended by it, or that I’ll be angry that they’re eating in a way that I most obviously disagree with. If they ask me, I’ll tell them that I don’t think eating meat is a good idea and why, but after that I won’t criticize them for it. I would never try to dissuade them from eating meat by being rude or pointing out how gross it is.
The girlfriend in your story was rude, I can understand where she was coming from, however, that is the wrong way to go about telling someone about vegetarianism. Sadly, due to disasters like that one many people think that vegetarians (or worse, vegans) are snobbish and uncooperative people who make other’s lives harder because of their eating choices, when in fact this is not the case at all.
I also agree with Rebecca that the situation is a little odd, I would hope never to be taken to a grill or ribs place on a date, to avoid that sort of situation. (Besides, the smell of meat is rather hard to take, mopping up a soup spill that had only a little chicken in it nearly made me gag with the scent. Not to be rude, but it happens.)
Rebecca~ I’ll ask Dad about his gravy recipe and email it to you.
aw man. I think my post got eaten! all it said was that the girl was out of line. vegetarians choose to be picky eaters and there fore need to learn to cope. of course the boyfriend could have been more tackful. of course I don’t really understand why he was eating meat around her as, presumably, they would kiss later. I, personaly, would not want to kiss someone who has just feasted on a carcass. so both sides were guilty. Kagy cannot stand obnoxiouse vegetarians because they give all of us a bad name.
394–well…..given that he was not on a date alone with her (that is, his parents and his grandmother were present), I’m not entirely sure he would have been kissing her later…..of course, I may be wrong, I just know i wouldn’t feel comfortable kissing osmeone in front of my parents! but yes, I see how my cousin may not have been entirely tactful.
388- Agreed, that was quite rude. Ribs places have side dishes, though. “Mashed potatoes please, no gravy.”
390- Heehee, oh yes. Siblings will always be eating food that will make them fat and/or dead.
394- Yuck, kissing someone who has just eaten meat. Wow, that could sound wrong.
Seriously, some people are too touchy. I found out my boss is a “cheegan” (spelling? I dinnae). In that she eats chicken and eggs but no other meat/dairy. It’s weird.
394– omg, that was funny. “Yuck, kissing someone who has just eaten meat. Wow, that could sound wrong.” I’d not even thought of it like that until you said it, but,
(396) But…but…the whole point of mashed potatoes is that they’re a delivery device for gravy. I dunno, picking through a pile of naked potatoes while everyone else at the table is feasting doesn’t sound too appealing for a big night out.
(381) In other important gravy news, this evening I conducted my first experiment with Fiddler Dad’s Vegetarian Gravy. In the spirit of the original, I avoided overt measuring. I used roasted tahini, tamari instead of regular soy sauce, and cornstarch instead of flour. The results were encouraging enough that basically all I ate for dinner was a huge pile of rice and most of the gravy.
398–I don’t like gravy. Then again, mashed potatoes aren’t my favorite, either. I eat them, in small amounts, but….I much prefer fried potatoes (ie, french fries).
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Midnight Fiddler (she of 2 spzdk, 500 PiePoints and 30 Muszey points) says:
398~ You gotta problem with potatoes? Although I agree, I dislike having to eat something (even if it’s something I usually like) instead of choosing to. Capricious and perverse brat that I am.
I’m glad that the gravy went well, every time Dad’s seen me on the bog he’s asked if you’ve made it yet. sounds like an interesting dinner, rice and loots of gravy. I’ve never had gravy on rice. It sounds interesting.
I can never decide whether to have gravy or not, so I usually end up with two bowls of mashed potatoes, one with and one without.
399~ I love potatoes in any form. *devours* Of course, I’m hungry right now too…..
(400) Really? I thought riceandgravy was one word, like mashedpotatoesandgravy. The recipe was even easier than nonveg gravy, and one I can remember without having to look it up, so I foresee many future experiments. Has your dad ever tried adding mushrooms to it?
(399) I’m going to assume that Luna doesn’t like gravy because she never had my mom’s. She made the best. Light, delicate, and flavorful. Never aggressive nor bland. Turned me and my brothers into hopeless cases. We’d have gladly skipped the turkey in exchange for the gravy, except the turkey made an excellent serving tray.
401–I dunno….My mom is a really, really awesome cook. Everyone else in my family loves her gravy. i would say it is probably due more to the fact that I can be a rather picky eater (for instance, I don’t eat spaghetti sauce, because I decided as a kid I didn’t like it–although I think that will change after a semester of nasty college food). Actually, that’s what most of it is–I decided as a kid I didn’t like something, and have never tried it since….
384-there ate a lot of fake meat products out there. i have had fake ckicken, beef, hot dogs. ribs and they all are good. they dont quite taste like the real thing but i like fake ribs better than real ones. has anyone seen any fake meatballs out there. i really like meatballs and i am not vegitarioan but my sister is and she flips out if there is anymeat at all in the house. i suggest snacking on nuts and peanut butter and then when your family has meals, eat the side dishes. or you can make some soup. soup is good. you also have to stop seeing meatas the main dish or the center of the meal. you could pick out the meat chunks and give them to someone else if you are not a strict veggitarian. also an nice thing is protein powder. ask whoever does the shopping in your family to buy you a big tub of protein powder. youcan add it to pretty muck anything(hot cereal,soup,smoothies, mashed potatoes)it isnt great by itself, but my smoothies taste weired if they have not been proteinitized. also you can get TVP(textured vegetable protein) chunks that look like sponges and taste like nothing but you can reconstitute them with broth or water and they are simply impecable with pesto.
(403) MARFwarrior, Quorn makes fake meatballs, though you probably have to find them somewhere like Whole Foods as most regular groceries don’t stock many Quorn products if they carry them at all. (Quorn is a fungus-based fake meat that comes closer to the texture of actual meat than any of the subs I’ve tried.)
(400) ZOMG, Midnight Fiddler! The gravy is even better the second day! (Yes, two days in a row. But this time I ate some other things as well.)
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Midnight Fiddler (she of 2 spzdk, 500 PiePoints and 30 Muszey points) says:
401~ Probably. every time we have gravy it’s different.
404~ I think Morningstar Farms makes meatless meatballs as well.
I recently had some in VA, I’m not sure what the brand was, but I think it was something like “Nick’s” I don’t know though. They were quite good.
Meatless meatballs seem to be one of the most common imitation meat items available….huh.
Good, I’m glad you’re enjoying it still! Just watch out, when it goes bad it reeks. It’s one of those things you don’t want to forget in the fridge…….trust me, I know. Yuck.
I am an omnivore, and that is my nature. I’m fine with eating any kind of meat except for ribs. See #335. I’m against inhumane slaughtering though. Don’t get me wrong; I love animals. But I’m built for eating meat, and I’m okay with that. *exit stage left*
Could somebody please tell me if they know of any marshmallow brands that don’t have gelatin in them? I love marshmallows but I found out recently that they have gelatin in them….*cries* no more smores for Kagy….
407–I did a google search for “marshmallows without gelatin” (minus the quotes). Such a thing seemed hard to come by, although there did look to be several websites with recipes with what are supposed to be vegetarian friendly marshmallows. Of course, that requires you making them yourself!
thanks luna! I googles it. I found some recipies for marshmallows. I think what I wold do is substitute the gelatin for agar or something. They should be fun to make!
I think I can become a Vegetarian. The last weeks were me trying it out but it actualy worked and I only ate a marshmallow(forgot about the geletin part untill I ate it) Plus turns out the school doesn’t feed us that much meat products that I didn’t already not like. Plus I remebered what I pretty much lived off of this summer, Mozzerella, Tomatoe, and Basil sandwhichces. My Moms beinging really helpfull too my dad is just being him (annoyi8ng the heck out of me just because) and my sister only complains that because of me being a Vegetarian she will have to eat more vegetables, I told her she should anyways and she won’t have to so she can shut up. Plus my best friend whos a vegetarian is also being really helpful and coming up with all sorts of things I should try. Woah sorry for the long rant about my happiness.
(419) They contain gelatin, which is made from animal products.
Here’s some information I found. (I have not tried any of these products, but the photos look good!)
A company called “Sweet & Sara” claims to be the only current maker of vegan marshmallows. Their website lists stores that carry them or you can order them online.
The Vegan Feast has a write up (with helpful photos and tips) about a marshmallow-making kit from a company called Angel Food. She quotes: “The world of vegan cuisine is littered with the shattered corpses of those who tried to veganise marshmallows.”
So don’t feel bad, Kagy. Apparently, making marshmallows is not an easy task.
421~ Strict vegans can’t.
For awhile there was a place near us that sold “Kosher, vegan Jell-O”, turns out that the manufacturer (not the store selling it) was mislabeling them on purpose, they were, in fact, normal Jell-O. Not good. The store was really upset (it’s a small store for the 7th Day Adventists, of which there are a ton in my area).
Of course, nothing had ever stopped me from eating Jell-O (it’ okay now and then, but I’m not a huge fan) or marshmallows. When I can get the vegan kind I’m happy, but I’ve been known to eat the regular ones too………..when slathered with [milk] chocolate (gasp!) and sandwiched between graham crackers they’re devilishly hard to resist.
I’m not a totally strict vegan, though. I’m wearing leather boots and wool socks right now, some super strict vegans would be skinning me just about now. *sigh* it’s so hard to be perfect…….
Marshmallows without gelatin? What is the world coming to?!?! We take everything out of everything! Nothing is real anymore! *runs and hides from fake products* GAAAAAAGH!
There’s this one group of people my friend told me about, and I can’t remember what they’re called, but they are super extreme vegans. They’re vegan, but they also don’t eat plants that “harm” the plant itself. (potatoes, carrots,etc.) Weird. I’m suspecting some sort of monk..
(Not that there’s anything wrong with monks, of course)
425- They’re called macrobiotics, and I have a funny story about them. My mom’s roomate at Brown was on a strict macrobiotic diet and one night she came home and saw him eating a steak.
425-Marshmellows themselves aren’t real. They don’t grow out of the ground, you know. So I don’t see anything wrong with taking crushed animal bones out of their production.
In my opinion, regular vegetarians can’t have gelatin. I try not to eat it, which means specific yogurt and Jell-O from the health food store, and marshmellows you can only get online.
Clarissa says she won’t let me go vegan, I’d “kill myself”.
(427) Beavo, marshmallows are very real. They’re harvested from the pods of the marshmallow shrub.
OK, not exactly. But marshmallows get their name from the marshmallow plant, which really does exist. Apparently the plant exudes sticky stuff that was used to make the original marshmallow.
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Midnight Fiddler (she of 2 spzdk, 500 PiePoints and 30 Muszey points) says:
433~ Something like that. Also, the original use of the marshmallow plant was medicinal, sugar was added to make it taste better and thus the sweet gooey confection that we know today.
I’m enjoying imagining marshmallows growing in pods. I’m picturing them like extra-large bean pods but when you split open the pod instead of finding beans inside you find marshmallows — three per pod.
425- Well gelitan free marshmallows aren’t fake, they’re just gelitan free.
436- That is a very interesting picture. I imagine them more like tomatoes…
445- I don’t even know when the Canadian Thanksgiving is. And I’m Canadian. *knows she is going off topic* Yeah. I can never keep Canada day and Victoria Day striaght either. The only one I know for sure is Remembrance Day.
Re: Gelatin: I don’t eat it. It’s in some yogurts, just read the ingredients. Also random non-gummy candies (eg, the fake cigarettes).
Re: Veganism: It’s not that hard, but I sort-of volley between that and normal lacto-ovo-vegetarianism. But I’d identify as a vegetarian. Mostly because I don’t want to eat spaghetti at the dining halls every other day (actually, scratch that, I’m pretty sure they put butter on the noodles). Half of their vegan dishes are godly awesome. The other half contain mushrooms and zucchini, both of which I hate.
436- Heehee, I approve. Though I’d like four in each pod, but that’s because I’m weird with even numbers…
Robert, sorry… that post wasnt there earlier… I just saw it now, it was only my posts when I had read it that day. The information came from “Harvest for Hope” by Jane Goodall. Sorry.
I was talking about slaughterhouses today with my friend, she said she was sick of me talking about it, that she didnt want to hear it. And do you know what else? She said…..”why do you care”…..I just dont get it….I have just wanted to cry all day. I will go now, I just ramble about this way too much, and people are sick of me complaining, I know it. Sorry all.
Dancergirl-you don’t seem to be among very friendly people. At all. I’m sorry a Muser is stuck in such a situation…
*grape jelly english muffins*
(1) Ooh! I love talking about slaughterhouses! *Gets odd looks*
My first post ever on MuseBlog was:
32. Clara �|� March 10th, 2006 at 5:03 pm
I think you should do something about Fast Food – about where they get their stuff (slaughterhouses, etc) and the diseases you can get. I’m really interested in stuff like that.
1) Don’t worry about her. It’s a real mark of goodness, compassion is. Besides, it’s a better thing to ramble on about than others.
Hmm I need to search in the old Hot Topics for my posts…I actually got the same thing from certain MBers about it.
A good book about this sort of thing is called “You Don’t Need Meat” by Peter Cox. Bit grisly in parts though. I’ve only read some of it, it’s my mom’s book.
1- Aww, that’s really rather callous of her.
4- o_O seriously?
2-Well, most of my friends are very supportive, but there parents wont let them be a vegetarian becuase of the protein (grr!), but she doesnt really seem to get anything. I mean she is nice at times, but…I dunno. I mean, everytime I tell my friends that I am upset at her they tell me that she is just like that, but I dont think that is a good reason for me to be her friend. I do like her most of the time, but…..its sooooo hard to explain. I guess she just doesnt understand me at all, and she obviously doesnt care about animal rights. I do like her, she is nice, but she doesnt get the vegetarian thing, and I try to explain to her, but she doesnt listen becuase she (it seems like) just wants to take the easy way out. I really dont know what to do. I alread told her she upset me gently (she gets upset easily, but kinda gets immature about it) and I am waiting for a reply. When I was reading the slaughterhouse info to her over the phone she wasnt listening because in between article she kept reading emails to me from our other friends (which I also dont think is right, she talks about other peoples personal business behind their backs, and I know she will be talking about me and this vegetarian thing to our other friend, who I trust, I just wish she wouldnt do that becuase I dont think it is right). I dont know what to do….please help!!!!
4-Thanks, I just feel rather bad when I ramble and complain, becuase I feel like I do it too much, and here I am doing it again. Plus that outbreak from my friend today that I was talking about kinda pushed me over the edge so I had to talk to someone. No one outside of museblog seems to really understand, they think they do, but they really dont. Not yet at least.
I can’t really care passionately about anything but torture of animals. I’ve heard all sorts of terrible things about slaughterhouses, but I can’t make myself care deeply. My mind says, “Oh, how awful,” but my heart doesn’t even register that something disturbing was said. I know that slaughterhouses could be defined as torture; after all, that’s what it is, essentially, but it doesn’t have the malice, the purposefulness that torturing animals contains. It’s for food, right? Even if it is a horrible way to get your food, it’s not as unwarranted as other things.
Don’t kill me. Just bear in mind that I’m the most callous girl you can imagine, that hasn’t had some awful tragedy in her life.
Now my dad is here, we’re leaving soon.
7-I just think it is selfish for people to torture animals for their own gain, and the slaughterhouse owner treat them poorly only becuase they want to make more money in short amounts of time. But um…did you know that….well did you read the slaughterhouse bit about cows and understand that assembly line part? The book said that if people want to know the gruesome truth about cows who manage to avoid the ‘humane’ electric shock and go through the slaughtering assembly line fully conscious to read a different book. Isnt that going too far? Skinning and dismembering cows when they are alive and awake?
I am not going to kill you, you said everything politely. I am still upset at my friend, but you I am not mad at. I do care passionately about it and I understand some people dont, I just want to raise awerness so that those people can help me make a difference.
7) it’s pretty much the same thing as torture. That it benefits humans doesn’t make it less of a bad thing.
Yeah here’s my thing…from the first Hot Topics thread. Comment 86. please excuse my way of writing then, I was but 13. There’s more in the later Hot Topics if you care to look for it.
I’m not a vegetarian, because I eat chicken and fish, but I don’t like the way they treat the animals. I’m thinking about becoming a vegetarian, but I wouldn’t know how to tell my mom. She get’s frustrated enough with me not eating beef and pork. My dad wouldn’t mind so much because some people in his family are vegetarian and vegan.
Somehow I think I must be Dancergirl’s twin…*wanders to twin thread*
10 – I have basically the same situation as you. When I’m “older” and in college or something I’ll probably become a vegetarian, but I’m having difficulty not eating red meat, because I have iron-deficiency anemia and need to get a lot of iron. I’m keeping them “at bay” by eating lots of high-iron vegtables and such, but I’m not sure how long that will last…
10- Aww. Try breaking it to your father first? If he’d be more receptive to the idea, he could probably calm your mother down. Just say that you don’t expect different food to be made for you, and that you’ll make sure you “eat right” and get enough protein/vitamins/nutrition.
12- Hmm, that’s depressing. You could probably keep going with that. *pulls out veggie cookbook* Actually, maybe you should look for nutrition-vegetarian cookbooks. There’s probably a vegetarian section in your local B&N…
Anyway, The Garden of Vegan, page 23-24:
“The most powerful vegan food sources for iron and zinc are legumes: lentils and split peas can be made into delicious soups, and chickpeas are found in hummus, curries, and salads. Then there are all sorts of beans: red, white, black, pinto, lima, mung, cranberry, Anasazi, kidney, and many more. Soy foods are outstanding sources of protein and zinc (iron, too): tofu, tempeh, soy mile, and miso. Half the world’s protein comes from grains; whole grains are rich in iron and zinc, too. So make the acquaintance of some new grains: barley, millet, oatmeal, quinoa, rice, whole-wheat flour, and wheat germ. Almonds, cashews, hazelnuts, pine nuts, and various seeds can also provide some of what you need.”
That book is really cute and entertaining. As well as useful.
Also, does anyone else live with people who seem to have an inexplicable fear of tofu and soy in general?
