What Made You Decide to Become a Vegetarian? (grocery store, buying, animal)

[leorah]

My reasons for being vegetarian might be different than those of most people. For me, the fact that animals are killed and eaten by humans isn't the problem; it's how the animals are treated during their lifetime and how they are killed that are issues for me.

I grew up in the Chicago area, home of the Union Stockyards, once the largest meat processing region in the world, supported by vast factory farms that bred millions of animals for quick sale to market. I also knew many hunters--people who hunted for subsistence, not sport, and small family farmers. In college I toured the stockyards, then a chicken farm. I decided that constraining animals in feedlots and warehouses was wrong, and their deaths were cruel and dehumanizing. Some of the people working on the line seemed to enjoy the killing. And many weren't very conscientious. There seemed to be no respect for the individual lives of the animals.

In contrast, I felt that the hunters and small farmers I knew handled things better. Sure, hunters had the advantage of a gun or a bow and arrow, but most predators have advantages over their prey, so I could accept that. The hunters and farmers looked the animals in the eye when they released the arrow or pulled the trigger or used the knife. There was an element of respect in taking responsibility for causing the animal's death and they took no joy in it. And most importantly for me, the animals got to live the lives they were born to lead before they were killed. They weren't in cages, or crowded into small feedlots being fed growth hormones or antibiotics to fatten them up more quickly. Cattle and sheep ranged freely over acres of land, enjoying the sunshine and eating good grass. Deer and waterfowl, rabbits and pheasant lived as they were meant to live until the moment of their death.

I decided that the only acceptable way for me to eat meat was if I raised the animal and killed it myself or hunted it in the wild, and since neither one of those things was an option for me, I stopped eating meat 40 years ago this year.

[denverian]

I always, even as a kid, thought eating meat was disgusting. The only way I could eate meat was to not think about what I was doing.

Then at some point over 10 years ago, I realized that beef made me sick (I don't digest it) so I quit eating it. Then I read a book about eating for your blood type, and as an A pos. blood person, it pointed out that A pos. people have difficulty digesting meat, especially red meat, which I had already figured out.

I don't miss meat at all and find plenty of alternatives when eating out, but at home I'm not really creative enough. Lots of Boca, beans, fruit and veggies. Oh, I do eat eggs if they're free range, so I enjoy the occassional omlette.

[Lilybeans]

We stopped eating meat a year and a half ago during all the meat recalls. We felt it just wasn't safe. I never liked killing things anyway, so it was easy to do. Now it has evolved into more of a moral thing. I just don't like killing things.

I do think, though, that hunting is a much more humane way of obtaining meat than aminals going to a slaughterhouse.

[roxxstarr]

Ill just say...I LOVED MEAT and Cheese and Butter!!! I know a lot of people had a hard time eating it and getting it down but I loved the taste and texture...weird I know. I'm early 20's and dabbled w/ vegetarian lifestyle in high school but was never serious. But ironically always a animal rights activist(didnt make sense) then I read a book that went into detail about the animals screaming, the harmones they are pumped with and the lives those innocent animals lead until their terrible/brutal death. The book said to slowly wean out meat, then try eggs, then sugar, and then dairy...they said it would be a long process! I gave it all up after the book was finished and havent looked back. The thought of the taste or texture of dairy, eggs or meat makes me ill now. Just to help people who are thinking about going all vegan...you should and not just for health but it is also for the cows and chickens...they are not treated fairly and are overly milked and live in obsene circumastances...just google it and you'll see! Im so glad to find a blog where everyone shares the same opinion for once

[Topaz]

Originally Posted by roxxstarr

Just to help people who are thinking about going all vegan...you should and not just for health but it is also for the cows and chickens...they are not treated fairly and are overly milked and live in obsene circumastances...just google it and you'll see! Im so glad to find a blog where everyone shares the same opinion for once

GoVeg.com says that mother cows cry out for their calves for days after they are separated. City girl that I am, I don't know if that is true. But if it is, it really upsets me, as it would most mothers who thought much about it.

