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Why be a Vegetarian?
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Bay Guy
Posted 2005-02-27 10:47 AM (#17812)
Subject: Why be a Vegetarian?



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Okay, why? Ethics, religion, or health? Or all three?
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jeansyoga
Posted 2005-02-27 11:14 AM (#17819 - in reply to #17812)
Subject: RE: Why be a Vegetarian?


Maybe we should create a poll and gauge the responses! I can't answer because I am not strictly vegetarian right now.

Define the difference between ethics and religion? Do you mean religion as in "God does not want me to eat meat" and ethics as in "I think it's mean to eat meat"? I do not subscribe to any particular religion, so I'm fuzzy on where the line falls.
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samantha77
Posted 2005-02-27 11:50 AM (#17825 - in reply to #17812)
Subject: RE: Why be a Vegetarian?



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I became a vegetarian for ethical reasons. I don't necessarily oppose the consumption of meat, I oppose the way the animals are treated while they are alive. At this point though, I think even if somehow the mistreatment of the animal was eradicated, I would still be a vegetarian. I don''t feel the need to eat meat now that I am able to go without it, and not miss it.
Samantha
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Guest
Posted 2005-02-28 7:06 AM (#17916 - in reply to #17812)
Subject: RE: Why be a Vegetarian?


I've posted before that I'm not eating meat for lent, which of course is nothing compared
to life long commitment.

From what I can tell so far however regarding health:vegetarian diet does not automatically equate to healthy lifestyle.

Balanced vegetarian diet + exercise= health, just as balanced non-vegetarian / lots of fish + exercise = health. I think a lot of it has to do with educating oneself and applying common sense and will power.

For me the big challenge is reflecting upon what I eat now, what it's made of, and write up a diet that is healthy. Then, even harder, having the discipline to stick to it.

The great thing about eating / cooking vegetarian dishes, even if you don't plan to become one long term, is that it gives you plenty more options/ideas. For me it's an eye opener, especially when you think, hey this is really nice and not notice there is no meat in the dish.

I can see however that there are plenty more reasons that lead people to not eat meat. Cruetly to animals and environmental reasons resonate most with me, but I cannot for sure commit myself 100% to it yet. It kind of gives me bad feelings about myself, because I like meat and I eat it despite the fact I heard about how catlle is treated. A bit like when I used to smoke, knew it was bad, but did it anyway.

It's on mind mind a fair bit, but I haven't got a firm opinion yet. Maybe it's all or nothing, maybe not. It's an interesting question all the same though.
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Saje
Posted 2005-05-01 3:12 AM (#23235 - in reply to #17812)
Subject: RE: Why be a Vegetarian?


I'm a vegetarian for every reason. For the betterment of animals, for my health, for the environment. It just works for me. I wouldn't be able to choose just one answer on a poll!
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sirensong2
Posted 2005-05-02 5:54 PM (#23301 - in reply to #23235)
Subject: RE: Why be a Vegetarian?


for the animals, yes. but for us too!

I'd heard the standard animal rights arguments for becoming a veg, and they made a big impact on me as a teen. but didn't really feel compelled to actually change my diet until I learned about the human and environmental impact of the big meat business. selfish as that may seem, that's what did it! for example:

cattle/pig/sheep farms and slaughterhouses often employ for exploitative wages under very dangerous condtions. health/dental insurance? medical leave? paid vacation? forget it. I feel lucky that i have a very good work situation & I'd rather support businesses that believe in human rights and treat their folks well.

there's also impact of burning or stripping forest for grazing land. definitely something that affects everyone, now and for many generations. and if you believe the reports on global warming, the effects of unsustainable land use can be seen right now.

you may also have heard about how waste runnoff from the huge cattle and pig farms can pollute area water sources..*bleech* if they are not carefully managed. and anyone who's ever lived near or driven by a rendering plant knows what they send into the air.

that many animals in cramped & dirty spaces can become a viral and bacterial playground. there are just too many opportunities for things like mad cow and bird flu to get out of hand or mutate into something that humans can carry and be infected by.



Edited by sirensong2 2005-05-02 5:57 PM
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Thushara
Posted 2005-05-02 11:34 PM (#23332 - in reply to #17812)
Subject: RE: Why be a Vegetarian?


Bay Guy - 2005-02-28 9:47 PM


Okay, why? Ethics, religion, or health? Or all three?


you must add "Fashion? " too
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leela
Posted 2005-05-06 8:31 AM (#23639 - in reply to #17812)
Subject: RE: Why be a Vegetarian?


well for me--it makes my body feel good. so health is a main factor. i used to be sick and overweight. switching to a vegetarian diet has improved my health a lot.
also knowing that animals don't have to die for me to fill my belly is a good thought to sleep with at night.
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redtail
Posted 2005-05-08 9:58 AM (#23709 - in reply to #23301)
Subject: RE: Why be a Vegetarian?


sirensong2 - 2005-05-02 3:54 PM

for the animals, yes. but for us too!

