The Vegetarian & Vegan Thread

[northernsky]

If I understand fruitarian right (and I'm still not sure I do), you couldn't eat any vegetables or cereals, as those are annual plants - only fruits, berries, nuts &c. stuff from perennial plants? Beans, lentils are excluded, too, probably. There is no way this can be healthy right?

 

[fashionista-ta]

^ Hey, I'm the omnivore here I am not a big believer in guilt of any kind. You asked, I'm explaining

Eckhart Tolle says that the same life force that's in you and me is in a tree, and a rock. What's sentient, and what's not? How do we know for sure?

It's hard to deny that we empathize most with mammals because we are mammals.

The fact is there is a food chain, and by doing what we need to do to stay alive, generally other life forms 'lose' in order for us to win. You just have to do your best to walk gently on the earth.

 

[northernsky]

Haha, I know. I was just wondering.

I still have to meet a fruitarian in real life.

 

[fashionista-ta]

Me either ... I have only read authors who were, or heard about friends of friends.

 

[Guessgirl96]

People seem to forget that they are animals underneath, animals that most certainly evolved to eat more than just fruit and nuts... I can't personally be upset over the death of a plant after harvest, that's simply an example of the circle of life! The original plant grows, bears seeds, dies, and another plant grows in its place. I mean there has to be a point at which you stop feeling guilty, right? The line has to be drawn somewhere. Guilt seems to be all over these last couple pages and I just don't get it I guess, especially in this case when we're talking about non-sentient life being affected.

I agree with this. People have evolved to be omnivores... My issue with meat is more how they are raised and treated. Although it's sad I have no problem with a tiger hunting for food. Fruitarianism also doesnt seem realistic considering cotton clothing and all sorts of other products.

I've heard of another diet where they eat only what falls to the ground. I'm not sure how real it is, I imagine you'd have to grow all your own food and you'd need a lot of it if you cant pick it.

 

[fashionista-ta]

^ Golly ... the vegetarian equivalent of eating roadkill

You would want to live in orchard country ...

That's a good point about what you would wear ... I guess there's always polyester and wild silk, would that be OK? To me it's identical to fallen fruit, but I am not a fruitarian ...

 

[oiselet]

I agree with this. People have evolved to be omnivores... My issue with meat is more how they are raised and treated. Although it's sad I have no problem with a tiger hunting for food. Fruitarianism also doesnt seem realistic considering cotton clothing and all sorts of other products.

I've heard of another diet where they eat only what falls to the ground. I'm not sure how real it is, I imagine you'd have to grow all your own food and you'd need a lot of it if you cant pick it.

It's called windfall fruitarianism.

I think it's none of our business how other people decide to eat. Many people have different beliefs, we can't knock them because we don't agree with it.

 

[fashionista-ta]

^ I didn't think anyone was knocking the windfall people, just trying to imagine how it would work.

 

[oiselet]

Sorry, I'm a bit on the edge today.

I'm a vegetarian for the health benefits (ideally I would like to be vegan one day), I did some research back when I still ate meat and found out that our intestines are too long for meat.

See, vegetables and fruits take a long time too digest so herbivores and the like have long intestinal tracts, but carnivores have short ones because the meat will rot and therefore needs to be quickly expelled.

I guess that's what sold me, in the end. The thought that something dead was inside me rotting just turned me off permeantly. Also, they put so many horomones and junk in the meat and milk these days... it's causing kids to hit puberty prematurely. I don't know about you, but that can't be healthy.

 

[fashionista-ta]

^ I have to admit I haven't studied the length of my intestines, but presumably omnivores would need to have the same length as herbivores?

I know dogs' are shorter, presumably they are adapted for raw meat & primarily meat ...

I try to avoid the added hormones as much as possible, but I'm not sure we know that is the reason why puberty is advancing. Obesity is another possible cause (fat produces hormones), and another theory that's been advanced is the divorce rate. If girls live with men who aren't their close relatives (i.e., father, brother), apparently this speeds up puberty.

 

[oiselet]

But then why are normal weight children in nuclear families getting their periods at 10 years old? I'm sure there are contributing factors but hormone laden meat and estrogen laced milk could only add fuel to the fire.

