Vegetarianism - would you try it?

I don't eat a lot of meat regularly but somehow the thought if becoming a vegetarian has me already yearning for a thick rasher butty with an inch of lettuce, blue cheese & relish... Mmmmm

I was in an abbitoir once when I was 19 or so & to this day will never forget the look in that cows eye - it KNEW what was coming . But unfortunately that hasn't put me off - we all have bad days/minutes/seconds.

But - I'd really be strongly against battery chickens & would go without rather than buy non-free range eggs. And I'd be very worried about Tofu & GM materials .

Veg's are most probably better cooks ( if you have the time) but the amount if times I've been out in " normal" restaurants & see the look of disappointment on friends faces when their " veg" dish arrives... They really are shirt changed when "shopping" .

Personally I'd miss steaks, washers, fried chorizo for my soups/salads, & FISH. If the world was to be ending I Could never be a non-fisheating-vegetarian!!!!

supackofidiots wrote: »

I'm tempted to go for it after seeing this video which is flying around twitter.

http://hiddenfaceoffood.com/[/QUOTE]

I would like to but I like meat too much.

Having said that I do believe that animals deserve a better standard of care than they are currently receiving in some places - watching Food Inc about the food industry in America disgusted me. People who treat animals inhumanely should be arrested.

I buy organic / free range meat as much as possible now.

Da Shins Kelly wrote: »

Who's lecturing? To be honest, one thing I've noticed since becoming a vegetarian is the amount of meat-eaters who the second they hear you're a vegetarian are immediately on the defensive.

Maybe "lecturing" was the wrong word. Smugness or self-righteousness might be more appropriate.

Vegetarians are always weeds so no.

bogwalrus wrote: »

Veggie abut 6 years now.

No cravings for meet or fish and i was a bacon & steak addict.


Eating a much larger variety of foods that i would never have known about unless i became a vegetarian.

Cooking skills are pretty good now also.


I would like to get back in to eating fish again but it might be a while before i can get my head around it.


The one negative side i would say to being a veggie is that you really have to transform your eating habits not just your diet or else you will become very unhealthy.

I found for the first year that i ate loads more pizza's and chinese takeaway's as meat was excluded from my diet.

It might be difficult if your cooking skills are terrible.

My two cents anyway

I found the worst thing about going veggie was the ready meals. There are loads available but half of them just load up with cheese to cover a bland flavour.
The veggie option in the staff canteen here is like that. Or else loaded with spices to cover it up.

It's not that difficult to cook deacent meals with no meat. But it does take a little bit of time to learn (hence the reason I've eaten so many ready meals) and a lot of chefs don't seem to want to bother.

I worked in an abattoir when I was a young fella and every animal that came in was well cared for and kept in as little distress as possible, simply because it meant the animal was not stressed and the meat did not get stressed either.

As for the video one side will show one thing and the other side will show you the opposite, as has been discussed here already Irish animals are well cared for.

As for the health benefits, you will find that vegetarians and vegans are healthier simply because they are more aware of their own health and diet, unfortunately some meat eaters are oblivious to what they put in their mouths. If they put as much thought as people who care where their food comes from (vegan, vegetarian or meat eaters) we would all benefit.

I like a vegetarian option every now and again and did enjoy River Cottage Veg, so much I bought the book.

Everything in moderation and drink plenty of fluids.

I tried going pescaterian first and then becoming a vegetarian... Just didn't really see the point. I'm not a health nut and I already have enough trouble deciding what to make for dinner without eliminating MORE things. As for the unfortunate animals on the killing floor, if lions had the technology and intelligence to do that, they probably would. It's just the food chain working as always albeit at a higher level.

That being said I enjoy vegan/vegetarian style food and wouldn't turn it down just because there's no meat in it. I just enjoy a barely-cooked steak as well!

I generally avoid threads like this because they reek of ignorance, both in terms of the ill-informed opinions of meat-eaters and the abuse they feel the need to dish out to the vegetarians. I am a vegetarian, a strict vegetarian, because being a conscious buyer means more to me than liking the taste of meat and if meat-eaters educated themselves the way most vegetarians do, they might feel the same. It's not just about food, I try to make sure any product I buy is veggie friendly (as best I can). I'm not vegan, I would like to be some day, I cook a lot of vegan food though, but for now I'm doing what I can. I appreciate anyone who tries to do something, not everyone is going to be able to be super strict about it, but there are no 'rules', it's a personal decision, but I think everyone should educate themselves and not kid themselves that they 'need' meat or that it's unhealthy, you're only lying to yourself. I would probably prefer if someone said no I wouldn't go vegetarian coz I like meat too much than come out with nonsense claims like that.

Just want to point out for a lot of people posting in this thread.......vegetarian does not equal eating vegetables! It's about not eating meat, that doesn't mean we eat vegetables morning, noon and night, protein is the part of your diet that will change not your vegetables.

And for anyone saying it's expensive? I can buy a kilo of tofu in the asian supermarkets in town for about €2. In my experience it's a far cheaper diet.

When I read the thread title, I came in fully expecting to see a bunch of people going 'but god made animals out of food' etc - but I am pleasantly surprised. I have been pushing the idea of vegetarian to the other half for ages, and we not eat veg at least 4 days of the week, but herself was not convinced if veg food is nutritious enough etc - conditioned by the traditionally meat eating society I suppose (where as I grew up in a traditionally vegetarian society). I am going to ask her to read thru this thread - this is amazing. Thank you all.

Tried it, lasted just under three months it's not for me. In the end the smell of frying bacon got me.