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I could not become a vegetarian. I tried it a couple of times and after a couple of days I would get weird cravings for meat! But I also get extreme pangs of guilt sometimes when I eat "4-legged" meats, i.e., beef, pork, deer, rabbit, etc. My compromise is to eat mostly poultry and fish.
I used to work with a woman who was a vegetarian. She was very healthy and attractive, and I admired her eating habits. But she was also kind of condescending. She referred to all of us meat-eaters as "animal graveyards." She often sat alone in the lunch room.
just can't eat an animal. nothing with a face. i'm not some kind of zealous animal rights activist and it has nothing to do with religion. i just found myself not eating much meat and thought i should try to be vegetarian. being away from it i really can't stand the thought of eating meat now. i actually get sick. has happened when i've eaten soups that i was told didn't have a chicken base. my husband eats meat and i'll cook for him. just won't eat it.
No problem w/that, to each their own. Interesting how our bodies adjust to what we eat.
I couldn't be a vegetarian, but I also couldn't be a carnivore. Balance is what I need. Life w/out cucumbers and tomatoes would be heck for me. Life w/out beef, pork, chicken, fish, would also be heck. What would I smoke for 18hrs?
yeah, I'm w/ the Capt. I need both. I can do w/o beef though. Not pork or chicken or seafood.
I have been a vegetarian for 11 years. I kept getting grossed out because I would think about what the meat was when it was alive and then how it died. It actually probably started around junior high when I started noticing the veins in fried chicken. I shudder just thinking about it. Anyhow, it got to the point where I would only be able to take a few bites of a hamburger and get grossed out. What's the point? At the same time, I could eat stuff that didn't remind me of the animal (like the chunks in soup), but it didn't feel right. I decided I should recognize every part of my meal and until I was okay with it, I would stop eating meat all together. I still ate fish for awhile (for some reason I don't imagine them with blood--strange, I know), but I have got that out, too. I just never went back. And at this point, I don't think I could.
I am also a vegetarian because I feel it is a better way to use our land to produce food (takes less land to grow vegetables/grains than, say, cows). I have grown up a little, though, and have learned more and know this isn't necessarily true. Although I absolutely believe that mass-produced meat is horrible for the body and the land.
Anyhow, it is definitely a personal choice. I will let my sons decide when they become teenagers (I think my oldest has the heart of a hunter inside him). But for those that are interested in becoming more vegetarian but love the taste of meat--there are some good substitutes. There are the processed soy products (veggie burgers, soy dogs, etc.). There is a definite difference between them and real meat, but its nice to have...especially the hot dogs! But there is also tempeh, tofu, and setian. Setian can be hard to find, but its very good. I made an excellent BBQ Pulled "Pork" recipe with it--yum!
But, I know, I have been a veggie for over a decade now (yikes!), so my tastes are squewed. But a final note on tofu: Don't rely on someone that doesn't know how to cook with it before discounting it totally--find someone who has experience or a veggie restaurant (and ask for carnivore friendly tofu dish)! I don't know about the other veggies here, but I went through quite a few horrible tofu dishes until I got the hang of it! Plus, it is also something one gets use to. My boys have always been able to eat it straight up. I came across a recipe with the note that its for hardcore tofu lovers. My husband didn't think we were. I had to point out to him how long we have been eating it. I made it and we all loved it!
I couldn't do it. I just don't care for very many fruits & veggies. I think a steady diet of bananas, cucumbers, watermelon, and raw carrots would probably not be very good for me. I have a few friends who are vegetarian/vegan. Not a one of them looks healthy, and they are so very self righteous that I most likely would not consider making that kind of a lifestyle choice for fear of becoming like they are.
Now, this has always confused me - why would one want to eat "pretend meat"? Either you're a vegetarian or you're not.
I'm an omnivore - designed that way by nature. I'm more towards the carnivore end of the omnivore bell curve - it's just the diet that makes my particular body feel healthy, and I listen to my particular body. Other folks are on the vegetarian end of the bell curve and are healthier that way.
As for the "use of land" argument, couple of things. First, animals can be raised on land that vegetables can't grow on. (Our back pasture comes to mind - the front pasture will grow anything, the back pasture, native grasses and that's it, due to the differing kinds of soil.) Second, consider that if we all become vegetarian, we will be in direct competition with all of the herbivores out there (including the wild ones) for the land that they need for grazing and browsing. We'll need to clear-cut forests to get enough land to feed the planet. We're messing with nature's design (omnivores serve a function in the eco-system or we wouldn't be here), and I'm not entirely sure, based on all the available evidence, that we're qualified to do that no matter what we think.
Well, I talking massed-produce meats. 1,000s of heads of cattle type of mass production.
If everyone went vegetarian (which I am not trying to proclaim--to each their own), we wouldn't have to cut down all the forests--the meat-animals have to eat food too; all those corn fields are not just for human consumption. Anyhow, eating locally produced meat or hunting is definitely much better for the environment than eating processed non-organic soy product made from soy beans in Iowa, processed in a factory in California, and bought in New Hampshire.
As far as the "pretend meat": we don't think of it as, "Oh, yum, now we are eating pork/chicken or whatever. We are eating veggie burgers, made of grains and soy and vegetables. We are eating setian, cooked in a BBQ sauce. And thats how we think. Its just another food for us. But for those that crave the "tooth" of meat, especially those that are new to it and still learning vegetarian cooking, is can be a sastifying replacement.
Also, just as there are people who eat unhealthy omnivore diets, there are also those who eat unhealthy vegetarain diets. Some people seem to equal vegetarian with healthy. Its not necessarily. It can be. Depends on what you eat.
But like I said, its a personal choice. I do advocate (when the subject comes up) that everyone try to eat a meat-free meal once a week, if only so that people become more aware of the different ways to prepare grains and veggies.
I was vegetarian ten years ago, I did not like to eat meet or fish or chicken.I like the smell of the vegetables better. I could not take this decision in the past because I was not sure . I eat eggs and drink milk , I don't know that is right or wrong but I want to be a complete vegetarian. I look healthy and normal in general. I enjoy being a vegetarian.
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