Vegetarianism. Why?

I've never understood why vegetarians choose to deprive themselves. If its an ethical thing, and they don't like to see animals killed for meat, well yeah, I kinda get that. But the fact is we are at the top of the food chain, so it is surely natural to take down what is lower down the food chain?

Also, I know a couple of people who won't eat meat but will eat fish. WTF is that all about?

White meat is also a great healthy low fat source of protein.

I just don't get it.

My mother ran an outside catering company for years a lot of the vegetarians would cock everything up by eating ham or beef instead of the usually three good vegetarian options.

veggies let off the foolest of farts known to man

My daughter, currently living with me, is a vegetarian and has been for about 10 years. She doesn't eat fish either. Some damn fine veggie food. In my experience, at buffets the carnivores often bugger the system by seeing how good the veggie stuff is & eating that - leaving nothing for the veggies. I don't miss meat - I sometimes eat sausages and of course there are pork pies - but fish is hard to go without. Fish is what I really miss so I make up for it when she doesn't eat with me or when I'm out.

I knew someone who became a veggie after she ran a small-holding with goats, sheep & a couple of milking cows. She saw the implications of how we got milk, what happened to the newly-born males etc. She decided it was wrong..... but still insisted on leather shoes, hand-bags & real wool clothes.  

Every one should eat what they feel like, without interference or comments from others. Anyone ever read about Ediblack?

I don't eat meat any more but I still enjoy fish.

Antibiotics, hormones, shite and that is from UK meat god knows what is in all the chicken imported from Thailand, not to mention what goes on in the slaughterhouse.

If starvation loomed, I have reserves about my body for a day or two, then I would probably eat meat, until then poke it.

pepsipete wrote:

Every one should eat what they feel like, without interference or comments from others.  Anyone ever read about Ediblack?

Well yeah they should eat what they feel like. I was just interested in people's actual reasoning behind the choices they make.

What/who is Ediblack? Nothing obvious on google.

don't upset Pete, FFs once he's off there is no stopping him!

knecht wrote:

What/who is Ediblack? Nothing obvious on google.

Perhaps best I say no more, was in a Sci-Fi novel I once read.

Czarcasm wrote:

pepsipete wrote:

Every one should eat what they feel like, without interference or comments from others.  Anyone ever read about Ediblack?

Well yeah they should eat what they feel like. I was just interested in people's actual reasoning behind the choices they make.

I haven't eaten any meat, nor knowingly consumed any meat by-products, in nearly 40 years. The reason's simple: just as some people don't like (say) brussels sprouts, I can't stand meat - the taste, the smell or the texture. I have my views on ethics and the sustainable use of resources, but they came later. I don't feel in any way deprived, and I'm very healthy.

Eating no meat causes your feet to blister.

No, Pete. That was doing a lot of walking in temperatures up to 36C.

I have a close friend who has never eaten meat in her entire life - and she is in her 70s. Her mother was a veggie.

I almost fell out with another omnivore friend when she said that it's OK to eat meat but only if it's been humanely killed. I asked that if she thinks it deserves a good death - which implies that it has feelings & experiences fear & pain - why is it OK to kill it?

I once went on holiday with a few friends to a remote scottish island that was full of deer. There were two veggies with us - one said she wouldn't eat the wild venison we were given as it was wrong - the other didn't mind as it was the life they led & the manner of its killing she objected to.

I also have a friend who often picks up road kill and eats that - the only reason she didn't bring home a large deer recently was that the only space in her overloaded car was in the passenger seat & that wouldn't have looked good.

I actually do think it's indefensible to eat meat. I do eat meat. But I'm a hypocrite.

I'm pretty much with pete on this one. Kill it and cook it and I will eat it. Grow it and I will eat it and that's with very few exceptions. I have no problem with somebody else being a veggie if that's their preference. I don't like somebody telling me I should change and trying to make me feel guilty. It's a personal preference thing for the individual and not something to preach to others about. Unless you are a GP and it's for medical reasons of course and even then it should only be advice.

A couple of other things ... One, I've never in my life told anybody else what they should or should not eat, and resent it when we vegetarians are accused of that. And two, why does nobody ever ask a meat-eater why they eat meat?

It gets very, very boring. (Just being honest, like.)

Not all Veggies Peggy just some. There are people who believe in loads of different stuff and a percentage that have to tell everyone else and try to convert. I've never asked a Veggie why they are one either. I don't believe in a God and never tell anyone they shouldn't although I have been preached at by some of them loads of time. I then get told I should respect their views when they clearly don't respect mine. Funny old world isn't it.

Peggy wrote:

A couple of other things ... One, I've never in my life told anybody else what they should or should not eat, and resent it when we vegetarians are accused of that. And two, why does nobody ever ask a meat-eater why they eat meat?

It gets very, very boring. (Just being honest, like.)

Probably 'cos eating meat isn't something that people make a conscious effort to do. It just sort of happens, most days.

Sorry if I was a bit blunt last night, but that kind of proves my point. I - and lots of others I know - have exactly the same approach. We just don't eat meat, like some people don't drink lager.

Food is a personal thing, eat and drink what YOU like, but don't expect others to do likewise.

pepsipete wrote:

Eating no meat causes your feet to blister.

And you ears to grow exponentially in proportion to your Nose. It's not a pretty sight after a few years.

Look at this poor barsteward................

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

I eat meat, but wish it had a lower carbon footprint.

I couldn't really imagine not eating it, though sometimes non-meat meals appeal to me. Other times I just want to eat steak and bacon.

How do veggies justify keeping cats and dogs and dishing out tins of dead animals to them? Just asking like. Fois gras for tiddles and bonzo is ok, but I get lectured here by fascist hippies with V8 offroaders and 6 brats about how we're "killing the planet....man".

I would be veggie rather than eat intensively reared poultry or pork, I am quite able to kill a rabbit or deer humanely and eat it, I think all meat eaters should be involved in killing and preparing animals for meat it makes it harder to take for granted.

Iggy wrote:

I would be veggie rather than eat intensively reared poultry or pork, I am quite able to kill a rabbit or deer humanely and eat it, I think all meat eaters should be involved in killing and preparing animals for meat it makes it harder to take for granted.

That's a good point. I'm not sure I'd enjoy slitting something's throat purely for the purposes of food.

On the other hand, if someone suggested that I eat Cauliflower Cheese day in, day out, for the rest if my life I think I'd rather turn the knife on myself...