You know, I do sort of. I don’t see why some of my friends hate it. It is good if you let yourself like it. Also, I basically live on soy, so I don’t have much choice but to like it.
12 – one word: supplements.
One of my all-time favorite cookbooks is Passionate Vegetarian by Crescent Dragonwagon (she’s also an author of children’s books). She emphasizes food that is a pleasure to eat, plus gives lots of information about preparation techniques, variations, and so on.
Since she pointedly does not proselytize, she’s safe for nonvegetarians (though the 1000+ pages is in itself a good answer to the “what do you eat?” question). When I took dishes from her book to pot-luck dinners, people begged me for recipes — which was a new experience for me, I assure you.
12) Yeah I’m like borderline anemic now i think…I used to have to take iron in various forms, including liquid iron which was a nightmare. But as Lizzie said, supplements may help us ^^
13) My mom loves soy milk since she’s lactose intolerant (and I probably am too, I just don’t like milk -__-) so that’s not a problem. Also half of my family is Japanese so we’re cool with tofu haha. Actually my dad eats just about anything now that I think of it. But my mom made me miso soup with tofu in it and it was gooooood. *__* I think it’s the texture that most people don’t like.
16) Oooh I’d love to buy that book!
My sister is vegetarian, and I hate tofu, but we have to eat it a lot thanks to her. I think she must be borderline anemic at this point but she doesn’t really care no matter how many times I point it out.
I am mostly vegetarian simply because we can’t get kosher meat here, but even then we wouldn’t eat a lot. of it.
We have a tofu factory a couple blocks away and that stuff is gooooooood.
13 (SM) – Yeah, I have a book with lists of foods with their vitamin content – it has really helped.
15 (Lizzie) – Yeah, I’m on Iron supplements, but that’s “not enough,” according to my doctor.
16 (Rebecca) – Thanks! I’ll see if the library and/or bookstore has it. *searches*
I LOVE Tofu! And Soymilk. And everything else Soy. Because it’s awesome
11-*laughs* You agree with me? wow…..yay!!! Finally someone who understands, not that the other musers dont, they just seem to be vegetarians for different reasons. Except #9, she doesnt like the way they treat them either. Yay!!!
oh man, I just got a reply from my friend I am scared. I wont know what to say, she is going to be upset. I will come back with news.
ARG!!! She just told me “I understand, and that is nothing like what I said…” Help me!!!! I dont know what to do…..she doesnt understand.
So I have a question for all you other vegetarians out there….
I was reading an article about how some scientists took a few cells from a pig or something, and managed to make meat from it or something… please, someone else know what I’m talking about! XD
but, if it was available commercially, would you eat cruelty-free meat?
23-no, I do not eat red meat because I think pigs and cows are to smart to be killed. I eat birds because there dumb. It does not matter were the meat comes from.
24 – Birds aren’t dumb! Birds are very intelligent creatures. *is confused by the man’s reasoning* *feels the same comment coming from Le HAWK*
23-I know what you are talking about, but I think I read an article about it with alot of information, and I didnt like the sound of it. I wouldnt eat cruelty-free meat, just becuase I wouldnt eat any meat, I dont think animals should be killed for humans period. But I would be extremely glad if other people would buy it.
24-Birds are not dumb, I agree with purple panda. They fly south for the winter dont they? Just read books on them, they are extremely intellegent.
22) Maybe for now you can leave it alone for now…There are going to be people who don’t get it, which is sad but true as I have found. If the subject comes up again and she continues being that way, you can always ask that she at least respect your views, even if she doesn’t understand or feel the same way. Good luck, though! ;____;
23) o_____o Does that mean they could make himan meat…okay I’m going to stop there DDDX
That’s interesting though…
24) Hey what about carrier pigeons? Granted they aren’t the smartest bunch, but birds never forget. Seriously. My mom’s cousin used to put out birdseed for the local birds, and when he stopped they messed up his backyard and stuff. Never mess with birds.
Also pork is not red meat. It’s the other white meat XDDD
I myself avoid pork…ever since I was six or seven I’ve loved pigs so one day I stopped eating them. I had a massive collection of over 100 pig stuffed animals…
25-6- they do not have the same intilecet as cows and pigs. they are relitives of dinosaurs and dinosaurs had pea bairns. same with fish.
27-pigs are nice. and I thought the other white meat was cat XDDD
but people,rellay. look at muse 1/07, or, if you have a lot (and I mean A LOT) of muses look at 2/97. look at the veitarn aritacle. somebody said that biard ared smart. and also I fell that people need some meat and tofu proboly dosn’t cut it for me.
New thread! I found The Omnivore’s Dilemma! I started reading it in the car.
16-I’ve seen that book, actually, and I’ve always knd of wondered about it. I love her name!
The computer’s eating the type word thing again. Not fun. I don’t like you, computer! *cries*
Cruelty-free meat… I don’t know. I guess if the animal didn’t die, and the meat was totally safe, then yes. Maybe. I don’t know…
Birds are intelligent!
13- I’ve never tried tofu, and I don’t like soy that much…
I have a question for vegetarians. Wouldn’t you still kill a fly, or an ant, or a mouse, or any animal that was bothering you? How is that different from killing and eating, say, a cow?
I’m all for animal rights and everything, but I don’t think I could become a vegetarian. I try to refrain from eating hot dogs and meat in cafeterias because I don’t know anything about how that animal was treated and I don’t know what else is in that meat. The meat I eat at home is as cruelty-free as possible, I think.
I don’t agree with vegans at all. Milking a cow doesn’t exactly hurt it… yes, those cows sometimes in miserable conditions, as some chickens in chicken coops are, but that would be limiting my diet so much as to be unhealthy.
29-Meat has never passed my lips and I am 13.
31-Bugs arent tortured and skinned alive for humans to eat. And wouldnt kill a mouse or anything bigger, becuase its just pointless and mean. But they arent tortured and skinned alive for humans to eat either. Cows are tortured and skinned and dismembered while they are fully consious just for humans to eat.
It is very hard to tell how the animal your meat came from was treated, organic meat is the best thing to buy. It has to say like certified organic or something for them to be telling the truth.
Most vegans are vegans because there is rennet in cheese that comes from animals, and becuase the milk/butter/cheese/etc factories give the cows growth hormones to make them produce more milk faster (becuase they say time is money and they dont care a bit about animals feeling discomfort), which causes them to have to carry about 100 pounds of milk around which causes them a huge amount of pain. It also frequently causes utter infections and other things etc that causes extreme pain and discomfort to the cows, and often “there isnt enough time to cure them” (or so they say) and they just make the cows live with it. Now how is that fair? And most vegans are very healthy, you can drink soy milk, and I dont think living without butter is exactly a bad thing, think of all the fat. And it is possible to get eggs from companies that treat their chickens better than the others (cage free/ organic).
public apology from the man for aeiou
I am sorry. I did not mean to anger anyone. if i offended anyone please tell me.
end of apology
does anyone know of vegetarian (or vegan) marshmallow? I am a boy scout and I what s’mores, but ,of course, I do not eat gelatin.
32- ahh! but most milks are now are rbhg free, and horizon milk has no rbhg. thats there whole concept.
34 – But still, at most dairy-producing places (that are non-organic), they treat the animals incredibly poorly. They torture them and they get sick, etc. Just because there’s no RBHG doesn’t mean that there isn’t torture.
Panda’s right: 24-OKAY DON’T GET ME STARTED ON THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Did you even read the Muse issue on birds? Check that out, and if you are still confused, let me know.
33-They do make vegan marshmallows. I have tried them. They are very sweet, becuase I guess they have to fill them up with lots of sugar.
31-No, we have mice in our basement, and we are humanely trapping them. Of course, when we set them free, I have to hold back the urge to catch them naturally, but…
People need to realize that killing another animal is an act of creulty, no matter how dumb our standards of inteligence make them, and we should do unto others as we would have them do unto us. Yes, SOME meat was eaten by cave men, as they were in a situation where they could not get enough otherwise. E.G. Iceages, times/places where they could not farm.
Now. Below is a layout of why I believe we can live without meat:
Are we living in caves?
Are we unable to properly farm?
Are we unable to get enough nutrients by eating vegetables alone?
If you answer those questions with the correct answers, you will see it is quite easy to live on vegetables alone.
I’ll be back soon with more information…
34-I buy horizon milk
36-I agree!!!
I am still waiting for my friend to call me about the whole situation. *sigh*
36- nope. I looked at it on the kokoplie and company but never read the article. that was only the secound muse I ever looked at.
38-Well, please do go back and read it. It’s worth it, and if you really still believe birds are dumb after reading the article, you should cancel your subscription right away as Muse is not printing things you want to hear.
If I may kindly point out that I will soon be turning 13, as well as the fact that I have never had meat, maybe people will see how easy it is to live without it.
The Vegetarian HAWK
39- I’ll have to. but that will not make my not eat meat.
39-Go thirteen year old vegetarians who have never had meat!!! I am one too!!! Yay!!!
Sorry, I like to celebrate.
13-(sorry i take forever to answer) I could break it to my dad first and it would be easier, but my parents are divorced so there will be no calming down of my mother. Bleh. I also have some vitamin problem that caused me to have leg cramps, but I took vitamins and it went away.
I could handle being vegetarian, but not vegan. I love cheesey things and my favorite drink is chocolate milk. I also love seafood, so I might have problems giving it up. I’m going to find out what it means when meat is kosher. I’ve always wondered that, but I’m too forgetful to look for it.
Eat not the fish, for the creatures are of peace. Huzzah! Praise the Allah of the Sea!
6- I know how you feel. I had this friend who was realy sensitive to everything I did and got mad at me for everything. she got mad at me and KEPT BRINGING UP something I did once (having a book open while she was talking to me). I’m not entirely sure why we were friends. we had NOTHING in comon. actually, now that I think about it this has nothing to do with what you were saying. please ignore me.
10- just ask her to respect your beliefs or something.
I eat fish and stuff.
oops sorry, I know double post…..
I eat fish so i’m something like a “pescotarian” or something. i don’t really remember… I was reading some cook book that explained it.
not to be steriotypical or anything but A LOT of the guys I know don’t respect my decision to be vegetarian. they always ask me “why don’t you eat meat” and they just WON’T accept that i don’t like eating animals. they are so anoying. grr…..
45-I know, its extremely aggrivating, why cant people just accept diversity?
28-Just because they arent as intellegent as other animals doesnt make them dumb, and doesnt mean we should torture them.
44-She does respect it, she just doesnt want to understand, and doesnt want to deal with the problem or something. I am still waiting for her to call me to work this out. I will keep you posted.
36-is there vegan jell-o?
I eat fish and birds. I started not to eat red meat in kindergarten because of mad cow.
I think prioritizing certain animals over others over intelligience isn’t good, but that discussion should probably be saved for the Hot Topics thread…it doesn’t really deal directly with happy vegetarianism and such. But maybe I just got a bunch of people mad at me for saying that. I don’t know… *sigh*
47 (aeiou) – I would assume they’ve made some sort of Jell-o for Vegans…but I wonder what it’s made out of. *Researches* – I found a recipe using Agar and Fruit Juice, but I’m not sure what Agar is (except that it’s what you make petri dish food stuff out of) so I don’t know if it’s vegan, or if it would work for Jell-o.
48-No, that is a good idea. *eyes look distant* I can see a future of unhappy campers posting on this thread about prioritizing animals over others based on intelligence. Beware.
I’m a vegitarian, and I’m proud of it, I have many reasons to why I’m proud, but I wont go into that, it’ll take to long. I have othing against those who like meat, its just that I dont, and I wont.
P.S. Its good to like whatever you like to be, its you, and its ood to be you, nomater what anybody in the whole world says. ^@^
50- are you new? i’m too lazy to go check whos here/newcomers so *PIE*
I love my decision to be vegetarian. some times I get these weird cravings for breaded chicken. but i wont give in! YAY VEGETARIENS!
50-Cool!! Me too. *pies*
51-Good for you.
48- It doesn’t matter if it’s vegan or not. just as long as it does not have gelitin.horsehoofs. ugggg.
8,9- Oh yes, it is terrible. And maybe if I heard it spoken by an actual voice, I would feel differently. I just can’t really feel anything about it. Though granted, I feel decidedly uncomfortable eating chicken. Really uncomfortable. Like, I-think-I’ll-quit-eating-chicken uncomfortable.
54-wierd, because compared to what they do to the other animals they are treated the best.
55- It doesn’t seem that way to me. Perhaps it’s because the chicken meat tastes like the animals were cruelly treated, and beef doesn’t. Pork does, though. I’ve eaten chicken and pork that was treated well, and it was very good. Heck, when all you think about is the taste, so is chicken and pork that was treated well. But it seems kind of wrong to eat factory raised pigs and chickens. I wonder why I don’t feel that way about beef…?
*so is chicken and pork that was treated badly.
(53) Gelatin is rarely made from hooves nowadays. It usually comes from collagen in hides, skin, and bones.
the man for aeiou (47) and Purple Panda (48):
Agar is made of chains of sugars that come from the cell walls of certain algae. So it would qualify as vegan — algae being plants. I’ve seen it sold in Asian markets as a powder and as sticks (sometimes tinted red with food coloring). I’ve used it to make “jello-ish” desserts by mixing it with fruit juice, heating until the agar dissolves, pouring it into a mold and letting it cool. If you use the sticks, you have to soak them first in cold water for about an hour. In the end, the texture is gelatinous but not as wiggly as jello.
58- even worse. * throws up in to pie crust, wich is throw at all the mean, amiaml killing, hide useing peope in the world.*
i’m a vegetarian as well, but for a very different reason than most of you seem to be. i’m worried about animal treatment (sort of) and everything, but the real reason i stay away from meat is that it’s incredibly wasteful to produce. i don’t have the stats on hand right this second, but it takes a irresponsibly huge amount of resources to create one hamburger. chicken and pork are less wasteful, but the numbers are still surprising. it just seems so environmentally irresponsible to consume meat on a regular basis.
Carageenan, from seaweed, is another source of gel.
There is a brand of vegan marshmallows out there and at least a couple of jello-style products. I’ve seen them in stores but never tried them.
ALICE!!! Please come here!
You mentioned Heifer on the polling place thead. Now if you would please, explain how it does good for anyone.
P.S.-I know all of the bad it does, but I wanted to give her a chance to explain before pouncing
63- First of all, it feeds all sort of very hungry people in far-off countries, and teaches them how to support themselves by farming. Then, it doesn’t cost any of the aforesaid far-off people any money, and it only costs the donor a little bit of money. These people are sure to be more humane than the big scary factories, and a lot of the animals probably don’t ever get eaten. Have you ever seen the movie “Pay It Forward”? Don’t. It’s an awful movie. But it’s a good concept, and it’s sort of what Heifer International does.
Mind you, I’m not very well-informed, but it seems to me a good deal less harmful to the animals than what we well-to-do people do to get our food, and beneficial to the humans, too.
That’s just my opinion.
63- they don’t kill amimal’s. the poor people who get them do. usely the first amimal is keeped ,and some of its offspriings, for breeding. and the cows give milk. and the bees give honey and I know that some say eating meat is wrong but think about it:
you are poor. you can eat meat or stave. what do you do?
The only meat I eat is chicken, turkey, and fish, but I only eat it if it’s either organic or from a certain farm (my neighbor’s dad runs a chicken and turkey farm, and “slaughters” everything himself, so I know exactly what has happened to it and that all the animals are treated nicely [except for the slaughtering part…I don’t really think that qualifies as nice] and such). I never get meat at restaurants simply because I don’t know where it has been and where it came from.
I don’t eat other meat (cow, pig, etc.) because of many reasons: the main ones are the horrible conditions the animals are put in and how badly they are treated, and another is the diseases that could be in the meat. I guess I’ve never really thought about the “waste to produce” idea Zallie brought up, but I agree with that as well.
I don’t think I would ever be vegan (I probably wouldn’t be able to eat half of the stuff), but I respect everyone who is vegan, and share all their ideas…obviously not strong enough to become vegan, but still…
I could not be a vegan because I like milk to much. but in the past few days my meat consuption is down. it is odd.
65-But those people dont skin them alive, or boil them, they kill them first. I dont eat meat because of the aweful factories, and I think its awesome people help poor people by giving them animals, so they can get milk and stuff and then eat them, because they arent put through the torture that most are.
66-good for you!!!I read about all the diseases from slaughterhouses in the meat in “Harvest for Hope”, and no offense to anyone, but it really makes me happy I dont eat meat. Meat puts you in more risk than you think, there were people who died from eating something from Jack in the box that had meat in it!!! Creepy!!! But just by talking about the aweful slaughterhouses at restaraunts and grocery stores can make a difference, becuase although it is really sad, there are very few people who know the truth, and if more people know more people will not like it, and wont buy things from these places, thus forcing them to get organic meat or meat from places that dont torture their animals. It works!!!! I can prove it!!!
I read something in the “Harvest for Hope” book by Jane Good all yesterday, it goes along with Zallie’s idea. It takes 26,400 gallons of water to produce about 2 pounds of beef. GALLONS!!!! How aweful is that? ONLY 2 POUNDS!!!!
I RECCOMEND “HARVEST FOR HOPE” BY JANE GOODALL TO EVERYONE!!!!
i dont really mind vegitarians unless they verbally complain alot about dinners, moose heads and other sort on walls, and whenever someone says free hot dogs they yell “do they have vegitarian hot dogs?”
otherwise i dont really mind them! like my other friend is a vegitarian also and she just says no thanks and passes along the meat or orders something else.
(at the top i actully know a person like that!)
I’m not vegetarian, but I really, really want to be when I grow up. I know people who are vegetarian and they have inspired me. You probably wonder why I don’t be a vegtarian now…well, my mom is really, really into meat (because of the protein), so she would probably freak out if I stopped eating meat. So I’ll wait ’til I’m outta the house and can do what I want. (That just sounded sooo bratty. I didn’t mean it that way.)