I'm not sure about the omnivore intestines, I'll have to look that one up. In any case, I've felt a whole lot better since going vegetarian, apart from the trite "jokes" I hear during every dinner conversation I don't regret it. And I like it very much.

 

[fashionista-ta]

^ But is that happening? The girls who were getting their periods early when I was that age fit the profile I mentioned ...

 

[oiselet]

I know a couple of girls that did...

 

[chanelnumber5]

IDK if people outside the UK can listen to stuff on the BBC website but there was a section on Woman's Hour (a programme on BBC radio 4). Here is the link (I'm not sure exactly how far through the programme the piece is so you might have to listen to the other parts of the programme http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00ly08d

 

[northernsky]

I got a food basket today.

But... there were coloured orrecchiette in it, the black ones are made with sepia ink (it also says the product can contain traces of shellfish)

I'll sort the black ones out and eat the rest, I think, but I wondered what you guys do in situations like this one?

 

[oiselet]

To be honest, I'd eat them. It seems kind of pointless to avoid them, and it would be a waste IMO. (I'm not sure how much sense that makes.)

Unless you're allergic to shellfish or are into the whole purity aspect of vegetarianism.

 

[Trista]

But then why are normal weight children in nuclear families getting their periods at 10 years old? I'm sure there are contributing factors but hormone laden meat and estrogen laced milk could only add fuel to the fire.

I'm not sure about the omnivore intestines, I'll have to look that one up. In any case, I've felt a whole lot better since going vegetarian, apart from the trite "jokes" I hear during every dinner conversation I don't regret it. And I like it very much.

I definitely fall into that category because I was 11 when I got my first period, and I started going through puberty around 8-9 years old. We always had to drink at least 2 glasses of milk a day, and I was definitely a meat-eater. Granted, the fact that I wasn't a big exerciser must have had something to do with it, but girls are getting their periods earlier and earlier and the hormones are one of the big reasons why. I stopped drinking regular milk a couple years ago and I have never been better.

 

[fashionista-ta]

I got a food basket today.

But... there were coloured orrecchiette in it, the black ones are made with sepia ink (it also says the product can contain traces of shellfish)

I'll sort the black ones out and eat the rest, I think, but I wondered what you guys do in situations like this one?

I would feed them to my dogs, who have no idea that squid ink is disgusting

 

[northernsky]

To be honest, I'd eat them. It seems kind of pointless to avoid them, and it would be a waste IMO. (I'm not sure how much sense that makes.)

Unless you're allergic to shellfish or are into the whole purity aspect of vegetarianism.

Hm, there are yellow, green, orange-brown, red and black orrecchiette in the bag, so if I sort the black ones out, I still have a decent bowl of pasta left. I think I would feel queezy eating something coming from a squid, especially as I don't know how the ink is gotten from it.

I really don't like the idea of throwing away food. (I was a little shocked when my friend told me she threw out all butter, cheese (a big chunk of parmesan, too) and so on, when she decided to become vegan. She could have given it to her flat mate, I think. Oh, I could give the pasta to my neighbour. (We share/swap food anyway, this is not as strange as it may sound, or is it?)

I think it's very important what you buy, you make a difference by buying the right things (oh, the power of your grocery list but it's true), but when it's already bought... I wouldn't want to eat the black pasta though, this is just too weird.

As for shoes for example I think it's more let's say economic to wear off your leather shoes or your wool sweater first before buying new stuff (because my guess is that producing an additional pair of leather free shoes or another sweater is still more environmentally 'harmful' (too strong a word but I can't find a better translation) than producing none) If you are one of those who would always feel reminded that "an animal died for my shoes", ok. Give them away. But I think it's about preserving resources too.

 

[cestmagique]

I agree with oiselet about the pasta, because A ) it's free food which is always awesome, and it would be a waste not to use it. Though of course you shouldn't feel obligated to eat it yourself if that bothers you, someone else could have it.

Edit: everyone posted at once. So now what I'm saying is redundant because you're on the right track already IMO, northernsky.