Why did you become a vegetarian?

dermothickey

Just thought I'd ask people why they became a vegetarian and what spurred them on. Please share, no judgements, just a chance to pool our collective information and it may inspire others to adopt the lifestyle

Censorsh!t

Initially because of ethical reasons.
But over the years I've learned there's a lot more to it, like health, the environment etc.

entropi

dermothickey wrote: »

Just thought I'd ask people why they became a vegetarian and what spurred them on. Please share, no judgements, just a chance to pool our collective information and it may inspire others to adopt the lifestyle

We happened to this not too long ago, if i can direct you to Here it should give you all that information you seek

AARRRGH

I think it is wrong to kill innocent animals, and it disgusts me how inhumane industrial farming has become, treating animals as if they were inanimate. I find this coldness disturbing. So for these reasons I don't eat meat.

I actually like the taste of meat, and I now find it harder to put on weight which does negatively affect me because I lift weights. But as Ghandi says: be the change you want to see in the world.

Tar.Aldarion

control c...control v...

I hate plants.


I love every single type of meat.
I hated nearly every food apart from meat so it was quite the daunting task.
I still did it and am so happy to have done so..it's only in the last year...5 years later that I am comfortable enough eating vegetables. I don't know how I lived without mushrooms and kidney beans and chickpeas and so forth..mmmm!

What pushed me to commit to it was that i was not a child any more and I am very against certain things...like many I wouldn't have thought about it before, just ate meat, it was a food and that is how I was raised. When I thought about it I knew I was uncomfortable about the unecessary pain I was causing, simply for the pleasure of my diet... so i decided to buy my own food and of course I got some help! It was the most difficult thing I've done due to my hate of 99% of foods but also the most rewarding.

dermothickey

hey Tar, that's amazing fair play to you. It musn't have been easy.

anothernight

I couldn't eat him.

When I was 10 years old I decided I'd eventually become vegetarian. I didn't do it at the time because I didn't feel like I had enough nutritional knowledge to follow a healthy diet without meat, and I couldn't cook either so those were major setbacks.
The reason I wanted to become vegetarian was that in my mind it didn't make sense to eat animal flesh, causing all that suffering to the poor animals, when we can obviously thrive on a vegetarian diet. I ate meat for a good few years after that but I felt very bad about it, so I slowly drifted into vegetarianism.

Then 3 years ago we got our cat (isn't he cute??? ^_^) and I realised that there's no way I could go back to eating animals.

dermothickey

That picture pulls my heart strings Of course you couldn't eat him

Clare Bear

I think it was growing up in a farming environment did it to me. Seeing the cows being taken off in a lorry to the factory got to me every time, as a child I always felt that they knew where they were going (who knows, maybe they do!). My Dad brought me to one of the factories once when I asked to go, I'll never forget the smell or the noises....I stopped eating Beef at 10 and slowly added all other animals to that as time went on. In my late teens I completely gave up meat and am very glad I did. I love vegetables and all things non meat based so it hasn't been difficult at all.

Whispered

I have a thing about passing those animal lorries. The big terrified intelligent eyes looking out.:( If you look at the animals, they look back and register the fact you're looking at them. Eye contact with them is incredibly upsetting.

I started by finding it hard to understand the difference between "stock" animals and pet animals. I wouldn't eat my budgie or my dog, and yet would eat chicken and pig. There is no major difference between a budgie and a chicken - and pigs have a social structure which seems to be similar to that of dogs and there are people who say that pigs can be even more intelligent. Cows are the most gentle creatures and have lovely deep soulfull eyes.

I used to go fishing with my dad as a kid. I would spend the day walking around with the cows after a while they get very comfortable with your presence and allow you to touch them. A calf pulled me off my feet once trying to eat my shoelace.

Another incident that pushed me towards turning off meat was, walking my dogs by a local river and heard bleating. There were sheep in the field but they were at the other end. There was a lamb caught between the top of the bank and the river. I lifted him up and he went skipping across the field bleating - being answered by the adult sheep. He seemed so happy to be getting back to his mam.

Something else - my dad fishes and hunts. He used to bring back rabbit and phesant and I used to tell him how horribly cruel he was. I suppose he got fed up of it one day and asked me if it was better that they had a natural life until a swift end, or would I prefer to have them cooped up in tiny cages living an unnatural life. That one comment was the straw that broke the camels back. The realisation that he was right and that in fact those very pretty but very dead animals he brought back, were better off than the neatly packaged and dressed meat that was usually in our house.

I have a lot to thank my dad for. Despite the fact he does hunt and fish, he has huge respect for nature and thought me about it. I'm so glad I grew up in the countryside.