69- yeah I hate it when people make a big deal about being vegetarien and do what you described. I try to make the least amount of fuss possible, the only thing I do is ask if I can actually eat at the restraunt we’re going to. because in france I couldn’t eat at a lot of restraunts.
my brother is this “I LOOOOOOVE MEEEEAAAT AND CANT SURVIVE WITHOOOUUUUT IT” kind of person. for some reason he always brings up that he loves meat when i bring up me being vegetarien.
I don’t mind vegetarians, and I don’t mind people who eat meat. I do, however, mind the people who do mind either of those people. (That’s a mouthful!)
I think everyone can make their own decisions on what to believe, and do whatever they want with their lives. I don’t personally eat steak, but I certainly have no problem with someone who loves steak.
That was kind of an obvious comment, but it’s on the subject, so…
72-I agree.
69-I wouldnt complain about dinners, but I dont like it when people kill things and then stuff them for the heck of it. They are taking an animals ONLY life away from them, and they will never live again. They could have a family just like you and I, and they will never see them again etc. Animals have feelings too, and feel pain. And so what if they ask if they have vegetarian hot dogs? Its just like asking any other question, personally I dont think it is a big deal. We want to eat too, and some people like veggie hot dogs, so whats the problem? Please dont take offense I just dont understand why this is a big deal.
I got “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” from the library today – it looks really good!
71- Hmm, sounds exactly like my father.
72- Agreed.
I got dairy-free choklit ice “cream.” Excuse me as I die of happiness.
74-Be warned. It’s amazingly interesting. I think I’m scaring my family with my blathering on about it. “And everything comes from corn …”
68-But what about “industrial organic”? They’re almost as bad as the non-organic companies, according to The Omnivore’s Dilemma.
76-Well, almost makes a little bit of a difference, and I am not sure I understand the question, but organic is better because they dont give the animals growth hormones so that their legs break and they get infections etc and are dragged along to be slaughtered. The other stuff may be just as bad, but at least they dont make them freakishly and unnaturally huge so they are in pain even more. My goal is to raise awareness so more people will realize what they are eating and how the animals are treated, and how we are destroying the earth and wasting water etc. it will make a difference, and I am going to have a meeting with my friends next week. Harvest for Hope said alot of things about the better companies, I dont know how to describe it.
I really like how it describes the Industrial Organic. Which is something I’ve been interested about for awhile, just never really understood.
ARG! None of my friends came to the meeting, they all waited until the day before to ask their parents and it was too late so they couldnt go, except for one of my friends who was sick that day. ARG! Why do they do that? So annoying!
79-Ugh. That sounds annoying.
I have just been told that Certain People had been advising my mother to put ground up bits of chicken and fish into my food for protein. She, however, told me of their scheme, and we shared an astonished laugh about it. But now I am really annoyed at the Certain People, who already think I am a Disturbed and Distraught Teenager, so now I shall try to hide from them (Well, no. But avoid them whenever possible). And not eat any food that they offer me!
But what a dishonorable plan!
purplefinch and Purple Panda –
I know what you mean about the Omnivore’s Dilemma making a big impression. I read it months ago and I still think about it a lot. The information about the sad lives of most beef cattle really upset me. And the realization that most “free-range” chicken really never step outside made me mad.
The food from the sustainable farm sounded great!!
Has it changed how you eat??
I think it has, or, at least, it’s changed how I think about what I eat. It made me really consider my vegetarianism, which I think was a good thing, because I really don’t think about not eating meat anymore. I mean, I just don’t eat meat… It’s become so regular for me, that… I don’t know. But when I kind of had to consider his view, I had to argue the reason for my vegetarianism. And the best argument I could come up with is: It’s better than the alternative for me at the present time. And it’s better for the environment. And I read the ingredient labels on thins, and see how much cornstarch is in things.
I really want to go visit a sustainable farm, now…
Somebody said today was hug a vegan/vegetarian day today.
I read the ingredient labels on things …
i am a vegetarian xept for ORGANIC, FREE RANGE [aka ‘i had a good life’ chicken] chicken. Ever try Morningstar Farms Vegetarian Products? Yumyum good…
I just found out that Kraft owns morning star and some other big company that uses growth hormones and other tortureish methods on their dairy cows etc. owns Boca!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *sobs* Now what do I do? I hate those people who could care less about cows!!!!!!!!!!! *cries*
Omigosdh. Cows deserve lives too. Boca is disgusting. Now i need to find a new vegetarian product [looks around suspiciously]
(86) MissSwann2223, have you tried Quorn?
No… but i shall.
i just went on the website, and they sell it at a Hannaford near me. Yay [squealing hyperactively]
86-Me too!!!!
87-I will try it, is it another brand?
84-YES morningstar is teh pwnage. Did I do that right? I believe it was the first time!
(87) It’s a meat alternative that comes in a variety of forms: cutlets, roasts, ground, and so on. I don’t know if they do burgers or not. For people who miss the texture of meat (or are squeamish about tofu) it is almost indistinguishable from chicken when it’s added to stir fries, casseroles, mock-chicken salad and the like. I also slice the roast for sandwiches.
Morningstar stuff isn’t anything like tofu. It has texture. But I also like tofu!
92-I’ll have to try it sometime!
Read dancergirl’s entry, and decide if you are a cow luuver. I am now boycotting morningstar
92-cool, maybe that can help my dad make stuff for the family……I will have to try it!!!
93-Ya, I liked morningstar until I found out who owned them.
94-yay!!!! I actually feel like I have helped for once, usually I just complain and rant on about the animals…………
*pats you on the back*
Thanks.
As usual I have gone around school listening to people who know nothing about vegetarianism rant on about how stupid it is and talk about hunting. *clears voice and mimicks guy the other day* “once, like, I shot a deer in the eye, and it died” end of mimick. OMG ITS SO HORRIBLE BECAUSE HE DIDNT EVEN USE IT, HE JUST KILLED IT!!!!!
OMG ther’s this guy in my class xactly like that and he always talks about guns and killing squirrels [sobs]
98-I know!!!! I hate it!!!
that’s terrible!!!!!!!
OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
my favorite thread is dead……NOOOOO!!!
I will help you keep it alive!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Just keep posting.
The thread will stay alive!
Live, thread! Live!
(101, et al.) Do you know the history of this thread? The original stalled out after a month, in July 2006, at 156 posts. Then this past June, almost an entire year later, someone rediscovered it, and in its new career it extended to 400 posts and spilled over into this thread. So I’d say it’s had rather an amazing life.
how about veggie tales! no, wait there was a theard on those.
yes a long a buetuful history, with my post being 399.
105- Interesting. Maybe we can do it again. I’m not much of a vegetarian, though.
KRAFT!?!?!?!?!??!?!??!?!?!? Well, that’s just…sad…
Burt’s bees is getting bought up by some big company that will put stuff we don’t want in their products, but that isn’t food…just my shampoo…
well, I guess I could stop bathing and be real environmental! Stinky, but if NOBODY on the planet will make things naturally, what can I do? 
I just checked my morningstar burgers box, and it says it is owned by Kelloggs. But maybe Kraft owns kelloggs, they seem to own everyone.
Red-tailed HAWK
Where is everyone??? The Vegetarian thread is dying!
NOOO!
109- Oohh, maybe like Itex! (dies) Gragh! Burts bees should be kept natural!
Ahem, it takes two to make conversation. And keep this thread alive.
AHEM, THAT’S YOUR CUE!
if i is my cue than i shall make a comment: i am not a vegitarian but i hate most meat. I dont even like looking at blood. I am not a vegitarin because (for some reason) i can’t give up chicken. or turkey. but i hate steak. end of story.
you can still eat chicken and turkey, just buy organic. most of that stuff is safe. if you really want to be superficial, get organic free range.
If I had a lot of money I might buy a few hundred bottles of Burt’s bees shampoo and store them since they are being bought by whatever company….
I just don’t think people should eat meat. If an animal was domesticated by us to be eaten, it no longer represents something necessary nature put out there to keep the secondary consumers happy. Same with drinking cow milk at ridiculous ages, people didn’t drink milk for that long, and they were living rough lives chasing wooly mamoths and camel around (back in early North American Days, really early, but still…) And their bones obviously took a lot of beating, more than the normal american now.
Red-tailed HAWK
116- There are some people who just don’t care about animals. They think that since meat tastes good, it gives them the right to slaughter living things for it. People in the meat companies don’t care for the welfare of animals, they just want to make a profit. It sickens me just to think about it. Grrr.
117- just like my bro. he is meat lover and any meal without meat is a meal not worth eating, to him. i think he thinks it makes him more of a man if he eats meat. the logic to that? i do not know.
97/98- i bet they think it makes them manly…. the losers.
Note to vegetarians who like to travel: don’t visit the alsase! I want there and i mostly ate pasta (except for the ight i accidentaly ate bacon “it’s potato” claimed my mother) so yeah. the alsase isn’t vegetarian friendly.
119- I think I could survive off of pasta
109-Not Burt’s Bees! I love Burt’s Bees, even though I don’t think I have any products by the company right now. Noooo!
I can eat so much pasta…but I think I would get really tired of it after a day or two.
109- Make your own soaps and stuff! xD I’d be hopeless at that…
117- That sounds like my entire Prob&Stats class. It’s really annoying, the number of comments made each day. Grr.
I loooooooove pasta. I could live on it. Y’know, if it had all the vitamins and aminos and minerals and such that I needed to survive…
I’m not so big on imitation meats. I get really paranoid if I’m not the one who cooked them… And I have almost zero cooking skills…so…yeah.
I love soup, though. Yay vegetable broth and noodles and beans and such!
109-I know!!! It is horrible! I read that in the Jane Goodall book, Boca is also owned by Kraft!!!! *cries* And I also hate that I cant find marshmellows, or gummy bears or anything without gelatin because most people could care less that they are eating boiled tendons from poor animals.
117-I hate that. And I hate it when people say “I would be a vegetarian, but I just cant give up meat, it tastes soooooooooo good” Well I know how hard it is to give up delicious food, I have found out that animal products are in so many of my favorite foods, but if you really care that you are eating poor tortured animals, you should be able to not eat meat.
122- yeah! that happens to me a lot to! and by a muse reader to!
122- Some aren’t even aware of where gelatin comes from. I have lectured many a person about its origins. And it’s kind of annoying about the ‘I would but meat tastes yummy’ thing. Self-control is not that hard to manage. Just say ‘I wouldn’t,’ people…. -_-
123-I know!!!
124-Ya, I know, I have lectured people about the cruelty, and they lecture their parents, and their parents still think vegetarianism is wrong, because it is “unhealthy”. ARG!
125- Urgh yeah. Every time I fall ill [be it a cold or a fever] my mother blames my diet. -_-
119- spaghetti and sauce everyday for a month gets tiresome.
125/126- what the hey??????????????
I was thinking the other day. (Amazing, I know, but there you have it.) And I don’t really mind people eating meat, when they know where it came from and that it’s not neccisary. Someone who can butcher a hog, make sausages and eat them without being too grossed out has every right to eat the thing. Someone who thinks it’s clever of my cousin to draw a picture of a pig “laying” a ham, does not have the right to eat animals.
I’m not saying that I think eating meat id=s a good idea, but I’m saying that if everyone could know and understand just what was on their plate and realize that 1. It’s not nessecary for survival. 2. It’s bad for the environment. 3. It was alive once and there is no getting away from that fact. Of course, the rational conclusion would be more people becoming vegitarian, but so long as they have a mindset about what they are really doing, they can eat whatever they want.
For example, my grandmother refuses to accept thefact that cheese is mold. As long as she doesn’t have to see it or think about it, she has no problem eating it. When you say, “But, cheese is mold.” she gets a grossed out look on her face and makes shushing movements.
This I can’t stand.
128-Oh my gosh its like you just read my mind. I know exactly how you feel!!! *hugs Midnight Fiddler as hard as she can* I am always telling people about what is in their food and stuff, because people have the right to know what they eat, and they are just like EW! and then keep eating it because it looks good. I HATE THAT! Now factories are always putting little tiny parts of animals, crushed beetles for color, something extracted from Beaver’s anal gland, and put it in food for little tweaks, like “its only a tiny bit of an animal” but to me its still an animal, so I dont want to eat it, but they dont put all those things under ingredients because of money or whatever. ARG!!!!!!! *stomps off*
128/129- Oh yes. Or, my other favourite: “Well, I didn’t kill it…” -_-
*withholds angry, self-righteous rant*
130- that make no sense. if they did kill it, and ate it, It would be fine, since they knew what happened.
131- Seriously, yeah. That’s why I’m okay with hunters. But it makes no sense when people say that.
Well, I step in once more, but this time it’s in agreement. Are you happy?
I was listening to The Omnivore’s Dilemma the other day and I have made a sort of half-promise to myself not to eat meat unless I know where it came from. This is what I have been telling you from the very beginning. It’s okay to eat meat if you know where it came from and are content with the fact. A lot of the meat that I have eaten comes from a neighbor’s animal or something like that, and in addition to it tasting better, I am not constantly disgusted by the knowledge that it came from an awful place that was both mentally and physically unhealthy. (Then again, I’m not too sure what goes on at the butcher’s. Oh wow. Never thought of it that way. Ick.)
Unfortunately, in the past several months, I’ve noticed that slipping, and myself eating meat that I don’t really want to eat. Except I do. But at the same time, I almost never eat meat anymore. I’m not sure what I do eat, some to think of it, and it probably isn’t half as nourishing as meat, but yeah . . .
Wow. I just realized that I literally can’t think of what I eat. Bread? Fruit? Cheese? Tortillas? This is frightening. It can’t be healthy . . .
129~ *Massages cracked ribs* Thanks.
When I wrote that I was thinking of a conversation with a guy who was saying that butchering a pig made him hungry. While I don’t share the veiw, (it made me rather sick,) I don’t really mind, since he knew as well as anyone where those sausages came from.
But, once people really realize what’s on their plate and what its affect on the world is, I think we’ll have a lot more vegitarians.
My cousin is in her second year of high school and she became a vegetarian like…….last Christmas. Stories of what people say to her makes me sick. Like this one girl was talking about how much she loved this buffalo wings place, and Katie (my cousin) said that she missed it because she became a vegetarian before it opened. The girl goes, “Well why dont you just eat a little bit and then stop eating meat again?” and Katie goes “because I am a vegetarian” the girl just didnt get it apparently. And people are always telling her how stupid she is etc. *sigh* I cant wait until high school, I can use all my come backs that I have come up with.
Okay… what about ethics of dissection? As in sheep hearts?
*faints even more*
I’m not certain whether to do the alternate assignment, or just live through it (We are doing it with partners, so…). I think if I just do the book work, and maybe watch…but… I can’t decide if I’m just squeamish, or if I think it’s wrong (Yes, I do think it’s wrong, actually, now, when most of us are never going to actually need to know this info after this year, unless we become doctors [no thanks], so…)
But it won’t make any difference, and I don’t want to be fussy and make a scene (although the teacher said that if we were REALLY uncomfortable with it, there was something else we could do). But the sheep hearts are already ordered. And they’re going to be cut up anyway…?
*stands up, and faints again*
137- do the sheep get a heart transplant?
Ha, no. :)/:(
But it’s too late now, so I’ll just have to be brave, and be glad that my lab partner will do most of the work.
137/139~ There is a website called GoFrog, that allows you do virtually dissect a frog. It actually is pretty good, it has you watch a movies of someone dissecting the frog and talking about what he’s doing, then you answer a few questions that you should have learned by watching it, and go on the the next step.
If anyone else has similar problems about dissecting, you may want to look into it and see if your teacher would be willing to let you do that instead of a real one. Just a suggestion.
140-Yeah, for my school’s dissections we did something like that in addition to the actual dissection. (Except it was a lot simpler)
i never ever want to have to disect something. ever.
I think I would be posible to give sheep a heart transplant…
the only reason fart smells bad is if you have eaten meat, cheese, eggs, or stuff like that before you farted. If all you’ve eaten is vegetables, your fart doesn’t smell that bad.
Yet another reason to be vegan…….
144~Hmm, I don’t know. Farts are still unpleasent, even living in a household of vegans. (My mom, dad and I all are.)
However, on the subject, when a person is vegan or vegitarian beans don’t make them fart. People who eat meat have very acidic systems to break down the meat, and it can’t handle beans. Which, ironically, are more natural to eat for a human anyway. Go figure.
Plus, body odor is stronger in meat eating people. A vivid example was when I lent some colonial clothes to a friend, when I stink them up it only take one washing to clean them. After my friend wore them it took several and still had a faint smell. This is no offence to my friend, I’m merely using it as an example.
I’ll stop now before I gross everyone out.
145-that is really interesting. the other day I was listening to the news and they said that meat eaters are at way more risk to many cancers than vegetarians. Steak can cause colan cancer,
Yet Another Observation of Danish People Other Than Me
Danes have got some sort of problem with vegetarians. I havenever et another danish vegetarian. I was at a class party and there was a buffet. I helped my self to some pasta salad and a mother offered me some flæskesteg. (It’s pork, with fatty pork rinds on. It’s a delecasy. Often eaten at Yule.) I declained, explaining to her that I’m vegetarian. She rolled her eyes and turned away. Her eight-year-old son tugged on her sleeve and asked what a vegetarian is. She replied “It’s a very fancy word for a very fancy, picky, and rude person.*
why has no one resondend to post 143?
147- well! what a very fancy piky and rude person she was! honestly calling you rude because you choose not to eat animals is incredibly rude. my advice for the next time this happens is to say (insetead of pointing out you’re vegetarian because some people feel threatened by people pointing out they’re vegitarian) “Oh thank you sooo much. I’ll have some in a bit.” the trick is to fill your plate with salad and whatever else you can eat like bread so you can say “oh I’d love to, it looks so good but as you can see my plate is a little full.” or claim that “It looks so deliciouse but i’m getting kinda full. it’s a real shame, mabe next time.” some might say it’s bad to lie like this and that whats the point of being a vegetarian when you can’t have people accomodate you. well i say there are a lot of evil people out there who don’t understand and it’s better to politely lie than to sya something not intended in a rude way wich leaves you being stabbed in the soul by ruder people.
