Vegetarianism, anyone?

[Crabbiey]

I'm a vegetarian, always have been, ever since I was born. Because both my parents became vegeterians they have of course brought me and my sister up on a meat-free diet. Now I don't think I'll ever eat meat because for a start it would take forever to get my body used to meat. Secondaly I don't have an urge to try meat, so I'm not that bothered at all.

[cloudling]

Personally, I find that vegetarians and vegans are missing out on the big picture. Yeah, you 'saved' an animal from being consumed. It's just going to be consumed by someone else~

That animal that you feel repulsed by eating? It's the natural order of life, predator and prey. If the prey were more evolved, they wouldn't be eaten anyway. The food chain~

I'm not trying to hate on vegetarians and vegans, that's just my opinion. yeah, I have an opinion. SO SUE ME! XD

Just as long as they don't bother me (i.e. running into some packed place and chanting meat is murder!) I'm not really picky about it.

[Sunnydog]

As a former carnivore, I don't feel that I really am missing out. Nutritionally speaking I get everything I need to be healthy plus I don't get the over dose of protein,fat and cholesterol that I was getting when I did eat meat. I can get the same taste I liked from meat from other sources since most meat honestly has little flavor on its own.Its all in the spicing. Its the texture and flavor I think as to why people feel the need to eat meat. The only meat product I have yet to find a way to have as a Veg is Chicken tenders(nuggets). I tried the veggie ones and they were awful. But there are always Samosas for when I want something fried and they are very very good.

[Celestial]

I'm a vegetarian :3

[Monstercat]

i'm not a vegetarian because i belive that if you don't eat meat you can't survive and you wont live your life as full if you don't get enough iron or vitamins or whatever it is, and i don't really care if i'm eating animal but the thing i care about is if it's been in a factory getting fatter by hormones and if they were in animal cruelty. Also a person at my school is a vegetarian but all she eat is chips and junk food. i understand that people are vegetarians and i totally respect that.

[TinaYlvisåker]

i'm not a vegetarian because i belive that if you don't eat meat you can't survive and you wont live your life as full if you don't get enough iron or vitamins or whatever it is, and i don't really care if i'm eating animal but the thing i care about is if it's been in a factory getting fatter by hormones and if they were in animal cruelty. Also a person at my school is a vegetarian but all she eat is chips and junk food. i understand that people are vegetarians and i totally respect that.

That's okay, but you see, there are a lot of people who are vegetarians/vegans and they are healthy and alive some are healthier than non - vegetarians.
There are additions to vegetarian food - such as soy, soy milk etc.

[Shakora]

I'm neither a vegetarian nor a vegan, but I don't mind not having meat for a month or so when I'm trying to save for something. Meat's expensiiiiive. XD

I love animals dearly, and I only eat meat from from companies that don't treat their cows/chickens/other animals horribly when they were alive and give them a very quick and painless death. I cry at the thought of an animal wallowing it's own waste, unable to taste fresh green grass, packed in to a corral too small, and cruelly killed. That's why I don't eat meat from fast food chains (with a few exceptions). I never know how my beef lived and died.

As for dairy products, I still only get my food from people from companies/families I trust. What I don't understand about those who choose a vegan diet on the basis that milking cows and collecting eggs from chickens is cruel, is how they came to that conclusion. I wouldn't buy from people that would mass produce these things either, but cows would still give milk after their calves have had their fill and chickens would still lay eggs. So why not collect and consume it? Eggs would just rot and a cow's udders would start to swell and give the cow pain if not milked (assuming there's no calf to nurse).
But if a vegan doesn't eat any dairy product because he or she simply does not like the taste, I'm not going to argue with that.

I respect the choice to not eat meat, though I must say I'm a little concerned about the health of vegans. Vitamin A can only be obtained from animal products (especially in dairy). While carotene from fruits and vegetables can be converted to vitamin A in the digestion process, it can only be done if fat is present in the diet. Yes, supplements could be taken to prevent a vitamin A deficiency, but synthetic vitamins don't have quite the same properties as vitamins obtained naturally. High levels of synthetic vitamin A, for example, can have very toxic effects, (such as blindness and birth defects) especially to those with impaired liver functions, while natural vitamin A has no such effects.

Please understand I'm not trying to bash anyone's dinner menu, I'm simply sharing why I eat what I eat.

I think I covered everything I wanted to cover...

