Veganism and Vegetarianism

[Bethany W]

I am a vegan myself (been for 2 years) and vegetarian for 5 years before that. Firstly I dont agree with animal slaughter and factory farming and secondly I think the whole aspect of eating dead bodies is just plain gross. Ive also found it helps keep my body slender and feminine. It also effects mood in that you become a more passive person. Meat just seems like such a masculine and primal food.

Is anybody else vegan or vegetarian, or have any good recipes to share?

[tekla]

I'm committed to worry about animal rights right after I'm pretty much sold that most of the humans have theirs.

[fae_reborn]

I am a vegan myself (been for 2 years) and vegetarian for 5 years before that. Firstly I dont agree with animal slaughter and factory farming and secondly I think the whole aspect of eating dead bodies is just plain gross. Ive also found it helps keep my body slender and feminine. It also effects mood in that you become a more passive person. Meat just seems like such a masculine and primal food.

Is anybody else vegan or vegetarian, or have any good recipes to share?

I'm a vegetarian most of the time.  To be honest, I do eat meat once in a while, but it's mainly chicken and sometimes beef.  I don't agree with animal slaughter or factory farming (because of what it does to the land) either.  However, I don't think meat is a "masculine" or primal food per se, it's just food.  But I will say that red meat is gross.

Jenn

[Melissa-kitty]

Been vegetarian for 6 years now, and hard to imagine going back. It's a matter of conscience and compassion. My partner is a committed veg, too, which helps.
Tara

[lady amarant]

I've been a vegetarian for about 6 years now. I've been trying to get the vegan thing going, but I keep slipping, to be honest. It's pretty tough to change one's eating pattern without a clear alternative planned out - it took me a while to figure out vegetarianism, and only after a lot of experimenting with Thai, Indian, Buddhist and other veggie-heavy menus. It's just too easy to fall back on what you know when you have no idea what to make for dinner. Sadly there was a lot more time to spend in the kitchen messing around when I was at university.

So anybody have any advice on banishing the seductions of cheese and creamy sauces and all that other yummy stuff from my life for good?

~Simone.

PS. I confess... I'm also thoroughly addicted to chocolate...

[lisagurl]

I don't agree with animal slaughter or factory farming (because of what it does to the land) either.

Humans have come a long way and survive on the death of something else bet it fish animal or plant. Mushrooms survive on decay. Domesticating of animal food begin about 10,000 years ago after people found that farming was more secure than gathering. I find nothing wrong with growing things to eat. The life of things need to be treated humanly while it lives. If we help grow things then we mess with nature and need to balance the equation.

Most store bought foods have chemicals like corn syrup that is a totally artificial additive. All farmed food are plants that have been genetically engineered over thousands of years. It is short sighted to ignore all the factors.

"(because of what it does to the land)" what about the people who work there? Slavery?

[joannatsf]

I'm not vegetarian myself but I live with one.  I'm also the head cook so I do a lot of meat free dishes.  I mostly make things-up and I don't measure so it would be difficult to tell you my own but I did find some vegetarian/vegan pasta recopies in the NY Times last year that have become part of my repertoir.

Serving Pasta?

I like the Winter Squash pasta (Warning: You need a good knife for chopping)

The Chorizo and Chickpea recipie is great, spicy and delicious.  Just substitute Soyrizo for the meat sausage.  Meat chorizo is a bit greasy for my tastes and I prefer the soy product.  Use some olive oil to prevent Soyrizo  from sticking.

If you are ever in San Francisco you should check out Cafe Gratitude!  They do amazing things with almond milk.  Think cheesecake w/o cheese!  If someone had told me that one of my favorite restaurants in The City would be raw vegan cuisine, I'd have thought they were out of their mind.

[fae_reborn]

"(because of what it does to the land)" what about the people who work there? Slavery?

Lisa, I was referring to the fact that modern farming techniques (here in the US) take up hundreds and even thousands of acres, use machines and equipment powered by non-renewable resources.  This system destroys eco-systems, displaces habitat, and ruins the soil because of the heavy reliance on chemicals to grow things where they're not naturally able to grow.

Most farm workers (in the US) are treated fairly and paid decently, so I'd hardly call it slavery.  I'm sure the experiences of migrant farmers (Mexicans, etc.) are different, but I don't have knowledge of that.

My point is, factory farming is unsustainable, damages the land, and is inhumane to animals (slaughterhouses, etc.).  That's all I was saying.

Jenn

[Shana A]

I was vegetarian for 20 plus years, and strictly vegan for three of those. A few years ago my metabolism changed, and I now occasionally eat fish or chicken. Still mostly prefer to cook and eat vegetarian meals. We cook a lot of veggie stir fries, curries, etc. I invent some of my recipes. The last two nights curry was entirely from our garden except for the brown rice, a sweet potato and can of coconut milk. If at all possible, eating local foods are best.

BTW, soy products and yams are good sources of natural estrogen. Eat your tofu girls! 

