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I spent a long healthy life living as a non meat eating guy. It's hard. Everywhere ya go, menus are geared to meat. Burger this and burger that....chicken this and chicken that, hotdog this and hot dog that. Where can I get a damn salad?
I attend many Rodeos. These are meat eating people. Raise cattle and eat cattle. They say I eat like a Rabbit should. I find myself buying a plate of beans or collard greens at these places. When I'm lucky I can order a casket of fries, a casket of fried okra or any other variety of heart attack in a casket foods. No wonder why America is fat.
I can always hear the mumbles and feel the stares in a diner. "Look...he's a Vegetarian". At times the rude Waitress asks why. Depending on her attitude (or how pretty she is) I may either say because I wish to be healthy or I might say that I feel each time a life is taken and another species eats the flesh of that life our souls get weaker. I may also mention how stupid it is to waste 18 pounds of grain to produce just 1 pound of meat when that 18 pounds of grain can be used to produce 32 pounds of food. I also may mention that the largest and strongest animals in the world eat NO meat. Hmmmm silly me.
Oh some say......I need meat to be an athlete? Funny, I never touched meat in 53 years yet I can outrun, out jump, out dance, out perform, have more hair on my head then, and no gray hair then anyone I have ever met my age. So there!
How do you fellow Vegetarians cope in a meat eating world? What do you do at family back yard picnics when there is nothing but burgers and hot dogs? What do you do when you go to a restaurant that you did not pick and there is almost nothing on the menu for you? How do you defend yourself from those who put you down for your lifestyle? Do you feel our culture will ever change (be more accepting) or are destined to be a fat society of meat and fast food carnivores?
I've gotten all the stupid comments/questions over the years. Of course, some of them are legit, just asked by people who are totally ignorant of vegetarianism - questions like, "how do you get protein?" or "don't you feel dizzy or weak?" are, to us, stupid... but to someone who grew up doing things like hunting, attending rodeos, etc., they're legit and I try to remain respectful.
The main thing that gets me with being a vegetarian is that, well, I'm a guy. I'm a big guy. I'm 6'2, and weigh around 200lbs. I'm built like a tank. I come from a military family and my maternal grandpa was a heavyweight boxing champ... that's the physique I got. People have a certain expectation of me, and I don't fall into it; I don't think that a dietary habit should be a big deal, but for some people it is... pathetic. Who really cares? I'm not advertising or jamming it down anyone's throat so no one should mind, IMHO.
One of my uncles, for instance, just plain can't stand that I don't eat meat and has to remind me that I don't every time I see him. "Anthony Bourdain hates vegetarians," he'll remind me. I don't care. "On one show, they went to France to a French vegetarian restaurant that an American girl opened up, and they had no business because people in France think vegetarianism is stupid." GREAT! Let's hear it for America.
And yet... I really like animals. I do. When I was nine, my parent got me a cockatiel and that first night, I spent hours watching her sit and hop and flap and move around, and then sat down for a chicken dinner, where I realized that the legs looked just like hers. I never ate poultry again. I'd quit eating fish as a kid whne I realized that the fish on the table used to swim like the ones in our fish tank. I just couldn't do it, and as I got older, I couldn't feel good about eating a cow or a pig that had grown up in misery and squalor and then faced a horrifying death. So I stopped completely, 100%, when I was 16. I'm 27 now and have no intention of ever going back to eating meat.
For me, the change was easy, and has been - the only thing I miss is the convenience. I didn't used to check labels on new products to see if they use chicken stock. I used to be able to stop into whatever restaurant or corner store or snack counter or whatever and buy whatever looked good. Can't do that now anymore, but at the same time, I can get an apple just about anywhere. I know everywhere around me that has vegetarian options. Overall, now, it's not a big deal and I don't even really think about it.
I am a vegetarian too and I would never attend a Rodeo or Circus! That is animal abuse!!
Interesting you say that. There are things that bother me at rodeos and I always wondered where those kooks from PETA were during roping or when they tie the balls of the bulls so they jump like they do. These are not the events I attend by the way.
I ate a vegatarian diet for several years when I was younger. I never defended my choices to anyone. I also never felt the need to prostheletize or convert meat-eaters, and resented people who did. I ate vegetarian because I didn't want to eat meat, plain and simple. There was never a single waitress who would get personal enough to ask why I chose which items from the menu that I chose. And if they did, I would tell them the truth: Because your establishment offers it for sale, and the description made it sound like it would taste good.
When my parents wanted to know why they had to come up with alternatives for my protein choices when I was living home for some of this time, I told them I just plain didn't like meat; my tastebuds must have changed, but meat just wasn't appealing to me anymore and I knew that I needed protein so please stock up on peanutbutter.
I stopped being vegetarian because I discovered I really missed bacon. And lobster meat drawn in butter. And various other morsels that I used to like, before I went veg. I never felt the need to defend myself on THAT choice to anyone either. And I resent it when people think I should, just as much as I resented being expected to defend my choice to be veg, when I was veg.
I never felt the need to defend myself on THAT choice to anyone either. And I resent it when people think I should, just as much as I resented being expected to defend my choice to be veg, when I was veg.
