[Mark Hamill]

Originally Posted by Serendipity99

As for fertilizer (ie. cow manure) - in the absence of cattle we would have to use organic fertilizer, or vegan-organic fertilizer which is formed through decayed plants and other natural substances.

Would there be sufficient quantity of vegan fertilizer to support the amount to food we need?

Originally Posted by Serendipity99

So, in terms of pollution of rivers and so on, vegan is actually the answer.

Vegan fertilizer run off isn't bad for rivers?

[Worztron]

I just tried soymilk today for the first time. I had it in my tea. I liked it. It obviously tasted different to dairy milk but was actually very nice.
It was also fortified with vitamins B, B12, D2 and E amongst others.

[BengaLover]

A couple of questions from a non vegan.

Do you eat eggs (obviously the free range type)
and would you use milk if it comes from a source where no cruelty such as the type highlighted here happens, ie if you had your own cow etc..

What are the principles of veganism, is it based on animal welfare or health reasons.?
Personally, I dont believe that humans need to eat meat or drink a liquid intended for baby cows, but what about eggs..Cos they arent a by-product...
Thanks for reading.

[NecroSteve]

Eggs are just menstrual waste for the most part alright. But the point is that the hens who prdouce them are often kept in terrible conditions, including the free range ones.

Anyway, I don't see the appeal of something that's 80% saturated fat.

[BengaLover]

We keep a few hens as the family love eggs.
When I was a child I once saw my mother crack an egg into a pan and there was a tiny embryo in it, I never ate an egg again..
Thinking about it, an egg is basically placenta and amnioctic fluid isnt it..
I could easily go vegan but wouldnt have any support..

[Athene]

Hello there,

Sorry if i'm hi-jacking; I have wanted to convert from a veggie diet to a plant based diet for a while now and I've decided that post pancake day is a good time for a trial run so i'm looking for some advice.

I'm looking for suggestions on meals not based on carbs?

help appreciated thanks!

[Serendipity99]

Hiya!
Well, you could try eating lots of salad! And you could have some tofu with that. If you have'nt tried tofu yet, you could start by trying some of the flavoured tofu which you can buy in health shops - eg. barbecue or pizza flavoured etc. - you'll see them in flat transparent packets. Or you could also try Fry's 'chicken' strips and have these with the salad instead.

Do you have a juicer? Its a great way to get some nutrition (and I'm pretty sure that it would be low carb). I often put in a piece of broccoli with a couple of pieces of fruit.

Don't give up the carbs completely, though - your body needs them. Having some wholemeal bread and brown rice will do you no harm.

Anyway, that's my 2 cents worth. Hope it helps. Good luck with going vegan - you're doing the right thing! Oh, btw - don't forget to take your B12 supplements. I'm taking Holland and Barrett's 'Vegan' supplement, but you can buy 'Veg1' online from the Vegan Society which a lot of vegans recommend as being the best one.

[PeakOutput]

Your dead right a world without cows would be far better

[vaalea]

I love the alpro soy products.

anyway, here is a great opportunity, A milk documentary that we can help be released! Very important contribution to the vegan message. Please spread the word. You can donate, or you can prepay for a copy of the movie and other cool stuff.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1730342331/got-the-facts-on-milk-the-milk-documentary

[Serendipity99]

Hi Valea,
I hope she gets the funding she needs. Would be great to see this one screened.

I love alpro as well. I always buy their milk, cream and desserts. The cream is great for adding to pasta bakes.

[Serendipity99]

'Truth or Dairy' is a 3-part video about why people should go vegan. If you only watch one of them - watch Part 2. They are about 7 minutes each.

Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxkbV5pjcnw
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v436E...eature=related
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4kLvRmszoc&NR=1


And this is a really cool film by the Vegan Society. Its about 30 minutes long: http://www.vegansociety.com/resource...onnection.aspx

[Worztron]

Originally Posted by Serendipity99

'Truth or Dairy' is a 3-part video about why people should go vegan. If you only watch one of them - watch Part 2. They are about 7 minutes each.

Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxkbV5pjcnw
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v436E...eature=related
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4kLvRmszoc&NR=1


And this is a really cool film by the Vegan Society. Its about 30 minutes long: http://www.vegansociety.com/resource...onnection.aspx

Very good programs.

[Serendipity99]

Hi Everybody,
Just to let you know that 'Cork Vegans' are now on Facebook, so don't forget to check us out: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cork-V...084114?sk=wall


Happy St. Patrick's!!

[mystique150]

So don't get me wrong, I'm not anti vegan or anti vegetarian. In fact I enjoy vegetarian cooking. However, I have to disagree with some of the comments on the basis of them not being factual.

Originally Posted by Serendipity99

-Cows are kept pregnant constantly (through artificial insemination) in order to produce milk all year round.

This is nonsense. Cows are not kept constantly pregnant and if they were constantly pregnant it would not be due to AI. AI is just the method to fertilize the the cow. It is the continuous milking of a cow that makes her produce milk, if the farmer stopped milking her, then she would dry up. Nothing to do with the state of pregnancy.

Originally Posted by Serendipity99

-Male calves (babies, essentially) are slaughtered because they are surplus to requirements.

Rarely true in Ireland. Most male calves are left grow up and sold as beef. In some other countries veal is popular but not in Ireland. The only male calves that are slaughtered may be jerseys as they are so small but they do not make the majority of irish calves. Most Irish dairy farms use Fresians and Holsteins which can also be used for beef.

The thing is, dairy isn't all that bad in Ireland. The situation is much worse for cows in the states where factory style dairy farms exist. In some factory farms, there may be a couple of thousand dairy cows that never leave the shed where they are milked. In Ireland, most farms are small and the cows are grazed outside in spring and summer. The dairy industry is also highly regulated that antibiotics do not enter the system. In the US, hormones are allowed. Hormones were banned in Europe in the 90's.

Also mass produced alternatives of any kind may also be problematic. For example, soya industry expansion has been linked to deforestation and GM soya is also a problem for ethical food consumers. The demand for soya amongst other mass produced crops results in the loss of biodiversity as the land is used as a monoculture. Huge corporations such as Monsanto have latched onto the demand for dairy alternatives but really I'm not convinced that the mass production of anything is better than dairy. What do you think?

[Ice.]

Originally Posted by mystique150

This is nonsense. Cows are not kept constantly pregnant and if they were constantly pregnant it would not be due to AI. AI is just the method to fertilize the the cow. It is the continuous milking of a cow that makes her produce milk, if the farmer stopped milking her, then she would dry up. Nothing to do with the state of pregnancy.

The only reason cows produce milk is to feed newborn calves.

Originally Posted by mystique150

The dairy industry is also highly regulated that antibiotics do not enter the system.

What do farmers do for example if they get an outbreak of bovine lungworm?

Originally Posted by mystique150

Also mass produced alternatives of any kind may also be problematic. For example, soya industry expansion has been linked to deforestation and GM soya is also a problem for ethical food consumers. The demand for soya amongst other mass produced crops results in the loss of biodiversity as the land is used as a monoculture. Huge corporations such as Monsanto have latched onto the demand for dairy alternatives but really I'm not convinced that the mass production of anything is better than dairy. What do you think?

The majority of grain grown is not for humans but for livestock. More and more forests (including the Rainforests) are being cut down to make room for cattle grazing. Its just not sustainable. 250 pounds of beef can be produced on an acre of land compared to 40,000 pounds of potatoes. Which will feed more?

As far as soya goes, the average person probably consumes more of it than a Vegetarian/Vegan as its in most processed foods.