Vegetarians......Yes or No

[frostyg02uk]

I dont know how he does it. Meat..hmm maybe but chocolate? what kind of God makes chocolate availible but then makes people vegans? lol
I think hes happy though and hes reseached about it throughly so hes pretty serious about it too.

 

[Sarapva]

There are lots of vegan chocolates now, though they're still more expensive. Here's a page from www.veganessentials.com :

http://store.nexternal.com/shared/S...t2=548133492&CategoryID=1&Target=products.asp

 

[KirinMan]

You know I just wonder what vegetarians are going to eat when they finally open their eyes and realize that vegetables have "feelings" too. What are you going to eat now? Are vegetarians prejudged or biased towards the forms of intelligence that they choose to defend by not eating? Just because you cant hear it doesnt necessarily mean it does cry when you bite into it, it's still live. At least with meat we kill the host before eating it.

I mean look now, trees plants, and vegetables too, bleed when they are injured or cut. It has got to hurt them as well. Heck cut a tree wrong it dies, same for a vegetable plant.

There has been research as well upon the necessity of one species of plant that needs another to survive. That sounds like intelligence to me.

Just because they dont have eyes or brains that are similar to animals doesnt mean they aren't forms of life that have intelligence.

Vegetables and humans form a symbiotic circle, .

 

[MummyMia]

I'm not a vegetarian but I have to say that as I get older I find I am eating less and less meat. The meat I eat the most is bacon, I could not imagine living without bacon but as for the rest I can take it or leave it!!!!! I would much rather have a plate of veggies and gravy with potatoes.....

 

[Sarapva]

I mean look now, trees plants, and vegetables too, bleed when they are injured or cut. It has got to hurt them as well. Heck cut a tree wrong it dies, same for a vegetable plant.

I can't really tell if you're kidding or not here, Obeika, but in case you're not - yes, plants are alive but they don't have nerve endings or emotions like animals. If they did they'd have the means to try to escape something being done to them, like a wildfire. Because we humans can feel a burn, we have the means to try to get away from it. It's possible that plants have a consciousness, but it's not like animals'. Plants don't feel confined when they're kept together in one place, and they don't feel scared when loaded onto a truck and taken somewhere to be slaughtered.

Just because someone speaks out against animal cruelty doesn't mean they don't feel the same about cruelty to humans. I think these two are intertwined - a person who is cruel to animals is also likely to be cruel to humans, and vice versa. I'm against cruelty period, whether it's against animals or humans.

 

[MummyMia]

I am sitting here wondering!!!! when it comes to animal cruelty how many vegetarians use well known brand name products not realising that they are tested on animals? most shops own brand products (shampoo, washingup liquid, etc) are not tested on animals so if the smaller companies can do this then why can't the big names?????

 

[KirinMan]

I am sitting here wondering!!!! when it comes to animal cruelty how many vegetarians use well known brand name products not realising that they are tested on animals? most shops own brand products (shampoo, washingup liquid, etc) are not tested on animals so if the smaller companies can do this then why can't the big names?????

Thank you for saying this, I'm sure that many are aware of it and I would bet that there are more than just a few that refuse to use those products or support those companies yet there are probably others that dont, yet people want safe reliable products at a reasonable price right?

This brings up another issue but not related just to vegetarians, animal rights. Everyone wants their cosmetics and shampoos right? Sure companies could find other means to test their products but to get them to the market in a timely cost effective manner they use animals for testing.

No big deal right.....or wrong? I think that if companies could find a cost effective replacement for animals they would, it costs them tons of money as well to upkeep and maintain quality stock for their testing purposes.

can't really tell if you're kidding or not here, Obeika,

I wrote that pretty much tongue in cheek, however as I was writing it the thought occured to me that the more radical people who claim to be vegetarians because they cant bear to kill and "intelligent" being sounds like a bunch of guano because then they go out and enjoy a fresh garden salad.

However to the typical, everyday, average, normal, level headed kind of like me but dont eat meat,(did I miss any adjectives here), including you Sara in this as well, my post should be read tongue in cheek.

 

[Sarapva]

MummyMia - I'm glad you brought this up. PETA has a list of companies that do and don't test on animals:

Companies that Do/Don't Test on Animals - Caring Consumer

More and more companies are stopping animals tests, especially ones for things like shampoo and cosmetics, etc. There used to be a law (at least in the U.S.) that these things had to be tested on animals, but now that law has been revoked for skin care and cleaning products. I think there's still a law about other chemicals having to be tested on animals. PETA has all that information on their web site. Animal testing is one thing that really should be stopped.

Obeika - Glad to know you were kidding. "Going out and enjoying a fresh garden salad" has never sounded so sinister!

 

[Nicky]

.... I am afraid to say that in my opinion many vegetarians that I have come across choose not to respect those of us that eat meat.

It has a lot to do with why someone is a vegetarian (in my opinion). I'll generalize and say there are basically 3 types of vegetarians. First there are those who do it because they feel that it's a healthier way to live. Second are those who, while they don't necessarily disagree with eating meat, don't think cruelty should be included. The third group is the Peta/etc group, and can basically be summed up by the phrase "[SIZE=-1]dolphin-safe tunaﾂ" isn't good enough. We want ﾂ"tuna-safe tuna[/SIZE]". Group three often takes a "with us or against us" approach to vegetarianism .

 

[KirinMan]

It has a lot to do with why someone is a vegetarian (in my opinion). I'll generalize and say there are basically 3 types of vegetarians. First there are those who do it because they feel that it's a healthier way to live. Second are those who, while they don't necessarily disagree with eating meat, don't think cruelty should be included. The third group is the Peta/etc group, and can basically be summed up by the phrase "[SIZE=-1]dolphin-safe tunaﾂ" isn't good enough. We want ﾂ"tuna-safe tuna[/SIZE]". Group three often takes a "with us or against us" approach to vegetarianism .