I then lapsed for about 6 months and began to eat meat again. I don't know why I did, but it was a very definate decision to not think about it. I then got involved in an energy based belief system and had a very strange sentence pop into my head one morning while I was half awake. I suppose a realisation of sorts. I've never touched meat again and the thought of it goes against so much inside me now that I know I'll never lapse again.

dermothickey

Wow, What a wonderful sharing Helena, Thank You for sharing

goldfish6483

I became a veggie for a few different reasons on ethical grounds and economic grounds as well, i think if you want to eat meat thats fine but i think you have to be responsible about knowing where you food comes from. at the current time i cant afford to buy organic free range meat, and i dont really miss it to be honest so its no huge loss for me, i do have a toddler and she does eat meat occasionally but its has to be organic and free range i think if people knew the abuse the animal had to go though so the consumer could get it cheaply most would not eat the 2 for a fiver chickens.

CokaColumbo

I became a vegetarian because I thought it was wrong to take the life of a sentient animal away no matter how 'humane' his or her treatment may be.
But after about eight or nine months of reading and developing my opinions about animal rights I realised, for a number of reasons, that my ethical vegetarianism wasn't a very coherent philosophy.

For one, by continuing to use animals I was still treating them like mere commodities. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, all 'dairy' cows and hens are slaughtered when their productivity drops below a certain level. By continuing to drink milk and eat eggs, I was sustaining these industries and was, in practice, demanding that cows and hens be slaughtered. In this way, my consumption of dairy & eggs was in no way different to my consumption of steak and pork. Ethical vegetarianism just didn't make any practical sense in my case.

I have been a vegan for four months now and believe it to be the only legitimate choice for those who think that it is wrong to a) treat non-human animals like things; and b) to inflict unnecessary death upon them.

Does anybody think my line of thought is wrong here?

Slaphead07

helena.ryan wrote: »

I then got involved in an energy based belief system and had a very strange sentence pop into my head one morning while I was half awake. I suppose a realisation of sorts.

and can you tell us what that was? I understand if you'd rather not.

bl8ckh8art

19 years vegetarian, I refuse to eat the flesh of anything that was once alive!

Whispered

CokaColumbo wrote: »

In this way, my consumption of dairy & eggs was in no way different to my consumption of steak and pork. Ethical vegetarianism just didn't make any practical sense in my case.

You've just given me a hell of a lot to think about. What you're saying makes perfect sense to me. How are you finding the transition into veganism? Any tips? Would you think you can "try" it for a week and get a proper feel or would it take longer?

Slaphead07 wrote: »

and can you tell us what that was? I understand if you'd rather not.

I'd rather not it's pretty silly really, but meant a lot to me.

Diabhal_Glas

16 years vegetarian.
I never really liked meat, my parents pulled out a can of spam when I was a kid on holidays and it sickened me.
I really didn't like the idea of slaughtering animals for food. Nowadays its habit more than anything,
Its healthier, cheaper and its really zero effort for me to not eat it. I still hate walking into a kitchen when there is chicken/ meat being cooked its such a strong smell I find as a vegetarian.

sweet-rasmus

helena.ryan wrote: »

Would you think you can "try" it for a week and get a proper feel or would it take longer?

Trying it for the week will at least give you a feel for how you can manage figuring out what to eat. The effect on your body and making sure you are getting enough of each food group/nutrients would take a lot longer to get a feel for it. Ah, go for it! And tell us how you manage. Personally, I began with cutting out dairy milk and butter at home for a few months, because it was easy to handle. And later on I became strict with it while I was out.

Whispered

Ok, well today is a write off as I have already had crisps. But from tonight I'll give it a go. I better mosey off and find a few nice recipes. Fancied a chana masala for dinner.

Bread isn't vegan is it?

Tar.Aldarion

Some bread is vegan, some is not, best to check the ingredients or ask.

CokaColumbo

helena.ryan wrote: »

You've just given me a hell of a lot to think about. What you're saying makes perfect sense to me. How are you finding the transition into veganism? Any tips?

Thanks helena. I found that once I had the right convictions for going vegan it was much easier than it might otherwise have been, so I'd very much recommend just reading about ethical veganism.
I came across this article and found it to be quite compelling (http://veganfreak.com/opinion/why-vegetarianism-isnt-enough/).
Also, Gary Francione and the Abolitionist Approach was and still is key to my stance on animal rights (http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/video/). I'd definitely recommend his books to anybody interested.

IMO, veganism, although restrictive, is easier than many people believe. The amount of things you can create with fruit, vegetables, grains, and nuts/seeds is almost endless. A lot of, if not most, loaf bread and french bread is vegan also. A lot of crisps are vegan, and of course popcorn is too. You can get vegan butter, chocolate, ice cream etc. You really do have a lot of choice.
That said, its not difficult to become deficient in certain vitamins/minerals and of course non-dairy milks really do take a while to get used to!

sweet-rasmus

helena.ryan wrote: »

Bread isn't vegan is it?

