Vegetarianism

kylith

CreepingDeath wrote: »

No, humans started eating meat because it was calorie rich.
Which has huge advantages in gaining weight to last through the winter.
Also, they were able to use the rest of the animal eg. skins for clothing, shoes, canoes, blankets etc.

Or do you propose that early human "vegetarians" used cabbage leafs for clothing/shoes etc ?

Not to mention that the extra calories in meat meant that we could afford to 'waste' energy on expanding our brains.

--Kaiser--

weisses wrote: »

What other omnivore need to cook their meet (killing a lot of the nutrients in the process ) to make it eatable/digestible/tasty ?? for my amusement

if you cannot answer that ..stop comparing humans to omnivores ...

Humans are very capable of eating meat raw. (I recently had steak tartare in a fancy restaurant Yummy. Oh and there's sushi.) It's just easier to digest when cooked, which allowed to evolve smaller digestive system.

And I'm not comparing humans to omnivores. Humans are omnivores. This is a biological fact

smash

--Kaiser-- wrote: »

Humans are very capable of eating meat raw. (I recently had steak tartare in a fancy restaurant Yummy. Oh and there's sushi.) It's just easier to digest when cooked, which allowed to evolve smaller digestive system.

I don't think he cares. Those points have been mentioned loads of times and he's just not getting it.

Sam Kade

Shenshen wrote: »

As an atheist, that argument fails to persuade me.

Atheists and vegetarians have a lot in common, atheists can't stop talking about god and vegetarians can't stop talking about meat :rolleyes:

Shenshen

Sam Kade wrote: »

Atheists and vegetarians have a lot in common, atheists can't stop talking about god and vegetarians can't stop talking about meat :rolleyes:

That would explain why I'm haunting the butcher's forum....

Popinjay

Sam Kade wrote: »

Atheists and vegetarians have a lot in common, atheists can't stop talking about god and vegetarians can't stop talking about meat :rolleyes:

Actually as a non-veggie, I tend to find that we bring the topic up more than the veggies. There's the occaisional preachy prey-anima... vegetarian. But for the most part, vegetarianism tends to be raised by the meaties amongst us, as an aberration and something to be derided.

More meat for me says I.

That said, I don't consider it wrong or cannibalism to eat vegetarians, they're basically bipedal cows anyway.

Dravokivich

Sam Kade wrote: »

Atheists and vegetarians have a lot in common, atheists can't stop talking about god and vegetarians can't stop talking about meat :rolleyes:

What about veggie atheists? :eek:

Shenshen

Dravokivich wrote: »

What about veggie atheists? :eek:

We just never, ever shut up.

CiaranK

Sam Kade wrote: »

Atheists and vegetarians have a lot in common, atheists can't stop talking about god and vegetarians can't stop talking about meat :rolleyes:

The only time I've ever brought up me being a vegetarian is when people find out (Like when ordering in a restaurant) and they ask why and tell me how much I'm missing and tell me that I should eat meat and tell me that I should just eat a bit every now and then at least etc....

Tar.Aldarion

Dravokivich wrote: »

What about veggie atheists? :eek:

Wait'll I get you into our church.

Sam Kade

Popinjay wrote: »

Actually as a non-veggie, I tend to find that we bring the topic up more than the veggies. There's the occaisional preachy prey-anima... vegetarian. But for the most part, vegetarianism tends to be raised by the meaties amongst us, as an aberration and something to be derided.

More meat for me says I.

That said, I don't consider it wrong or cannibalism to eat vegetarians, they're basically bipedal cows anyway.

By any chance are you a veggie trying to prove me wrong? Have you seen a meat eaters forum on here where they constantly complain about vegetarians ?

bronte

Sam Kade wrote: »

By any chance are you a veggie trying to prove me wrong? Have you seen a meat eaters forum on here where they constantly complain about vegetarians ?

Um. After Hours?
When was the last time there was a thread in here related to vegetarianism that didn't have the usual suspects wading in to bash??

It's ridiculous!

--Kaiser--

bronte wrote: »

Um. After Hours?
When was the last time there was a thread in here related to vegetarianism that didn't have the usual suspects wading in to bash??

