How many of you are vegetarians?

[girlonbike]

I am seriously considering going vegetarian right now. I've always loved eating meat, but lately I've been thinking of it more in terms of the impact it has on animals and finding it more difficult to maintain a clean conscience. 'Meat is Murder' and what Morrissey has to say on the subject have had an impact, but really it's been at the back of my mind for a very long time.

I already don't eat fish and don't eat pork much, so am part of the way there. I've decided that if I do go veggie, I'll stop eating meat first and then slowly cut out things like gelatin if possible.

Does anyone have any tips for me on how to make my decision and how to keep healthy if I do? I'm already a very picky eater and am at school (boarding) during the week, so I know it will be difficult, but I'd really like to give it a go.



Thanks in advance.

I really empathise with you as I am feeling pretty much the same. I try to 'avoid' meat where I can but it is not always that simple when the rest of your family are not vegetarians and moan at you for not cooking meat! One website that is quite persuasive is: www.viva.org.uk
It gives a list of famous vegetarians which is really interesting and also some recipes.

 

[someofusisturningnasty]

I am, and The Smiths/Morrissey played a part in it but it was mainly after my rabbit died a few years ago that I started to make the transition...giving up red meat was easy, chicken took a little longer and i never liked fish anyway.

If people want to be vegetarian then there is no excuse not to be. There's meat replacements everywhere (Frys do a delicious vegan "chicken" burger for instance) which taste 100x better than the real thing.

Meat IS murder.

 

[Raised on prisoner's aid]

I am seriously considering going vegetarian right now. I've always loved eating meat, but lately I've been thinking of it more in terms of the impact it has on animals and finding it more difficult to maintain a clean conscience. 'Meat is Murder' and what Morrissey has to say on the subject have had an impact, but really it's been at the back of my mind for a very long time.

I already don't eat fish and don't eat pork much, so am part of the way there. I've decided that if I do go veggie, I'll stop eating meat first and then slowly cut out things like gelatin if possible.

Does anyone have any tips for me on how to make my decision and how to keep healthy if I do? I'm already a very picky eater and am at college (boarding) during the week, so I know it will be difficult, but I'd really like to give it a go.

Thanks in advance.

Make sure you eat lots of protein (i.e. stock up on LOTS of Quorn) to replace the protein you'll be missing out on with the meat you currently eat.

Good luck!

 

[DeathRockSnowWhite]

I was a veggie. I did it when Linda McCartney died, and Paul said that in her honor we should go veggie. That lasted about three or four years. Then I found myself in a rather complicated relationship with a guy who was controling. I've never wanted children, but he did. And he decided I should eat meat again to help make myself strong for bearing him babies. Thank God I never got pregnant. I'd hate to have to have been leagally bound to him for 18 years.

 

[Girl-with-the-Thorn]

I really empathise with you as I am feeling pretty much the same. I try to 'avoid' meat where I can but it is not always that simple when the rest of your family are not vegetarians and moan at you for not cooking meat! One website that is quite persuasive is: www.viva.org.uk
It gives a list of famous vegetarians which is really interesting and also some recipes.

Make sure you eat lots of protein (i.e. stock up on LOTS of Quorn) to replace the protein you'll be missing out on with the meat you currently eat.

Good luck!

Thank you both very much, I feel more at peace with myself already for having made the decision and will do my best to make sure my diet is balanced.

 

[dunya]

More vegetarians = less global warming.

http://http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/2274995/Cow-farts-collected-in-plastic-tank-for-global-warming-study.html

As long as the veggies avoid lentils..

 

[Frank's Wild Years]

Thank you both very much, I feel more at peace with myself already for having made the decision and will do my best to make sure my diet is balanced.

It's very easy. Meat was such a massive part of my diet until I made the snap decision one day to give it up. Avoiding gelatin and so on is extremely easy too - it involves a fair bit of lable checking, but unless you live by jelly sweets and marshmallows it's not difficult.

 

[nogodsnomasters85]

Not I.

 

[CrystalGeezer]

I am. And a new one. One of the things I used to love was beef jerky. But for the first time last night at a "body parts" themed potluck, someone brought homemade beef jerky as scabs and I looked at it and thought, "I really have zero desire to eat that." Not because of the scabs, but because my memories of enjoying jerky did not outweigh the fact that is was once a living cow. I saw that for the first time last night. So I'm making progress.

 

[CrystalGeezer]

By new one, I mean I've been one for a year with two discresions. I ate some ham at Easter because it was put on my plate and symbolically ate some fish with my dad and brother months ago.

 

[Fuzzy]

I could do it easily - the only meat I eat REGULARLY is cheap stuff that comes frozen in boxes and takes three minutes to cook. The only time I ever get any other kind are holidays -- the only time somebody actually cooks a real meal for me -- or on the VERY rare occasion that I go out to eat!