148- ‘cus it’s not something you can really respond to.
quick poll (post all numbers that apply):
Why are you vegetarian?
1) Because my parents were
2) Because a freind was
3) Personal health reasons
4) Concern about the environment
5) Concern about animal cruelty
6) Because meat is expensive
7) Because of a bet
My cousin became a vegetarian for 2 months because of a bet. She got off the bet on Thanksgiving and went CRAZY eating all the ham and turkey! It was disturbing
3.4.5.
3.5.
150- i don’t apply to that list. it grosses me out to eat animals. i don’t enjoy it. it feels like i am eating dead people. my answer to why i’m vegetarian is : because i just am. people always want indepth reasons and really it’s non of their buisness. i don’t mind you asking of course but people i barely know at school ask and it’s like “why isn’t my answer good enough?”
by the way… has anyone seen sweeny todd? *chuckles* hehehehe meat pies hehehehehe *shudders*
153- YES. SWEENEY. YESYESYES.
I do sort-of get annoyed when people I barely know ask me about that, too. It always seems as if I’m being made to feel as if I should be defending myself. Sigh.
I just read that a lot of cat and dog furs are sold as rabbit and foxfur. Check your fur. If it comes from china, japan, korea, vietnam, Russia, Finland, spain, Indonesia, etc, there’s a really big chance that it is cat or dog and is sold as rabbit and fox.
Or just stop buying leather and fur.
AAAAHHHHHHHHHHRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! EEEEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Little pet doggies!!!!! WAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! DDDDOOOOOOGGGGGIIIIIEEEEESSSSS !!!!!!!!!!!! THEY ARE SKINNING DOGGIES ALIVE!!!!!!!!!! *crawls into corner. cries. very hard. *
isn’t fur illegal now? it sould be.
156- Too many rich people getting even richer off the skins of animals for it to be made illegal.
157- what? :puzzled:
FUR IS LEGAL. And people get very ri´ch off of it. Take Burburry.
Or should I say, Bloodburry.
and minks and snakes and other fur and skin giving things.
147- That is so aggrivating!!!! GR!
1,3,4, and 5 in reply to the poll
GRRR I get so mad when something isnt illegal JUST AND ONLY because important people who happen to be involved in the bussiness that make a lot of money only care about money and think that that is a good enough reason to keep doing it. For instance, cigarrettes, tobacco etc. GR
You know I just remembered something. Sometime on museblog someone said that something cant be made illegal unless someone can prove it harms other people (I am sure it is soooo much more complicated than that, and I will feel stupid after posting this, but give me feedback please!!!!). Well slaughterhouses use TONS AND TONS AND TONS of antibiotics on the animals, and I read in “Harvest for Hope” that the germs and bacteria in the slaughterhouses gradually get used to them and the antibiotics arent effected by them anymore, so they have to come up with new antibiotics. Well think about it, it also said that someday, since bacteria is getting used to all these antibiotics we use, that humans etc wont be immune to germs anymore. BIG PROBLEM. Now should antibiotics be illegal in slaughterhouses?
163- no, they shouldn’t.
slaughterhouses should be.
164- YAY I AGREE!!!!
165- I think that most people on here think so.
166-Hopefully. *cries*
Question:what’s the difference between dogs and cats being killed and skinned and foxes and rabbits being killed and skinned? Answer: None.
Did you guys learn about the beaver pelts and england sveral hundred years ago? no? let me tells you. when people first started coming over to Canada and stuff the found beavers and consequently beaver pelts. they brought the pelts back to england and they were made into hats and the beaver hats became very very poppular so the people back in canada just kept killing beavers. the stupid part is that most of the pelts just lay in storage rooms rotting! and this almost put the beavers into extinction. Canada’s national animal was almost killed off! *ow my carpal tunnel* so uh yeah. that’s how the hudson bay company (the bay) got started!
Yes, and in the meantime they totally cheated the Indians. *cough, cough* All in the name of trade, of course…
Although, I wear leather shoes, because there is simply nothing that works as well. When they come up with a vegan alternative that is as good, looks and works the same way and isn’t hard on the planet to produce, I’ll use it. Untill then, I think I’ll stick to my un-vegan shoes, sorry.
::waves to MF:: Hello! I haven’t seen you in awhile.
I have one vegan friend, and I always go to her house after the holidays to help her out by eating all the chocolate she can’t have. I feel ever so helpful!
But, on a really bright note, my parents started to buy soymilk! ::jumps for joy, dhd::
I do eat milk chocolate, and I love malted milk balls. Oh yes, they are my weaknesses, I must have them now and then…….
I guess my family and I are what you might difine as “freegans.” But say that to the average public and they look even more confused.
The best malted milk balls in the world are Maltesers from Great Britain. You can sometimes find them in specialty import shops. I vaguely remember having seen them somewhere in Frederick, Maryland, but I might be confused about that. They leave Whoppers in the dust.
172- Yup. Maltesers ROCK
I’ve never had them, but now I really want to try them. My dad loves malted milk balls, but I’ve only had Whoppers, so I probably don’t know what a real malted milk ball tastes like.
Whoppers are good, but my favorite malted milk balls are from Switzerland, where my grandparents went once. It is so true– they are like 300% better that Whoppers.
I hate it when people randomly point out that I am a vegetarian to new people they made friends with. Well acutally I somewhat like it because then they find out what a vegetarian actually is, since apparently most kids at my school are only familiar with stereotypes from their parents. *growls* But I mean then they are like “You are a vegetarian?! What do you eat?! How do you live?!” Its so stupid.
172 through 175~ I’ll have to check that out. Fredrick, Maryland, you say? Hmmm. *ponders* I wonder if one might find them in the fancy (and expensive) candy shop in Merchants’ Square, right outside of Colonial Williamsburg….they have some specialty stuff like that.
Usually I just end up eating the ones that you find at the store in the bulk section: too much cheap chocolate and now at much malted milk. But at Halloween I usually end up with a package or two of Whoppers and savor them to the very last.
176~ What gets me is when these grandmotherly ladies are talking to me and it comes out that I’m vegan. (Ironic, after just writing a long thing on malted milk balls, I know, but please forgive me.) Then, these people start looking at me like I’m going to fall down dead at any minute, and start asking me if I’m healthy enough. *ahem* Yes, I beleive I am.
i dont understand like why yall are vegaterien cuz like, God made animals for humans to eat and stuff.
i like animals next to my potatos ha ha ha
178-Ok sorry to argue about religion, but they torture animals that people eat in slaughterhouses, they skin and boil them alive, dont feed them barely anything, or meat from their own species, grind baby chickens up alive for chicken soup, keep them in cages they can move in…..I ask you, would God want animals to be treated like that just so you can eat them?
Please dont get mad at me for that statement but I am simply answering your question.
179- um if God didnt want people to eat them he wouldnt make them so tasty!!!!!!!!
180) LOLOLOLOLOLOL
go eat some raw meat and come back to me lolol oh my goodness
181- like sushi? yummmmm
and God also made fire so we could cook tasty burgers yummmmmy
182) okay well you got me there, I admit. Sorry for my poor response.
many people who are vegetarians though, as Dancergirl13, protest the cruelty to animals in the methods of slaughter. I don’t disagree with you that meat is tasty but it’s more the principal of it.
180, 182- Well those comments are very hurtful to me as a vegetarian. And I dont believe god would want animals skinned AND DISMEMBERED alive just for us to eat. Do you even care about animals being tortured? Back when god first created animals it was fine becuase people killed them when they needed them, and didnt turn them into food machines. Saying meat is tasty on this thread isnt nice. So please, respect us vegans and vegetarians.
183-Thank you! I am not very good at defending myself…..wow…I need to work on that becuase i believe in vegetarianism 1000% and will be starting high school soon where everyone will attack me for it……
185) Never give up on the things you believe in. I read somewhere we waste so much time changing ourselves or holding back for the good of people who don’t really care, who matter least (aka the thought of “everyone”.) So it’s better to just be yourself and who cares about anything else
That said I think I’m going to slowly stop eating meat…
184-yeah, but then why are there carnivores? at least native Americans used bones and stuff…
180- 1) god did not create animals
2) if God did, it says he created animals so adam wouldn’t be lonely.
187) exactly. Native Americans had a higher level of respect for the animals they killed, and also fully utilized the animal. Not so in these days.
I need to stop forgetting to check this thread *pies self*
OK, let’s not begin bringing in religion here. It is true, the current treatment of farm animals is insanely cruel. I have seen movies on the HSUS website of the conditions they are in, and you would feel like removing the last inch of meat from your body the instant you saw it. The conditions are downright unhealthy for people. Mad cow disease. There aren’t too many mad broccoli diseases going around. In fact I just read about mad cow in biology today. Bird flu. It will eventually completely spread to people, and maybe that will be what finally rids the Earth of our hideously wasteful, cruel, and polluting selves. And we will have killed ourselves, yes, the supposed smartest animal on Earth killing itself by mistreating animals we claimed dumb.
My, that was a long rant. But it was all useful, I hope…
Sir Red-tailed HAWK of Supreme Sincerity
Honestly, I don’t know why people get so much grief about being vegetarian. I know tons of vegetarians and am almost a vegetarian myself, and I don’t really see them get any of this at school, and elsewhere. My parents talk about how a vegan diet doesn’t make any sense (which I stand up for and defend if my life depended on it), but it’s hard for me to believe that people don’t understand not-eating-meat. (That’s not meant to deny that it has happened to people, I’m more flabberghasted at the ignorant people who do this.)
Sorry to everyone who didnt want religion in this, because I didnt either, I dont believe all that stuff, I just thought I would try to explain it from someone elses point of view.
191-Oh my gosh I know!!! Its like, I dont eat meat, get over it! Its my decision!
look at R&R for a realation about KfJ!
A book I recommend is “You Don’t Need Meat” by Peter Cox. I haven’t read all of it, but my mom read it and read some of it to me as well…It’s scary, there are gruesome bits but really it’s all worth knowing.
194-Well Harvest for Hope has some horrible stuff in it too, but that book sounds interesting!!!
188) Not to bring religion into the veggie-tarian topic, but really. God created the animals first, then Adam, who watched over them. There is nothing in the Bible about animals keepig Adam company. I just don’t want people misinterpreting my faith.
—
I’m doing a research report on vegetarianism. Are there any particular books to read/sites to visit?
196- oh, no, read the bible. all of Genesis 2 sounds good. remember, there are two creation stories. in the second one, adam, then animals, then eve.
I’m Christian, but I don’t believe creation. it’s a fable, like noah.
I really hate vegemite…REALLY…which is hard..living in New Zealand which is Vegemite/Marmite-a-go-go land its like TAR!!!!
sorry if I changed the tune of the thread somewhat but stil
yeuch
also I never knew untill last night that wine has fish in it blargh
I was vegetarian for three weeks in June ’06 and then at my friends party she had chicken pizza and that was where it all went horribly wrong
still it was nice
196- I highly recommend “Harvest For Hope” by Jane Goodall. At the beginning it just talks about food, but as you get into it it is almost all vegetarian and vegan pros and cons. Ish. yah. Anyway.
i tried giving up meat for lent one year as an excuse to try vegetarianism, but my mom forced me to stop
my cousins are vegan and they don’t have any problems with it and i tried to live like them and it’s surprisingly easy if u can give up real milk and chocolate. (recommendation-don’t ever try caribou chips, they look exactly like chocolate chips but taste completely different in a bad way)
200- I can’t have chocolate or milk, so veganishness might be easy for me.
ΡÖŞÎĈ (201): No milk or chocolate? That’s terrible! Is it all dairy, or just milk?
202- All dairy. And gluten. And corn syrup.
203- so if you were a vegtarian, you whould just have to give up honey to be a vegan!
204- And eggs and meat.
While I don’t see much to be gained currently by going vegetarian, especially since I haven’t meat in quite a while anyway, I do think that I’d like to try the hundred mile diet, which I was going to do and then never got around to because I started school and was really busy and I needed to eat sandwiches every day which required bread which has to be grown far away.
205, no I’m saying if he was already a vegetarian.
204~ I am a vegan and my Dad is a beekeeper. Some vegans don’t eat honey, but many do. Some won’t wear wool; I love the stuff. They sometimes don’t use leather or silk either, but I use both. It all depends on how strict you are, or what is practical.
you can be really not strict and just not eat red meat, that is considered vegetarian, too.
I’ve never actually been on this thread…
Then again, I’m not a vegetarian, I don’t practice vegetarianism, I don’t like vegetables, and I’ve never even tasted vegemite. I’ll stick with peanut butter, thank you very much.
I’m kind of a “One Meat” vegetarian: I don’t eat any pork products.
28~ Some people call it that, but I don’t think that really makes sense. “Hello, I don’t eat meat, but I love meat.” Hmm…
my sister is becoming a vegetarian, and I seem to be the only person who has a problem with it. my parents think its cute, and they are letting her do it. too bad my sister is only doing this so she can be diffferent than me, and to make me mad, and shes not doing it for a cause. i guess thats why it makes me mad
I’m planning on becoming a vegetarian as soon as I leave the house. My parents won’t really let me become a vegetarian right now, and it would be kind of impossible at the moment (unless I wanted to cook and buy all of my food). I might still occasionally eat free-range chicken, but that’s all. Yay vegetarian!
172- we get them up here, Robert.
176- “what do you eat?” that’s a pretty stupid question as it is rather obviouse….. uh well, stuff that doesn’t have meat in it. in case they hadn’t noticed there are four food groups. FOUR! and you can eat from each of them even if you’re vegetarian (meat alternatives, dairy, grain, fruits and veggies) what silly children. gives consolation pie.
178- i don’t eat animals because it feels like i’m eating dead people.
184- there will always be people out there who don’t understand your views. those coments may have been hurtful but you also need to learn to ignore. you can’t always get mad when people enjoy meat. i’m just saying learn to ignore, though i do understand how you feel.
185- like i said learn to ignore. at my school no one attacks me for being vegetarian. barely anyone knows i’m vegetarian because i don’t make a big deal about it. just keep the fact that you’re vegetarian to yourself and you won’t be attacked by small minded people.
189- totaly.
211- whatever, it’s her diet. i don’t really understand why it bothers you.
(213, 172) Kagcomix: Give Americans a taste of Maltesers, and you could make a fortune smuggling them across the border.
210- I’m amusing that you meant 208. we’re call pesco-pollos.
211- my name is yoda doll
212- not 208
209) same with me, no pork. Not for religious reasons, but because as a seven year old I loved pigs and was horrifying by the concept of eating them…no pork since. Of course there’s always the pepperoni I miss when I’m having pizza or something, but I as a rule don’t eat pork.
Maybe that’s how vegetarianism goes… You just get used to it?
I don’t eat pork because
1) I read that article in Muse from the first/tenth birthday issue.
2) Pigs are funny
3) Pork is gross in the first place
4) Especially with no mustard
5) In fact, I don’t really like mustard
6) So I probably shouldn’t eat it either
7) STOP KILLING THE MUSTARD!
8) *protests*
I’ve never really eaten meat in my life except for a piece of shrimp when I was two, so I don’t “miss the taste” or anything. I’m glad I’ve never had to get used to being vegetarian. I wish I could be vegan, but my mom won’t let me…=/
I’m not vegetarian, but one of my friends is. She really isn’t that strict…here’s her diet:
-No beef, unless it’s her mom’s beef soup
-No pork, ham, turkey (she’s fairly strict on this)
-No chicken whatsoever (she owns chickens) unless she’s at Panda Express, and then she gets Orange Chicken. Or she steals mine.
She calls herself a Flexitarian. I call her an Idontlikemeatbutimnotreallyavegetarianarian.
220-Well…
Shrimp is good, I guess…
Darn right
When did you give up meat(s)/became vegan/became Vegetarian?
I like meat. Meat tastes good. But when I eat meat I can’t shake the fact that I’m eating dead flesh that has been cooked until decomposing process has been stopped, lightly seasoned with salt (mmmmmm, salt.).
I became a vegetarian about three years ago (I think?), although I wish I did it sooner.
I enjoyed the taste of meat, when I ate it.
219-That article (and the drawing of the pigs) caused my little brother to try to be a vegetarian. He quit after a week, though… *grumbles*
147-That’s horrible! That poor child, to have a mother like that…
I disagree with fur-wearing, especially now that we have synthetic stuff (even though it may be made out of some form of oil… I’m not sure).
211-How old is she, approximately? How do you know that she’s doing this for attention? (I, as an older sibling, know that things like that can be sometimes annoying… but if she really wants to, it’s not harming anybody, that I can see, except the meat industry. And that doesn’t bother me…)
I don’t really eat meat that much. I had some on pizza yesterday, but I think I’m going to stop eating meat on pizza because it looks awful, however it tastes.
205-Your comment made me laugh when you said the bread is grown far away. I know you didn’t mean to say it like that so no offense, but I just found it amusing.
I’m a pescetarian, and I think that’s as close to veggie I’ll ever get because I just really love seafood.
I don’t mind people eating meat if the raise the animals humanely on a small farm. At my old school there was a kid who’s family had a farm and they ate their own animals. So many people were offended because his dad killed them, but those animals were treated better and killed more quickly than the ones they eat.
A few days ago in Social Studies a girl was talking about that kid. She said that he shared bacon with her once, and proceeded to state the following “slaughtered meat tastes better than normal meat”. My history teacher and most of the people in the class were laughing histerically.
A guy in my SS class just became an un-vegetarian.
ooooo00000OOOOOO!! I’m vehetarian. I’m happy that America has enough corn to feed a third world country, but !@@%$^#$ MAD that they use it to feed cows sick amounts of food just to kill them and sell them off to McDonald’s for like $1!!!
229-I agree!
230- Yeah!!! and u know how much gas is ruining the ozone because of the plants that slaughter the cows??? *outraged and throws bunnies at random peeps* GaH!!
YES!
231-OH I KNOW!!! it bothers me sooooo much! Grrr!
one of my friends is outreaged that they’d sell cloned meat, unmareked in supermarekets in the US. I don’t see her point. you’re still eating meat. whats the difference really, when you think about it?
