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Post by shyviolet on Aug 30, 2007 13:39:57 GMT -5
I always wondered how many vegetarians have to practice some level of hypocrisy because their health or their lifestyle doesn't let them be totally vegetarian. The friend I mentioned had to give it up entirely because her exams were coming up and she couldn't afford to be down with a cold for two weeks when she could just eat some meat and be up and about in a few days.
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froggie
New Member
To live is to fly, low and high. So shake the dust off of you wings, and the sleep out of your eyes.
Posts: 12
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Post by froggie on Aug 31, 2007 7:31:28 GMT -5
Wow, I didn't know people had such problems! I've been a vegetarian my whole life (my mum was one and she wanted all her children to be them too, this means I'm one of a few people who has never eaten meat in their whole life. Oooh, now I feel special!) Anyway, yeah, I've always been healthy, I don't eat fish or take any vitamins or anything and I've never had problems! Also I would love to be able to lose weight, I'm a little to fat for my liking, but hey, that's what comes from being too lazy to exercise! ;D
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Post by shyviolet on Aug 31, 2007 9:59:57 GMT -5
I suppose if you're vegetarian from birth your body learns to work without meat, Pippa's family all eat meat and she became a vegetarian, but I have a friend called Chris who's whole family is vegetarian and he's never had any health problems. His reason was interesting though, he said they were all vegetarian because they were against the mass breeding and slaughtering of animals, so he admitted that if I went out and caught him a wild salmon he would eat it (I asked).
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Post by Chris Wooding on Aug 31, 2007 12:23:02 GMT -5
I've always found that meat or no meat doesn't matter, and was always kinda skeptical of vegetarians who, say, eat a fish occasionally and say they immediately feel better (I actually knew one, btw).
I was vegetarian from 14 but lapsed a couple of times (both when I was in other countries and the choice was a diet of only boiled rice and slow death from malnutrition or eating meat/fish). I haven't been vegetarian for about a year (since I moved to Spain) because here it's really hard work (even the lettuce has meat in it) and, sad to say, I'm obviously too lazy. But if I ever move back to the UK or I go live in the States for a bit (which I will, if & when I can get me a visa) I'll revert, since it's dead easy to do there. I prefer being vegetarian, it's just it's a day-to-day struggle in Spain and I have too much other stuff to deal with.
Anyways, so my point is, I ate meat until 14, was veggie until 29, now back to eating meat again. Effects on health = zero. I'm not saying that it doesn't affect some people, but anything in a meat-based diet can be provided by a vegetarian one. When you're a vegetarian you just have to pay a bit more attention to what you're eating, that's all.
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Post by shyviolet on Aug 31, 2007 12:47:19 GMT -5
I think she had trouble digesting most of the usual meat substitutes or something. Some people really can't run without meat though, I mean, they can when they're healthy, but it cuts down their immune system more then normal (I looked it up). So I take it you're the usual thinks-it's-wrong-to-eat-animals vegetarian? I'm forbidden from messing with my diet because I'm underweight, but I don't think I could handle being a vegetarian anyway; I hate beans and soya makes me feel ill. I'm also not allowed to give blood because I'm so skinny I need all the blood I've got.
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Post by camybaby on Aug 31, 2007 15:19:38 GMT -5
The thing with health from vegetarian and vegans is it has to be planned well to avoid health consequences. My belief is that we are apart of nature and have evolved to eat meat. Therefore it’s ethical to eat meat in my opinion. I don’t enforce that belief on any one and if being a vegetarian makes people happy all power to you. Health wise I need to eat meat. My “unhealthy relationship” with food has damaged my body and I need to eat meat for my health. Supplements aren’t as good and some are unhealthy (since I don’t think there are standard manufacture regulations for them). Hope you put some weight on soon shy.
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Post by Maliris on Aug 31, 2007 16:28:47 GMT -5
I don´t remember when I stopped eating meat... but if I think about it, ultimately it was inevitable. We had chickens, ducks and geese. Turtles, dogs and cats... at some point I realized I liked and respected animals too much to continue eating their fellow animal friends. So, blame my chickens and ducks and their cuteness. I haven´t had any iron deficiency or whatsoever since I became a vegetarian and I must say I don´t miss eating meat. I eat everything as long as it has no meat in it, so it´s pretty hard for me to suffer from malnutrition... I love tofu. Who´s with me? And yes, travelling can be a real challenge for you if you´re a vegetarian. When I was in China I had to be really careful what I ate... because they liked to hide the meat underneath some cabbageleaves; even though I had told them that I was a veggie (I like that word. It´s cute.). But when such a thing happened I told them that I would not eat that. Even though in China that is close to an insult... (and no, I don´t know Chinese. I was just lucky to talk to those who could speak English) ;D
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froggie
New Member
To live is to fly, low and high. So shake the dust off of you wings, and the sleep out of your eyes.
Posts: 12
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Post by froggie on Sept 1, 2007 2:42:34 GMT -5
Wow, what an interesting discussion I have started, just by asking about sausages! Yes, I am one of those people who love animals and believe in their rights. I do have a problem with killing them, but I am also very annoyed by the fact that people claim it is their human right to eat meat and then go out and buy it. I think that if people really believed in the human instinct to eat meat they would go and kill it themselves. But whatever, I like all animals (except dogs, I have a strange aversion to them) and that means I am biased and believe that everyone else should like them too! Sadly I have never had the opportunity to go to another country so I don’t know about the food there and it’s lack of suitability for vegetarians, so I can’t contribute there. I have never been on an airplane or in a hospital for that matter, not even to be born; I was born at home! In Sheffield, so I thought it was really cool to learn that Chris Wooding went to university there and set End Game there! Reading that book was great; it made me feel closer to the place where I was born but never really knew (I don’t live there anymore ) Yay, I have finally started talking about books, the whole point of this forum!
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Post by shyviolet on Sept 1, 2007 2:56:41 GMT -5
I feel okay claiming it's part of being human to eat meat, because if I were hungry enough I would go and hunt my own. I'd probably try to catch fish, but that's just because I don't like beef or pork that much and catching birds is really hard. I do have a leeetle problem with the sort of mass over-poructive farming we do here, but not enough to force me to eat veggies all the time (even if I were allowed to).
You've never even been to a hospital? Wow. That's an achievement, I must've been a bajillion times for infections and orthodontic surgery. You're not missing anything with planes, they're horrible things...
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Post by zemira on Sept 1, 2007 8:52:34 GMT -5
I'm a big animal-rights person, but I'm not terribly rabid about it. I feel bad eating meat, especially knowing what happens to the animals (meaning meat plants). Part of it is my queasy-ness. I can get sick when I see juices in the steak package. >_< I hate hunting, but if you insist on hunting, I like the people that use every inch of the animal. I hate hunting for fun (including fishing), but if you use the pelt for something, eat the meat, use the bones, etc, then I don't have as much of a problem with it.
But I don't mind carnivores. In fact, I love most carnivores, and I don't mind those that never eat the full body. Mostly because I also love vultures, so not finishing the body feeds them. ^_^
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