Vegetarians: Why are you one? (dinner, food, vegetables, meat)

[denverian]

I was wondering why other people are vegetarians. It seems like I meet more vegetarians all the time, but then when some people find out about me, they react like I told them I eat dirt and glass.

But my reason is that I've always been grossed out by it. Blood and guts grosses me out (especially my own!) and the thought of eating something that was alive with blood running through its veins makes me want to vomit. Then recently seeing on the news that sick cow being shoved by a fork lift into slaughter just makes me sick. I know animals naturally eat other animals and keep populations in check, but I'm healthy without eating meat and it's not necessary to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

[RoaminRed]

Hmmm...good question. I'm not currently a vegetarian, though I have been one off and on for long periods of time in my life. I just go through phases where I have absolutely no urge to consume meat. Right now, I'm officially a pescetarian, because I do eat sushi or sashimi once or twice a month. Other than that, I don't eat any animal flesh at all. Just don't have the yen for it. It doesn't gross me out -- in fact I've tried some pretty weird foods in my life, but for now I don't eat it. I suppose if I started dating someone who was a big meat-eater, I'd probably start eating a bit of it again once in a while. Until then though, it's much cheaper and more environmentally friendly to be a veggie or pescie.

[wktully]

I've been a vegetarian since 2003 and it was a decision years in the making. I'm a big animal lover and I finally just felt I was such a hypocrite for loving animals and wanting them treated with respect while at the same time tossing them on the grill! It struck me personally as wrong and I haven't looked back - don't miss meat at all. Living near the ocean I do crave white fish or shrimp once in a while - and sometimes I do cave! Once in awhile I will get squeamish cooking red meat but otherwise I don't mind so much preparing meat for my carnivore hubby Sometimes it's hard going out to dinner as the choices are limited but I have found some restaurants are starting to offer more non meat dishes.

[Green Irish Eyes]

Even as a child (I'm now 50 ), I had to disassociate myself from my food in order to eat meat. If I let myself think about where that hamburger came from, I'd feel physically ill and couldn't eat it.

Finally, when I was 30, I told myself -- "Hey, if it bothers you this much, then just don't EAT it!"

So, 20 years ago, I quit eating meat, cold turkey (excuse the pun), and haven't regretted it for a single moment since.

When people ask me about being vegetarian, I ask if it would bother them to eat a cat or a dog or a horse. Invariably, they'll be appalled and respond, "Oh, no, I'd NEVER eat that!"

I then point out that people in other countries regularly eat those animals, while other people (notably, Hindus) don't eat the cattle that we routinely slaughter for dinner.

My belief is that if you feel squeamish eating one kind of animal, then you probably shouldn't be eating other animals, either. Of course, if eating animal flesh doesn't bother you in the least, then go for it.

[denverian]

I'm an animal lover too and view them as innocent - even though my dog and cat eat meat! They don't know any better. The dog does love to share veggies with me though!

I also wonder about the health issues of eating meat - especially big meat eaters. My cholesterol is very good, and I probably eat more fruits/vegetables to make up for not eating meat. I like tofu when cooked right, all sorts of beans and pastas, breads, nuts, etc. I do eat eggs occassionally (rarely) and don't have a problem with it since nothing was killed, but I pay more for the "free range" eggs.

[collected_eve]

I've just always thought that redmeat sits in your bowels & rots. I cannot stand the thought of it taking a bit longer than other foods to be processed through my body. Whether that is true or not, I do not know.

I'm Ok with consuming poultry & fish, but redmeat usually sicks me out & when I do eat it (which is very rare...another bad pun) I must have it overcooked. I mean it, very overcooked. Crispy, black & borderline ash

[Roma]

I'm a vegetarian because I can't imagine eating anything that was alive. I love animals so much. I save them, I don't kill them.
I don't drink milk because I don't like the way they treat the cows and I couldn't imagine having a machine hooked up to my breast like what they do to them.

[Maine Writer]

I hope this doesn't come across the wrong way. I'm not asking this to instigate an argument. This is honestly something I'm trying to understand. If eating chicken, turkey, beef, pork, etc. isn't ok how is fish or shellfish different? I know I'm missing something.

Denverian, do you know the legalities of labeling eggs free range? If they birds are being factory farmed they're probably not going out. The only legal requirement for "free range" is a door to the outside. The poor birds don't have to have ever see blue sky, green grass or even black parking lot. At least they're not in battery cages, but it's still not good enough if they aren't being raised on the ground the way chickens are meant to live.

[Pikantari]

I was vegetarian for several months, not really because I wanted to be, but mean was making me ill.

It took a while of getting used to it, and finding the foods that would replace the different nutrients that meat would give me.

For the most part now, only chicken and turkey, pork bothers me, but not like beef.

Every once in a while, for a few weeks, I go back to the vegetarian way, don't know why... just do!

[SuziSu]

I was a vegetarian for three years. I didn't agree with the cruelty. I had to stop because I was supplementing all the vitamins I was lacking. My hair was falling out amongst other things.