Well said, I will say that I don't often come across many Japanese people that are openly vegetarians. Not to say that there aren't any but they dont come across as being activists like you note in your 3rd group.

I also feel that here dietarily it is easier to be a vegetarian purely by environment. I know quite a few people that dont eat meat, not because they are vegetarians but because they just dont like it or it doesnt agree with them. To me anyway they dont particularly fit into any of the groups that you included here however, because to them it is just a matter of their diet.

"Going out and enjoying a fresh garden salad" has never sounded so sinister!

Sorry about that, I enjoy fresh veggies too!

 

[bakaKanadajin]

I'm not a vegetarian because I eat fish and sometimes chicken, so I don't fall under the category of vegetarian. But I am careful to eat only certain fish and organic/grain-fed free-range chicken when possible. It's too complicated and expensive to convert completely to vegetarianism for me, its much easier to crack open a can of kipper or sardines for protein than it is to mix up a bunch of beans and tofu properly. Balancing incomplete proteins to get the proper intake is difficult, mother nature intended us to be omnivores and I'm afraid I'm lazy and partial to mother nature.
.

 

[A ke bono kane kotto]

I am not because I like meat and seafood. Is that a good enough reason ?

 

[arpee92]

I am not a vegetarian because meat tastes good.

Besides, it's natural to eat meat, all of the other animals do it.

 

[epigene]

I want a mostly vegetarian diet for my health but can't do without some meat and seafood!

 

[Revenant]

I'm not a strict vegetarian, were I to go to a restaurant or someone's house, I'd eat what was put before me. However at home, the only animal product that I really enjoy is cheese.... nachos and cheese.... curry with cheese... cheese cheese cheese.

As a band-aid solution, veganism is the best answer (entirely from an environmental point-of-view). It isn't meat or animal products in themselves that are a problem to the environment, but our overconsumption of them (we hardly need the amount of meat, dairy, and fish that we're consuming), and the farming techniques that are necessary to meet our consumption needs. Biodynamic farming would be a far more environmentally-friendly way to get our meat and dairy, but it would produce a lot less meat and dairy.

 

[Rae]

I am a vegetarian for about an year. I gave up meat step by step, and now i only eat veggies and milk+eggs.
I became a vegetarian mainly because I used to eat a lot of meat. I always felt tired, or depressed. My biology teacher told me that she had the same problem and she gave up on meat. So i tried it, and now i feel healthier and I have more energy. (I'm hyperactive, to be honest ☝)

 

[Half-n-Half]

I am not a vegetarian because I love the taste of meat. I can't imagine giving up hot dogs, steak, cheeseburgers, tonkatsu, sushi, pork, chicken, etc...*drool*. Besides, I don't think it is any more cruel to kill an animal for our consumption than it is for a lion to eat a gazelle. And like Obeika said earlier, I can live with knowing how the meat gets to me.

 

[Goldiegirl]

I have a real problem with the texture of meat. You know, like when you bite into a sausage or hamburger and hit one of those hard un-chewable bits. Yuck, that made me gag and just the thought of it turns me queasy. Also when you cut a piece a meat, like a roast or steak and you can see tube running through it and you know that was once a vein, yuck again. I certainly can't stand to see "anatomy". I was never a meat eater, but was forced as a kid at times to eat it. Fish was never food to me, it smells bad and I won't eat anything that smells bad.

 

[tokapi]

Not for a second on any day,I am a meat-eater.

 

[Guilty41]

I'm not a vegetarian, I think everybody should eat what they like even if it is something
not everybody would like. Everybody has something that they eat in their part of the
world that would not be accepted by others. Except for animal cruelty. Their is no need
for animals to suffer.

 

[Sarapva]

Except for animal cruelty. Their is no need
for animals to suffer.

This is one reason more people are becoming vegetarian - because the practices on factory farms are so cruel to animals. There is also the transport in trucks that can take hours with no food or water or relief from heat or cold, and then the slaughterhouse, where animal welfare laws are not often enforced (and there are no welfare laws in the U.S. for chickens, turkeys, ducks or geese destined for slaughter). Without these laws, workers in the meat industry don't have to worry about killing animals quickly and painlessly.

Some animals rights groups are trying to get a law passed that at least requires workers to humanely put to sleep a "downed" animal - one that is so injured from transport that it can't stand on its own. They are often left to die where they are or dragged to where the workers want them.

I don't want to support this in any way. I never did eat much meat, so it's not really a sacrifice not to eat any. But learning about the cruelty involved is what finally decided me to stop eating meat all together.

 

[pugtm]

no for the simple reason that my religion forbids it....

 

[truly Japan]

Vegetarianism : the way of life!

I somehow have always felt vegetarianism is a way of life not because it is a way to prevent cruelty to animals or something. The reason is something else! I had once seen the food pyramid which says that the higher you go more is the energy loss. So that means plants can tap the maximum energy through the sun, and the animals who eat those plants lose 10% of the energy to the atmosphere. At each level there is a 10% loss. Also plants have all sorts of proteins and carbohydrates to fulfil our nutritional needs. So i guess being vegetarian is the way to be!!

 

[Sarapva]

That's interesting, truly Japan! I've also heard that by eating meat people are getting a diluted amount of the nutrients the animals have gotten by eating grains. A lot of India is vegetarian, I think (?).

 

[Arlet]

I eat meat.
Coz i like to eat meat.
It tastes good.

Ok, it was like we didn't kill animals from the very beginning i wouldn't have started i guess.
But its a way of surviving.

These days you can also live without meat and use others things.
But i just can't stop eating meat. I love meat It tastes good.

I know animals suffer, but it's not that bad here in the Netherlands.