I'd heard the standard animal rights arguments for becoming a veg, and they made a big impact on me as a teen

cattle/pig/sheep farms and slaughterhouses often employ for exploitative wages under very dangerous condtions.

there's also impact of burning or stripping forest for grazing land. definitely something that affects everyone, now and for many generations.

you may also have heard about how waste runnoff from the huge cattle and pig farms can pollute area water sources..*bleech* if they are not carefully managed. and anyone who's ever lived near or driven by a rendering plant knows what they send into the air.

that many animals in cramped & dirty spaces can become a viral and bacterial playground.


These are all of the reasons that I became a vegetarian. Thanks for reminding me, sirensong2.

I would also include another: There is a great deal of negative karma vreated by the person/being doing the actual killing of the animal at the slaughterhouse. Less meat consumption by the population means less of this karma being generated in the world.
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Mitch
Posted 2005-05-13 4:12 PM (#24065 - in reply to #17812)
Subject: RE: Why be a Vegetarian?


I'm a lacto-ovo vegetarian who will rarely eat fish. While I respect all of the reasons listed above, I became a vegetarian by accident. I started "eating consciously" and paying attention to how different foods (and drinks) affected how I felt and even my moods. Over time, I realized that eating meat made me feel logy and eating fresh fruits and vegetables made me feel lighter and healthier. There are plenty of things that I've eliminated from my diet (garlic and onions, most fried foods) because of how they make me feel.

I'm happy to be helping the environment and reducing slaughter, but I still wear leather, so I'm not doing the poor cows any favors.
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jeansyoga
Posted 2005-05-13 4:56 PM (#24066 - in reply to #17812)
Subject: RE: Why be a Vegetarian?


Hey Mitch - if you buy used leather items on Ebay (or at your local resale shop), at least you're not killing new cows. You might even be saving an item from the landfill and could get a good bargain too! Plus some of the vintage stuff is pretty darn stylish.
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tinyone
Posted 2005-05-15 8:08 PM (#24136 - in reply to #17812)
Subject: RE: Why be a Vegetarian?


I used to be a strict vegan..it started for health reasons - My mother had me on soy products since i was a baby. I have many food allergies. I started incorporating meat and cheese into my diet about 10 years ago ( when I was in my early 20's) and I really wish that I hadn't. I really struggle to get my diet clean and closer to what it used to be. I am tired of feeling "weighed down".
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fraisefatale
Posted 2005-06-10 1:51 PM (#25361 - in reply to #17812)
Subject: RE: Why be a Vegetarian?


**Newbie posting here ;)** I have to defend my own lifestyle ... I've been a vegetarian (lacto-ovo) since i was about fifteen years old (I am now 25). Here are the reasons why I choose not to eat meat.

1. Animals have souls too ... even though the soul leaves the body when it is killed (as some believe) it is not up to me to slay them and cause the soul to pass .. nor do I wish to eat something that someone else has slayed for they do not have the right either.

2. Health. After I was a vegetarian for awhile, I felt much better about myself. I am also against any packaged/chemical foods and avoiding meat and marketing ;) make me feel much better all around.

3. The way in which the animals are slaughtered will turn your stomach if you venture over to some extremist animal group websites. Yes, i know that they are prob. a bit biased, but there is a lot of truth to what they say.

4. Hey, its the trendy, celebrity-like lifestyle ... if it works for them it will work for me!!!
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jeansyoga
Posted 2005-06-10 2:01 PM (#25362 - in reply to #17812)
Subject: RE: Why be a Vegetarian?


I'm a total hypocrite because I sometimes eat meat, but I try to go veggie (and someday will go back to it completely). Anyway, it makes me kinda happy that celebrities are embracing a vegetarian lifestyle. Like it or not, it's a fact that people emulate them and try to pick up on what they do. I prefer them practicing yoga and eating tofu than wearing fur coats!
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Bay Guy
Posted 2005-06-12 1:17 AM (#25439 - in reply to #25362)
Subject: RE: Why be a Vegetarian?



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Posts: 2479
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Location: A Blue State

Eating out as a vegetarian is a challenge: you can have pasta (watch out for meat
sauces) or you can get a nice bean burrito...if you can find those things in the
sea of burgers and cold cuts ...
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Cyndi
Posted 2005-06-12 9:48 AM (#25457 - in reply to #25439)
Subject: RE: Why be a Vegetarian?



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Bay Guy - 2005-06-12 1:17 AM


Eating out as a vegetarian is a challenge: you can have pasta (watch out for meat
sauces) or you can get a nice bean burrito...if you can find those things in the
sea of burgers and cold cuts ...