234- The nice thing about vegetarianism is that we don’t have to worry about eating cloned meat.
235- but we do have to worry about eating cloned plants.
236~ And genetically modified plants…
237- Genetically modified stuff scares me.
228- We have lost one from our ranks. *cries*
236 and 237 – I’ve heard of genetically modified plants, I suppose, but cloned plants? Why would you clone a plant?
Or an animal, for that matter… I can see an animal, I guess, but a plant?
(239) Most avid gardeners clone plants on a regular basis to make more plants for themselves or to share them with friends. It’s cheaper than buying new plants and faster than seeds, though some plants lend themselves to the process more readily than others. Also, some plants are patented and therefore illegal to clone.
240- how can you patent a plant?!?!?!?!?
(241) I wondered the same thing, yet that’s what it said on the tag from the garden shop.
Here’s an excerpt from a Wikipedia article on the subject:
Genetic modification is quite scary, though I’m not really worried about it, for my own health at least. It has definitely become a problem internationally, but I only eat vegetables from our garden in our backyard so it’s not such a big deal from my family.
It is kind of strange to see how things are marketed, and how they have changed due to hormones and genetic modification. Now, milk containers say in big letters, “No rBGH,” and the new “in” is organic because of genetic modification and pesticides and other such unwanted-things.
I always beg my dad to buy organic food now, because of the genetically modified stuff, it grosses me out so much. And then there are those companies that transport the fruit and put DYE IN THEM to make them look fresh. How discusting is that? I want to eat REAL, FRESHfood thank you very much. I sometimes have to eat non organic fruit and veggies, but if I am lucky mom will go grocery shopping, and she buys organic as much as possible.
IF YOU LIKE MILK AND CANT BUY ORGANIC, OR ARE EASILY DISCUSTED DO NOT READ THE FOLLOWING.
I read in my Jane Goodall book, that when milking cows in factories their utters get all pussy and gross with some wierd problem, and of course the stupid people dont ‘have time’ to help them, so they leave it in your milk and just mix it in. In most countries there is only a 2% amount of pussy stuff aloud in it, but have they made that law in the U.S? NO! How NASTY is that? That is why I will never drink milk that isnt organic again. Who wants to be drinking puss from a cow utter? EW! By the way, sorry for making you read that. *is grossed out*
I eat nothing that walks on land. I eat almost anything that comes from the sea. I’ve been a vegetarian for a while, and I used to eat organic all the time. In my current living situation, however, that’s impossible. At my boarding school, all our meals are supplied by SodexHo. Ew.
245 (Otzi)- Sodexho? I am so sorry. -commiserates-
I realized that I hadn’t posted on this vegetarian thread, just the old one. So here’s Part One of my little vegetarian spiel (Part Two, which is on evangelical vegetarianism, will appear as soon as I write it), which will no doubt put me at odds with pretty much everyone else on the thread. You are welcome to disagree with me, of course.
The Case for Selfish Vegetarianism
I’m vegetarian for a variety of reasons: I don’t like the taste of meat; it’s more healthy for me to be vegetarian; a vegetarian diet costs less to produce and consume. You might notice something missing from this list: the poor tortured animals. While I don’t have to experience the personal guilt that comes from eating a creature that died inhumanely, that’s not why I don’t eat them. My vegetarianism is human-oriented.
By this point the more PETA-ish reader may be thinking that I am a selfish, heartless person who doesn’t understand what vegetarianism is all about. Unsurprisingly, I disagree. Saying that you’re vegetarian for the animals and then expecting people to believe you are a paragon of selflessness is, quite frankly, deception. Vegetarianism “for the animals” is no less selfish or more noble than any other form: what it boils down to is personal distaste for eating slaughtered animals. Of course this can spring from concern for the animals, but you don’t eat meat because it makes you feel bad or irresponsible.
Vegetarianism as animal activism doesn’t make a lot of sense either. In an ideal world, everyone would be a happy vegetarian and there would be no need to kill animals at all. But, as I’m sure you’ve noticed, this is not an ideal world, and animals are going to keep on dying for food whether you like it or not. Vegetarians, while we may be standing up for our beliefs, have less impact on the meat industry than concerned, responsible omnivores. Think about it this way: vegetarians take profit away from slaughterhouses, but responsible omnivores take it away and give it instead to meat producers who ensure that their animals are given proper living conditions. In this profit-oriented world, the pocketbook may be the best way to send the meat industry the message that it needs to shape up.
I’m not telling you that you shouldn’t be a vegetarian–that would be rather hypocritical of me–just that you should think about the real effects of your choice before you make it. If you’re really concerned about slaughterhouses and factory farming, you might want to become a more responsible omnivore instead. On the other hand, if you’re worried about your health, your taste buds, or your conscience, go right ahead and stop eating meat. It’s okay to be a selfish vegetarian.
246-Um…actually, I dont like the WAY they kill and treat the animals, not the fact that they kill them (that didnt come out right), I mean, I am more concerned about the way they slaughter them, than the fact that they do it. I totally realize that there is no way everyone will become a vegetarian, but I think it is terrible the way they treat them, and that humans are more civalized than to dismember animals alive and torture them to death. They boil pigs alive, skin and dismember cows alive, keep chickens in cages and make them egg laying machines until they cant stand up anymore, feed calfs practically no iron to a point of such utter sickness they try to eat anything they can get their poor little mouths to.
246-And, beleive it or not, there are millions of vegetarians, and they do impact the meat industry. Think about it, if all those millions of people weren’t vegetarians, the meat industry would produce more meat, torture more animals, and make more money. But they dont, do they, because those millions of people are vegetarians. You may not think it effects them, but just think about it.
Dancergirl13- I’m aware of the horrible conditions in factory farms, and I agree that they’re a problem. But you completely missed the point of the second half of my rant, which is that people who want to make a difference should consider eating meat from well-treated animals instead of cutting it out of their diet completely. That way, the meat industry gets the message that it should be treating its animals better as opposed to simply killing less of them. Of course vegetarians make a difference (I never said they didn’t); I’m just arguing that responsible omnivores have more of an impact.
249-Well I dont say that I agree, but it doesnt really matter.
I just discovered that there is another ingredient fellow vegetarians should be on the look out for in salty foods such as chips. It is called monosodium glutamate and comes from pork or something, but anyhow its not vegetarian. I actually remembered to look after eating a bag of delicious fattening cheetos last night on the way home from a dance concert, and sure enough, there it was. So I am afraid that Doritos and cheetos, though very delicous, are not completely vegetarian if you care. I dont know if my fellow vegetarians on this thread are that strict, but I just though I would inform you. It has also been brought to my knowlage that skittles, starburst, laffy taffy, and conversation hearts (those chalky things) all have gelatin in them also. *sigh* Oh well.
You can relax: monosodium glutamate (MSG) is not an animal product. Here is what the Food and Drug Administration’s website says about it:
why do skittles and chalk have gelatin?
251-YAYAYAYAY!!!!! *celebrates* Thank you sooooo much!!!! I missed my Cheetos!!!!
252-I have no idea. But I checked the back of the packages. Sometimes they use it to like, help whatever it is keep fresh longer. But I dont know. Why cant people leave animal products out of things they dont belong in?
Wow, if you guys havnt ever heard of it, there is this really cool website called [sorry! outside link snipped — Rosanne]
It has all kinds of stuff about animal cruelty, the environment, pollution, and government regulations. Also, there are tips about going veg and vegan, and all this other cool stuff. There is stuff you can buy too, and there is a bag with a little chicken on it, that says “I am not a nugget”. So cute!!!
i love vegemite. my mom grew up in australia and she orders a whole lot of australian food from this catalogue she gets. i love australian candy. i have vegemite on my bagels yum!!!
my mom always buys organic/all natural foods. i’m afraid i lack the willpower to become a vegetarian, i love meat too much.
you guys ever heard of a Frutitarian? neither had i until a few days ago when my sisters friend from college was telling me about it.
but apparently they’re people who live solely off….fruit. and it’s got to be fruit that’s fallen from the tree, it can’t be picked.
-178, d’you honestly believe that “God” made animals for us?
no, he didn’t. they all evolved, we started eating them a loooooooooooooooooooong way back, why? because we were trying to survive, if you can’t bring yourself to realize that, then don’t post about things you don’t know. i don’t have a problem with eating animals so long as it’s done ethically, but to use God as an excuse just doesn’t cut the mustard.
Sure, i fish and then eat the fish, but you have to come to terms with it, you can’t just say: “God put this fish here for me, so it doesn’t matter how much pain it endures.”
256- are those people or animals? i know there are frugivores (animals that live on fruit).
-258 people.
It’s good to be vegetarian/vegan because cows/sheep produce methane which contributes to global warming and because their are many developing countries with starving people whose farmers grow their crops and sell them to the U.S. to feed the cattle instead of feeding it to the people in their country who are starving because they can get more money for it. With the future population this will not be sustainable because we need to use those crops to feed people not cows! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
257- I agree. I tell people about the horrors of slaughterhouses, and they say “God put the animals on this planet for us to eat” or “It’s in the Bible” and I am just like, I dont really think God would want you to not care about the torture of helpless animals…..
I am a semi-vegeterian (as in *looks guilty* I eat chicken and fish). Whenever I tell people, “I’m a vegeterian but I eat chicken and fish,” they say, “No you’re not.” Whereas when I tell them, “I’m not a vegeterian, I eat chicken and fish,” he/she always says, “Sure you are.” So I am super duper confused.
262- You with me!
262- Er… A pesca-pollo-tarian?
That’s not right. There’s got to be a word for it.
264- yes, that right.
264-Thank you for resolving my identity crisis!
263-You’re a *stumbles on word* pesca-polio-tarian too? Cool!
266- there are also pesca-tarians who only eat fish and vegs.
266- No, I’m not. I’m a complete omnivore. I was just playing with roots to see if I could get it right.
268- she was derecting it to me. 263?
269- Oh! I see now. These numbers can be confusing.
270- yeah.
8 posts in a row beginning with numbers. I’m sorry, I just felt compelled to comment on that. So…
272- ten, with me and your’s
Hmm. I don’t really know much about the Bible, but I think the part about animals was that we were to control them and be responsible for them or something. Correct me if I’m wrong about that. If that is true though, I don’t think we are doing a good job of being responsible for the animals.
*is a Bible dunce*
274-Ah Its ok, I know this is a bit different since I am not religious, but I could tell you nothing of the Bible except that Adam and Eve bit into an apple that they werent supposed to. Dont feel bad.
Man, within the last month i have been trying to be vegan. But, with no stores around that sell vegan stuff, it was very difficult, and I know I sound like I just dont want to try, or am not ( i get mad at people when they do that) but I really tried. PLus, my parents have had less money recently because of the stupid gas prices which are like 4 bucks a galon now, so ya. My dad really wants to be vegan though too, so we may just get there someday!!!
I am a vegetarian, but an omnivore in Asian restaurants!
276-In Asia even though they eat meat they are fairly healthy because its mixed in with other things. My aunt who is originally from China said that when she was little she always wanted to eat a big slab of meat (sorry for the gross thought of one) instead of the little chunks mixed in with other things! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
IM A VEGETARIAN FOR MY WHOLEE LIFE AND PROUD
<333 go veg!!
i did a project on it in history last year, intending to read Vegetarianism and The Bloodless Revolution, but that was a joke because i definately had time for 700+ pages of nonfiction.
but i’ll read them….eventually….like all of my books Dx
But do you eat vegemite? It looks (and sounds disgusting). Thats why I dont live in australia.
Oh my gosh you guys! I ordered a lunchbox that says “no animals in here” from PETA!!! It is so awesome!!! My mom says we may also become a member, I am so excited!!!
I have never tried vegemite, but it sounds……interesting.
275 and anyone interested- petakids.com has a link to a page called “accidentally vegan” that lists vegan products by category (breakfast, lunch, snack, etc). you can also get them to mail you free stickers if you search “free stickers” on the petakids website. they say things like “meat’s no treat for those you eat” with a chicken and “100% cruelty free” with two white rats.
279- i have had vegemite a long time ago and didn;t like it, but kind of want to try it again.
about the bible… somehow i can’t be ok with people saying that torture is in the bible. nowhere does it say that you shouldn’t eat meat, but adam and eve were vegetarians until they got kicked out of eden. so sort of in the perfect world you don’t eat the animals (?)…. i guess that’s sort of how i see it.
I’m mostly vegetarian. That is, I avoid meat most of the time, but eat it when not doing so would change my family’s lifestyle. I don’t want my dad to have to drive extra to go to a store that sells tofu, or to have to make two dinners a night (my parents aren’t vegetarian.) It’s an interesting way to live.
282- Maybe my family’s just weird, but I’m the only vegetarian and we make one dinner. (Sorry if that sounded like bragging, it wasn’t, just saying that it’s possible) It’s easy with stuff like pasta, rice and beans or pizza, because most people accept that those can be meatless and they’re still filling. Especially rice or pasta with beans and veggies, which is really good and you can find it at any store. If they have to have meat but cook it on the side then you can still have a healthy meatless meal.
Dancergirl – I get email newsletters from PETA..I really like them! The lunchbox sounds awesome.
I reeeeally want to become vegetarian, but I won’t really be able to, because my parents probably won’t feed me. I just checked out about 20 books from the library about vegetarianism, etc., which will help me figure out how to convince my parents to, well, feed me. *hopes*
284- I have this great book called “raising vegetarian children” that’s aimed at parents who want their kids to be vegetarians or whose kids want to be vegetarians. It talks about how to make sure your kids get the right nutrition, what they need, etc, and has recipies in the back. So, dunno what books you have and what’s in them but if you see that one (would probably be at a bookstore) then take a look.
Oh boy, now we get into meat eating and the Bible…..
Just a note, some people will say that we should eat meat because it’s in the Bible. Well, it’s in the translation. Many time in the Bible when they use the word “meat” they actually meant “bread.” Others might say that it goes against the 10 Commandments, in “Thou shalt not kill.” I usually try not to Bible thump when defending my eating choices, really, I think that the Bible should be used more for setting a spiritual lifestyle than for discussing meat. It’s pretty irrelevant, really.
However, I do stand in favor of vegetarianism, or veganism, in this day and age. In my mind, it’s a responsible and healthy choice. Responsible because meat takes up so many more resources to produce just one pound of it, water to grow the plants the animal ate, water to hydrate the animal, soil to grow the plants, etc., etc. It goes on. If we could use those resources directly, it would be healthier for the planet AND for its people.
Healthy because we simply DON”T NEED to eat meat and dairy to survive. Humans are the only animal that (1.) drinks the milk of another animal; and (2.) drinks milk beyond infancy or childhood. Hmm, so what do we see here? Is dairy necessary? I don’t think so. Obviously, we can survive without meat, I’m even an example of that. I’ve somehow lived for nearly 16 years and been very healthy and never had meat, I rest my case, IT”S NOT NECESSARY.
And even more so now, with all the hormones that are fed to the animals, how do we expect that that won;t end up on our plates?
Anyway, there are some of my ideas, I hope I didn’t bore you to much.
I just don’t eat meat because I just get grossed out at the thought of eating something that has LIVED before. It’s like a thing just ripping you apart and eating you. *shudders* Did you know, that taco bell meat is grade D, which is in DOG FOOD?
I have officially decided to become vegetarian, this summer. I would do it sooner, but my family is under a ton of stress right now, so I’m going to wait until the summer when everything is more calmed down and I have time to make my own meals, if necessary. I still have yet to tell my parents, but I’m going to wait until all of my books come in from the library!
I’m not quite vegetarian. still, almost
I want to become a vegetarian, but because of store limitations, family stress, and more expensive food prices, I haven’t made the change yet.
News Flash(as of 4 months ago):
(1)Cloned meat and eggs are being allowed by the government!
(2)The packaging of the cloned meat and eggs does not have to say that it is cloned!
Sup people. My opinion, as I’m sure I’ve said before is this:
If you like meat, go for it.
If you are a against it, be against it.
It’s completely a matter of opinion. Neither is more or less morally sound and neither is better.
There are rights and wrongs, the choice to eat meat or not is not one of them.
There ya go.
Another thought, did you know that cows can’t actually naturally digest corn? Strange, isn’t it, with so much corn being grown for cows that it isn’t a food that they can eat. Well, in order for them to be able to digest it the farmers have to give the animals–you guessed it– MORE medicines, etc., just so they can eat what they’re being fed! Now, does this make ANY sense to you? If so, please enlighten me.
292~ Yes, it’s opinion. However, there are choices that one can make that are a bit better for their bodies and the planet we all have to live on. I’m not saying that everyone should be vegan, but it might just help out a bit with some of the problems that we’re facing.
293- I thought most of the corn was for pigs.
293- That’s strange. Since there has been so much corn sold for Ethanol, there’s a corn shortage for animals, which makes all animal products (and by-products) really expensive.
I wish I had enough will power…and enough love of veggies and rice. But I HATE rice. And vegetables. Sigh.
A lot of cow feed is corn, or includes corn.
Have you ever noticed that a lot of products contain whey? If so, did you know that whey is a waste product of milk? So, we’ve got all these milk by-products, what to do with them? Put them in all sorts of other foods!! So we’re actually eating waste. Nice, huh?
Oo! Oo! I’m a vegitarian!!!!
*blinks*
*wonders what the thread is right now, trying to post comments by tital of thread only*
298~ Well, this thread has been stagnant for a while now, but it seems that we were talking about the amount of food being grown for feeding cows, which are then turned into meat. If you’d like to add anything about that, go ahead. If you want to talk about a different aspect of vegetarianism, then feel free to change the focus.
Are you new? If so, *pies* Forgive me if I’m wrong, I can never keep up with all the newbies, oldbies, infrequent visitors, etc.
299- I think she is.
Vegemite is NASTY.
301~ Is it that salty blackish paste that the Aussies love? If so, it’s not too bad, I’ve had it before. It’s just rather……salty and blackish paste. Oh well.