Brennans and Hovis are mostly veggie/vegan, just depends on the particular variety. The main issue is with soda bread variates/brands, like McCambridges, because it's made with buttermilk.

InKonspikuou2

I'm not a vegetarian but i do eat roughly 80/20% or sometimes 60/40% in favor of non meat products to keep my body alkaline for health reasons. One thing that i don't get about some vegetarians who give the reason for not eating meat as cruelty to animals is that they consume soya. Close to where i grew up in Colombia is a part of the Amazon that has seen deforestation at unbelievable rates. Which results in countless of animal deaths and disruption to natural habitat. Not to mention the enviromental effects. Not saying all veggies eat soya and maybe those that do aren't aware of the Amazon situation. I have told a few vegetarian friends and they shrug it off and don't see it as the same as eating meat. I would view it as the same thing in terms of being a vegetarian for animal reasons. Animals suffered for the finished product.

bl8ckh8art

The one single thing that annoys me being a veggie is having to check for gelatin. It would probably be too expensive for food companies to use pectin.

sweet-rasmus

As far as I'm aware, animal feed can contain high amounts of soya, so it's not just those on a dairy free diet (who consume soya) or whom eat soya derived products who contribute, but meat eaters also.

You could also argue the point that huge amounts of CO2 is released due to the processing of animals for consumption. There are many arguements against and for various things for environmental factors and you have to be careful not to brand vegetarianism as one cause as realistically there are countless others. A debate far beyond the scope of this forum anyhow, but just keep it in mind.

CokaColumbo

InKonspikuou2 wrote: »

Close to where i grew up in Colombia is a part of the Amazon that has seen deforestation at unbelievable rates. Which results in countless animal deaths and disruption to natural habitat...I would view it as the same thing in terms of being a vegetarian for animal reasons. Animals suffered for the finished product.

I don't see it as the same thing. Surely there is a difference between deliberately killing a non-human and unintentionally doing him/her harm in the process of planting vegetables?
Compare it to the human context. We build roads to allow people to drive cars. Now, before we build a certain road we know that, as a statistical fact, a number of people will be harmed as a result of accidents, crashes etc. This harm to humans is an unintended but inevitable result of our activity but we do not ever equate it to the intentional killing of humans, i.e. murder.

I don't mean to be curt but if we were to apply your logic to the human context it would seem that building a motor-way is the same thing as shooting an innocent person, because harm to humans is a product of both.

Washout

vegetarian since birth.

karma/reincarnation reasons.

im from indian background

sensibleken

when i was in transition year we were shown a video of battery hens. that was enough to put me off chicken then i realised that i didnt want anything to do with animal farming at all.

i found it a real struggle at first. i was just a kid and couldnt cook, didnt know anyone who was veggie and had no resources to look at. so for the first few years i got everything the rest of my family got minus the meat. as a result my weight dropped to 7 stone (im 5,11 and a bloke). stayed pathetically unhealthy for years untill i finally got my act together. initially i gorged on meat replacements but quickly grew to hate them and realised that vegtables on their own with nothing else are great.

my gf is vegan which is great but i have gone out with carnivores, veggies and vegans without any problems at all (although id somethimes feel hungry when they could taste my food but i couldnt do likewise)

now i love the options you have as a veggie. when i ate meat it meals just consisted of meat and the overcooked vegetable i was forced to eat. now i vary it allot more and feel great after eating, never sluggish, never heavy, a different variation every day and at a healthy 10.5 stone i am the only one of my peers without a vastly accelerating gut.

also because its been so long i have a variety of responses for dumb questions at barbeques such as 'your vegetarian? oh my god what do you eat?

dermothickey

(although id somethimes feel hungry when they could taste my food but i couldnt do likewise)


Hahahahahaha I know the feeling....wow that tastes gorgeous...yeah I know its all I have ...leave it alone

sensibleken

sensibleken wrote: »

as a result my weight dropped to 7 stone (im 5,11 and a bloke)

:eek: Dear god I didn't even know that was physically possible.
You must have felt so unwell.

Des Carter

Ok I was just looking through this thread and couldnt help noticing a touch of ignorance in a number of the posts.

Now before ye all go giving out to me for being a veggie hater Im not and infact I never eat burgers from places like supermacks/mcdonalds etc as the animals are often treated really poorly for long periods of time.

However I dont see the problem with eating meat that is fully traceable etc as I live on a farm and we treat our animals exceptionally well and they live rather happy pain-free lives and we only sell cattle to the factory when they're old

I just wonder did any of you consider that what ye are doing may have the opposite affect in that if we dont eat meat the price of meat will fall. It will fall to the point where it wont be profitable for farmers to keep cattle and as a result will have to get rid of their cattle but no1 will buy them so they call out the vet to put them all down and then cattle would become extinct and there would be no more cute calves for ye to look and smile at and say "awww your soooo cute, Ill never eat you" to

Just a thought