[clem16]

I got involved with a dog rescue group about 6 years ago and over time it suddenly dawned on me "Why am I making myself crazy about saving these dogs lives when I sit down almost every night to a meal of meat?" Why am I helping to save one species but continuing to allow others to live short, brutal lives so I can have a piece of their flesh on my plate? So, it was a sudden awakening and I stopped 'cold turkey' so to speak. It took my husband a bit longer, but we've been vegetarian for about 5 years now. Recently, hubby had a medical issue and his doctor, believe it or not, suggested he also drop dairy from his diet, so we are becoming more vegan every day. Don't know if we'll ever be vegan, but we try.

[Lima_beans]

The book Food Revolution: diet for a new america by john robbins.

[DawnW]

Very interesting thought. I hadn't really connected the pro-life aspect.

For me......I feel SO much better not eating any animal products. It is hard sometimes, I really do like dairy products, but I really think they cause me gastro problems and aren't great for me, so I try to find good substitutes.

Dawn

Originally Posted by DestinationSeattle

I try to live with a consistent reverence for life. Not to turn this into a political forum, but for me, being vegetarian is part and parcel of being pro-life.

I first had an ethical dilemma about eating meat back when I was in college. I lived at home, with my meat-eating parents, so it didn't last long.

Then after I met my wife, we were getting to know each other's ethical and political views, and we found that we both shared an interest in living a life that caused as little harm to other beings as possible. Going veg wasn't a big deal for her, since she didn't eat all that much meat to begin with, but I came from a meat-and-potatoes family. If the meal didn't have meat in it, it wasn't a meal.

So anyway, we tossed around the idea of going veg but never quite made the leap ... until I stumbled across a post someone had made online about "100 Reasons Why I'm a Vegetarian." The health benefits caught my attention, and the environmental impact of eating meat was an eye-opener, but what sealed the deal for me were the points about slaughterhouses and animal suffering. That just reaffirmed my earlier decision to go veg.

The next day, I went vegetarian cold turkey, no pun intended! My last bit of meat was sausage gravy over toast ... I still remember it. That was in 2000. I haven't touched a piece of meat since then.

We're hoping to go vegan someday, but amazingly, it seems harder to go from vegetarian to vegan than it did to go from meat-eater to vegetarian. There are so many hidden animal products in EVERYTHING!

[aiangel_writer]

So you guys not only discontinued eating meat, but also products made from animals that didn't harm the animals? such as milk, butter, cheese, eggs ?

I know I could easily give up my meat, heck just about there now, but the milk and butter and cheese and eggs would be really hard for me to live without.

What is the difference between vegetarian and vegan? And what are people who like me that can't get away from dairy called?

[Wicked Felina]

Originally Posted by aiangel_writer

So you guys not only discontinued eating meat, but also products made from animals that didn't harm the animals? such as milk, butter, cheese, eggs ?

I know I could easily give up my meat, heck just about there now, but the milk and butter and cheese and eggs would be really hard for me to live without.

What is the difference between vegetarian and vegan? And what are people who like me that can't get away from dairy called?

I can only speak for myself here. The production of milk, butter, cheese and eggs does, in fact, harm animals tremendously (as well as the people working in the factories). The issue has more to do with the way the animals are bred, fed, kept and disposed of than the products you mentioned.

There's a lot of literature, video, film, movies out about the meat industry, explaining what you are really eating when you choose animal products. Unless you're up for some "shock treatment", I wouldn't necessarily go looking for this information. Unfortunately, there is no "soft" way to explain the industry.

You'd do fine without cheese & eggs, and milk & butter! You might not want to, but heck - who doesn't love cheese???

Anyway, it's all a personal choice. Food that's made with love begets love!!!

My understanding is:

Vegetarian - mostly eschews animal products, no meat
Vegan - eats no animal products whatsoever
Ovo-lacto vegetarian - a non-meat eater who eats eggs (ovo>ovaries> eggs), and cheese products (lacto>lactate>milk) [I think that's right!]~