In response to “The man for AEIOU”‘s question about vegetarian marshmallows if you live near San Jose there’s a really good place called Taj Mahal Imports store where they sell marshmallows that are vegan, kosher, halal, and vegetarian. Instead of gelatin they use Agar- Agar which comes from plants.
299~ *ducks pie* *misses and ends up getting hit by it anyways because of superb clumsiness* What kinda pie? I either wanna eat it or wash it off.
You know what I hate? When you go to those restaurants that have no vegetarian options! And the few ones they have taste nasty or are just salads, and no offense, but you get sick of those!
Oh, people should know: The Unfortunate Truth and Super Size Me are great movies….
Any green freaks here?? Or am I alone.
Factoid: Macdonald’s was framed; they didn’t cut down the rain forest; as soon as they found out their suppliers were they backed out of the deal and never bought from them. now i am NOT a Macdonald’s supporter, by all means bring down the fast food companies, but they were innocent in that matter.
Another Factoid: Cows are cannibals. They’re fed their own intestines, hearts and liver mashed in the grain. aka: the parts of a cow the companies can’t sell.
What’s vegemite?
304~ What flavor do you want it to be? I made it out of my super-secret-awesome-virtual recipe, so it is whatever flavor you like the very bestest.
Dig in!!
Re: Cows as cannibals: yes, they are fed these things to get rid of them, not by choice. Do you honestly think that a plant eating animal such as a cow would eat meat in any form if it were in a natural setting? I certainly don’t. It’s put in their feed, but it’s not because it’s particularly good for the cows, or that they are made for eating that way.
*wants to throw up*
And I don’t eat meat…
I’ve always wanted to try vegemite, but my mom will never get it. *sigh*
post 305?
Anybody here?
Yes, it’s just a bit slow right now…
vegemite tastes weird. i went to a feildtrip to outback in 3rd grade and tried some. my sister is a vegetarian
WHAT IS VEGEMITE?!?!?!
oops.
BUT ANSWER ME!!!!!!!!!!!
(314) Some people might feel more inclined to answer if they didn’t feel they were being yelled at.
315-I asked normally before. I feel ignored.
(315) There isn’t that much traffic on this thread, so it’s easy to miss questions once they’ve passed recent comments. One can still ask politely, whatever the case.
Wikipedia defines vegemite as follows:
Vegemite is a dark brown savoury food paste made from yeast extract, used mainly as a spread on sandwiches, toast and cracker biscuits, as well as a filling of pastries like Cheesymite scroll, in Australia and New Zealand. It is similar to British and New Zealand Marmite and to Swiss Cenovis.
-304 nope, you’re not alone in being a green nerd. Box stores, fast food restaurants, oil drill companies…well, **** ’em.
I’m a proud pescatarian!!!
This thread is dead. Or dying at least.
In the newspaper recently there was an article about the sustainability of meat eating…looks interesting, I’ll have to go read it later.
I’m here! My girflriend convinced me to go veg…
321~ Cool. How are you liking it?
321-Ooh! cool.
wait….u have a girlfriend?
323~ Mm hmm, her name’s Clarissa, and he talks about her every now and then. Apparently she likes candles.
322-It was pretty hard, because my family eats a lot of meat, but it got easier when she sent me an e-card from PETA and it made me want to, like, NEVER EAT MEAT AGAIN. Did you know that in every package of chicken there’s a little poop? Ewww.
Can I post the link, GAPAs, or should I just do directions from Google? It’s a pretty safe site, I geuss, but I dunno.
Dad gets Boca burgers, and I just pile on ketsup until I can’t taste it anymore, and there goes my meat cravings. Pretty simple.
323-Yup.
324-lol I saw the word “Clarissa” and I was like “OMG SOMEONE KNOWS ANOTHER PERSON NAMED CLARISSA” and then I was “oh it’s MY Clarissa okay”. Yes. She does like candles.
I do talk about her an awful lot, don’t I?
But everything I do now seems to relate somehow to her, so I geuss it’s not all that surprising.
325~ Hmm, I likeBoca burgers, actually. Have you ever tried the Smart Bacon? (I’ve never eaten “real” bacon, but from friends, and parents who used to eat it they say it’s pretty realistic.)
Yes, you do talk about Clarissa a good bit. It’s cute.
So, are you only vegetarian? Should I start trying to terrify you into becoming vegan (no dairy and eggs) by telling you horror stories about those industries? Or would you prefer not? *maniacal grin*
326-Cute? Hmm. Maybe that has to do with what some people might call “controlling” my life, but what I call “persuasive enhansing”.
Really, she’s cool. She dosn’t control me, but I think a lot of her ideas are aweso–
Wait. I’m talking about her again. Urgh.
Anyway. I generally don’t like eggs, and I’m trying to persuade the ‘rents to get soy milk (I’m a big milk drinker, and milk has PUS in it ewww) but trying to make me go vegan wouldn’t work. Mom’s already freaked about my nutrition as a vegetarian, I don’t think she’d let me.
Clarissa was vegan for a whole MON- No. Stop. This is rediculous.
327~ I’ve been vegan for 16 years. And I’m perfectly healthy. Really. Many people (often kind grandmotherly types) are perfectly fine talking to me, but when I say that I’m vegan, they start looking as though I’m going to die right there becuase I’ve been malnourished.
Okay, I’m smaller than some of my friends, but neither of my parents are very tall either. I am perfectly healthy, and energetic. (Some would say hyper, actually.)
I look like a pixie beside my obese cousin, but do people think he’s unhealthy because he eats nothing but junk food and weighed over 200 lbs. in his early teens? Do they worry about his sister, who chugs down a gallon of milk a day?
No. They wonder if I’m malnourished because I don’t eat meat, dairy and eggs. This is ridiculous.
Obesity is a problem in this country, I get to see several of my cousins who refuse to eat healthy foods (and their parents, who let them). My 10 year old cousin eats little more than chicken, ice cream, bratwurst, corn on the cob, PB&J and apple sauce (reluctantly). And you know what? He’s having hot flashes at age ten.
Yet I am the one that gets questioned about my diet. My parents are the ones that get asked whether they are being responsible in feeding me.
If she’s worried about your nutrition, do some research, and present her with FACTS. She’s freaked out about you being vegetarian? What, precisely, are her worries? Ask her for specifics. Is she worried that you won’t get enough protein? There is plenty of protein in vegetable and plant matter. (yay tofu and TVP- Textured Vegetable Protein!!).
Is she worried that if you don’t drink milk you won’t get enough calcium and your bones will fall apart? It is a fact that milk has calcium, it is also a fact that it has too much for your system to handle. Not cool. Besides, there’s plenty of calcium in other things, if she’s really worried about it, try calcium supplements.
Actually, soymilk (the Silk brand is simply the best, I’ve had milk drinkers try it and they’ve said that it tastes just like milk) has a panel on the side that has all the different benefits of soy vs. cow’s milk, so if she’s worried about that, have her take a peek.
Margarine (the good kind, not the dreadful ones) is just as good as butter (and I think it has better taste, I’ve used “real” butter on occasion and even the freshly churned stuff didn’t have as satisfying of a taste). Earth Balance is quite good, and available in most stores. Many non-vegans use it as well, simply because they prefer the taste and feel that it is healthier.
Also, being vegetarian is different. Many people go at it thinking that they are going to be cooking just the same way, only without the meat. This is where you have people trying it and saying “I tried going veggie, but it was just too expensive.” “I tried that once, but I just always felt that there was something missing from my meals.” or, “I want to, because I feel that it would be a better choice, but I don’t want to have to learn to cook all over again.”
Trust me, I’ve heard all of these.
being vegetarian is not expensive. My mother stopped eating meat because she couldn’t afford to buy it (she had $10 a week for food at one point). What is expensive is people thinking that being vegetarian is just the same as easting meat, only without the meat. They buy soy burgers, hot dogs, cheese, and other “gourmet” vegetarian and vegan items, and then come to the (wrong) conclusion that the vegetarian lifestyle is too expensive.
Many meat alternatives are expensive. But people buy them because they still see their plate as meat, and veggie in the side.
Which brings us to those who say they cannot be a vegetarian because they always feel that something is missing from their meals.
Until you can see vegetables and other plant derived foods as a main part of food, you will feel like you’re not getting enough. Also, many people miss the spices that are used in meat, and the richness of it, and not really the meat itself.
Having to learn to cook all over again for your kids who’ve decided to stop eating meat is a potential mine waiting to explode. But again, I think it’s just how people see food, meat, with veggies on the side, not really that you can’t apply any cooking skills to vegetarian cooking.
I have just realized what a very long post this was, but I do hope that it will contain some information that is relevant for your situation.
I was at a vegetarian/vegan restaurant in DC yesterday. called Java Green. (yumyumyum) anyway, there was a booklet on becoming a vegetarian, plus a guide to vegetarian places in DC (moreyumyumyum).
Beavo, if I’m not mistaken, you live somewhere in the general vicinity of DC (no, I’m not a stalker!), if so, maybe see if you can go to there one day with your parents and have them try it, and pick up some of the free literature while you’re at it. It’s from Compassion Over Killing, so some of it is a bit heavy handed, but it does address nutrition and environmental concerns.
329-*Joins stalker party*
No, I’m not dangerous, really! I won’t eat you, anyway.
Clearly Fern and I demonstrate Vegans and Vegetarians are not limp underfed noodles ready to pass out at any minute.
328-Earth Balance, you say? We’ll have to look for it. We went back to real butter because we didn’t like all of the chemicals in the margarine you can find around here. And, I agree, butter doesn’t taste like butter!
Red-tailed HAWK
330~ “Vegans and vegetarians are not limp, underfed noodles ready to pass out at any minute.”
I howled when I read that. It is now one of my favorite quotes.
Tonight we had Willow Run margarine, it’s pretty good too…
Oh, I heard about Earth Balance. It’s supposed to be good.
I wish I had the strength and willpower to be at least a vegetarian.
328 – My friend is a vegetarian, and she eats soy burgers – but only because her mother, a veggie-plus-fish-tarian says she needs more protein. Heh.
I’m not a vegetarian, but I agree with you about the whole meat-without-the-meat thing. If you’re going to be a vegetarian (or have any dietary restrictions at all), focus on the stuff you can eat – don’t try to replace the stuff you can’t.
Well, except for milk. If you try/like milk, stick with it. It’s so good.
332- I’m not a vegetarian but I llloovvee soy burgers.
328-She’s worried about me not gaining enough weight (I’m eighty six pounds, which means I lost four pounds in the last four months) (ooh, that’s SOO bad and it’s probably ALL because I’m vegetarian) (even though I’ve only been vegetarian for like, half a month and I eat more than anyone else in the house) and she’s all ranting about vitamins (even when I drink vitamin water and take pills and suchlike). And she tried to mention how I don’t get enough calcium, but I promptly ate two bananas and a glass of milk.
Now that she’s realized she can’t convince me to “come off it”, she’s insisted on getting as much vegan friendly food as possible. We now have fake ground beef, fake ribs, soy milk, chocolate soy milk, fake bacon (which I still wont eat), veggie burgers, cheese, etc. She takes me being vegitarian as a challenge of some sort. A mission. *mission impossible music*
We have margarine, I do like it a lot more than regular butter. Partly because of the salt, (I like salt) but it still tastes better.
Thanks for all the advice, this helped a lot. *vegan choklit duh*
329-Ooh, I’ll have to go there some time! Thanks.
333-I hate boca burgers, but since we stocked (ha, I almost said stalked) up on condaments, I just pile relish and ketsup and mayo on and it’s fine.
The real test: When I go to the awesome crab cake place. I’m going to use all the will power I have.
334~ Have you tried the soy bacon yet? It’s good. Just thinking about it makes me drool. (Get the “Smart Bacon”–it’s the kind I like.)
Silk soymilk is the best. VeganRella (If you have it) is good, and vegan, however if you want a mostly veggie cheese substitute, try the Galaxy Nutritional Foods rice cheese, mozzerella is my favorite, and I’ve had friends try it who said it tasted just like the “real” stuff. (It does have a bit of casiene in it, to make it melt, but it’s mostly veggie.)
And there are other brands than Boca that make veggie burgers, Morningstar Farms is usually pretty good, just make sure that it’s actually vegetarian, or vegan, if you go that path.
“Gimme Lean!” also makes very good sausages (yum) in a few flavors.
Also, if she’s worried about your weight, let her know that from the age 7 to 11 I weighed about 50 pounds. When I turned 12 I gained a bit, and kept gaining in my teens. I’ve been a pretty steady 120 pounds (give or take a little, depending on how much exercise or food I’ve been getting lately
). So, I wouldn’t worry too much about your weight right now, it’ll change, trust me.
If you do keep losing weight and it’s gets worrying, then see your doctor, or try more fatty vegetarian foods. (More veggie burgers!!)
I am tired of my grandmother’s food intolerance. She refuses to eat hummus, because it’s vegetarian. So, she can go “Eeeeeeeeew’ at anything I eat, like mushrooms, but I can’t pass any judgement on what they eat at all. When I expressed amazement at their putting butter on cinnamon bread (that was very good, and so rich it was like cake) I got the evil eye because I exclaimed “How can you stand to have that much butter on it? It’s so good just plain!”
Today I cleaned up the floor after grandma dropped the jar of soup and it broke.
Not to be mean to meat eaters, but I almost gagged with the smell of chicken, and it wasn’t even that much in there.
Yes, I’ll stay a vegan when I grow up, thanks.
So, have I totally killed this thread?
Leafygreen is VERY ANGRY. Today she told me what a Wendy’s placemat said. Here it is, the horror of it all-
I am a true Meatatarian because-
~I feel bacon should be it’s own food group.
~I eat, sleep, and breathe beef and bacon.
~I have ketchup running through my veins.
~I will only recognize cheese if it is on a hamburger.
~I know the secret to true happiness is hickory smoked bacon.
~I believe the Baconator (TM) is the true 8th wonder of the world.
When I heard that, I flared. I hissed at her, “Keep going.” She scowled, and then went on to descibe in a very colorful language how horrible it is. Neither of us eat meat if we can help it, and look what they’re doing!! They’re spurring on people who could become vegetarians to love and savor meat in general, and if we could, we would SUE!!!
236- most plants basically clone themselfs through asexual reproduction. it’s how they reproduce.
304- it was really irresonsible of them not to know hwere their food was coming from.
337- sueing is a ridiculouse american habbit. I am vegitarian and I think the meatitarian ads are hilariouse. that placemat is a bit much. I can’t eat at Wendys they do not have a vegitarian option. trust me. the whole meatatarian thing is just advertizing. noone takes it seriously.
338- Hey, we’re only maniacal ten year olds in the first stages of puberty. Let us have our fun.
336- I can not be with in ten yards of a Mcdonolds/ Burger King/Wendys with out throwing up.
338~ Sadly though, a lot of people do take it seriously.
The ad that gets me is the large billboard that has picture of an egg. Above that, in a cartoon-style thought bubble is a McDonald’s Burger. the caption for the whole thing is, “When Eggs Dream”. ooh yes, when eggs dream they just can’t wait to be EATEN.
I hate that ad.
Also the one that says, “Party With a Pig” and it shows a drawing if a happy, dancing pig, and then underneath, “Pig roasts”
Yes, the pigs WANT to be killed and eaten. Who wouldn’t? Oh, really? You don’t care to be inhumanely slaughtered and eaten? What a freak you are, that’s what all the animals want, it seems, if we’re to believe what we’ve been taught since day one by the meat and dairy industries.
340~ Same.
People say, “so, if you were starving to death and the only food you had was meat, would you eat it?”
My reply, “No. It is not food, it is a corpse, and I would not eat it.” End of discussion.
“Vegetarians, and their Hezbollah-like splinter faction, the vegans, are a persistent irritant to any chef worth a damn. To me, life without veal stock, pork fat, sausage, organ meat, demi-glace, or even stinky cheese is a life not worth living. Vegetarians are the enemy of everything good and decent in the human spirit, and an affront to all I stand for, the pure enjoyment of food. The body, these waterheads imagine, is a temple that should not be polluted by animal protein. It’s healthier, they insist, though every vegetarian waiter I’ve worked with is brought down by any rumor of a cold. Oh, I’ll accommodate them, I’ll rummage around for something to feed them, for a ‘vegetarian plate’, if called on to do so. Fourteen dollars for a few slices of grilled eggplant and zucchini suits my food cost fine.”
-Anthony Bourdain in his book Kitchen Confidential, p.70
I should think that any chef “worth a damn” would gladly take on the opportunity to make an interesting meal without their usual ingredients.
But then again, that’s just my take.
-A member of the “Hezbollah-like splinter faction, the vegans” corner
Hey, I’m a vegetarian! This thread needs to be revived. (yes, I’m reviving a bunch of threads)
344~ *joins in reviving thread*
So, Beavo, how goes being vegetarian? We haven’t heard anything for awhile.
Now I’m hungry…….drat. *goes of foraging in search of food*
I don’t eat red meat, because cutting all meat out of my diet and making my family buy alternative protein sources (tofu and such) from a different supermarket that we don’t normally shop at would be horribly inconvenient. So I eat chicken, turkey, and fish at home, but whenever I go out anywhere (friend’s house, restaurant, pot luck) I choose vegetarian stuff.
Makes it difficult at barbecues, where I’m always stuck eating the potato salad.
At a pot luck for my church, I spent at least twenty minutes going around to all the pots of chili and deciding which ones were vegetarian.
342: That’s… intense. One of my guy friends last year said he’d make vegetarianism and veganism illegal if he was president. O_O
The question I get a lot is “Well, plants are alive too! Why do you eat them?” *rolls eyes* Show me a plant with a nervous system and I’ll stop eating it.
So my vegan friend came over for Halloween the other night, and we made her a vegan pizza. It wasn’t all that different, just vegan sausage and mozzarella cheese. The vegan mozz tasted exactly like real mozz! It was awesome. Kind of a runny texture though. I didn’t try the sausage yet.
