So You'd Like To Become A Vegetarian?

[mahayana]

Twisterdog, you are right. Fruitarians don't eat vegetables. I am a gardener and botanist besides growing fruit trees and bushes and pecan trees, so I was riffing on the fruitarian logic.

Not killing (thou shall not kill) is one of the ethical principles behind vegetarianism, and to my thinking fruitarians could eat the fruits of vegetable plants. Digging a carrot or pulling up a potato plant kills the plant, but it doesn't feel anything like taking the life of an animal, hah.

I'm surprised noone bit on my question about vegetarianism and religion. To me , it is tied to spiritual pursuits.

Would anyone like to share why they became a vegetarian?

Or why it appeals to them? Or offends them?

A & M- most people do start vegetarian diets that include eggs and cheese. That way you can still have omelets and pizza! Milking a cow or goat, and gathering eggs, are ok with me! You are ok with the cheese.

[Maresche]

Aspen & Misty- I am the same way regarding cheese. I'll cut out almost every other form of milk but cheese by far is going to be the hardest thing for me.

Twisterdog- Veggies come in all shapes and sizes just like omnis do. For example, I have been veggie for roughly two years and am a size 18. Yes, I lost some weight initially, but there are plenty of veggie things that pack on the pounds too (I for one, am addicted to peanut butter on Ritz crackers).

Why did I become veggie?

Hm, I guess it would be for way the animals live before they are slaughtered. 3-4 chickens in a cage roughly the size of a sheet of paper, turkeys pumped so full of hormones their legs can't carry their weight to walk around, calves and pigs kept in pens so small they can't turn around, etc. etc.

And then of course, there is the way they are slaughtered, but I won't go into that at present.

There are the health concerns too.

A thought I came up with for myself was, if I couldn't kill it myself, how could I justify eating it. For each person it is different though and not everyone is cut out to be a veggie.

[Kater]

Originally posted by mahayana
Would anyone like to share why they became a vegetarian?

I've loved many animals for their character and intelligence. They express affection, have moods, and feel pain just as humans do. This is true of all animals, including the ones that we don't see everyday or have as pets. It is true of those that live in utter misery on factory farms, or those tortured in labs. Society makes these lives invisible so people don't have to think or take responsibility for their actions. But I do not wish to ignore these lives. I believe that each of their lives is as valuable as any human life.

I am vegan because my pain is no greater than their pain. I suffer the same as a dairy cow, the same as a lab rat. I am vegan because I can see the unnecessary suffering in a shampoo bottle and the loneliness in zoos. I am vegan for every animal whose pain was silenced or brushed aside. I am vegan because I feel that caring about something is more important than convenience, because my pain is no greater than theirs, and I can see this.

I think that people are intricately connected to all other beings and that any perceived separation or superiority is our own creation. I believe in animal rights because I've never been able to look into an animal's eyes and see a soul worthy of death and suffering. I wonder what this world would look like if we started looking at every being's soul like that.

[mahayana]

Kater- Your words are eloquent and touching. There is nothing in your last post that I disagree with, only things I hope to amplify.

Your goal of becoming a veterinarian to ease the suffering of others is also laudable. This is a path full of heart.

Laughing Buddha wants to know if the sign outside your clinic will read : VEGETARIAN VETERINARIAN

[Kater]

Originally posted by mahayana
Laughing Buddha wants to know if the sign outside your clinic will read: VEGETARIAN VETERINARIAN

heeheehee!

I want to compliment you on your ability to discuss this subject without evoking defensiveness from others --- the other threads on this topic have tended to "get out of hand." Your style is something I would like to emulate!

[mahayana]

thanks Kater for the kind words. As I said in my very first post on pet talk, I am a pacifist. I don't expect folks to agree with me, but I value all imput of honest opinions. The ideas that are different help deepen your understanding, of any subject.

I am fascinated with the sources of strong beliefs. (one might call them prejudices, cultural programming, religious brain-washing- if you disagree with them, hah). But the dialectic really does modify these, as do signifigant life experiences. And you can choose to love your enemy...forgive 70 x 7...now my prejudices are showing!

"First, do no harm..."

I think a hippopotamus said that

[Aspen and Misty]

Originally posted by Kater

I've loved many animals for their character and intelligence. They express affection, have moods, and feel pain just as humans do. This is true of all animals, including the ones that we don't see everyday or have as pets. It is true of those that live in utter misery on factory farms, or those tortured in labs. Society makes these lives invisible so people don't have to think or take responsibility for their actions. But I do not wish to ignore these lives. I believe that each of their lives is as valuable as any human life.

I am vegan because my pain is no greater than their pain. I suffer the same as a dairy cow, the same as a lab rat. I am vegan because I can see the unnecessary suffering in a shampoo bottle and the loneliness in zoos. I am vegan for every animal whose pain was silenced or brushed aside. I am vegan because I feel that caring about something is more important than convenience, because my pain is no greater than theirs, and I can see this.

I think that people are intricately connected to all other beings and that any perceived separation or superiority is our own creation. I believe in animal rights because I've never been able to look into an animal's eyes and see a soul worthy of death and suffering. I wonder what this world would look like if we started looking at every being's soul like that.

