Could you become a vegetarian?

[FireDancer]

I'm not convinced that going vegetarian has substantially improved the healthfulness of our eating, overall. A lot of it has been trading off one nasty (beef) for another (cheese).

I didn't mean being a vegetarian in itself is healthier, I am not convinced it is. I was referring to spending a little more on fresh produce and healthier options may be more expensive short term but not long term. As an example, I purchase wild salmon as opposed to farm raised and hormone free grass fed Bison as opposed to standard beef. They are a bit more but I feel the short term premium is worth the long term payoff.

 

[AntePrincess]

Pulses?

bicker, Pulses are legumes, but I usually hear them used to refer specifically to non-beans, such as lentils, pea and split peas. Wikipedia isn't very clear on any distinctions, so it might just be a convention.

 

[PaulaSB12]

What ever you eat something else dies. The only vegetarians I disapprove of is these idiots who feed cats "vegetarian food" cats are designed to eat meat and meat alone so if you cant face treating a cat with the respect they deserve then give them away and get a rabbit.

 

[MIGrandma]

I would miss steak, chicken, fish, hot dogs, hamburgers, tuna, pork chops, etc. way too much to ever willingly become vegetarian.

 

[Laura]

I spend way more money on produce than meat. I can't see how it is cheaper to be a vegetarian.

Nobody buys fresh produce for its protein content. A bag of lentils costs way less than any meat I can think of. I'm talking chickpea stew instead of meat stew, not apples instead of meat.

I didn't become a vegetarian to cut costs, but the price difference was very noticeable once I switched. My vegetarianism is a big reason why I won't do the dining plan at WDW. The meatless options are far less expensive than the meat dishes on the menus. A meat dish at a 1TS restaurant can cost more than a vegetarian dish at a 2TS restaurant.

 

[Chicago526]

I think I could be a vegitarian, but I don't think I could handle vegan. I love me my cheese too much! And since I wouldn't be eating meat, I'd also want to be able to eat eggs, both as a protien source and to give me better options on meat-free meals.

So, overall, I do like meat, but I don't think I'd miss it so much that I could never become a vegitarian if for whatever reason I needed to make the change.

 

[Golf4food]

Heck no. I could become a meatatarian. God told me to hold dominion over the animals and eat them and I try to obey that every chance I get. Proud member of People Eating Tasty Animals.

 

[bubie2.5]

I could, I very rarely eat meat, poultry, seafood or fish. I do eat tons of cheese and eggs, so I would have to be lacto-ovo.

 

[NatashaDisneyCM]

No - I couldn't.. I enjoy my meat, fish, and poultry too much - not to mention the fact that many vegetables cause serious digestive problems for me and I'm not big on the idea of "drinking" vegetables instead..

I have Crohn's which is what really lead me to my weird way of eating. I eat mostly egg whites, or egg sub, I eat, a lot of peas, green beans and carrots. I cannot eat any lettuce or raw veggies at all. I do not eat pasta either. I do eat some eggos!! lol
I am on a low ash diet it helps with my digestion, not to mention weight loss! lol I have lost over 100 pounds without being hungry!
I could eat chicken if I wanted to. but I really enjoy eating Boca Burgers and there Chix burgers! I think they are awesome, and I have no digestion issues now at all.
I will eat pizza that I buy at trader joes.

 

[swandiverpatt]

After months of playing a moral tug-of-war with myself ... I concluded I could not eat mammals with a clear conscience. I have taken care of a pet cat with cancer and if I love my cats as much as I do, how can I eat other mammals?????

So, I am eating fish/seafood and chicken/poultry(which I don't think are as highly evolved as mammals), as well as eggs and dairy. I know, I know ....

I haven't had any "mammal" for about 2 months now -- even passing up a Pecos Bill's double cheeseburger Friday night (was afraid what havoc it would wreak on my digestive system!)

I'm interested in delving more into lentils/legumes, etc. I really haven't bought much in the line of soy products, but last night picked up some Morningstar "riblets."

My DH and DD are still carnivores, so I do buy meat and cook it for them, but I'm not eating it. I thought "Maybe when we go on a cruise .." but by then, I honestly don't think I will be ABLE to eat meat (and one of my favorites is lamb, wouldn't you know it????)

So, while I don't think I could go totally vegan I *can* go mammal-less!

 

[Kath2003]

I could easily be vegetarian. I eat very little meat and wouldn't miss it. We spend less than $10/week on meat (our shopping bill ranges from $30-60/week).

I will say that find vegetarian food when in Orlando was much more difficult than finding vegetarian options in the UK. I ate more meat in 10 days in Orlando than I would in 2-3 months back home.

 

[NatashaDisneyCM]

I've been a lacto-ovo vegetarian for about 4 years, was pescatarian for 2 years before that, and haven't eaten red meat in over 10 years.

I don't miss meat at all. Then again, I never liked it- growing up, I'd go through a bottle of ketchup by myself every week because I hated the taste of meat and needed to drown it in ketchup to eat it.

