Are you Vegetarian?

[sorryiwasdreami]

Hi everybody. I'd like to know how much of the Macrumors.com population is vegetarian. It actually surprised me that someone hasn't already started this thread, as it could be an interesting way to meet fellow non-carnivore and carnivore friends alike.

Post how long you have been vegetarian as well as what made you go that direction. I’ll start. It’s been since November 2001 for me, for physical/stomach trouble reasons.

Of course, it soon became both an emotional conscience and health matter. I’m concerned with the well-being of creatures and the chemicals and hormones used in farmed animal feeds.

I look forward to your comments.

[themadchemist]

Yep, I am. I have been all of my life. That is, since November 1986. I'm vegetarian for religious reasons.

[poopyhead]

I started being a vegetarian in August of '97 when I started college as a lame attempt to pick up women and lose weight (it worked amazingly well for both). I relapsed into a more omnivores diet in '99 (when I met my ex-girlfriend, a carnivore who lives on cheese and meat alone) which led to me gaining a crap load of weight. So in 2001 I became a vegan, lost massive amounts of weight and am now seemingly unable to eat meat with out throwing up, not sure if it is a mental or physical problem.

I have ethical problems with eating meat but at the same time it is not the ethical problems which keep me from consuming my animal friends.

[phreakout13]

I've been one since September 2002. It's pretty gross some of the things they do to animules. I'd seriously have way more respect for someone who hunted their own food, it seems less cruel than locking an animal up for its whole life.

[bryanc]

My partner and I quit eating meat in 1990 for primarily environmental reasons (eating lower on the trophic pyramid reduces one's environmental footprint significantly...about an order of magnitude less resource consumption for each trophic level you drop). We're both biologists, and have always been concerned about the environment, but it wasn't until the 90's that we recognized that going vegetarian was neither dangerous to our heath nor complex. I've often noticed a similarity between the myths surrounding vegetarianism and the myths surrounding Apple computers...lots of people believe lots of erroneous things and use them as reasons they "could never [stop eating meat | use a mac]".

We were fairly strict vegetarians for about a decade, but have become somewhat less rigourous over the past few years due to our circumstances (we have a young child, and the grandparents keep feeding him meat (which he loves)...and we don't want to make a big issue out of it, so we just don't have meat at home).

Cheers

[latergator116]

I've been a vegetarian since early 2001. I did it mostly for the well-being of the animals, but I have also noticed a drop in headache frequency.

[poopyhead]

I have also noticed a drop in headache frequency.

strangely I have too
I used to have 2-3 migraines a week now I have them maybe once a month

[latergator116]

strangely I have too
I used to have 2-3 migraines a week now I have them maybe once a month

Same here. I used to get migraines a few times a week (ecspecially on Fridays for some reason) and now I only get them once a month (usually If I am under stress).

I remember reading in a magazine that dairy and caffeine caused headaches, but they never mentioned anything about meat. Strange.

[WinterMute]

Sorry guys, I've got teeth designed to tear the throats out of running animals, I used to live with a vegan though, I had to leave her when she caught me sneaking bacon into the house wrapped in a loaf of bread... :D ;)

I've heard all the health arguments, and I respect the religious angle (even though I'm an athiest) but I blame the animals for tasting so damn good.... yeah it's all the animals fault. ;) :p

[bryanc]

Sorry guys, I've got teeth designed to tear the throats out of running animals....

Perhaps you're teeth are like these?
http://www.users.qwest.net/~sammysrefuge/pictures/Zoo/baboon2.jpg

These teeth are for piercing thick fruit rinds and impressing rival males. Just 'cause you've got big pointy teeth doesn't mean they were 'designed' (as an evolutionary biologist, I have to object to the idea that teeth were 'designed' to do anything, but that's a different discussion) for tearing flesh.

Our ancestors were almost certainly facultative omnivores, and ate whatever they could catch...but our digestive system (from our teeth on down) is optimally suited to a primarily plant-based diet (unlike that of a carnivore's, which has an alkali stomach followed by a very short intestinal tract).

But, just so you know I'm not completely without a sense of humour, here's a joke for you:

Q: How many vegetarians does it take to change a light bulb?
A: THAT'S NOT FUNNY!!!


