It really bothers me when people use health as an excuse not to go vegetarian/vegan. To be honest, I’m only invested in my own morality and ethics surrounding the consumption of animals and their byproducts, so I really could care less about your diet. But the idea that the average omnivore’s diet is healthier than the average vegan’s is insulting. Most vegans thrive on vegetables, grains, and beans. These are foods that tend to be lower in fat and be more nutritionally dense. On the other hand, the average recommended serving size for meat is three ounces, which is about the size of the palm of your hand. I’m willing to bet that most omnivores consume a larger amount with each meal. I’m not saying that I mind either way, but you are really in denial if you think meat is going to improve your health more than it will detriment it. Seriously, just be blunt and say that you like meat. I won’t hate you for it, really.
In late December, I asked a several tumblr vegans to help me the transition from vegetarian to vegan, and I really gained a lot of support. It’s amusing to me now to think just how much help I needed. I ate plenty of vegetables as a vegetarian, but my intake has probably doubled as a vegan. I’ve also become much less dependent on meat substitutes and have began making pasta dishes, lasagna, salads, vegetable mixes, and consuming more legumes. If anything, I’m pretty sure my iron intake has increased and my fat intake has decreased. It’s second-nature for me now, and the only time I really think about it is when I’m ordering food at a restaurant.
Another note I’ve made is just how much variation there is the attitudes expressed by vegans. Some are very intense and dedicated to eliminating all traces of animal products, while others are hard-working and a little more fair. I have to say, though, that you lecture-happy vegans and vegetarians should mellow out a bit. I’ve been there before, yes, but I try to avoid the conflict as much as possible. When I first became a vegetarian in 2009, I was so preachy that I’m pretty sure I drove my family into insanity. I’ve since relaxed.
This is the longest I’ve ever been a vegan and the most satisfied I’ve ever been with the foods I consume. I’m glad I’ve finally gotten this right.
I was telling my friend how a vegan diet has many benefits, including no cholesterol, and my roommate shouted that avocado has cholesterol. I then had to explain how avocado raises HDL (good cholesterol) within the body, but doesn’t have any cholesterol itself.
When my friend poured himself a glass of milk, I inquired about his lactose intolerance and again my roommate got defensive, saying doctors recommend milk even to those with lactose intolerance. The only reason I asked is because it seems that at least 1/3 of my friends are lactose intolerant and I’ve always been curious. I then tried to explain to my roommate the consuming dairy can actually be bad for bones because digestion of milk often leaches calcium from your bones, and she grew irritated.
Look, I don’t really care if people drink milk. I don’t care if my friends are omnivores or not, but do notttt attack the health of my lifestyle. I never get sick, I don’t use caffeine to wake up, rarely get headaches, and am very rarely sore after even the toughest workouts. Veganism is good for me and I don’t need anyone telling me otherwise.
If she wasn’t my best friend’s girlfriend, I would have deleted her for this.
You want to know who wasn’t a vegetarian, but still a total psychopath? Stalin, Osama bin Laden, Jeffrey Dahmer, Saddam Hussein… and even Rush Limbaugh and Fred Phelps too.
The best thing I’ve seen in a long time.
you eat: red meat, chicken, fish, dairy products, eggs, etc
you are: an omnivore
you eat: chicken, fish, dairy products, eggs, etc
you are: an omnivore
you eat: fish, dairy products, eggs, etc
you are: a pescetarian
you eat: vegetables, plant-based foods, eggs, dairy products, but do not eat: fish, red meat, chicken, etc
you are: a lacto-ovo vegetarian
you eat: vegetables, plant-based foods, eggs, etc but do not eat: fish, red meat, chicken, etc
you are: an ovo-vegetarian
you eat: vegetables, plant-based foods, dairy, etc but do not eat: fish, red meat, chicken, eggs
you are: a lacto-vegetarian
you eat: vegetables, plant-based foods, etc but do not eat: fish, red meat, chicken, dairy, eggs, honey, gelatin, etc
you are: a vegan
I’ve been a vegetarian for almost three years. Additionally, I’ve been vegan for short periods of time (usually 4-6 weeks) a couple of times as well. I always relapse because I get cravings for things I can’t eat anymore (not for eggs or milk themself, but for things that just happen to have those products in them)
I really want to go vegan, but I don’t know how to do it in a sustainable and affordable manner.
Help?