No Sh*&! Why do you think I was happy about McD's selling fruit...only to find that they found a way to screw that up too!! That was my last hope for not starving when I'm on the road. Now I've learned where all the Fresh Markets, Whole Foods and Earthfare's are located..talk about crazy survival.
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DownwardDog
Posted 2005-06-12 2:08 PM (#25483 - in reply to #17812)
Subject: RE: Why be a Vegetarian?


I was in Chine for a while and so I became vegetarian as I was advised to by the embassy, and then when I came back I couldn't eat meat again because of seeing the animals slaughtered on a regular basis. This was in Xian city and in more remote places, not in cosmopolitain Shanghai I might add.
When you see chickens killed just like dogs and things, its not nice and you realise its just as horrific to see the dog die as it is the chicken.

I still eat fish though!
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spiritwolf
Posted 2005-06-13 8:26 PM (#25575 - in reply to #17812)
Subject: RE: Why be a Vegetarian?


I can see the points of all reasons to be a vegetarian. But, for me personally, I don't eat meat because I can't, for health reasons.
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Bay Guy
Posted 2005-06-14 9:57 PM (#25669 - in reply to #25575)
Subject: RE: Why be a Vegetarian?



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Posts: 2479
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Location: A Blue State

Let's see...


Meat is Murder (that's a quote, who said it?)

Meat is unhealthy (duh! At least if you mean beef and pork)

Meat tastes bad (only by seasoning it with HERBS and SPICES aka VEGETABLES do you get
any flavor)

Meat is dead (duh!)


Well, okay, I am rereading Dracula at the moment, and I keep thinking
of the guy who eats spiders and flies. Nevermind Nosferatu!

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Thushara
Posted 2005-06-15 8:51 AM (#25723 - in reply to #25483)
Subject: RE: Why be a Vegetarian?


DownwardDog - 2005-06-13 1:08 AM

I was in Chine for a while and so I became vegetarian as I was advised to by the embassy,
I still eat fish though!


DD, is that because they eat soem types of snakes, slugs and frogs? yeah thats a problem when travelling in China.. Dont ever order a dish if you dont know the name..

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Bay Guy
Posted 2005-06-15 7:08 PM (#25776 - in reply to #25723)
Subject: RE: Why be a Vegetarian?



Expert Yogi

Posts: 2479
2000100100100100252525
Location: A Blue State
When I was in China, I ate meals made from things that I've never been able to
identify. I remember one thing we were served that seemed to be made of the kind
of spiked rubber that you might find on the bottom of a no-slip shower mat. We
had turtle soup in Xi'an, however, which was just wonderful. Shell and all...I didn't
really have vegetarian tendencies at the time, and if I had, I should surely have
starved to death...not to mention offending my hosts...we ate *anything* that was
presented to us. The latter got me into difficulty once, when I was served some
morsel wrapped up in a lotus leaf: apparently, I was not supposed to have eaten
the leaf!



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Thushara
Posted 2005-06-15 11:36 PM (#25785 - in reply to #25776)
Subject: RE: Why be a Vegetarian?


Poor Turtle



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leela
Posted 2005-06-16 9:01 AM (#25801 - in reply to #25776)
Subject: RE: Why be a Vegetarian?


Bay Guy - 2005-06-15 7:08 PM

When I was in China, I ate meals made from things that I've never been able to
identify. I remember one thing we were served that seemed to be made of the kind
of spiked rubber that you might find on the bottom of a no-slip shower mat. We
had turtle soup in Xi'an, however, which was just wonderful. Shell and all...I didn't
really have vegetarian tendencies at the time, and if I had, I should surely have
starved to death...not to mention offending my hosts...we ate *anything* that was
presented to us. The latter got me into difficulty once, when I was served some
morsel wrapped up in a lotus leaf: apparently, I was not supposed to have eaten
the leaf!


turtle soup---eww././
yes, Chinese cuisine is quite umm..how shall i say it--diverse?
they even eat live monkey brain, snake blood-- eww..

but on the other hand--if you're near the bigger cities in China--it's easy to be vegetarian
because there is a lot of vegetarian friendly food for Buddhists--
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jeansyoga
Posted 2005-06-16 9:44 AM (#25810 - in reply to #17812)
Subject: RE: Why be a Vegetarian?


That's true of bigger cities in the U.S. too - not that there are tons of Buddhists, but that it's easier to be a vegetarian because the population is more diverse. Out in the smaller towns and rural areas, sometimes the only vegetarian food on the menu is french fries!
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jeansyoga
Posted 2005-06-16 9:45 AM (#25811 - in reply to #17812)
Subject: RE: Why be a Vegetarian?


Not that a french fry every now and then is such a terrible thing!

I like the waffle-cut kind . . .
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