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Vegetarians/Vegans?
So how many of us are vegetarian/vegan? Was it for environmental/health/moral reasons? How long have you been vegetarian/vegan?
So how many of us are vegetarian/vegan? Was it for environmental/health/moral reasons? How long have you been vegetarian/vegan?
I'm not vegetarian or vegan, but I'm trying to eat less and less animal product. It's just not a cold-turkey situation. I'm doing it for all of the above. I think it'd mostly be moral reasons though.
Like, even gardening, I felt bad pulling up brand new plants because I already had too many of that type. So how much worse would I feel about an animal if I weren't so distanced from the cruelty that happens in that industry.
My wife and I both are trying to eat less and less meat. Maybe one day it'll be none. I hope so
Hey I'm in the exact same boat. I know that if I tried going cold turkey I would eventually snap and relapse, so I've been gradually waning my consumption. I've gotten meats down to maybe once every two weeks. Dairies are next and that's going to be the real hard part (although I've already discovered a love for almond milk).
I actually prefer coconut milk to real. We have no issue getting rid of dairy milk. Cheese on the other hand... that's a tough one :)
I was vegan for years (for moral reasons) but have recently become omnivorous. I wasn't exactly tempted by meat/cheese/whatever, but the mental burden of needing to think about whether there would be vegan food available where ever I was, or whether some menu item was vegan, got to be annoying. I'm still pretty much vegan at home though.
Also it still annoys me when people talk shit about vegans online 😤
Pescatarian is a decent stepping stone/middle-ground too. Vegetarian + occasional seafood, which is pretty much where I am at... other than the rare cured meat (prosciutto, pepperoni, soppressata, etc). I’m Italian-Canadian... desire for those, especially on a pizza, is in my genes and unavoidable (that’s what I tell myself anyways). ;)
That's essentially what my wife and I are doing. We don't buy meat for groceries, but if we go to a friends, or go out to a restaurant, we don't hold off.
I found out about 3 years ago how environmentally damaging it was to eat meat/non-local foods. I started making an effort then to eat local produce and limit how much meat I eat. That naturally transitioned into becoming vegetarian (except on occasions - eating out or whatever).
It's entirely for environmental reasons for me. I think the moral aspect of eating meat can be rationalized by buying good quality meat (i.e. not mass produced, from a local farm, organic, etc) and by the logic that if you kill and prepare an animal to eat yourself it's not unfair for someone else to do it for you.
I'm an accidental vegetarian for most of the month usually. My local shop had some really obnoxiously great deals for the vegi stuff and since I was skint (and not a picky eater) I just rolled with whatever looked good and wow... Some of the vegi foods taste WAY better.
I love me some meat, but apparently not more than regular foods. So I've been trying to just keep it up if I can. I'll autopilot my vegi meals but sometimes I'll get a hankering for a roast or something but that's rather rare (hah).So I'm not sure if it counts since I'm not actively living the lifestyle, but my meat consuption has gone from daily to sporadic. I should try and cut some dairy out next but that might be too much too soon haha.
I think we'll eventually transition away from meats and whatnot as they're very wasteful, but I've got no actionable qualms about eating meat at all. That being said, it does feel good to have cut down my consumption drastically over the last year
I guess I'd describe myself as a soft vegan. Basically when I'm buying groceries it'll be vegan but if I'm invited for dinner either at someone's home or at a restaurant I'll eat animal derived foods if there isn't a vegan or vegetarian option, same if I forgot to pack a lunch for work.
Moral reasons. If a company offered comfortable, cheap t-shirts that happened to be made exclusively from cotton picked by human slaves there'd probably be a boycott and moral outcry, I don't see how this is any different besides status quo.
That said I don't fool myself in thinking it makes any kind of difference. Global meat consumption is skyrocketing as billions are lifted out of poverty and have access to more expensive sources of protein, I'd just rather not partake when I can.
I am vegan, and have been for about 2 years now I think.
I am vegan for both health and moral reason. There is evidence to suggest red meat is carcinogenic. But the main reason I am vegan is because of the (mis)treatment of animals that don't want to die. There are some horrific videos out there of how animals are treated in these factory farms and at the abattoirs, and I want no part of that. I don't want to contribute to the suffering of another life
I went vegan a year ago after never even attempting a vegetarian diet. Once you see what goes into meat turning into a meal and learn you don’t need to partake in that processs to live a healthy life, I didn’t see any reason to keep eating meat or consuming dairy.
It’s generally less expensive, certainly healthier and it’s in line with how I want to see animals treated.
I've been a vegetarian since I was about 5 when I decided not to eat meat because it just seemed wrong to me. Parents were not thrilled.
Stuck with it still to this day, but I could never be vegan. I love cheese too much and being vegetarian is enough of a challenge for me.
I’m similar. I became a vegetarian at 7. My parents hated it. I had to go on a hunger strike to get them to stop hiding meat in my food. Never went vegan because of cheese.
Stayed that way for decades until my husband got really into spearfishing. He eventually got me to kill and eat a fish. Now I’m pescatarian.
I figure if I’m comfortable killing it, I can eat it. Still can’t kill anything but fish and crustaceans. I don’t have any desire to start pig hunting.
Honestly that's the healthiest diet there is. I have considered going pescatarian myself. It would certainly make overseas travel much easier and more fun. I still have troubles getting over the fact that fish have some degree of consciousness, though.