I would like to be a vegetarian because I can’t stand the thought of unnecessarily murdering innocent animals, but at the same time I can’t imagine never eating meat again, because it tastes so good. So I just eat meat.
346~ Beans and grains supply protein too, you don’t have to rely entirely on seitan and Textured Vegetable Protein.
And many stores do sell tofu. Take a peek in the natural foods section of your grocery store, if the stores near me sell it (and we’re way out in the in the boonies) I’m sure that most others can find tofu where they are. If not, you can probably order it from other stores or co-ops nearby.
Many people fall into the trap of thinking that if they are vegetarian (or vegan) then they will eat all the same things, meaning lots and lots of meat substitutes. Wrong.
You can go without eating any dairy or meat “substitutes” and still have a healthy, complete and interesting diet. The vegetarian “meats” are fun, but entirely unnecessary to complete meals. Sure, your plate may look different than the people around you, but it’s still healthful, balanced and tasty. I’m not saying that we shouldn’t eat the substitutes for dairy and meat, they are fun, add new flavors and (if your family is worried about having everyone’s plates look the same at mealtime) can save some hassle and fights with the parents or other family members.
I guess one of the most important things in becoming a vegetarian is to stop seeing vegetables, fruits and grains as “garnish” to meats. when you think about much of what gives meat it’s flavor is what it’s served with, or the spices used. Vegetables, fruits and grains can be fixed and eaten in a vast array of ways, much more diverse than meat.
347~ If you really want to try, and make a SINCERE effort to eat interesting vegetarian dishes for a few months you probably won’t be too tempted to go back to meat. However, it goes back to seeing vegetables as a main course, not garnish. If you can truly change the way you look at food, I assure you, you can get over the addiction to meat.
(Yes, addiction. Meat and dairy are extremely addictive substances, no kidding.)
(348) Asian markets are another great source for tofu — usually the prices for it are cheaper, too, as they are are many other items, such as certain spices and sesame oils. Besides, the shops are fun to browse.
349~ Oh yes, great fun! Han ha rem (spelled phonetically,because I don’t know how it’s actually written) is a great Asian market near Washington DC, we used to go there whenever we could to look around and stock up on all sorts of neat things. (Like the little lychee gel cups, which are now unavailable in the US because someone stupid choked on one and sued the company, so if I’m not mistaken they’re now illegal.
)
One of our favorite memories is going with an Asian friend who’d never been there before, the look on her face when we walked in to this huge grocery store was something I’ll never forget; she gazed around, and then sighed happily “This is wonderful!“
(350) A huge international market just opened in the nearby town of Greensboro. It’s primarily Asian, but many other groups are represented as well, in particular Latino, Indian, and African of several varieties. I love rambling through it! I can find lots of bargains, since many items considered exotic by the chain groceries are, of course, staples in the represented cuisines. Also I enjoy hearing the Korean announcements over the intercom.
351- The best asian market is Uwajimaya in Seattle, WA. I go there to get udon every time I go to tulalip.
The reason I’m a vegetarian, believe it or not, is because I CAN’T eat meat. If I even SMELL it, I get an instant stomach ache. *dies* people don’t usually get that.
my sister is vegitarian and i prettmych am. i dont really eat red meat. i eat poltry, fish, bacon, hotdogs and meatballs. i have never had steak. i like the fake meat things better than real meat. exept hotdogs. fake hotdogs taste weird. we had fake hotdogs and beans the other day. i do like beans. i only eat meat when my sister isnt there because she flips out and runs away. exept salami. i eat that if she isnt in the room. but i like tofu,garden burgers,fake ribs,fake chicken, tvp, all that stuff.
I refuse to eat ribs. It makes me queasy. You know how I’m skinny? I can see my ribs. When I look at ribs, I lose my appetite. Got my drift? *leaves, unless I become a vegetarian, for that is likely*
97/8- I realize these posts were made over a year ago. all I gots to say is: you americans and your guns. I do not know any children who go out a-hunting. hunting is ofcourse a foul thing to do.
176- yes I do realize that I am responding to ridiculously old posts. To the questions what do you eat? and how do you live? answer this: 1food. 2I consume food, water and oxygen.
236- the majority of plants reproduce by asexual reproduction which is essentially cloning.
346- it is impossible to have a diet that is made up of matter that was never alive. you would be eating rocks. but yeah. I hate when people ask that wuestion.
354- your sister is overreacting to people eating meat.
355- yep. ribs are preetay nasty. when i was little I loooooved them. then I grew up an they disugsted me.
I was a-reading this thread from the beggining and one thing I noticed was a lot of people talking about how they lecture people on what’s in their food and being vegetarian. all I gots to say is that if people ask you can tell them all that stuff. but if they don’t show any interest in knowin’ it is not your job to try to convert them into the Secret Society of Vegetarians. I’m just a-sayin’. It seems kinda invasive to lecture people who don’t ask.
354~ If you eat “poltry, fish, bacon, hotdogs and meatballs” and salami, I’m sorry to say that you don’t really meet my definition of vegetarian. The way I see “vegetarian” is not eating any meat, but eating dairy and eggs. Some people claim to be vegetarian and eat fish and chicken, but hey, that’s meat–it’s still flesh, and flesh isn’t vegetarian.
Not to be mean, but your eating style doesn’t strike me as vegetarian, liking meat substitutes but still eating real meat doesn’t qualify someone as vegetarian.
355~ I can see my ribs a bit. So, I qualify for skinny then?
And here I thought I was just on the slim side of normal. 
Oh well.
356~ I don’t lecture. Many people are very surprised to hear that I’m vegan, because we don’t make a big deal of it. I’m not too hard to please, I’m not a particularly picky eater and a I can usually find something to eat just about anywhere, including some fast food places (like Taco Bell). when people ask me I tell them, when they attack my family’s eating choices I defend them, but I try not to proselytize. Of course, I hate it when anyone proselytizes about anything, so I try to avoid it at all costs on any subject.
354-Nor my definition of vegetarian.
345-(Wow, I’m out of order here) It’s actually not bad. I barely notice that I don’t eat meat, except when someone else is eating it and I’m like “Hey can I have a peice of those ribs… oh never mind. *curse being veg*”. Like today.
Ooh, I miss meat so bad!
But I like being veg. I don’t have a rotting carcass in my stomach, and I’m not getting sick as much. And fake chicken nuggets from MorningStar are beast.
I will go vegetarian when i like salad.
358~ YESSSS! Morningstar farms are good…..yumyum. Drat you, now I’m hungry again!
359~ I don’t really like salad either. I just put up with it.
but there’s a lot more to being vegetarian than eating salad, in fact I often can’t eat salads at restaurants because they have tons of meat in them!
I love salad.
361–I despise salad. I am very much not a veggie person……
360- true, but if I didn’t eat salad, it would be even harder to eat at many restaurants.
(362) I had a vegetarian friend who hated most vegetables. He basically lived on beans, rice, and pasta, I think. Not exactly what I’d recommend as a balanced diet, however, as it sort of defeated the purpose to my mind. On the other hand, I’ve known people who lived on burgers and fries, so I guess he was better off than that.
364–does not compute. A vegetarian who doesn’t eat vegetables…..strange. Burgers and fries, though, I could do that (depending on the burgers, and depending on the fries). Although, I’d rather a much more rounded diet–or at least, more variety, even if I do go in for greasy unhealthy stuff, and *apologizes to the vegetarians of MB*–meat.
Of course, since starting college, I’m pretty much surviving on pizza and french fries, and any snack food I have in my room (chocolate rice crispie bars–one of the only edible things in the ******, the place where we can use up unused meals by cashing them in for points. and since I ahve numerous meals at the end of the week, and each meal is 7 points, and nothing is worth more htan like 4 points…….I have more oatmeal and rice crispie bars than I know what to do with. No, scratch that. The rice crispies get gobbled quickly. The oatmeal, well, let’s just say I have enought to last a LONG time).
And when my mom sends a care package, she usually sends a couple cans of chili, so I ahve that, but it goes pretty fast, too, as it is so yummy……I mean, canned chili isn’t normally what I would call super awesome spectacular, but I have gained a new appreciation of it since starting college. Compared to what they feed us here, it is scrumptious and heavenly…..
oh, don’t forget doritos with melted cheese……mmmmmmmm
yeah, none of that is very healthy, but there is not much that tastes good at any of the cafs on campus. McDonalds makes better burgers (and better fries), and what is served in the cafs, even when edible, isn’t very filling, somehow. I have to eat a LOT to get full, and usually it just doesn’t taste good enough to force myself to eat that much……wouldn’t ahve to force myself if it tasted good, but that’s another story…….
um, anyway, I’m babbling, so I shall take my leave. *leaves*
364- That’s senseless.
My parents don’t want me to be a vegetarian, the same way they don’t want me to be atheist. So, starting today, I shall pick out the meat in my lunch sandwiches and any food I can get the meat out of.
364- I pretty much live on pasta. I have the oddest taste buds ever, also weird food allergies.
BOOKS TO LOOK UP:
Veganomicon: the Ultimate vegan cookbook by Isa Chandra Moskowitz & Terry Hope Romero Very interesting and has a good bit of information on vegan/vegetarian food in general–mostly on how to find/prepare/balance a vegan diet, but it’s pretty good. I’d reccommend it to the MBers who are vegetarian and their parents tell them they are now in charge of their own food, or for the parents of a vegan child to give them interesting ideas for food–more than just “garnish” style vegetarian cooking.
And another one we found awhile ago,
The Vegetarian Manifesto (I can’t remember the author)
It’s an interesting book that talks primarily about nutrition (in a very assesible way) and should help you convince your parents (and yourself) that this is a easy and good choice to eat.
These books are pretty kid friendly, and would be good for any of you who are thinking about becoming vegetarian, to answer your own questions and those of your parents.
Another book, which is very good is Diet for A New America (Again, I can’t remember the author). It’s very good and a little more technical, but well worth th read. Tell your parents to get it (from the library perhaps) and read it if they have any objections.
man. we are keeping track of what we are eating in health class. all I can say is that I am absolutely not even close to getting the recomended servings of each food group. also, acording to the BMI, I am under weight. which is kinda weird because I’ve always thought I was the right weight for my height. turns out my gym teacher (who is 5’2″) weighs the same as me.
369~ What are you eating? Are you not getting enough of any particular thing? If not, why? Is it because you are vegetarian and living in a household that refuses to cook in a veggie friendly way?
But that’s culturally accepted, while having a perfectly healthy vegetarian (or, *gasp* vegan) meal is above all horrors!
I don’t think being vegetarian is the problem, I think it’s that as vegetarians we can’t always find balanced meals everywhere we go.
Although, I can’t imagine that a hunk of steak or a hamburger is a very balanced meal either.
One time, we had a substitute teacher for science who happened to be talking about herbivores, carnivores, etc. so started telling me why I shouldn’t be veg. I HATE Mr. Busch. Although he’s not the worst sub I’ve ever had. Mrs. Loedel takes the cake.
369 (Kagcomix) – Don’t worry about your BMI. Most BMI calculations are for adults, who have stopped growing. When you’re still growing, it’s hard for your weight to keep up for your height, so you are skinnier, relatively speaking. Also, BMI numbers in general are full of crap. They only take into account a few things, and leave out frame-size, genetics etc. I really wouldn’t worry about it. Besides, in a few years, you’ll wish you were still as skinny as you are now! You probably should eat more, though!
370 (Midnight Fiddler) – Agreed. It’s difficult to find healthy veggie meals at a lot of restaurants in the US. I get so tired of side salads.
372~ I can just about always find something, even in the most unlikely of places to be vegan friendly. However, it takes not being afraid to ask for something if you need it, return dished that have meat put in them accidentally and get the waiter to understand what your dilemma is. Generally they’re okay, but it’s sometimes hard, and many people will jump on the vegetarian for “making a scene” by asking for foods they can eat.
Do you guys hate thanksgiving?
374- Well, my family just doesn’t ever visit anyone for Thanksgiving. I think the only time we (me, my mom and my dad- I’m an only child) ever visited anyone was when I was three or four. When they brought out the turkey, I was like, “Eww, what’s that awful smell? Get that AWAY from me!!”
Yeah. I was, actually, three or four. Or even two. Um…
Yeah, so anyway. My parents have spaghetti squash casserole, acorn squash, and mashed potatoes. I have… whatever I feel like, me being the picky eater that I am. I usually have some squash though.
(374)- Thanksgiving is actually not that difficult for my family. We are all vegan, so we just make food that fits our diet. I HATE Tofurky, so that’s not generally on the menu, but there’s plenty of stuff out there. (Wait- the computer thinks that “vegan” isn’t a word! *rage*)
I have a pretty easy time finding food that I can eat, because my hometown is full of hippies and vegetarians. I sometimes have issues when I travel though, especially to countries who speak a different language. When I went to Korea a couple summers ago, I survived on rice and juice for three days straight.
I laugh whenever someone says that all vegans are pale and skinny. I have a summer tan year-round and am slightly chubby, and am actually a lot healthier than many of my friends.
I’m probably eating a Morningstar burger and some corn for Thanksgiving. I really don’t like eating all that food, it’s such a waste, and leftovers are gross.
Wow, this thread is ancient.
365- Heehee, I eat rice all the time. Mumsy sends it to me. The University has a really awesome vegetarian selection. My favourite thing ever…tacos with refried beans. Sadly, that’s about once a month, but they also have curried tofu, stir-fry tofu, vegan egg rolls, cheese burritos, GODLY chili, and lasagna. Basically the only thing I don’t nom voraciously is the mushrooms. Why must they make mushrooms? They scare me. You should transfer to here. I don’t think I’m allowed to say where, though, so this is moot, eh?
I’m rambling. But when my dad visited, I got him to eat all the vegan stuff and he really liked it. And he’s usually all for “LET US PUT MEAT IN EVERYTHING.”
370- Too true. Outside one of the dining halls, you’re screwed if you want veggie food. There’s that, and Subway. Also this amazing Vegan place but you have to walk for about half an hour to get there…
374- Yes, but only because of my family. I really didn’t want to go home. Sulksulk. Anyway, it’s mostly because my mother puts meat in everything but the corn and mashed potatoes. And that’s because she finally stopped drowning them in turkey gravy before they were served. Before anyone asks, I shall have you know, she puts beef in the stuffing. Yes.
374~ No, I like it. My (extended) family, for being a bunch of rather close-minded people like to think of themselves as very up to date and open minded. Savvy, if you will. And that means not dealing too harshly with the vegans and vegetarians in the family. In recent years there have been more and more of them, I’m not sure how much of it was influenced by my section of the family being happy vegan for quite a while. Anyway, they’re there, and they must be fed, and fed well, so we are. There’s always two gravies: dad’s for everyone who has tried it before and knows how wonderful it is even though it’s vegan, and the other one, which the die-hard meat eaters have because they can’t bring themselves to admit that dad’s is so much better.
There’s two dishes (sometimes three) of stuffing again, vegan, and meat, and occasionally another vegan one made with whole wheat bread and other interesting ingredients.
Turkey we simply ignore, it gets served, and eaten and we are indifferent because we’re stuffing ourselves on everything else that is vegetarian. Funnily enough, there’s usually more leftovers of meat dishes than vegetarian/vegan, and the veggies get snatched up quicker, often times everyone clamors for all the vegetarian food and the turkey is largely forgotten. It’s quite amusing, really.
So no, I don’t hate Thanksgiving, I think it’s a lot of fun because we get to eat tons and tons of food and not get called a glutton.
376~ Another completely vegan family! Yay!
You are incredibly lucky to live in a town of vegetarians and hippies, I might as well live in a black hole as far as food goes. Where I live “eating” consists of white bread, white noodles, overcooked everything, lots and lots of meat, lots and lots of junk food (chips, pretzels, potato chips, etc.), tons of dairy, everything fried in lard (eew) and skippy peanut butter. a lot of our local food culture comes from the Mennonites who are everywhere here, cheap unwholesome food with lots of calories that they burn off growing vegetables (to sell, they don’t seem to eat them that much). Yeah, going to the grocery store is hell. That, and the cashiers don’t know what anything in the produce section is and they bang it around and totally kill all the fragile fruits and veggies (one time we got bananas and the cashier whumped them so hard they had fingerprints in them where she grabbed them).
it’s not as bad as I’ve seen way up in the mountains of WV, but it’s most certainly not the best.
[/rant]
Must. Have. Fiddler Dad’s gravy recipe. *gravy addict looking for veg alternatives*
380~ I’ll get it to you sometime. until then, please don’t do anything rash!
Umm I’m a new Vegetarian…like yesterday I made the switch. Does anyone have any tips or stuff I should be doing? My mom says that anytime the family has meat I have to gt myself my own meal. And does being a vegetarian mean I have to give up milk and cheese and eggs because if so I’m not a vegetarian.
382-If you want to…It’s not a religion.
383- thanks.
What I REALLY need is really easy tips and really easy foods that you can make as a vegetarian. My family not being vegetarian I have to fend for myself and right now we are planning on beef stew for tonight. That and we’re going shopping tonight too so easy foods would be appreciated.
Soup? It’s easy to make.
370- I don’t get enough of anything. we did a food log for a week or two and I seriously don’t get the recomended serving of anything. I do live in a household the cooks in a veggie friendly way. my mom really tries.
380- if she sends it to you will you send it to me, please? I love gravy, but can’t have it anymore.
382- yep. you can still eat dary and eggs. what I suggest is doing some reaserch about being veggitarian because your family doesn’t want to cook something special for you. My advice for making your own meal is PB sandwidges with cut up veggies on the side. (that is what I would eat for lunch everyday if I could). Because it gives you a complete protein or something. Maybe suggest to your mom that she make a meat dish for everyone and a veggie dish as a side dish for them and a main dish for you. But totaly offer to help make dinner if that’s more than she usualy makes.
382–vegetarianism only means giving up meat (correct me if I’m wrong, vegetarians). Only vegans give up all other animal products (milk, eggs, cheese, etc) in addition to meat.
So, I’m curious. Does it bother you guys who are vegetarians to see other people eat meat?
