Why is such a fuss made over how "hard" it is to go vegan?? (food, grocery store)
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Mainly a rhetorical question, but I am growing tired of all the cliche excuses.
I've heard it all: "it's too expensive", "my town doesn't have enough vegan food / restaurants", "I don't have enough time to cook", blah blah blah blah blah.
Have people no willpower?
I had every excuse in the book to keep gorging myself on meat & dairy: I live in a small town, grew up in a house where nobody cooked & most meals came from a meaty drive-thru window, my family is lost without meat on their plate, and my local grocery stores don't cater to vegan diets, etc etc etc.
Basically there's only one thing you have to do: DECIDE TO DO IT. The rest is easy:
• Reference the VEGAN FOOD PYRAMID instead of using "I don't know what I should eat to get enough nutrition" as a crutch.
• Understand that things will not taste exactly the same (well duh!) and that it will take a little time for your palette to be cleansed & become more humane.
• Learn to read the ingredients on everything, and you will know which pre-packaged foods to avoid.
• Learn to cook from a vegan cookbook (I did it with with NO foreknowledge)
• Give up one item at a time from your menu, and replace it with the vegan version (that way you're not at a loss about what to eat)
• Learn to stock your pantry & refrigerator with vegan essentials (even if, like me, it means driving out of town every few weeks to replenish)
• Learn what items you can order when you're out to eat, and do not be afraid to say "hey buddy, leave the cheese off those onion rings", or "don't put bacon bits or mayonnaise on it please". Just tell the waiter you're lactose intolerant.
sorry to rant, but I am failing to see exactly what the BIG DEAL is. Just do it already!
Because some people are continuously bullied for even trying it. Although if they were gluten or lactose intolerant that would be more acceptable. Or perhaps they were brought up in an environment of dependence and intolerance. Pretty sad, but that's the way some people are.
It was not hard for me to change to a vegetarian and vegan diet. But I did so when I was an adult. I also live in an area where it's not seen as such a big deal.
In the beginning if a person has absolutely no support, I think that makes it more difficult. Just the same if in a family of over weight people just one of them decides on a fat-free diet.
Excellent suggestions on how to get started, though. And I do agree, that ultimately when one makes an honest decision to become veg or vegan, they will do so.
It can be overwhelming for people when you tell them that vegans, in addition to not consuming any meat, fowl or fish, also do not consume any dairy (or dairy derivatives) or any eggs. Then, when you tell them that seemingly innocuous items like sugar, honey, beer, wine and marshmallows are not vegan, a lot of people get intimidated because it's like, OMG! What ELSE is not vegan?!
As far as the feasibility of sticking to such a lifestyle...I live in northern NJ which is one of the most metropolitan areas of the country and offers a vast array of everything. However, even I have to go to two (sometimes three) separate markets in towns other than my own, to find all the things I need for my vegetarian (I hesitate to call myself a vegan) diet. There's such a fuss because it's not only about giving things up...it's also about hunting for some hard-to-find stuff.
If you have reasonably accessible means (like me), it's not too hard to go vegan or vegetarian. If you live, say for example, in rural Wyoming and even the nearest regular, animal product-stocking grocery store is 3 towns over...than, yes, I think those people have a legitimate reason for making a fuss. Where are they gonna find tofu, seitan, tempeh, quinoa? I mean, without having to drive 4 hours to the nearest 'city'?
By the way, unless you make them yourself or you are eating at a vegan restaraunt, you can't be sure that onion rings are vegan...most likely, the onion ring batter/coating contains milk & eggs.
You know what else is not vegan? Any kind of pill or medication, whether prescription or OTC. Do you take any antibiotics or any medication for allergies, depression, anxiety, insomnia, ulcers, diabetes? Will you be getting the swine flu vaccine? The pharmacist can't dispense a medication to you, and Rite Aid can't stock a medication on its shelves, unless that medicine has been approved by the FDA. And the FDA does not approve any medication that hasn't undergone extensive animal testing. And we're not just talking rats. We're talking rabbits, monkeys, guinea pigs, cats and dogs. An omnivore can say, "Yes, one cow had to die to make this burger that I'm eating, but 20 rats, 10 rabbits, 5 monkeys and 5 beagles had to die so you can have your prescription."
I am absolutely NOT NOT NOT saying that vegans and vegetarians should stop taking their medication! All I'm saying is, maybe we should all think twice before judging omnivores.
I am absolutely NOT NOT NOT saying that vegans and vegetarians should stop taking their medication! All I'm saying is, maybe we should all think twice before judging omnivores.
I too am fortunate to be able to find everything I want relatively easily. I can't imagine how hard it would be if one were young and living in a meat-producing area like Kansas or something. Very hard to withstand the societal pressure to conform.
I really don't judge anyone who chooses to be an omnivore. Knock yourself out. Seriously. (-it's a joke)
I do take exception to people who judge vegetarians by continuously making snarky and juvenile comments. If they didn't care so much about bullying people, which I am sure they do in all aspects of their lives, then a vegetarian forum or lifestyle would be a non-issue for them.