Z

[kirakero]

I am mostly vegan.  I will only make exceptions for dairy/eggs if the livestock is free roaming, and I will eat fish occasionally.  The idea is to take humane treatment and the environment into account, while also considering health.  A primarily veg diet is so much more healthy then a heavily meat-bearing diet, like that which is consumed by much of America.  Meat every meal is way too much, even every other meal.  You wonder why people have such high cholesterol... Too much red meat is one of the factors I found.

[lisagurl]

Most farm workers (in the US) are treated fairly and paid decently, so I'd hardly call it slavery.

Read "Nobodies" by John Bowe The U.S. public is blinded by the news that is owned by those large cooperate companies. Kraft and the other tobacco giants.

Posted on: August 16, 2008, 08:14:07 PM

why people have such high cholesterol

Oils and cheese, fried foods, fast foods, very little exercise.  Read "Omnivore's Dilemma"

[joannatsf]

Oils and cheese, fried foods, fast foods, very little exercise.  Read "Omnivore's Dilemma"

80% of cholesterol is made in the liver.  Only 20% is due to dietary sources.

If eating meat is so bad one must wonder why nature has given us sharp teeth for tearing and eyes facing forward.  We're predators!

[lisagurl]

If eating meat is so bad one must wonder why nature has given us sharp teeth for tearing and eyes facing forward.  We're predators!

Hitler was a Vegetarian.

Corn fed beef have much more fat than grass feed beef.

[Janet_Girl]

I am sorry but I never could get into the whole vegan/vegetarian thing.  I am for animal rights, but I am not a zealot.  I love milk, ice cream, cheese, eggs, bacon, etc.

I am eating more salads though, but I can not nor, will not give up beef.  I respect your choice to be vegan or vegetarian.

Mistress Janet

[fae_reborn]

Janet, I feel there's different levels on the vegetarian/vegan scale.  Vegan is probably the extreme.  Personally, I'm probably at the low-end of the vegetarian scale.  I try to eat healthier: fruits and vegetables, stir-fry, pasta, stuff like that.  I still eat meat sometimes though, mainly chicken.  I still eat dairy products too (eggs, milk, ice cream, cheese, etc.), so maybe you're on the low-end of the vegetarian scale like me?  Just a thought dear. 

Jenn

[Floating]

Oh, I didn't see this post before.  I'm a vegetarian. ^_^


I still eat eggs and milk, but only in baked goods.  Partly because I love baking.  I've been a vegetarian for 5 years now.  It was quite the shock to all my friends and family because I was one of those people who almost only ate meat and carbs.

Yup.

I don't have much else to add.  But it's really good to see that there are lots of others here too!  ^_^

-Floating

[myles]

I was raised a vegeterian for the first 9ish years of my life, no eggs, no chicken no fish, but did get milk and cheese. When people ask if I am one now I say "I did my time". While I am sure if I read some reports I would be completely upset and go back, I think my mother ruined it for me when I was younger. It was the early 70's and there weren't the alternatives we have now and as a kid you can only eat so much tofu and potatoes. I guess the limited food along with the fact she couldn't cook made it worse. I am sure at some point I will have a look at it but all I can see at this point is mushy tofu and burned potatoes (yes its possible).
I do eat a lot of meat alternatives now and my kids do without knowing it. We just try to be responsible meat eater. Free range, organic, local and so on. I think maybe if meat eaters could take that step it would help a lot.
Myles

[Aiden]

Is it wrong for a lion to kill it's prey for food?  It is only natural to eat meat as well as plants.  Talk about suffering animals, the ones on the farms probably suffer less than the ones killed by lions.  Now I do agree animals shouldn't be tortured, and should be careful not to kill to many of one kind. But I guess I do not understand this vegetarian mindset.  Shrugs, but I'm a meat lover so guess is to be expected lol.  I don't eat meat with every meal only because I can't afford to.  Plus... well cholestrol lol

[Bethany W]

The only way I think I could eat meat is if A) I was starving and B) I killed the animal myself and used every part of it.

Dairy is very easy for me to avoid because I get excrutiating pain from eating it and I never liked eggs even when I did eat meat.

[Alyssa M.]

I am a vegan myself (been for 2 years) and vegetarian for 5 years before that. Firstly I dont agree with animal slaughter and factory farming and secondly I think the whole aspect of eating dead bodies is just plain gross. Ive also found it helps keep my body slender and feminine. It also effects mood in that you become a more passive person. Meat just seems like such a masculine and primal food.

Is anybody else vegan or vegetarian, or have any good recipes to share?

I eat food. I try to be healthy and to avoid being terribly wasteful, so I don't eat too much meat. But I completely respect people who choose different diets for any of a host of reasons -- cultural, religious, ethical, environmental, medical, etc.

As for me, well, I want to kill.  I mean, I wanna, I wanna kill.  Kill.  I wanna, I wanna see, I wanna see blood and gore and guts and veins in my teeth.  Eat dead burnt bodies. I mean kill, Kill, KILL, KILL.



Happy (belated) Thanksgiving.

~Alyssa