Vegetarianism

[Conspiracy.]

I'm honestly considering turning vegetarian. The thought of eating an animal kind of sickens me. I had pet chickens when I was younger and the thought of eating one of them is vile :( I live in a small village on a mountain in South Wales and I see cows and sheep all the time, I don't want to eat them anymore >.>

I just have really crappy self-control. I know in my heart eating animals is wrong but I don't know if I would genuinely be able to stop myself from eating meat. I genuinely like the taste of chicken, beef, tuna etc.

Who here is a veggy? could you give me some tips on turning veggy? :)

[blackops121]

I'm honestly considering turning vegetarian. The thought of eating an animal kind of sickens me. I had pet chickens when I was younger and the thought of eating one of them is vile :( I live in a small village on a mountain in South Wales and I see cows and sheep all the time, I don't want to eat them anymore >.>

I just have really crappy self-control. I know in my heart eating animals is wrong but I don't know if I would genuinely be able to stop myself from eating meat. I genuinely like the taste of chicken, beef, tuna etc.

Who here is a veggy? could you give me some tips on turning veggy? :)

http://paleodietlifestyle.com/vegetarianism-bad-environment/


Of course this type of thing is all down to the individual and their point of view, but personally I feel Vegetarianism is pointless. As long as you're eating animals which have been treated right, why not? It is the natural food chain, and it must be adhered to, if it is not, then you are only putting shortfalls into your own health and well-being.

[Grimmauld]

im not a vegan, but i think it has a big mental aspect to it. if you think its wrong to eat animals, but have doubt that youll be able to stop eating meat, then you have to make a firm decision between the two. just give it some thought, its nothing craved in stone anyways :P

[-:Undertaker:-]

Ask yourself exactly why it is wrong.

Consider that animals eat one another, and when we humans consume animals we at least slaughter them in a decent and humane way whereas in the wild they often die very painful deaths from broken legs, eaten alive and so no.

It isn't as grusome as you may first think when you consider what happens outside this realm (both human and natural).

[hamheyelliot]

I get the feeling you're more worried about the welfare of the animals you do eat, rather than the actual thought of consuming an animal.

If you can convince the shopper in your family to opt for higher welfare meat such as free range chicken, you might feel a little more at ease about it.

Of course there's nothing to stop you from going veggie, and I'd even encourage it for a week or so to see how you feel about it. As Daniel says above though, regulation makes it necessary that what you eat has been slaughtered in the most painless way efficiently possible.

You can make choices that ensure what you eat has been raised and sourced in an ethical way if that's what concerns you most.

[Munex]

As others have said, it's natural for humans to eat animals. We have carnivorous teeth and our bodies are specifically designed to get vitamins and nutrients from meat. Stopping the consumption of meat will not save any animals - the food will simply rot and the animal's death will be in vain.

Many people believe that an entire or predominately meat-based diet has many health benefits; Eskimos and other meat eaters have a greater life expectancy than other races - imagine how long they'd live with modern medicine etc.

Becoming vegetarian means taking vitamin supplements and finding everything your body needs from other sources.

My friend became vegetarian for a six months and became sick, sluggish and thin. Her life took a turn for the worse and she had to revert back to meat.

Good luck in whatever you decide, though.

[Rozi]

When my friend turned vegetarian, the only difficulty she had was making sure she had meals which had no meat in them, so you need to make sure your parents are happy to provide you with meat free meals, otherwise it's going to be fairly impossible. As someone else suggested, try it out for a few weeks, if you enjoy it,carry on! One piece of important advice us make sure you get enough iron, either from high iron sources like broccoli our spinach or from supplements.

I pretty much went the opposite way, I was 'born' a vegetarian and then changed over to eating meat. I really dislike eating beef and the only steak I've ever had was the most ville experience of my life. Oh also make sure you like pasta or being a veggie is tough. Also be prepared for people serving you ville nut loafs.

---------- Post added 18-10-2012 at 11:37 PM ----------

Can i please remind people this isn't a thread asking for your opinion on meat eating. Both sides of the argument are acceptable. Not eating meat is perfectly healthy, just as eating meat is. There are so many social, economic and moral considerations surrounding the issue and this really isn't the place to discuss them.

[MKR&*42]

One piece of important advice us make sure you get enough iron, either from high iron sources like broccoli our spinach or from supplements.

This^ So badly. Red meat contains an awful lot of iron and that's where most people get their sources of iron from, if you became vegetarian you'd need to be eating the vegetables with high amounts of iron fairly regularly. Worst case scenario is that you get anemia (lack of iron in the blood quite essentially).