Cheers

[veedubdrew]

strangely I have too
I used to have 2-3 migraines a week now I have them maybe once a month

I've been a vegetarian since 1998 and until now I had never connected my lack of migraines with my vegetarianism. I used to have horrid migraines!

I'm a veggie for ethical and environmental reasons, not health reasons.

-Drew

[Jalexster]

I don't eat meat anymore, I think I stopped in 2001, and it was for two reasons.

1) Because of welfare for animals. What did they do that they deserve to be killed, cut up and packed into bits? Its horrible.

2) Because of that story about McSweenys (Or McSweenies). On our family holiday in 2001 (we were going from Melbloune, Victoria, Australia where I live, up to the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia. We had a good time, and on our way back, we stopped by in Sydney, NSW, Australia, for a look at Sydney, and there, we went on a tour of the opera house. The Opera House is divided into a Concert Hall, and a Theartre. In the Theatre, they were setting up a play called McSweenies something-or-other. I asked what it was about, and in my mind, this is what it meant, after they explained it:

McSweenie was an evil *******, who killed people and made them into pies, which he sold to the general public. In this partiular version, his wife, who was a hairdresser, would kill them, and then he would turn them into pies in a factory. He plot was eventuly folied when someone found a fingernail in one of the pies, which caused an investigation of McSweenie's factory.

Remember, that what I interpreted it as, thats not what they actully said. After that, my mind got locked on the fact that i could be eating human meat. So I gave eating meat up.

I also don't eat any fish. Just plain no animal products. I still eat eggs and milk products though, because you don't need to kill the animals they come from (Chicken and Cow/Goat), to get them.

And eggs only hatch chicks, if the chicken has been fertilized. Chickens lay "empty" eggs, without a chick inside them, even when not fertilized. If you want to know how they get fertilized: Do Not Ask Me.

And thats the end of my rant.

[evil_santa]

veggi since 1991 & trying to avoid dairy for health reasons (http://www.milksucks.co.uk)!

[solvs]

I'm not a vegetarian... I just don't eat meat. :p

[sorryiwasdreami]

Thanks for all your comments; it’s good to see you guys here.

I enjoy hearing all these stories and reasons for stopping eating meat; I found the "human meat pie" and orangutan/primate picture posts particularly entertaining, not to mention informational.

I too am interested in eating low on the food chain for environmental reasons. It conserves energy and is easier on Mother Earth. Also, for foods that don’t contain any animal products, I am equally wary of the ingredients.

For example, when looking at a product nutritional label, if a food is made with any man-made chemicals such as dyes and freshness preserving agents, I generally steer clear. Basically, my rule is the more ingredients, the worse the food.

I typically consume natural foods and soy products (Smart Dogs and 8th Continent chocolate soymilk rule); however do eat cheeses (not Velveeta or processed cheese) but no milk or eggs.

Let the information keep flowing! And pass this thread on to your friends.

[rueyeet]

I'm a believer in all things in moderation. I've noticed, being familiar with both Weight Watchers and Atkins, that both diets sort of end up in the same place: Eat lots of vegetables, some fruit, and then a bit each of dairy, meat, and grains to round things out.

WW focuses more on calorie and fat reduction, and Atkins on carb reduction, but they'd both agree that humans aren't meant to eat the huge amounts of processed foods, refined "white" carbohydrates, or meat that our society currently does. Mass consumption of bread and meat worked in an agricultural society where everyone got a lot more exercise, and where there weren't as many people to start with, but it's not carrying over very well in the desk-bound information age.

So while I'll never be a vegetarian, I've stopped eating as much meat as I used to. That said, I really like a good rare steak now and then. :)

[takao]

hm i really enjoy eating meat... but i'm not cooking it very often ...
perhaps twice a week i have something with 'meat' in it...(including fish and sausages)
but i am a fan of products made of milk (chesse,yoghurt etc.)

[AmigoMac]

Since I can remember my childhood ... I always rejected to eat meat, just because of environmental reasons and started actively since 9 years ago, I'm 23 (24 on Saturday ;) ), I have 6 years already with my wife together, since we met, and started to be vegetarian TOGETHER since some 3.5 years ago... now she DOES enjoy it and we decided for our children as well...