It's ridiculous!

If people don't come in to these threads saying stupid things like 'humans are naturally vegan' then I won't come in to these threads wielding my two mallets 'scientific knowledge' and 'empirical evidence'

jonnyfingers

This thread has gone too quiet. MEAT IS MURDER!!!!

bronte

--Kaiser-- wrote: »

If people don't come in to these threads saying stupid things like 'humans are naturally vegan' then I won't come in to these threads wielding my two mallets 'scientific knowledge' and 'empirical evidence'

Here's a suggestion: Why not ignore them and have some steak sound in the knowledge that you are superior to them?

--Kaiser--

bronte wrote: »

Here's a suggestion: Why not ignore them and have some steak sound in the knowledge that you are superior to them?

Because.

Conversely, if this bothers you, why do you read the threads? I'm sure there's a a vegetablist forum where these people can frolic around in their ignorance and silly notions

kylith

--Kaiser-- wrote: »

If people don't come in to these threads saying stupid things like 'humans are naturally vegan' then I won't come in to these threads wielding my two mallets 'scientific knowledge' and 'empirical evidence'

Do you use them to crush the enemies 'Misinformation' and 'Pseudoscience'?

--Kaiser--

kylith wrote: »

Do you use them to crush the enemies 'Misinformation' and 'Pseudoscience'?

I do my best. I'm like this in real life too.
Yeah, I'm popular

bronte

--Kaiser-- wrote: »

Because.

Conversely, if this bothers you, why do you read the threads? I'm sure there's a a vegetablist forum where these people can frolic around in their ignorance and silly notions

I have a dream that one day we will have a thread in AH where we can frolic around in our ignorance free of the shackles of Kaiser's reign of terror

--Kaiser--

bronte wrote: »

I have a dream that one day we will have a thread in AH where we can frolic around in our ignorance free of the shackles of Kaiser's reign of terror

I'm on holiday mid-March if that helps?

Shenshen

jonnyfingers wrote: »

This thread has gone too quiet. MEAT IS MURDER!!!!

jonnyfingers

In can be easy to shoot down some Vegans/Vegetarians because their views are not shared by the majority. But many choose their diets for good reasons even if sometimes based on less that reliable data.

But in an attempt to address the OPs questions.....

HTML5! wrote: »

I've read articles claiming it's healthier to be one. Is it really though?

Some articles do claim it's healthier, mainly because a good vegetarian diet can be shown in some cases to lower blood pressure and cholesterol, so diseases linked to these may also be reduced. As with every scientific article the findings are an interpretation of the collected data from a sample group so can neither be claimed to be absolutely true or absolutely false. You have to decide for yourself as best you can.

Anyone ever tried it?

Yes, many people, including me. I made the change mainly to test out the health benefits that are claimed.

Any converts that are feeling way better since becoming one?

I do feel noticeably better. Not that I was overly unhealthy as a meat eater for 30 years, but right now, with a vegan diet, I do feel healthier although it's hard to quantify why exactly. The only way to measure that currently is by weighing myself (I'm overweight and have lost 10lbs in a month since turning vegan when I've been pretty static when it comes to weight over the past few years), looking at my sleep patterns (I find I sleep less but am less tired during the day), stress levels (I'm quite laid back normally and this hasn't changed) and other personal indicators of health. One thing that's clear is that I haven't been adversely affected health-wise by cutting out meat and animal products from my diet.

I think it would be far too difficult for me to give up meat!

It all relies on the individual really. Some people I know hardly eat any vegetables, instead eating a lot of meat. The usual excuse given is that they don't like vegetables. So they feel they would struggle to feed themselves. That's a valid point.

I've always liked the taste of vegetables and meat so giving up meat hasn't bothered me too much, dairy and other animal products is definitely more difficult though. However I've noticed that my taste buds began to change almost immediately once I changed my diet. Vegetables I never liked before such as celery, I began to start liking. On the other hand I had some Venison a few weeks ago, which I used to really like before, but now find it very bland and uninteresting. Also used to eat a lot of cheese, now I don't really miss it. So I do think that your tastes adapt to whatever you're mostly eating. So if you don't like vegetables but start eating only vegetables you may find your tastes changing, or you may not. Only one way to try though!