Nothing is more important than the health and wellness of a human being.
Conversely if a person took their medicines to stay alive, and still continued to stuff themselves with fatty meats and overly-processed foods, still drank alcohol to excess and still smoked, may I judge them by saying: stop being hypocritical.Stop with your meds and overburdening doctors, since your diet is going to kill you anyway?
As far as I know, there is no federal regulation requiring animal testing on any product. Many medical schools - Harvard, Yale, Stanford, U of Michigan - have suspended animal testing. It is against the law in Great Britain to practice surgery on animals. There is no necessity for it.
There's just tons of info on this subject, but less than 8% of FDA approved and animal-tested medicines make it to the market. Info from Yale University Medical School.
concerning Sequestra's medication comments: I can only speak for myself... *I* do not have allergies, depression, anxiety, insomnia, ulcers, etc so do not have any need to take medications for these conditions. I have no plans to get the swine flu vaccine & will take my chances (again, I can only speak for myself, but I don't catch whatever sicknesses are being passed around me. Maybe it's my diet?). I'm assuming you meant well, but changes to the entire system obviously need to be made. IMO people are entirely over-medicated and many conditions are diet-related.
I was not bashing omnivores, I was pointing out that first you must DECIDE to do it (go vegan) & then do it in steps so as not to go into 'omg-whatcanieat-shock'.
You know what else is not vegan? Any kind of pill or medication, whether prescription or OTC. Do you take any antibiotics or any medication for allergies, depression, anxiety, insomnia, ulcers, diabetes? Will you be getting the swine flu vaccine? The pharmacist can't dispense a medication to you, and Rite Aid can't stock a medication on its shelves, unless that medicine has been approved by the FDA. And the FDA does not approve any medication that hasn't undergone extensive animal testing. And we're not just talking rats. We're talking rabbits, monkeys, guinea pigs, cats and dogs. An omnivore can say, "Yes, one cow had to die to make this burger that I'm eating, but 20 rats, 10 rabbits, 5 monkeys and 5 beagles had to die so you can have your prescription."
.
For sure there is animal testing required before the FDA will approve a drug, but to use your example: if 20 rats, 10 rabbits, 5 monkeys and 5 beagles had to die to get this one drug approved, that is a one-time process - once it's approved, it's approved. No more animals are harmed no matter how many times I use the medication, and my decision to take this medication in no way caused those animals to be harmed, the drug company did those trials long ago. But every time you eat however many burgers you get out of a cow, another cow has to be killed to fill the next order. If you didn't eat them, that many fewer cows would have to be killed. Every time you choose to eat meat, you are choosing that more animals die.
For sure there is animal testing required before the FDA will approve a drug, but to use your example: if 20 rats, 10 rabbits, 5 monkeys and 5 beagles had to die to get this one drug approved, that is a one-time process - once it's approved, it's approved. No more animals are harmed no matter how many times I use the medication, and my decision to take this medication in no way caused those animals to be harmed, the drug company did those trials long ago. But every time you eat however many burgers you get out of a cow, another cow has to be killed to fill the next order. If you didn't eat them, that many fewer cows would have to be killed. Every time you choose to eat meat, you are choosing that more animals die.
Well, they are moving away from that, as they aremoving away from dissecting animals and testing new surgeries on animals -- they are leaning much more these days on CGI dissection and human testing. I have even heard that computer models are much more useful for chemical experiments than using real chemicals -- also much less likely to explode. Scandals like the Vioxx disaster make clear that animals testing is often actively misleading when it comes to determining whether a prescription is helpful for a human taker.
My son went cold-turkey (is it okay to use that phrase in this context??) vegan as a college freshman 6 years ago, and has never had any trouble sticking to the diet. He's become a really good cook because of it, and when my friends who think humans needs pounds of protein a day ask if I'm not concerned about his diet, I tell them it's better than the pizza and burger diets most young people his age eat. When he was in college he actually spent a lot of time in the library perusing nutrition journals, so I know his diet is fine; he knows he has to supplement Vitamin B12 with spirulina. And he's almost ready to run his first marathon, and has climbed three 14,000+ peaks (west coast ones, not the kind in Colorado where's you're already halfway up before you start) on a vegan diet, so he certainly doesn't seem unhealthy at all.
Also, contrary to what one poster said, some sugar is prepared without bone-charring, and IS vegan. You just have to do your research.
Mainly a rhetorical question, but I am growing tired of all the cliche excuses.
since when was it your obligation to tell everyone how to eat?
relax, if people dont want to eat vegan then they dont want to eat vegan...most people just try to find an easy and/or nice way or saying no...those simple excuses are them telling you no.
since when was it your obligation to tell everyone how to eat?
relax, if people dont want to eat vegan then they dont want to eat vegan...most people just try to find an easy and/or nice way or saying no...those simple excuses are them telling you no.
thanks have a nice day
I agree!
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Just do it already!
-it's a joke)