[WinterMute]

Perhaps you're teeth are like these?
http://www.users.qwest.net/~sammysrefuge/pictures/Zoo/baboon2.jpg

These teeth are for piercing thick fruit rinds and impressing rival males. Just 'cause you've got big pointy teeth doesn't mean they were 'designed' (as an evolutionary biologist, I have to object to the idea that teeth were 'designed' to do anything, but that's a different discussion) for tearing flesh.

Our ancestors were almost certainly facultative omnivores, and ate whatever they could catch...but our digestive system (from our teeth on down) is optimally suited to a primarily plant-based diet (unlike that of a carnivore's, which has an alkali stomach followed by a very short intestinal tract).

But, just so you know I'm not completely without a sense of humour, here's a joke for you:

Q: How many vegetarians does it take to change a light bulb?
A: THAT'S NOT FUNNY!!!


Cheers

I'm glad you added the joke, I was reaching for the "get a sense of humour" smiley. Obviously I was being a bit flippant about the teeth, I doubt I could catch a running animal (well, maybe a vole) I can't even catch my daughters rabbit... :rolleyes:

My teeth do look a little like the baboon's, I was called Vlad at school, after Vlad the Impaler, the historical root of the Dracular legend, and they are an omnivore's teeth, designed to eat anything organic. We are designed to process meat, and have to go out of our way to make sure we eat healthily if we choose not to. Man is the only omnivore that actually chooses not to eat meat when available.

But then we also choose to drive Fords and watch Big Brother, go figure...

[FelixDerKater]

I still eat meat, but generally avoid pork.

[MongoTheGeek]

But, just so you know I'm not completely without a sense of humour, here's a joke for you:

Q: How many vegetarians does it take to change a light bulb?
A: THAT'S NOT FUNNY!!!


The joke is funnier with "Feminists".

I once heard about someone telling it to a friend and then a woman over heard it and gave the punchline indignant and meaning it.

[MongoTheGeek]

Thoughts...

"Salad? Thats what food eats." -My brother.
"If God hadn't wanted us to eat animals why did he make them out of meat?" - bumper sticker
"Take a bite out of the side, and ride the rest home." Dennis Leary

I understand the environmental concerns about not eating meat. I would love to see a Beef Tree invented. As is though the planet can support the current balance of meat eating and then some. Additionally the population is almost stabilized and should be trending down soon. It already is in developed countries and will soon be headed that way in China.

As for the emotional concerns about killing another living thing consider the Hindu god Shiva. Shiva represents the creative and destructive forces in the universe. He is both sex and death. Almost all life depends on something else dying. You kill plants when you eat them, successful horticulture itself is dependent on the mass murder of certain species. Even organic methods involve killing animals (typically murder by proxy, ladybugs to kill aphids.) Its all about where you draw the line and who you would kill to live. I have no problem with cows and chickens and pigs on a regular basis. Primates would have to be a them or me situation.

As for religious concerns, well I am a proud cannibal(cf transubstantiation). :) That aside, Sikhism encourages the eating of meat as do some animistic religions. If you think God tells you not to eat meat, more power to you.

On the topic of health concerns. Personally i've given up all hope of a long healthy life, I won't be shocked if I don't see the end of the decade, but I may be around to gloat when programmers are scrambling before 2100. Vegetarian diets can be good for cholesterol and heart disease, but they have been linked to protein deficiencies(avoidable if you are careful), decreased metabolism and fertility(again avoidable) and a type of malnutrition(there is some B vitamin only found in animals you only need a little bit and the body stores a lot(20-30 years worth) but it leads to dementia if you don't get any)

If you don't want to eat meat, fine. But let me enjoy my steak.

[virividox]

right now i am not a vegetarian, i tried for 3 months to go vegetarian but i wasnt strong enough or my motivation wasnt good enough, either way i cant live without scarfing down little animals parts

[Neserk]

I tired. Wasn't getting the proper nutrition. I get low blood sugar and need more protein than the average person. I have a LOT of respect for those who do it, though, a lot!