I'm always asked why did you become vegertarian (As i do not eat meat no more, even if that means taking 10 mins to pick all the peperonies off the pizza ) and you put it into teh words I have such a hard tiem finding!


That was moving,
Ash

[veegan]

I dont even know where to begin here. I have so much I want to say! jskdfjd;fsd writing is certainly not one of my strong points, and it seems I am just having an even harder time putting my thoughts and feelings in to words tonight! lol especially when such amazing things have already been said! so bare with me, I will do my best. I guess first of all since its most fresh in my mind, I just want to just say that, Kater, you took every thought of mine and put them into even more perfect words than I could ever have even imagined. I mean there cannot possibly be a better way to have put my feelings of “why am I vegan?” into words. I want to just print that out and if anyone ever asks me again why on Earth do I choose to be vegan, I can hand them that. Seriously. Can I do that? lol You honestly nearly brought me to tears. I am speechless. I have been sitting here for nearly 45 minutes typing and then erasing, typing, erasing, typing, erasing. I cannot come up with anything to add/reply without feeling like Im just repeating what has already been said perfectly.

Mahayana- welcome to PT! again, Kater took the words right out of my head, “I want to compliment you on your ability to discuss this subject without evoking defensiveness from others. … Your style is something I would like to emulate!” It is wonderful to have another open minded, well informed, and patient (!) veggie here. (and a pacifist at that! ) I enjoyed your comment about vegetarianism and religion. lol that is something I have thought about many times. and what you said here:

“Since starting this thread I have been eating macrobiotic, just brown rice and vegetables. This is not a healthy diet in the long term, and when I tire of it I will change. In the present, I feel light and calm and centered, and connected to the millions of poor people who are eating meals similar to mine.”

was truly inspiring. I know that feeling. even with a vegan diet I feel that sometimes because I know how wasteful raising livestock is. however there are many times I just feel sick even thinking about eating because I know so very many people are suffering with little to no food. I feel selfish when I over eat and even for being over weight sometimes.

A&M- congrats on the self control! glad you picked those hams off! keep up the good work baby!

[binka_nugget]

The thought of becoming a vegetarian has appealed to me. I was a major meat eater a few years ago. I cut back because for one, I didn't think I'd lose any weight by eating all this meat and two, I could never get near my 5-10 servings of fruits and veggies if I only ate meat at every meal. I don't think I'll ever make it as a full-time vegetarian but I'm doing my best to come as close as I can to it. Last night, I picked salad over steak (I have to confess, the salad had bacon bits..) I'm getting there

[mahayana]

Binka and Veegan- thanks for speaking here. This is our answer for Rush Limbo- Vegetarian Talk Radio? Now all we need is the corporate sponsors! hah! Or has "save the world" already been rejected as a marketing strategy?

Meeting all you Pet Talkers has been a great experience!

A & M- (I've been tempted to offer you the nickname "aggie" on the Nickname thread)...My absolute favorite pizza is deep-dish, single topping mushroom, from Pizza Hut. Wish that CC's, the 3.95 all-you-can-eat place my wife favors, would make at least one or two without meat. But I would call pizza nearly vegetarian anyway; like chinese cooking there really is very little meat involved. If you read the ingredients, most frozen pizza uses TVP(textured vegetable protien) meat substitutes, instead of the "real thing" in their toppings.

Binka- check the label on a bacon-bits jar, they are TVP too! I love roasted salted sunflower seeds to top my salads. (also pumpkin seeds, but alas they are not available at salad bars).

Veegan- I will come back to the theme of world hunger and our country with most of the world's farmland. Have you ever read Pearl S. Buck's books about famine in China?

[Soledad]

Mahayana - You are a breath of fresh air in PetTalk. I'm so glad you're with us!

[Kater]

Originally posted by mahayana
Veegan- I will come back to the theme of world hunger and our country with most of the world's farmland. Have you ever read Pearl S. Buck's books about famine in China?

I LOVE PEARL S. BUCK!!!

[mahayana]

Soledad- glad to see you here. I have enjoyed reading your spirited contributions elsewhere in PT. Would I be wrong to guess that you visited to help balance this out, and instead got blown away by the the powerful feelings here?

I have been !

I really like your Ghandi quote. very pertinent to this thread, too!

I'll tell you how I'd like to change the world, if you'll tell me how you'd like to change the world. Deal?

[2kitties]

not to send this thread soaring into another direction (but that is what we do best, isn't it.)

But. I'd like to make a dish for a girls' tv night- 2 vegetarians, 2 carnivores. My idea is to do some sort of baked dish, like a lasagna/or parmesan thing. Maybe some kind of eggplant parmesan on one side of the caserole dish/chicken on the other.
Anyway, something I can make half and half.
My favorite is eggplant. Anybody want to share a good idea and recipe with me? Or maybe we shoudl just start a recipe thread over in general...

[Soledad]

Mahayana -

I would like to see people become more aware and to realize that we are all connected to each other. I think so much could be solved if we realized that what effects another effects us, and that we cannot succeed while others are miserable or failing.

But that's just lil' ole me.