So my dad bought a box of frozen CHEESE enchiladas and I was pretty excited, because at my parent’s house my diet usually consists of vegetarian patties and frozen vegetable lasagna. Then, I read the ingredients and it was like “less than 2% of chicken flavoring, meat, and broth”
and I’m thinking, “IF IT’S LESS THAN 2 FUCKING PERCENT, THEN WHY THE HELL ADD IT TO BEGIN WITH?!”
And now I’m sad.
I left to buy snacks with my roommates and came back to my friend cooking rice and spam. I couldn’t even comprehend what was happening before I ran to the toilet and started vomiting.
That was definitely a physiological reaction to meat…
We agree with PETA.
I could write pages about my disdain for PETA, but to be short, let’s just say that a few extremists do not have the right to ruin the reputation of millions.
Say you’re Christian/Muslim/Jewish/Atheist. Do you think there are individuals that have misconceptions about your beliefs? Are there individuals who identify as a member of your culture who you wish wouldn’t?
Welcome to my life as a vegetarian.
We crave meat.
I don’t know if this is wishful thinking on part of omnivores or if there were short-term vegetarians that craved meat during their experience, but I can tell you this myth couldn’t be the further from the truth.
I became a vegetarian on February 19th, 2009. The last time I remember even coming close to craving meat was September 2009.
Vegetarianism is a big lifestyle change. You’re literally eliminating the foundation of your diet and replacing it with something else (usually carbohydrates), so of course it takes time to get used to the changes.
Personally, I abhor the smell of cooking meat. I literally hide in my room when my friend comes over and makes sausage. I once also washed my roommate’s pan of bacon fat because it was making me nauseous.
We hate omnivores.
Honestly, I don’t really care if you eat meat or not. It’s not really my business. This is one of the reasons I dislike PETA. I’ve always been a strong believer in the idea that no decisions should be made out of fear.
What most vegetarians do hate is ignorant remarks made about the vegetarian diet, which I’ll expand on below.
We eat fish.
Maybe it’s because I’ve been caring for fish since I was fifteen, but I cannot understand the concept that most omnivores have of vegetarians, which is that we abstain from all meat except for fish.
A vegetarian diet is simple: we abstain from consuming the flesh of all animals. It doesn’t matter if that animal is a kangaroo, pig, or fish.
We don’t get enough protein.
I don’t think I’ve ever had a problem with protein. Most meat substitutes are a good source of protein, so are beans, nuts, peas, and lentils.
Studies also show that it’s better to be deficient of protein than to have too much, which most people do. This is because too much protein is toxic to the body.
We’re hippies, liberal, or just in a phase.
I’m neither a hippie, nor a liberal, and if this is a phase, then it’s the longest phase I’ve ever been in.
Also, you’re stereotyping a group of individuals. Vegetarian means one thing. It means that you’re abstaining from animal flesh, and that’s all it means.
We have weaker immune systems.
I honestly think my immune system is better than it’s ever been. I worked at a pharmacy for two years in high school and developed a pretty strong immune system, but even so, I definitely got sick more then than I do now.
I’ve never experienced the symptoms of an illness for more than twelve hours in the last two years and I’ve spent the last two years living in residence halls with near-zombies.
I think the reason why my immune system is so strong is because I drink water and substitute meat sources with vegetable sources. Fruits and vegetables have essential nutrients that keep your system strong, and I can clearly attest to that.
We’re stick thin. or thin at all.
I’m not even close, which is fine with me. I guarantee you my cholesterol is probably the lowest in my family and I probably take better care of myself too.
I don’t think being thin is a sign of health. Yes, it’s not good for your body to handle extra stress due to being overweight, but it’s better to have a healthy diet and a healthy mind than to spend your life on yo-yo diets like my mother has for the last twenty years.
I came into my apartment last week and the place reeked. Turns out my roommate made bacon and left the pan on the stove. I was forced to pick it up, wash it, and spray Febreeze all over just so I could sit down in the kitchen and not vomit.
Seriously, the smell of meat makes me sick. It’s been like that since March 09 (a month after I became a vegetarian)
(Source: searchingformynextdisaster)
My third anniversary is on 2/19/2012. I can’t wait!
Seriously, bacon is disgusting. I never understand people who sing its tune so highly. One of my roommates (a close friend) is also a vegetarian and buys the vegetarian bacon, which I also think looks gross. Bacon is nasty.
(Source: farfromnever16)