[medea]

I started out many years ago by first cutting red meat (never ate pork) out of my diet for heatlth reasons, then cut out chicken and though I've tried to be completely vegetarian I currently eat a lot of fish especially in the form of sushi. It's been hard to cut out dairy with my wife, we both use soy milk and vegan "butter" but she loves cheese. I also try to only eat whole-wheat breads and fresh foods, never canned vegetables etc. I can't believe people don't think about the crap they ingest such as jarred spaghetti sauce with meat already in it. Though I started out for mostly health reasons it has now branched into cruelty issues as well etc.

[blackfox]

Well, I try to live with some sense of moderation...but ultimately it comes down to what I like...

I do eat meat, but only beef and chicken, and the former not that often...I just do not like the experience of eating the other meats, it is not really a morality or health issue to me...

I despise milk, but only modern pastuerized milk. Growing up in the UK, fresh milk delivered daily was good (and nutritious), but pasteurized milk is not good for you at all (imo). That said, I do have it in my coffee. Use butter, not margerine.

Speaking of Coffee, I love caffeine (although not soda), and love sugar even more. Sugar substitutes are the devil's work.

Mainly though, I eat pasta and breads...always loved them, and they are cheap, offer many options, and are full of carbohydrates (my favorite)...

I despise the Atkins diet...

One note, I feel that it is a major (and common) mistake to eat a complex-carbohydrate (like bread) and a major protein (like meat) at the same time (like a sandwich). It seems that the stomach would have a problem efficiently breaking-down and utilising correctly, these two disparate food-stuffs. After all, there is only the one stomach. I feel it is this, that can lead to weight-gain, and toxicity in the system (from undigested meat)...but it is only an opinion. This would, in part, explain the success of both the Atkins diet, and vegetarianism, as they both deal with this problem in their own ways...

FWIW...

[poopyhead]

As for the emotional concerns about killing another living thing consider the Hindu god Shiva. Shiva represents the creative and destructive forces in the universe. He is both sex and death. Almost all life depends on something else dying. You kill plants when you eat them, successful horticulture itself is dependent on the mass murder of certain species. Even organic methods involve killing animals (typically murder by proxy, ladybugs to kill aphids.) Its all about where you draw the line and who you would kill to live. I have no problem with cows and chickens and pigs on a regular basis. Primates would have to be a them or me situation.



i personaly dont have a problem with killing other animals after all death is part of life
my problem is in how the animals we eat are raised and slaughtered

[Neserk]

Sugar substitutes are the devil's work.




Agree with that!

[themadchemist]

Thoughts...
As for the emotional concerns about killing another living thing consider the Hindu god Shiva. Shiva represents the creative and destructive forces in the universe. He is both sex and death. Almost all life depends on something else dying. You kill plants when you eat them, successful horticulture itself is dependent on the mass murder of certain species. Even organic methods involve killing animals (typically murder by proxy, ladybugs to kill aphids.) Its all about where you draw the line and who you would kill to live. I have no problem with cows and chickens and pigs on a regular basis. Primates would have to be a them or me situation.


Extending your metaphor, Shiva is also the ultimate ascetic, and therefore, very peaceful in meditation. Whereas periodic destruction and renewal are important, I just don't think we need to torture and kill animals in such disgustingly large quantities, the way we do. Ahimsa, nonviolence, something that yogic meditation symbolizes, is important to practice
on a regular basis.

To counter this, "you eat plants and they're alive" business, I'd say that I'm not in the same kingdom as plants. The brotherhood of Animalia, baby! :D

edit: Also, while renewal and destruction might be important, who gave us license over their execution? Indeed, if our cognition grants us the ability to wax moral in a manner more pronounced than any of our fellow species, then one would imagine we would see more worth in their existence and less power in our control.

I'm not trying to indemnify people who eat meat. I'm just giving my perspective, for whatever its worth. I apologize if I sound combative.

[bryanc]

I've really enjoyed this thread, and I'm impressed with everyone's ability to respect, if not accept, the beliefs of others.