Good for you. I know that many vegetarians resent having to defend their dietary decisions, for example, eating "faux meat." I don't understand why non-vegetarians get in such a snit about it. I don't eat meat because I don't want to eat a dead animal. Meat analogs aren't dead animals, right? So where's the harm?
BTW: I used to love bacon, too. Now I eat Morningstar Farms' breakfast strips. It's certainly not the real thing, but it'll do -- especially since the thought of fried pig belly slices laid across my plate is pretty unappealing.
And now for something completely different. The OP's questions .....
Quote:
Originally Posted by desertsun41
How do you defend yourself from those who put you down for your lifestyle? Do you feel our culture will ever change (be more accepting) or are destined to be a fat society of meat and fast food carnivores?
I just don't feel the need to defend myself. I freely acknowledge that I'm "atypical" and if anyone has a problem with that, well, that's THEIR problem, not mine. I'm not sure that society as a whole will ever be any more accepting than it is right now, though I do hope Western societies will learn to rely less on a meat-based diet. However, considering that fast-food establishments continue to proliferate around the globe, I'm not convinced that's ever going to happen.
So, you don't want to eat dead animal, but you're fine with eating something that is designed to look, taste, and smell like dead animal (such as faux ham, tofurkey, etc).
When I was a vegetarian, it was because I couldn't stand the smell or taste of meat. The last thing I'd want in my supper was something that smelled or tasted like meat. That was the whole point of my becoming a vegetarian. It was also the reason why I stopped being a vegetarian; my taste for meat returned.
There's no harm in either. It also has absolutely nothing to do with the topic. But since you took the time out of this thread to ask, there's my answer.
So, you don't want to eat dead animal, but you're fine with eating something that is designed to look, taste, and smell like dead animal (such as faux ham, tofurkey, etc).
When I was a vegetarian, it was because I couldn't stand the smell or taste of meat. The last thing I'd want in my supper was something that smelled or tasted like meat. That was the whole point of my becoming a vegetarian. It was also the reason why I stopped being a vegetarian; my taste for meat returned.
There's no harm in either. It also has absolutely nothing to do with the topic. But since you took the time out of this thread to ask, there's my answer.
Well, actually, the thread topic is Living as a vegetarian and, for me, that includes the occasional "faux meat" product. I've lived as a vegetarian for more than 25 years, have never regained a "taste for meat," and haven't regretted it for a minute. I've also never, EVER listened to anyone who thinks they have the moral superiority to tell me what is and isn't acceptable for me to eat.
But that's just how *I* live as a vegetarian .....
In the beginning it was rough and I felt like an outsider but as time went on it got easier and I care a lot less about being an outsider. Even in the 5 years that I've been vegetarian I've seen lots of good changes. A few vegan restaurants opened in my area and more and more vegan products come out each year. Except for a rude coworker shoving his cheeseburger in my face, most people leave me alone about my meatless living. Maybe it's because I'm a guy because my sister seems to get far more grief from people about being vegan. The few problems I've had have been people who don't think I should raise my kids as vegans...a few very vocal people. Most people don't say anything though as my kids are huge for their age and look well fed.
I don't feel the need to defend myself and rarely get into arguments with people over it. If people are genuinely curious I talk to them about it, there are many though that just try to provoke a fight...you get to know the difference.
BTW, I'm another that likes the occasional veggie "meat". I stopped eating meat because I didn't want to contribute to animal suffering and death. After 25 years of eating and enjoying meat I think it's understandable that I would enjoy a product that can somewhat replicate the taste of meat without the unnecessary animal cruelty/slaughter. I always loved the taste of bacon, but I don't love how pigs are treated nor the idea of them being killed so I can put something crispy on my sandwich with a tomatoe and lettuce.
Good for you. I know that many vegetarians resent having to defend their dietary decisions, for example, eating "faux meat." I don't understand why non-vegetarians get in such a snit about it. I don't eat meat because I don't want to eat a dead animal. Meat analogs aren't dead animals, right? So where's the harm?
BTW: I used to love bacon, too. Now I eat Morningstar Farms' breakfast strips. It's certainly not the real thing, but it'll do -- especially since the thought of fried pig belly slices laid across my plate is pretty unappealing.
And now for something completely different. The OP's questions .....
I just don't feel the need to defend myself. I freely acknowledge that I'm "atypical" and if anyone has a problem with that, well, that's THEIR problem, not mine. I'm not sure that society as a whole will ever be any more accepting than it is right now, though I do hope Western societies will learn to rely less on a meat-based diet. However, considering that fast-food establishments continue to proliferate around the globe, I'm not convinced that's ever going to happen.
Well I gotta admit something. I do love the smell of bacon in the morning. I'd just rather smell it though.
My choice for the non meat sausage links are IVES. They are big in Canada which is where I discovered this product. But I can find this product easy enough in the finer grocery stores in the states now a days.
I don't always have to defend my food choices. I do however meet resistance from Waitresses from time to time. Even buffet restaurants where there is a choice I can not identify and I ask if there is meat in there and that is when I get some real stupid looks.
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