Also I've gone cold turkey from meat eater to vegan. It hasn't been a problem for me as I've always like vegetables and I'm quite a good cook so can rustle up some tasty dishes. But if you're thinking about becoming vegan or vegetarian and you think you might struggle, try going one day a week as a vegetarian initially and adding a few days the longer you go on. Give up dairy and animal products some days too and see how you do. If it's not for you see if you can find a balance between eating meat and not. Maybe you can do two days a week as a vegetarian, maybe only one. That's fine as I think the biggest problem with eating meat is eating too much of it. Do what you think is right for you but don't discount other diets just because they might seem difficult. You may find they'll work for you.

swimming in a sea

I was a vegetarian for 4 years in my late teens early twenties, although I never had a great fondness for vegetables:rolleyes: I know crazy. I became one when I had a job with a farmer when one day we had to de horn calf's (I was told it was an EU rule) seeing the pain they suffered made me go vegie.

Just the total boredom of the meals made me go back on the meat.

I've gone full circle, as part of toning up in the gym I recently I was on the ketogenic diet for 10 weeks:D

eviltwin

Been a vegetarian 20 years ever since my local chippy was done for putting dog food in the burgers. Couldn't look at meat again after that. My health is good, I rarely get sick. Not sure how much of that is diet related though.

smash

eviltwin wrote: »

Been a vegetarian 20 years ever since my local chippy was done for putting dog food in the burgers. Couldn't look at meat again after that.

In fairness, a burger from the chippy isn't exactly real meat anyway.

CreepingDeath

eviltwin wrote: »

Been a vegetarian 20 years ever since my local chippy was done for putting dog food in the burgers. Couldn't look at meat again after that. My health is good, I rarely get sick. Not sure how much of that is diet related though.

My health is good too as a carnivore, probably because I get the added benefit of all those antibiotics they give to the animals.

My name is URL

68 lost souls wrote: »

Vegetarianism can be healthier depending on what sort of diet you eat, like with being an omnivore. You need to ensure you are still getting enough iron and protein especially since you will be missing these from your diet. As humans we don't need meat but yes people enjoy it.

I was a vegetarian for 13 years but at the time I was a very fussy eater and didn't substitute enough vitamins and minerals and so I started to eat meat, it is also difficult to go out or eat in friends houses etc. I reckon I could go back and do it again now since I have started to eat a lot more varied foods including tofu, lentils and cheese.

Fact is that people eat too much meat and this is bad for you. Also there are environmental and food supply reasons we should eat less meat. Here is a good list of reasons.

http://www.britishmeat.com/49.htm

I've never understood why some vegetarians have no problem with eating cheese... most of it is made using rennet; which is obtained from mashed up cow stomachs. My sister is vegetarian and she gets all defensive and annoyed whenever someone mentions that.

kylith

My name is URL wrote: »

I've never understood why some vegetarians have no problem with eating cheese... most of it is made using rennet; which is obtained from mashed up cow stomachs. My sister is vegetarian and she gets all defensive and annoyed whenever someone mentions that.

You can get vegetarian cheese with artificial rennet.

That's what I use when I'm cooking for my veggie friends, as far as they know

Tar.Aldarion

My name is URL wrote: »

I've never understood why some vegetarians have no problem with eating cheese... most of it is made using rennet; which is obtained from mashed up cow stomachs. My sister is vegetarian and she gets all defensive and annoyed whenever someone mentions that.

Vegetarian avoid animal rennet, there are plenty of cheeses without. An annoying thing is places always having parmasan in their veggie option.

--Kaiser--

My name is URL wrote: »

I've never understood why some vegetarians have no problem with eating cheese... most of it is made using rennet; which is obtained from mashed up cow stomachs. My sister is vegetarian and she gets all defensive and annoyed whenever someone mentions that.

Vegetarians frequently have no problem eating eggs. Even though at hatcheries it's someone's job to differentiate between male and female chicks. Male chicks are discarded and ground up while they are alive as hatcheries are generally not in the business of producing chicken meat