Inspired by Flowers Child

[strawberryblonde]

Tofu is a special item in our household. It is highly refined and high in fat. I will use tofu as an ingredient in desserts (takes the place of eggs quite well) or add some cubes to a stir fry. We may use about one block of tofu a week for our family of four.

Protein is obtained much cheaper from beans. Beans are also loaded with fiber. We eat them in some form nearly every day. We have to be careful not to get too much protein. Our main source of calories come from brown rice, steal cut oats, whole grain bread (McDougal recipe), whole grain pastas, all types of tubers, fruits, nuts and veggies. The more whole food you go, the cheaper it gets. It is the "ready-to-eat" health food items that are expensive. They are not necessary, just tasty .

 

[Laura]

Tofu is a special item in our household. It is highly refined and high in fat. I will use tofu as an ingredient in desserts (takes the place of eggs quite well) or add some cubes to a stir fry. We may use about one block of tofu a week for our family of four.

Protein is obtained much cheaper from beans. Beans are also loaded with fiber. We eat them in some form nearly every day. We have to be careful not to get too much protein. Our main source of calories come from brown rice, steal cut oats, whole grain bread (McDougal recipe), whole grain pastas, all types of tubers, fruits, nuts and veggies. The more whole food you go, the cheaper it gets. It is the "ready-to-eat" health food items that are expensive. They are not necessary, just tasty .

Absolutely! Dinner tonight was chickpea curry and brown rice. Cheap and gooood.

I'd been thinking about using tofu in smoothies--like for breakfast, but I'm just not that into it. I find it hard to manage when making things like stir-fry, so I generally will get it in restaurants.

Well, goodnight all. I just wanted to add that I know most people have animals' best interests at heart. No person wants to see any animals suffer or experience pain, whether that person eats meat or not.

 

[gallaj0]

cow sausage? Never had it.

Never had a beef hot dog?

Get to a ballpark as soon as opening day rolls around.

 

[Sylvester McBean]

I love to offshore fish for the big guys, but it's catch and release, I don't like fish. I love to dive for lobster for dinner, but I have to have a friend kill them, I can't do it. I've never hunted for things like deer in my life, but if you feed your family with it, fine by me. my wife won't wear fur or deal with any company that uses animals for cosmetic reasons. but if you need to inject a million mice with the ebola virus to study it and rid it from the earth, fire up the hypodermic needles.

 

[Buckalew11]

Never had a beef hot dog?

Get to a ballpark as soon as opening day rolls around.

I never thought of a hot dog as a sausage. I'm sure I had one. DD is allergic so we don't do hot dogs anymore. Thanks for helping me out there. (I have blonde hair BTW )

 

[MouseWorshipin]

I never thought of a hot dog as a sausage.

Had to get that ballpark/sports reference?

If trying medicines out on monkeys or mice will save a human, I'm 100% for it.

But as long as people aren't screaming at little kids that their moms are murderers for wearing a fur coat, I think it is really nice to take care of animals.

...Not that I'm giving up my cheeseburgers anytime soon.

 

[MzDiz]

People don't need meat to have a healthy diet. There are plenty of plant sources to get protein from. Furthermore, in this country, people average about twice the protein they need to thrive.
Soy is only one example of a plant protein source. Amaranth and quinoa are the two other plant sources of a complete protein. Neither are expensive. Also, two incomplete protein sources can be, and traditionally are, combined to form a complete protein, such as peanut butter and bread or beans and rice. All you need are those 20 amino acids in some form.

 

[kittythepoohbear]

I have thought about this topic long and hard for most of my life. I am against animal cruelty in any form and have been a vegetarian for a decade but there are many shades of gray. I am against animal testing for cosmetics but understand the need to use animals in certain medical tests. Factory farming, where animals can be mistreated and kept in terrible conditions, should be extremely regulated if not outright banned but that does not mean that killing an animal as humanely as possible for food is wrong, whether it is done on a farm or by a hunter. Along those lines, I really dislike the idea of trophy hunting but have no problem with a someone going into the woods and bringing home something that they will eat, then using the hide/antlers/bones for whatever they wish. For me personally, it is a matter of seeing the greater picture and how we all fit into it. My 18 y.o. self believed that the killing of the animal was the problem, but I have come to see that it is really the reason for and the method of killing that is questionable. But I am still not going to go and eat a hamburger - just not for me.
On the question of whether or not animals have rights, I believe that as living sentient beings they have the right, just like all humans, to be treated with respect and kindness. I agree with Laura that most people I have known, even the biggest leather-wearing, meat-eating, conservative people (my bf included) would never intentionally bring harm to an animal and support measures to end cruelty. Ok, now cue the 'Circle of Life' song!

 

[Sylvester McBean]

if you want to see a violent death, spend some time out in the woods. what a pack of coyote do to a deer is disgusting. what goes on in a slaughterhouse processing plant isn't a slice of heaven either, but I'm in the store for the end result, not a narrative of the story.

 

[LauraR]

Humans DO need a good source of protien and fat. In many parts of the world, that means animals, rather than soy, etc. that is not readily available, or very expensive.

Developing, growing children expecially need the well balanced diet including these, and other nutrients found in meat for brain and nervous system development.

It's easy to be altruistic in a country where you can walk into a Publix and buy tofu by the pound and afford it.

Most people in the world live on a plant based diet because it is what they can afford. What I have read has been that as they become more affluent and adopt a more "western" diet they also start getting more of the diseases of the west, like heart disease and diabetes. So getting meat doesn't necessarily make you healthier.

I am definitely for the humane treatment of animals and I only eat animals I'd be willing to kill myself. Since I worked in fishing, I do eat fish, but no other animals. "Charlotte's Web" had a big impact on me as a child! (I feel too sorry for cows, pigs and chickens to eat them)

Also, before I had children I was against testing using animals, but now that I have two children, I'd do whatever it took to keep them alive. I think animal testing is worthwhile, under tightly controlled conditions. I think it is better to use animals to find cures for diseases than kill them for food.