Why AREN'T you a vegan/vegetarian?

[FoxintheSnow]

This is not meant to be a debate. I just wanted to see what the largest reason is for people eating animals or animal products. So tell me what is the biggest reason you arent vegan or vegetarian.

[lynsage]

you don't have a button for "i was vegetarian for ten years and vegan on and off for two or three, but then i moved in with a meat eater and started craving bites of his hamburgers after he got me pregnant"!

i am planning on going back veg once the babe is out, though- which should be any day now. my meat cravings have subsided since i got into my third trimester, anyway.

[polka hop]

*

[Casual Storm]

Humans are evolutionarily designed to be omnivores -just look at our teeth. We need vitamin B12 (meat) and omega-3 fatty acids (fish and eggs) to be optimally healthy, among things. I know flaxseed and walnuts have precursors to omega-3s like DHA, but the amount that is actually converted is very small. Of course, I don't think humans need to eat meat as often as they do, and I don't think that gives humans the right to treat animals inhumanely that are being raised for food or during the slaughtering process. I do think most dairy and meat nowadays isn't nearly as healthy as they were years ago, but that is the fault of human industry/farming practices, not our biology, and should be changed. There are places where you can buy organic grassfed beef and dairy products, you just have to look for it.
For more info on why vegan/vegetarian may not be the healthiest choice, click here:
http://www.mercola.com/2000/apr/2/vegetarian_myths.htm

[ChasingPeace]

No option really fits me, either. I don't identify myself as a vegetarian. I believe small amounts of animal products are healthy, but on most days, I don't eat meat, 1) because I don't like it much, and 2) because I try to eat only free-range, organic meat and it's expensive. I do eat a lot of eggs and dairy products, but I try also only to eat organic when I eat these products as well. As much as possible, I try to eat a "cruelty-free" diet, but admittedly, I have a long way to go.

[sunnmama]

I voted that I like the taste.

I greatly limit my animal products: no poultry, pork, beef. I use a limited amt of organic dairy, a very limited amt of non-organic dairy (dd won't eat the organic cheese , and we eat the mainstream ice cream), and a moderate amt of organic, free range eggs. I eat one portion of seafood each week. I have absolutely no "defense" for eating the seafood, except that I LOVE it! I do not miss eating poultry, pork, or beef, but I would miss seafood so, so much. It has been my favorite since I was a child. I simply adore it. Can't say enough good about it

[sleeping queen]

I tried to be a vegetarian for awhile, because I think that the healthiest diet is composed mostly of raw fruits and vegs I was trying to follow this diet Raw I still love fresh carrot juice and my toddlers like fresh juice.

For me, I feel better when I eat meat. I tend to get low iron even if I eat loads of spinach.

[cappuccinosmom]

I voted, but nothing really fit me.

I believe humans were created omnivors, and part of the reason animals were created is to be eaten.

Also, meat is yummy.

My dh would be a vegetarian, though, happily. Not because of any moral reason. He just likes vegetables and grains better. If left to himself, he'd eat rice and cooked veggies all the time, and no protien at all.

[mom at home]

None of the choices fit me either. We eat meat, but a limited amount, and generally organic when we do. I was a vegetarian for many years, but decided to start eating a small amount of meat when trying to conceive and thereafter. I felt my body needed some meat protein. Also, my oldest dd loves meat. So, I'm not going to make that decision for her when I feel like high quality meat in moderation is okay. My younger dd doesn't like meat much and generally chooses not to eat it. That's fine with me, too.

[newmainer]

hmmm. i voted for healthiest for me, but was pretty disappointed overall with the choices. I agree with the sentiments of kms1s, but also, I was a veggie for 8 years. Mostly for political and animal rights reasons. then while attending a school for earth living practices, the teacher felt it was necessary for the class to understand what it means to kill something you are going to eat. So he arranged with one of the regular families involved in the school who raises chickens to have 2 brought to the class live. A few of the adults were given the opportunity to kill the chickens if they wished. I agreed, and after a ceremony that honored the animals, twisted its neck (with help, because i wasn't strong enough). It was *very*very* hard to (spiritually, emotionally). We then learned how to dress the birds and used every part of its body, bones, feathers, etc... This had a profound effect on me. Rather than turning me off meat, it made me grateful for the gift of the animal and also the realization that just because plants dont' move or scream, they too are being killed. So, I eat meat, I eat plants. I deeply am grateful and appreciative of the lives taken so I can live. And, I eat 90-95% organic, free range, etc...

[malamamama]

I didn't vote because I thought the choices were.....limiting. Aside from the choice of "I believe it is the healthiest way for me to eat", I thought the choices indicated that meat eaters are uneducated about their choices and decisions.

I believe and feel that eating in moderation is key to optimal health for me and my family. Too much meat would definitely wreak havoc, but my "output" shows that my body (and my family's) actually metabolizes meat well. I do eat mostly local, healthy meats though. And I really listen to my body. Sometimes beans and tofu are the call, sometimes fish, sometimes a big heavy steak. Always....fresh fruits, vegetables, grains and lots of water!