I'm not a vegetarian myself, only thing I could say would be to avoid anything with meat in at all costs if you truly do want to overcome the barrier and be a 'veggie'. Someone stated earlier trying to get your parents to give you non-meat products - that is a very important feature. Or you could try tricking yourself into believing that meat tastes bad (e.g. Imagine the experience of throwing up whilst you're eating meat regularly and there's a very slim chance it will eventually put you off meat).

Only other option is to start substituting meat for Tofu or Quorn-based products. (I think Tofu is a substitute for meat...)

[Conspiracy.]

I think there's a big difference between a lion eating a deer and humans eating a cow. We have morals and cognitive thought. We can make an informed decision, a lion can't. We also have empathy.

My mum has also questioned being vegetarian too. I think if I told her she would buy me meat-free meals and probably turn veggy herself.

I actually love quorn anyway :') I sometimes eat it for the sake of it. The only thing I don't like are the sausages.

[Empired]

I used to be a vegan, but that caused too many family problems so I toned it down to vegetarianism :P

I don't feel sorry for the animals, it just freaks me out to think that if the world was different and if, say, cows could think and feel emotion, etc and we couldn't, I would hate it if they grew us and ate us.

To me, it sounds like you'd do better off buying your meat from a reliable butcher who you know treats the animals well, slaughters them painlessly and things. If you're not sure whether you want to give up meat or not, the chances are you don't! :D

[GommeInc]

Hmm, your views are quite interesting. If you like meat then you could switch to eating meat sourced from free range farms or farms that treat their animals well.

If you are concerned about eating meat because of the "they're animals with feelings" (can't think of how to say it :P) then Rozi has done a good job with posting the ins and outs. Try it and find out if you can cope with a meat-free lifestyle, there's no harm in experimenting for a month on different vegetarian meals to see if you like them. I eat and cook quite a lot of vegetarian meals an, and there is certainly a huge range so choice isn't too bad.

Iron supplements are important in a vegetarian diet, it's quite difficult to keep sane on eating high-iron food like broccoli, curly kale and a few others with some emals as they do not work well with the quantity you need. You could just make it a rare occasion where you eat beef, because you do not necessarily have to cut meat off entirely, just change your diet so you eat less.

[Zak]

I don't see how anyone can be a vegetarian. Maybe I don't have a very open mind on the subject but I have been brought up in and around farms my whole life. Chickens must be the most intelligent creatures I've come across on a normal farm, cows well.. stupid isn't the word. I used to think about the animals too when I was younger. I told my aunty and got "Don't be so bloody daft". :P

Not being funny but if these animals had half the chance they'd eat us too. It's the food chain. Though I'm not one for caring about views like yours because I am who I am. Sorry about that! And good luck with what ever you choose! Some people have made some good tips on here :)

[Cerys]

I have never been a veggie so I have no valuable input, but oh well.
I am also considering giving up eating meat etc, but then I thought about all the stuff I wouldn't be able to eat.. eg the stuff which randomly has geletine in (i cbb spelling)

But yeah, if you feel strongly enough about something, then go for it. Maybe cut down on the meat slowly then completly stop eating it.

[Rozi]

In the end of the day being a vegetarian is just like making any other food choice - it's the option to not eat the foods you don't want to eat. Some people don't like peas, so they don't eat them and some people don't like eating animals, so they don't eat them. Personally I think there are far more people in this country who don't eat vegetables cause they don't like them, than vegetarians, and not eating vegetables is far worse for your health than not eating meat.

Instead of reducing vegetarianism down to iron cast dos and don'ts, just don't eat what you don't want to eat, and that doesn't mean that you always have to not eat that.

[Catchy]

I was a vegetarian for a year until I started secondary school, couldn't resist the greasy burgers. There wasn't a reason for me turning veggie, I just wanted to so I did. I just made sure I made up for the protein I was losing from not eating meat. Like others said try it for a few weeks and see how you go. Lol at people trying to convince you otherwise, if she doesn't want to eat meat... Urm she doesn't have to?

[Absently]

I would actually never survive as a veggie, I love my meat way too much! I have quite a few friends that are veggies (they usually outnumber the rest of us) Remember, if you turn veggie you won't be able to eat a lot of sweets, I'd never be able to live without my jellies :P The only thing I would say about turning veggie is it can be sometimes hard to find food that are suitable for you especially in restaurants or takeaways (obviously just depends on the place) I've found that some places don't even cater for veggies which is really annoying when I'm with some of my friends! You just need to make sure you're getting your iron which will keep you big and strong :D. Like a lot of others have said, even just try it for a week and see how it goes, it doesn't have to be something definite.