I tried being vegan at one point. In the end, I realized that I don't have a moral problem with dairy or eggs, as long as they are organic/free range. Adding dairy into a vegetarian diet gives you plenty of options, and makes eating out that much easier.

you sound just like me! I have never been that meat person! funny, considering I grew up in a hunting home and know how to gut a deer!!
I think some of use just do not have the desire to eat meat! I am a great cook of meat, cooked it all the time for the ex, and my kids. But I just do not eat it!
funny thing is I eat a higher protein diet then carbs...
I do eat a lot of yogurt and egg white omelets! yum!

 

[PatriciaH]

Sure! Mostly because we have 2 Vegetarian friends and 3 Vegan friends that know where to go for good food and cook tasty meals My sister also went back to being a Vegetarian (stopped for a few years.) Vegetarian meals can be amazing! There are just not enough gourmet Vegetarian/Vegan restaurants People would be amazed at what the food can taste like when done right. You would not miss meat.

We have cut way back on meat after reading The China Study, The Blue Zones, Food Inc., etc. I try to only buy free range, no antibiotics, from small farms, humanely raised meat/eggs/milk. I love milk and cheese soooo... much even though it is so bad for you! I drink a lot of 1% milk even though it is one of the worst things I could drink-oh well. I also love cooking, fine food, wine, going out to eat, cooking shows, traditional holidays, etc. so I do not think I could ever give up meat altogether- but I can use my pocketbook to try and make changes in the awful food practices in this country. Animals deserve to be treated humanely. They are intelligent, feeling, living things. Pigs are smarter than dogs yet we would cringe at eating dog.

 

[bookgirl]

I could give up meat if I had too. In fact I have gone through periods where I ate little too no meat, but they don't last for long.

I am a carnivore and I have the teeth to prove it. I do not have ethical arguments with eating meat. However I have texture/taste issues and occasionally I just feel like avoiding some food items.

I do have friends that run the gamut of carnivore-vegitarians-vegans-koser/vegans, ect.... none of them are radicals and we all seem to be able to eat to our own levels of comfort, so I'd have no problem eating in any of those styles, I just prefer to be an omnivore. So I went with NO, because I would not choose to become a vegetarian.

 

[tinkerdorabelle]

I've been contemplating it. I do cut down on meat considerably. I did give up pork, never liked eating beautiful pigs, I know don't laugh, it always bothered me bc they are extremely intelligent, I thought I heard they were the 4th or 5th most intelligent animal. I am thinking of just eating hormone free dairy and eggs. You get Vitamin B-12 from meats and complete proteins only from meats so you would really have to be very careful to mix your vegetable proteins to get a complete protein every day to give up completely. I wouldn't become totally vegan tho, would eat hormone free dairy and free range eggs. I wish those that did eat meat tho would consider ethically treated, grass fed animals and hormone free meats. I hope that with everything going on now that we are going over to eating this way.

 

[Lassie Lynne]

So, I am eating fish/seafood and chicken/poultry(which I don't think are as highly evolved as mammals)

OT....Actually....birds have adapted very well over the million of years and many are extremely smart. I think that they have evolved better than most mammals, after all, they can fly naturally......humans had to build big aircraft

Even saying that, I like meat of all kinds.

 

[christiane]

25 years vegetarian. Happy & healthy!

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

Part of me wants to do it. I can't think at all about where my meal came from- I've seen too many Disney movies and been too many Disney Characters! There's nothing like hearing a father say, "Piglet, I'm eating bacon/pork" in the middle of Crystal Palace to turn you off of the stuff!

But I love meat too much. So I choose not to think of it. I will not buy it or eat it in a form that resembles its natural state. I went to a luaua once where they had the whole pig, and I couldn't do it. All I could think about was Wilbur from Charlotte's Web. Same thing when my family took me to a place that served whole crab. I kept waiting for it to get up and start singing, and couldn't eat it. I also can't do the choose your own lobster deal at places like Red Lobster. It just seems so unnecessarily cruel.

As long as it is not in any semblance of its original form, I am fine. I also have diabetes and carbs are my enemy. I just don't know how to eat veggie without going higher carb than I should.

 

[pooh101]

I was a meat loving mom and chef until I came upon a certain website (PETA)a few months ago that showed pictures of slaughterhouses,etc. I never realized how absolutely horrendous the practices are, how much the animals suffer. It literally made me sick. I stopped eating meat that day. I still love dairy (mostly cheese). I don't eat eggs "plain"--scrambled, omelettes, fried, etc., but do use them for French Toast, baked goods, and to feed the kids. DD has always gagged on meat even before I ate this way. I always thought "how sad" not to be able to eat real food. DS loves meat--especially beef. DH will "eat anything"--he's the only family member who's overweight--only by a little. We eat lots for fruits,veggies, beans, etc. I have no idea what a "complete protein" is. I'd love to find out where I might be able to buy "humanely" butchered beef and poultry. Although I only purchase and prepare meat about once a week,it still makes me cringe. Every time, those images pop into my head and UUUUUUUUGGGGGGGHHHHHHH.
So, I don't know what you call me. If someone has any enlightening info to share with a very "green" vegetarian, please pm me.

 

[bicker]

Yeah, I think a slaughterhouse visit is probably what helps a lot of folks realize that if there is another way then it is a better way. I've never, but early this year, some of the teens in our church did, and a couple spoke passionately about their experiences and their feelings about it, and that drove me to make my decision (one I had been casually contemplating for a while).