"Eat Right for Your Type" suggests that different blood types metabolize some food better than others. This rings true with me and my family being "O" types.

[misfit]

I agree that the choices are limiting, but the OP is vegan and writing from her POV. I would have voted, "Because I don't think there is anything wrong with meat." if that had been an option. I believe humans are omniverous. I believe that modern food industry has altered our food production radically, in ways that are cruel to our fellow living things and unhealthy to ourselves. This applies to both our plant foods and our animal foods. I believe that we eat more meat than we need in America.

I also believe that different diets work for different people. As an example, my dh is allergic to eggs and to most legumes, and he has health problems if he doesn't get enough protein. If he were vegan, the quantities of nuts and soy he would have to consume would throw his diet into an unhealthy balance. Even if he were only vegetarian, he would end up eating far too much dairy. But there are other people who really don't do well with meat and/or dairy, and I'm all for them not eating it.

[guerrillamama]

I voted "like the taste" cuz i do, but that's not really the reason. Like PP, i was veg for about 10 yrs, then moved in w/ a heavy carnivore and got lazy.

After moving out, I continued to eat meat, but very very rarely, and never ever cooked it. So at times in my life when I am generally cooking / eating at home, I am basically veg.

Now is not one of those times. I am very proud of myself if I manage to cook once a week. So, for the purposes of eating out in my neighborhood, I could spend close to $10 on a veg Indian or Thai dinner, or I could spend less than half that on a meal that includes meat. I'm not rationalizing. I realize that if it was important enough to me, I would either prioritze spending more $$ on food or more time on cooking. But that is my reason, not reflected in your poll.

I really hope to become much more veg as my life gets more sane, and to raise ds mostly veg.

[Truvie]

I was a vegetarian for about four years, after watching a PETA video on factory farming. I eat meat now, mostly because I have serious cravings when I'm pregnant, but also because we raise our own animals now (except cattle, but I just bought a book on raising grass-fed beef, so we might do that next year). Factory farming horrifies me, but raising animals on pasture for our own consumption does not, I don't know why -- maybe because I was raised in 4H.

Truvie

[Evergreen]

this is the perfect thread fo rme right now!!!

I am almost ( I know ther is no almost) vegan. No dairy, but the meat has been the hardest to give up. I have been trying for over 10 years and still can't quite do it. I just like the taste. I hate the taste of all other protein sources besides peanuts, and garbanzos but only in my homemade hummus.

Tonight DD had to pee so we made a quick stop at my parents' house. they were grilling steaks. Guess how many I ate? One and a half. I can't stop myuself! SO, amybe my body needs soemthing in it. But my stomach is killing me right about now. Ughhh

[sadean]

I also didn't think the poll choices reflected a comprehensive view on why people eat meat. I have severely limit the amount of red meat I eat because I didn't want to eat factory meat and organic and free range meat is expensive. I usually eat mostly vegetarian, with occasional "white Meat" protien (poultry, fish and seafood). I carried that philosophy into my most recent pregnancy and SURPRISE I turned up severely anemic, so I have re-introduced red meat 2-3 times per week for dietary reasons. I do believe that we as humans are meant to eat a wide variety of food sources, including animal meat, so I don't have a moral objection to eating meat. But I do believe that our current practices are overall inhuman and affect the nutritional quality of our food, so it is almost a "why bother" proposition. Once the baby comes I will re-assess.

[because]

We eat meat that we hunt (venison, turkey, and a rare pheasant). You couldn't naturally be a veg in MI if you only consumed local food.

Occasionally, we'll have organic chicken - 1x/mo - but it's store bought. Dairy and eggs are also store bought.

[Tiskin]

I'm a vegitarian. I think I should be a vegan but just don't have the discipline to cut out all the dairy and eggs too.
Maybe someday I will but for now, I just try not to think about those poor chickens in the small, crowded cages who have never been outside in their entire life

[kavamamakava]

I'm sorry. I had to vote for "vegans are weirdos". I couldn't resist. I'm a vegetarian, btw

[kavamamakava]

Originally Posted by kms1s

For more info on why vegan/vegetarian may not be the healthiest choice, click here:
http://www.mercola.com/2000/apr/2/vegetarian_myths.htm

I just finished the article and there was not one nutritional reason why being a vegetarian was unhealthy. It should be titled "The Myths of Veganism" since many of the myths are answered with suggestions of eating dairy or eggs. Both dairy and eggs (sometimes one but not the other but if both are cut out, that makes it a vegan, not vegetarian diet) are included in the vegetarian diet. It even calls Indians "vegan" when their diet is rich in dairy.

I also found this very interesting.

First and foremost is our stomach's production of hydrochloric acid, something not found in herbivores.

. When I was in high school, I volunteered for a class experiment with 3 other students. We swallowed a string with a food based dissolvable weight on the end and then pulled the string out and tested it for HCL. For some odd reason, my HCL level was really low and even all along the whole string. It's supposed to start off weak and get stronger the lower into the stomach you go. So I guess my body isn't made to digest meat. I'm type O too (the ones who are supposed to have lots of stomach acid).