Vegetarian food/meat

[Nidan Melbourne]

Just out of curiosity, why does one become a vegetarian/vegan?

some do it because of their views on animal cruelty and that people shouldn't use animals for food.

some do it because they don't like the taste of meat (beef, lamb etc), but some will still consume chicken, seafood etc.

Or some don't consume it due to a previous bad experience or an abnormal reaction to the meat (ie allergies/anaphylaxasis)

But there are many reasons why people are vegetarians or vegans.

I respect my friends that are both vegetarian or vegan, because it is their right and life to choose. But what i don't respect is when they try and put their beliefs onto me and force me to go vegetarian or vegan.

There are animals now that do need to be cared for and if not they will get an infection and die. Dairy cows for instance they need to be milked everyday otherwise they can get an infection in their utters and become infected.

There are people i know that are vegan on the basis of the animals not being cared for properly. They will eat meat BUT only on the most strict of reasons that those animals were brought up. I know that might cause an outrage and they can't call themselves a vegan. For instance chicken; the chicken MUST be left to roam free and not controlled, the eggs must be layed naturally without any outside interference.

it is the exact same for cattle, sheep etc.

[smackpazy]

Being Vegan is alright, just make sure that you still get the proteins that your body needs. going vegan will keep you feel light

[Nidan Melbourne]

Being Vegan is alright, just make sure that you still get the proteins that your body needs. going vegan will keep you feel light

Getting all the essential vitamins, minerals, amino acids etc is pretty easy as long as you eat the right things.

Although meat contains more iron and other compounds we need, you can get it still with vegan options but may require to eat more.

[CandaceC]

Just remember that being a vegetarian does not mean you have the freedom to overdo on the sugar laden foods. vegetarian meat does no harm. sugar laden foods can cause diabetes even to vegetarians.

[hammer]

Just remember that being a vegetarian does not mean you have the freedom to overdo on the sugar laden foods. vegetarian meat does no harm. sugar laden foods can cause diabetes even to vegetarians.

Would like to clarify that from what I've read diet can be linked to Type 2 diabetes...Type 1 has completely different causes.

A bad diet is a bad diet, whether meat is in the mix doesn't matter IMO. Just have to watch the consumption of the bad stuff (whatever it is).

I've heard the home phrase "Our house is clean enough to be healthy, and dirty enough to be happy." Just substitute diet for house and that's where I stand. Now if I could just reduce the junk...tough when growing up with a metabolism that allowed me to eat anything and everything in sight...

[Spartacus Maximus]

Becoming vegetarian or vegan or any radical change of diet is a matter of personal choice. Usually the choice is for a very personal reason. The most difficult thing is compensating and balancing everything so as to not cause shortages of essential nutrients to maintain health.

Depending on what foods are available it can be harder to do in one place than another. The more restrictions a diet has, the harder it is to compensate and it is a good idea to do some research to find the best solution. Get advice from a doctor or a nutritionist or read books by such experts.

I went trough vegetarian phase in my university days. I was not a strict vegetarian because I only took meat out of my diet.

The next thing I experimented with was the so called paleo or caveman diet. This means I ate nothing that was processed or transformed in any way. No bread, raw fruits and vegetables only, some meat and fish. As close as possible to what people would have eaten before agriculture was developed.

Now I am back on a general diet but I just eat smaller portions. Usually no more than 1.5 times the size of my two hands held together.