I honestly don't see any reason for me personally not to do it other than complete laziness/inability... I'm still a teenager and still live with my parents, and I don't do the shopping or anything, and my family is honestly TERRIBLE with food, and if I were to become a vegetarian NOW it would be in the "lives off of bread, cheese, and peanut butter" way because there's honestly not a whole lot else to eat that I like, being picky, and I'd feel horribly guilty asking my family to spend money on my vegetarian-friendly food that I could very well end up not enjoying eating! But it's something I definitely want to at least try once I'm off on my own and am no longer depending on other people for my feeding habits!

My family would make fun of me so much for it though... Oh well!

(On the subject of vegetables, I honestly don't think we have a single one in the house, excluding junk in TV Dinners. We do have fruit though! But I HATE the texture of basically every fruit ever and can't eat it unless it's in juice or mashed or something, I'm such a loser...)

But really though, it's an ethical thing. I mean a few years ago I thought it was just silly, but as time goes on I started getting REALLY fed up with the people who thought the same way I did! I'm already insanely pacifistic and caring by my family's standards, I guess this wouldn't be TOO weird for me, they'd think, if they thought about it... Dunno. Rambling.

 

[CrystalGeezer]

I say discresion, I think I meant indiscretion, though I practiced discretion while eating the meat so as not to offend in the case of Easter. As far as the symbolic fish, how could I turn down the catch from this tired old fisherman?

 

[marred]

So far not one vegetarian at least on this site has made the same impassioned case for not wearing animals as much as they do for not eating them. I think a poll is in order to see who's willing to go the whole way like Moz does. I just find it hilarious when I meet people who proclaim to be vegetarians because they don't want to eat animals but they seem quite fine to slip their feet into boots made of them

 

[Frank's Wild Years]

So far not one vegetarian at least on this site has made the same impassioned case for not wearing animals as much as they do for not eating them. I think a poll is in order to see who's willing to go the whole way like Moz does. I just find it hilarious when I meet people who proclaim to be vegetarians because they don't want to eat animals but they seem quite fine to slip their feet into boots made of them

I don't wear animals. It's a pain in the backside attempting to purchase shoes at a reasonable price, but to say it isn't 'doable' would be a complete lie. Again, it's easy unless you make it a terrible struggle.

I will say that although Morrissey doesn't wear leather nowadays he wore it for much, much longer than you'd think such an impassioned vegetarian would, with his reasoning being nothing more than "it's too difficult to find good shoes which are not made of leather". I imagine he views that as a bit of a faux pas nowadays but still....it's hard to criticise people who've been vegetarian for a while not living up to his present day standards from day zero.

 

[dom]

I have tried looking but haven't seen a thread on this topic? but maybe I am totaly wrong. I was wondering how many of you are vegetarian and did The Smiths and Morrissey inspire you?

I'm always genuinely amazed by how much discussion the vegetarian thing creates on here. Yeah, there have been many long threads on veggie-ism .. but i personaly hate the concept of having to trawl through past threads just in order to find an answer to a queston. Members change and new opinions emerge. So thanks for re-kindling the question MozCroonner

I'm not veggie and The Smths Or Morrissey are yet to inspire me to it .. but i do own a meat is murder baseball t.shrit .. and i LOVE it

 

[Kleinfeld]

I'm not veggie and The Smths Or Morrissey are yet to inspire me to it .. but i do own a meat is murder baseball t.shrit .. and i LOVE it

A 'Meat is Murder' t-shirt wearing carnivore is worse than a leather wearing Vegetarian IMHO

 

[Qvist]

I could never give up meat - I love it far too much. And if there is anything I'm prepared to stretch ethics for it's good food, which I love with a passion. The mere thought of subsisting solely on vegetables fills me with dread. It'd be like never hearing music again, or living in a high-rise in a dictatorship.

I don't find it unethical at all to eat meat, as such. I think it is quite natural. I do believe in ethical standards in the treatment of animals though.

cheers

 

[Kleinfeld]

For me, there's nothing more annoying than foodies and people who say "I love my food". Such pretentious twats. Even when I used to eat meat, I got really bothered by people who were overly passionate about their food. It makes me cringe.

 

[EPbabe]

For me, there's nothing more annoying than foodies and people who say "I love my food". Such pretentious twats. Even when I used to eat meat, I got really bothered by people who were overly passionate about their food. It makes me cringe.

Well, food is what keeps us running, why is it wrong if you even enjoy it and are passionate about it?

 

[Kleinfeld]

Well, food is what keeps us running, why is it wrong if you even enjoy it and are passionate about it?

Food is also what keeps animals running. Running from humans who want to torture them and turn them into a piece of meat.

See what I did there? Good huh.