According to my gramma, my cousin was dating this girl (maybe a year or so ago?) who is a vegetarian. Anyway, for his b-day, my cousin went out to dinner with his parents and our gramma, and invited his girlfriend along. Of course, my cousin eats meat, and he chose to go to a restaurant that served ribs and he ordered for himself a rack of ribs (which, by the way, is exactly what I would have done. I confess that is my favorite birthday dinner…..). The girl apparently make some huge scene or wahtever, going on and on and on and on all throught he dinner about “do you know waht you’re eating? That used to be alive. It had eyes–I never eat anything with eyes!!!!!!!” And on and on and on (while my gramma was thinking, as I did upoln hearing the story, “does that mean you don’t eat potatoes?”) Well, needless to say, that didn’t exactlyw ork out–my cousin apparently broke up with her sometime in the folloiwng month.
So, don’t get me wrong–I couldn’t care less if someone is a vegetarian, it doesn’t make any difference to me, but……that seemed very rude of the girl, the equivalent of a non-vegetarian haranguing on someone for NOT eating meat……..
Anyway….. [/rant]
(387) Clearly the girlfriend was rude, no excuse for that, but why would the boyfriend choose a ribs place to eat if he was going to invite her? They generally don’t provide much by way of vegetarian dining options.
388–I’m not sure if it was solely a ribs place. I mean, obviously it served ribs, but I don’t know that that was necessarily the restaurant’s specialty, or merely one of many things they served. (I don’t know what restaurant he went to.) But given that my cousin seems incredibly thoughtful and sweet for a teenage boy, I have to believe wherever he went offered vegetarian items, or at least something that the girl would’ve eaten…..
Of course, I could be wrong, even the sweetest of boys have a habit of not thinking sometimes, and so maybe the place didn’t have emuch in the way of vegetarian options…..although, even if this is true, and he were thoughtless on this count, I still don’t think there was much call for the girl’s attack on what he chose to eat….
(389) Oh, I agree as far as her behavior goes, as I said before. It’s always impolite to criticize someone else’s food choices while en is eating it, unless en happens to be a younger sibling.
I just find the whole situation odd. I mean, this presumably wasn’t their first date.
384) there are plenty of website and cookbooks out for vegetarians if you poke around on the internet or at a bookstore…I even see a lot of vegan friendly recipes. good luck!
387) your grandma’s thought about the potatoes made me laugh
But I agree, the dinner table is the worst place to talk about eating habits like that.
one of my teachers told us that vegetarianism is a more effective way of getting energy, since you lose so much in the trophic levels blah blah etc etc. it makes more sense to eat what the animal eats than to eat the animal, basically.
390–You mean unless en happens to be an older sibling.
But, yes, I s’pose the situation is a bit odd, but then, I also wasn’t there, just heard it second hand……and no, I don’t think it was the first date.
YodaShmoda~ I would recommend the book Veganomicon, it is a cookbook, but also includes a great deal of cooking help (if you don’t cook already and need some pointers or if cooking with vegetables is new to you) and information about vegetarian food. It is a vegan book, so it doesn’t include any dairy or eggs, but it should make a good starter book if you need help fast.
)
Another I’d suggest is The Vegetarian Manifesto (I can’t remember the author), that has lots of information on how to get the nutrition you need and various ways of surviving as a vegetarian in a meat dominated society. (It’s not always easy, and be prepared to get lots of questions about protein
That’s where I’d suggest looking first, to get started on the right track so you won’t get discouraged, they should also lead you to other resources.
And of course, there’s this nice thread on MuseBlog where we’d all be pleased to offer advice if you want it.
By the way, vegetarian versus vegan: a vegetarian is someone who does not eat, but does eat dairy (milk, cheese, yogurt, ice cream, etc.) and eggs.
A vegan, like the vegetarian doesn’t eat meat, but en also eschews dairy and eggs. In some cases en refuses to eat honey as well. They also sometimes don’t wear leather or fur, and occasionally won’t wear wool or silk wither. Thus, when one refers to “vegan shoes” (or any other such non-edible object) they mean simply that the object in question has all man-made parts and were manufactured with no cruelty to animals.
I hope that made sense.
387~ I don’t mind if someone eats meat in my presence. People sometimes worry a bit that I’ll be offended by it, or that I’ll be angry that they’re eating in a way that I most obviously disagree with. If they ask me, I’ll tell them that I don’t think eating meat is a good idea and why, but after that I won’t criticize them for it. I would never try to dissuade them from eating meat by being rude or pointing out how gross it is.
The girlfriend in your story was rude, I can understand where she was coming from, however, that is the wrong way to go about telling someone about vegetarianism. Sadly, due to disasters like that one many people think that vegetarians (or worse, vegans) are snobbish and uncooperative people who make other’s lives harder because of their eating choices, when in fact this is not the case at all.
I also agree with Rebecca that the situation is a little odd, I would hope never to be taken to a grill or ribs place on a date, to avoid that sort of situation. (Besides, the smell of meat is rather hard to take, mopping up a soup spill that had only a little chicken in it nearly made me gag with the scent. Not to be rude, but it happens.)
Rebecca~ I’ll ask Dad about his gravy recipe and email it to you.
aw man. I think my post got eaten! all it said was that the girl was out of line. vegetarians choose to be picky eaters and there fore need to learn to cope. of course the boyfriend could have been more tackful. of course I don’t really understand why he was eating meat around her as, presumably, they would kiss later. I, personaly, would not want to kiss someone who has just feasted on a carcass. so both sides were guilty. Kagy cannot stand obnoxiouse vegetarians because they give all of us a bad name.
394–well…..given that he was not on a date alone with her (that is, his parents and his grandmother were present), I’m not entirely sure he would have been kissing her later…..of course, I may be wrong, I just know i wouldn’t feel comfortable kissing osmeone in front of my parents! but yes, I see how my cousin may not have been entirely tactful.
380/381- Yesyes.
388- Agreed, that was quite rude. Ribs places have side dishes, though. “Mashed potatoes please, no gravy.”
390- Heehee, oh yes. Siblings will always be eating food that will make them fat and/or dead.
394- Yuck, kissing someone who has just eaten meat. Wow, that could sound wrong.
Seriously, some people are too touchy. I found out my boss is a “cheegan” (spelling? I dinnae). In that she eats chicken and eggs but no other meat/dairy. It’s weird.
394–
omg, that was funny. “Yuck, kissing someone who has just eaten meat. Wow, that could sound wrong.” I’d not even thought of it like that until you said it, but, 
(396) But…but…the whole point of mashed potatoes is that they’re a delivery device for gravy. I dunno, picking through a pile of naked potatoes while everyone else at the table is feasting doesn’t sound too appealing for a big night out.
(381) In other important gravy news, this evening I conducted my first experiment with Fiddler Dad’s Vegetarian Gravy. In the spirit of the original, I avoided overt measuring. I used roasted tahini, tamari instead of regular soy sauce, and cornstarch instead of flour. The results were encouraging enough that basically all I ate for dinner was a huge pile of rice and most of the gravy.
398–I don’t like gravy. Then again, mashed potatoes aren’t my favorite, either. I eat them, in small amounts, but….I much prefer fried potatoes (ie, french fries).
398~ You gotta problem with potatoes? Although I agree, I dislike having to eat something (even if it’s something I usually like) instead of choosing to. Capricious and perverse brat that I am.
I’m glad that the gravy went well, every time Dad’s seen me on the bog he’s asked if you’ve made it yet. sounds like an interesting dinner, rice and loots of gravy. I’ve never had gravy on rice. It sounds interesting.
I can never decide whether to have gravy or not, so I usually end up with two bowls of mashed potatoes, one with and one without.
399~ I love potatoes in any form. *devours* Of course, I’m hungry right now too…..
(400) Really? I thought riceandgravy was one word, like mashedpotatoesandgravy. The recipe was even easier than nonveg gravy, and one I can remember without having to look it up, so I foresee many future experiments. Has your dad ever tried adding mushrooms to it?
(399) I’m going to assume that Luna doesn’t like gravy because she never had my mom’s. She made the best. Light, delicate, and flavorful. Never aggressive nor bland. Turned me and my brothers into hopeless cases. We’d have gladly skipped the turkey in exchange for the gravy, except the turkey made an excellent serving tray.
401–I dunno….My mom is a really, really awesome cook. Everyone else in my family loves her gravy. i would say it is probably due more to the fact that I can be a rather picky eater (for instance, I don’t eat spaghetti sauce, because I decided as a kid I didn’t like it–although I think that will change after a semester of nasty college food). Actually, that’s what most of it is–I decided as a kid I didn’t like something, and have never tried it since….
384-there ate a lot of fake meat products out there. i have had fake ckicken, beef, hot dogs. ribs and they all are good. they dont quite taste like the real thing but i like fake ribs better than real ones. has anyone seen any fake meatballs out there. i really like meatballs and i am not vegitarioan but my sister is and she flips out if there is anymeat at all in the house. i suggest snacking on nuts and peanut butter and then when your family has meals, eat the side dishes. or you can make some soup. soup is good. you also have to stop seeing meatas the main dish or the center of the meal. you could pick out the meat chunks and give them to someone else if you are not a strict veggitarian. also an nice thing is protein powder. ask whoever does the shopping in your family to buy you a big tub of protein powder. youcan add it to pretty muck anything(hot cereal,soup,smoothies, mashed potatoes)it isnt great by itself, but my smoothies taste weired if they have not been proteinitized. also you can get TVP(textured vegetable protein) chunks that look like sponges and taste like nothing but you can reconstitute them with broth or water and they are simply impecable with pesto.
i am aufly ranty today.
(403) MARFwarrior, Quorn makes fake meatballs, though you probably have to find them somewhere like Whole Foods as most regular groceries don’t stock many Quorn products if they carry them at all. (Quorn is a fungus-based fake meat that comes closer to the texture of actual meat than any of the subs I’ve tried.)
(400) ZOMG, Midnight Fiddler! The gravy is even better the second day! (Yes, two days in a row. But this time I ate some other things as well.)
401~ Probably. every time we have gravy it’s different.
404~ I think Morningstar Farms makes meatless meatballs as well.
I recently had some in VA, I’m not sure what the brand was, but I think it was something like “Nick’s” I don’t know though. They were quite good.
Meatless meatballs seem to be one of the most common imitation meat items available….huh.
Good, I’m glad you’re enjoying it still! Just watch out, when it goes bad it reeks. It’s one of those things you don’t want to forget in the fridge…….trust me, I know. Yuck.
I am an omnivore, and that is my nature. I’m fine with eating any kind of meat except for ribs. See #335. I’m against inhumane slaughtering though. Don’t get me wrong; I love animals. But I’m built for eating meat, and I’m okay with that. *exit stage left*
Could somebody please tell me if they know of any marshmallow brands that don’t have gelatin in them? I love marshmallows but I found out recently that they have gelatin in them….*cries* no more smores for Kagy….
407–I did a google search for “marshmallows without gelatin” (minus the quotes). Such a thing seemed hard to come by, although there did look to be several websites with recipes with what are supposed to be vegetarian friendly marshmallows. Of course, that requires you making them yourself!
thanks luna! I googles it. I found some recipies for marshmallows. I think what I wold do is substitute the gelatin for agar or something. They should be fun to make!
Finaly I found a recipe for gelatin free marshmallows. I really want to try it out. I’ll tell you guys how it went when I do.
Please do!
I’m going to test it out on wednesday. I’ll keep ya posted.
ok, well it absolutely didn’t work. it was disgusting. *mopes*.
413–that’s too bad. Were there any alternate recipes you could try that might work better? Sorry you didn’t have more luck…….
Happiness: The health food store here has kosher yogurt, which is vegaterien.
Clarissa’s going vegan. Wish her luck.
Over the summer, she’s even doing the whole raw vegan thing. I think she’s crazy, but whatever floats her boat…
I just found my old 3oh!3 songs.
“Tell your boyfriend
If he says he’s got beef
That I’m a vegetarian
And I ain’t ******* scared of him!”
I think I can become a Vegetarian. The last weeks were me trying it out but it actualy worked and I only ate a marshmallow(forgot about the geletin part untill I ate it) Plus turns out the school doesn’t feed us that much meat products that I didn’t already not like. Plus I remebered what I pretty much lived off of this summer, Mozzerella, Tomatoe, and Basil sandwhichces. My Moms beinging really helpfull too my dad is just being him (annoyi8ng the heck out of me just because) and my sister only complains that because of me being a Vegetarian she will have to eat more vegetables, I told her she should anyways and she won’t have to so she can shut up. Plus my best friend whos a vegetarian is also being really helpful and coming up with all sorts of things I should try. Woah sorry for the long rant about my happiness.
I need marshmallows!
407~ I found some vegan marshmallows once! I can’t remember what the brand was, but they were in an orange bag. If I find some I’ll post the brand.
418 – Wait, how are normal marshmallows not vegan?
(419) They contain gelatin, which is made from animal products.
Here’s some information I found. (I have not tried any of these products, but the photos look good!)
A company called “Sweet & Sara” claims to be the only current maker of vegan marshmallows. Their website lists stores that carry them or you can order them online.
The Vegan Feast has a write up (with helpful photos and tips) about a marshmallow-making kit from a company called Angel Food. She quotes: “The world of vegan cuisine is littered with the shattered corpses of those who tried to veganise marshmallows.”
So don’t feel bad, Kagy. Apparently, making marshmallows is not an easy task.
420 – Oh. So vegans can’t have Jell-O?
How tragic! I could never be a vegan.
(421) There are Jell-O style products available without gelatin. That seems to be easier to produce than marshmallows.
421~ Strict vegans can’t.
For awhile there was a place near us that sold “Kosher, vegan Jell-O”, turns out that the manufacturer (not the store selling it) was mislabeling them on purpose, they were, in fact, normal Jell-O. Not good. The store was really upset (it’s a small store for the 7th Day Adventists, of which there are a ton in my area).
Of course, nothing had ever stopped me from eating Jell-O (it’ okay now and then, but I’m not a huge fan) or marshmallows. When I can get the vegan kind I’m happy, but I’ve been known to eat the regular ones too………..when slathered with [milk] chocolate (gasp!) and sandwiched between graham crackers they’re devilishly hard to resist.
I’m not a totally strict vegan, though. I’m wearing leather boots and wool socks right now, some super strict vegans would be skinning me just about now. *sigh* it’s so hard to be perfect…….
Jeez! I admire vegetarians’/vegans’ self-control. I could never do that. KFC is too yummy.
What’s a vegemite?
Marshmallows without gelatin? What is the world coming to?!?! We take everything out of everything! Nothing is real anymore! *runs and hides from fake products* GAAAAAAGH!
There’s this one group of people my friend told me about, and I can’t remember what they’re called, but they are super extreme vegans. They’re vegan, but they also don’t eat plants that “harm” the plant itself. (potatoes, carrots,etc.) Weird. I’m suspecting some sort of monk..
(Not that there’s anything wrong with monks, of course)
425- They’re called macrobiotics, and I have a funny story about them. My mom’s roomate at Brown was on a strict macrobiotic diet and one night she came home and saw him eating a steak.
425-Marshmellows themselves aren’t real. They don’t grow out of the ground, you know. So I don’t see anything wrong with taking crushed animal bones out of their production.
In my opinion, regular vegetarians can’t have gelatin. I try not to eat it, which means specific yogurt and Jell-O from the health food store, and marshmellows you can only get online.
Clarissa says she won’t let me go vegan, I’d “kill myself”.
434- Vegemite is the Australian spread of death.
.427 – Vegetarians can’t eat yogurt? Last I checked, yogurt doesn’t have any gelatin in it…
(429) Some yoghurt brands do add gelatin.
428 – What?
.430 – No way! I never knew that and I’ve been a vegetarian for five years now. *goes to check her yogurt*
(427) Beavo, marshmallows are very real. They’re harvested from the pods of the marshmallow shrub.
OK, not exactly. But marshmallows get their name from the marshmallow plant, which really does exist. Apparently the plant exudes sticky stuff that was used to make the original marshmallow.
433~ Something like that. Also, the original use of the marshmallow plant was medicinal, sugar was added to make it taste better and thus the sweet gooey confection that we know today.
433-Yeah, I know. But the things we pop in somores don’t just fall from trees.
I’m enjoying imagining marshmallows growing in pods. I’m picturing them like extra-large bean pods but when you split open the pod instead of finding beans inside you find marshmallows — three per pod.
/marshmallow daydream.
425- Well gelitan free marshmallows aren’t fake, they’re just gelitan free.
436- That is a very interesting picture. I imagine them more like tomatoes…
428- That has got me chuckling.
436- mmmmmm….. the pod is a creamy colour.
437- *mental image of tomatoes made out of marshmallow, with seeds*
*Drools*
On November the 27th, 2009,I’m going VEGAN! YAY!
I just got my parent’s permission, which I got only after FIVE doctor’s trips. :(~
440- good for you!
440-why 11/27/09?
Might I sudgest you do it on the 22?
440- why then and not now, out of curiosity?
444- if she was in America, I would say thanksgiving.
445- I don’t even know when the Canadian Thanksgiving is. And I’m Canadian. *knows she is going off topic* Yeah. I can never keep Canada day and Victoria Day striaght either. The only one I know for sure is Remembrance Day.
Re: Gelatin: I don’t eat it. It’s in some yogurts, just read the ingredients. Also random non-gummy candies (eg, the fake cigarettes).
Re: Veganism: It’s not that hard, but I sort-of volley between that and normal lacto-ovo-vegetarianism. But I’d identify as a vegetarian. Mostly because I don’t want to eat spaghetti at the dining halls every other day (actually, scratch that, I’m pretty sure they put butter on the noodles). Half of their vegan dishes are godly awesome. The other half contain mushrooms and zucchini, both of which I hate.
436- Heehee, I approve. Though I’d like four in each pod, but that’s because I’m weird with even numbers…
447- *gasp* I love zucchini and mushrooms.
The Health Food store is being whack in it’s schedual. :((((
New thread? PLEASE???? This one is ancient! And very full. *begs*
(450) ‘Tis accomplishèd.