EDIT: I forgot to mention I consume a LOT of dairy product and have no heart issues. Several doctors have commented on how healthy my heart is.

[Warburton]

I felt the need to clear some things up here, so don't mind me.

i'm not a vegetarian because i belive that if you don't eat meat you can't survive and you wont live your life as full if you don't get enough iron or vitamins or whatever it is, and i don't really care if i'm eating animal but the thing i care about is if it's been in a factory getting fatter by hormones and if they were in animal cruelty. Also a person at my school is a vegetarian but all she eat is chips and junk food. i understand that people are vegetarians and i totally respect that.

OMG, I'M GONNA DIE? JESUS, I'VE BEEN A VEGGIE FOR, WHAT - 7 YEARS? OMG SOMEONE GET ME A COFFIN.

No, srsly, I've been a veggie for 7 whole years of my life, and I have yet to die. Cool. As a student that studies Food & Nutrition, I can safely say that you can get vitamins and Iron in other ways. Soya is for vegeterians but has the exact same amount of protein, vitamins and minerals in it as regular meat does.

You can get Iron from dark, leafy green veg and other sources that are suitable for veggies. That's not including vitamin supplements, just in case.

So yeah, it's perfectly healthy to be veggie, and I guarantee that you won't drop dead in the street if you chose to give up meat.

@WillowRipple - But if everyone had the "Oh well, it's gonna happen anyway, why bother?" attitude, then the world would be a dire place. In that logic, what's the point of me buying new lights for my Christmas tree, if in a few years they'll burn out anyway?

That animal might be consumed by someone else, but that certainly doesn't mean I have to consume it. In a perfect world, as some vegeterian groups put it, the less people that demand meat means less animals being killed for it and then that means more animals will be saved, and yadda yadda yadda, you get the flow of what I'm saying.

Annnd it may be the Circle of Life (cue singing animals, plzkthnx) but you'd complain if someone you knew was consumed by a carnivorous creature such as a Great White Shark.

But hey, circle of life. : D

[Orbitsy]

I felt the need to clear some things up here, so don't mind me.

i'm not a vegetarian because i belive that if you don't eat meat you can't survive and you wont live your life as full if you don't get enough iron or vitamins or whatever it is, and i don't really care if i'm eating animal but the thing i care about is if it's been in a factory getting fatter by hormones and if they were in animal cruelty. Also a person at my school is a vegetarian but all she eat is chips and junk food. i understand that people are vegetarians and i totally respect that.

OMG, I'M GONNA DIE? JESUS, I'VE BEEN A VEGGIE FOR, WHAT - 7 YEARS? OMG SOMEONE GET ME A COFFIN.

No, srsly, I've been a veggie for 7 whole years of my life, and I have yet to die. Cool. As a student that studies Food & Nutrition, I can safely say that you can get vitamins and Iron in other ways. Soya is for vegeterians but has the exact same amount of protein, vitamins and minerals in it as regular meat does.

You can get Iron from dark, leafy green veg and other sources that are suitable for veggies. That's not including vitamin supplements, just in case.

So yeah, it's perfectly healthy to be veggie, and I guarantee that you won't drop dead in the street if you chose to give up meat.

@WillowRipple - But if everyone had the "Oh well, it's gonna happen anyway, why bother?" attitude, then the world would be a dire place. In that logic, what's the point of me buying new lights for my Christmas tree, if in a few years they'll burn out anyway?

That animal might be consumed by someone else, but that certainly doesn't mean I have to consume it. In a perfect world, as some vegeterian groups put it, the less people that demand meat means less animals being killed for it and then that means more animals will be saved, and yadda yadda yadda, you get the flow of what I'm saying.

Annnd it may be the Circle of Life (cue singing animals, plzkthnx) but you'd complain if someone you knew was consumed by a carnivorous creature such as a Great White Shark.

But hey, circle of life. : D

Omg I could not agree with you more on these points x3;
I mean yes, circle of life, but I still find it disgusting either way to eat dead things.
The circle of life gave us brains to think waiiit I don't wanna eat meaaat~ 8D

[peachie.]

I am a vegitarian. I have been one since febuary last year. I am very close to not eating meat for one year C;
I chose to become a vegitarian because I would only eat chicken and hamburgers when I ate meat. And I also decided to show other people what I could acomplish. Another small reason is because I hate to see animals killed and slaughtered.