One thing that often comes up in these discussions is something along the lines of 'vegetarians still have to kill plants, and killing is killing.' As much as this is not my primary motivation for eschewing meat, I have a significant philosophical disagreement with the idea that 'killing is killing.'

If we take the starting, a priori assumption that killing another human is ethically unacceptable (if avioidable...circumstances like self defence are a special case), there are two distinct families of ethical paradigms that can be built around this starting point:
1) the deontological ethical systems, which I will oversimplify as saying that 'killing is inherently evil'
2) the consequentialist ethical systems, which I will oversimplify as saying that 'killing is evil because of the undesirable consequences it causes' (e.g., suffering of the victim, suffering of the victims family & friends, loss of potential for happiness and productivity for the victim and any other agents the victim may have interacted with had it lived, and loss of security for society in that the unjust death of a member of society weakens and threatens all other members of society, etc.)

I'm a consequentialist (a Millsian Utilitarian, with some of my own extensions, if you want to be precise). So, ethically, a human life is much more important than a less sentient creature such as a dog, but the dog is more important than a fish, which, in turn, is more important than an insect. (Go on, ask me how I know a fish is less sentient than a dog...I dare ya!).

So as well as the environmental impact issue, I'm ethically compelled to reduce the suffering my eating causes by choosing to eat non-sentient organisms. Not all killing is equal. When I do feel like a non-healthy indulgence, I'll have smoked oysters (on rye with blue cheese and sun-dried tomatoes, with a good Bitter to wash it down :)). Killing some oysters is a lot less ethically dubious than killing whales.

I've actually got work to do, so I'll end my schpiel here. Hope some of you found it interesting/amusing.

Cheers

[Abstract]

Its a bit foolish to place your dietary needs on everything other than meat since it provides so many things that we need, especially when people don't even process plant products efficiently whatsoever. Humans don't even break down cell walls.

One of my old professors, one of the smartest people around and one of the top scientists in his field (something related to pathology), says that we should just maintain a well rounded diet and stop listening to the bullsh*t that we're being told by different groups. He said that anybody who tells you otherwise (adverts, vegetarians, animal rights activists) has a reason to want to believe that being meat-free is beneficial. People who are mainly carnivorous will try to argue the other point.

He also says that we don't need milk in our diets. We're the (or one of the) only animals to drink milk into adulthood, and are also the only species to drink another species' milk. That says a lot when considering the vast number of animals in existence, and says a lot about our "need" for milk.

PS: Just looked over that www.milksucks.co.uk link, and thats very sad. I always knew it was bad for the cows, but reading the fine details seems to make it stick a bit more. Its the equivalent of slavery --- working the animals beyond their natural limits. I may have to stop drinking milk and switch to soy....

[adn rcd dly]

convert.
love it.

[jdechko]

I'm not a vegetarian... I love meat.
I believe that everyone has the right to choose his or her own diet, whether for religious, health or etihcal reasons.

[Stampyhead]

My sister decided to become vegetarian and then vegan just recently. I was asking her about it and was wondering if it was for animal rights reasons. Her response:
"I'm not vegetarian because I love animals, I'm vegetarian because I hate plants."
She was kidding of course, but I thought that was pretty funny.

[adn rcd dly]

"I'm not vegetarian because I love animals, I'm vegetarian because I hate plants."
i love that
I believe that everyone has the right to choose his or her own diet, whether for religious, health or etihcal reasons.

and i believe that completely. this was a total free decision. i did research. i had done it in high school for a semester kind of as an experiment and never felt healthier. but when i moved, all i ate was meat because it is everywhere. especially in a college town with nothing surrounding you. everything here is fast food. so this has been a little harder.

[vniow]

Did we really need this older thread to be bumped when there is another one (http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=176147) from just a few days ago?

[SiliconAddict]

Nope. I’m a barbarian, heathen, bastard. I want my meat still-mooing-on-the-plate rare. http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/images/smiles/new_2gunsfiring_v1.gifhttp://www.rybak-rybaka.ru/cutecast/emoticons/moo.gif http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/images/smiles/beer.gif

[adn rcd dly]

Did we really need this older thread to be bumped when there is another one (http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=176147) from just a few days ago?
when i did a search only this thread came up
all apologies