Currently doing my best to go vegetarian. Been doing one meat day/meal per week for a few months now and it's not as difficult as I thought. I will eat animals that I have caught or killed myself as hunting and fishing are a big part of my culture and upbringing, not gonna let that go anytime soon. In short, as long as the animal is not mistreated I'm ok with it being food.
Any other outdoorsmen in the same boat?
Most people seem to have that attitude - Thinking it's going to be difficult to eat less meat then realizing that it's actually pretty easy!
Vegetarian (almost vegan) here. Started as health experiment, stayed because of ethical reasons. It seems like places like /r/vegan etc. attract the more activist/radical types, which kind of turns me away from participation - I care about animals, but I don't think being shitty to people who eat meat is the way to change things.
If I didn't have to kill an animal in order to eat meat, it's possible I might do so for health reasons. I don't have the best diet, I'm kind of stupid about nutrition, I just can't stomach killing something with a face if I don't have to. If anyone has any recommendations for simple/cheap meal plans/menus (especially if they've got plenty of fat and not too many simple carbs), I'd be interested.
You might want to look at resources for Plant Based Diet rather than veganism. PBD is almost entirely about the personal health aspect whereas, as you say, veganism is more of a lifestyle and brings activism to a more central role.
interesting. I didn't realize the term vegan was explicitly an activism thing - I thought it meant a diet which lacks any animal products, and that there happen to be passionate activists who are vegan but that they don't have ownership of the word. I kind of suspect most people have that same understanding of the meaning of the term, since restaurants for example have vegan options explicitly marked as vegan rather than "plant based".
Pretty much spot on as to why vegan is used more commonly but diet and lifestyle are different motivations. I mean it's not explicitly an activism thing it's just that you can eat a "vegan" diet and you know visit zoos and wear wool etc but veganism is a whole lot more than simply the diet. Most people who adopt a vegan diet for health reasons don't think too much about the other aspects of animal cruelty because that's not why they are doing it. So the term plant based diet was born, which I'm fine with because though they aren't vegan they do have some good recipes.
Somewhat off-topic i guess, but this reminds me a little of some discussions I've seen on /r/atheism about people misusing terms like "atheism" or "theism". Like, I've seen people say that agnosticism doesn't exist, you can only be an "agnostic atheist" or a "gnostic atheist" or "apatheist" etc. etc.
I guess they have logical reasons for that kind of linguistic prescriptivism though. Now I'm more curious about the etymology of "vegan", and why the activists lay claim to ownership of it versus non-activists with the same diet.
In any case, I do appreciate learning the term! I have heard the phrase "plant based diet" before, but never really knew what it meant. It is a more descriptive label than "vegan", though a bit more of a mouthful. :P
There's a bit on the wiki entry about the actual word
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veganism#Coining_the_term_vegan_(1944)
I'm sure PBD will get a catchier name at some point, vegan was basically made to replace 'non dairy vegetarian' a similar mouthful.
Still omnivorous but, being Italian, me and my family have a good understanding of a balanced diet. Meat is probably a 2 times per week along with everything else (fish, etc).
We're gradually introducing vegan or vegetarian alternatives to dishes we know but only when the balance of preparation+taste isn't going to be that much different.
For example we discovered some vegan sausages that are absolutely good. It doesn't mean that we stopped Italian meat sausages but that we lowered the consumption.
I can see becoming a "mostly" vegetarian in the long run, but I couldn't get rid of having things like cheese or honey. I agree that we shouldn't exploit so much the animals as food but I don't see a reason to not use what the animals can produce if it's done with respect towards the animal (so, not squeezing every ounce of its soul out of it).
On a side note, I have worked for several years in the ministry of health in Italy. In the country that ministry is also in charge of healthcare of animals and quality of food and feed.
The fact that "feed" is included in the official duties should already clarify how much the country care but anyway, there are really plenty of regulation to make it so that animals are treated well in general and granted a humane death when they are in that industry.
I left Italy for several reason but that one is one of the things that make me proud of my native country.
I like your wording 'not squeezing every ounce of its soul out'. Very apt in this case.
I'm not vegetarian , but my gf is, so that kinda makes me one. I love to cook, and since we live and eat together, i cook 100% vegetarian meals, aside from the occasional piece of pork neck or chicken for myself.
I've learned a lot since we started living together. There is an impressive ammount of vegetarian meals from different cuisines you can make that are all unique. I had no idea!
I myself avoid beef/veal. I just like cows too much, and can't bring myself to eat them. The industry is afwul as well.
Upsides of cooking vegetarian is that the food is generally lighter for the stomach(i can eat radioactive nails as far my stomach is concerned, but i feel a lot lighter than if i was to eat meat), the food is cheaper if you know how to cook, and feel like there is more variety in different meals you can make.
The downside is that i lost a lot of weight since i started eating mainly vegetarian. My gf says i look like Christian Bale in The Machinist(it isn't that severe, but you get the idea).
Could use recommendations on how to gain healthy weight back that isn't just eating meat.
In my experience it mostly comes down to making sure you're getting enough calories & protein. If you finish meals without feeling full, or you get hungry again shortly after eating (sooner than you would if you'd had meat) try adding in more protein-rich foods or subbing them for carbs, which are broken down much more quickly.
Not that you want to get into full-on body building, but these are good general tips for figuring out a balanced diet and gaining to then maintaining a healthy weight as a vegetarian. Hope it's some help!
Vegetarian here!
No reason in particular I just don't like meat.