Vegetarian

[saanen]

How many of you out there are veggies?
Any vegans?

[lankeela]

Definitely not me. But then, you would not be surprised at that would you?

Let me guess where this thread is going - anyone who eats meat/animals/fish etc is the spawn of the devil and only vegans deserve to inhabit the earth?

[Lonnie]

The only excuse for not eating something, is if you either don't like the taste, or it may do you some harm.

[ganesh]

Well red meat isn't very good for you (bowel cancer for example) and human consumption of meat means that farming has caused major destructrion of the rainforest(for example)which ultimately will ruin our planet,so ultimately will indeed do us some harm,or certainly our children.
But there are plenty of other things that we all do that help to destroy the world arent there?

[BuckyKat]

Humans are meant to be omniverous so I don't have a problem with eating meat but I am concerned about how its produced....I am careful about where I buy it (only from farmers or farmers markets) and only from places where I know how the animals are reared and slaughtered....mass production and economic greed is destroying the planet not the consumption of meat!

[ganesh]

No,but the over-consumption of meat is-MacDonalds are responsible,for instance,for getting rid of loads of forest in order to raise cattle for their lovely burgers.I cant quote statistics but we all know that we can get much more protein from an acre of land used for veg protein than an acre of land used for animal rearing.
I am not really suggesting that everyone becomes vegetarian, I am the only one in my family who is and I do it for my own personal reasons not for the good of the planet but you can't deny that our greed for meat is having no effect on the world.
Most people don't actually care about where it comes from and how the animals are reared and slaughtered(,Buckcat),but just how good it tastes or how cheap it is.
I'm not attacking meat-eaters,(Lonnie)I don't wish to be criticised either.

[ganesh]

My daughter had a vegan fad for a fortnight once and I found it very hard to get anything for her to eat other than salads and nuts.,especially in supermarkets. Even most margarines contain some kind of milk product. It must be very difficult for Vegans, in this country anyway.It must be impossible in France.

[saanen]

Iankeela, you are very presumtious and prejudicial in your pre-judgements of my reasons for asking this question. I was not going to say what you describe at all, but was merely going to ask for information on what dairy product substitutes that people who are vegans use in their diet. Perhaps your pre-emptive comments are an indication that you feel you have the right to screen questions that you think might go in a direction you don't approve of?

[saanen]

Sorry, typo in presumptious

[ganesh]

You can get 'Pure' soya margarine(I think it's called that) and I did find a substitute cheese which was disgusting., in Holland and Barrett.I expect vegans avoid 'substitutes' altogether but I found it quite hard finding things I liked ,as I am vegetarian and very used to my over-indulgence on dairy products!

[lankeela]

Got it in one.

[lankeela]

Just as a matter of interest, if vegetarians don't eat things like sausages, why do they have vegetarian food that is shaped like sausages? Why not just have a lump of non-meat ?

[ganesh]

True,I wouldn't mind what shape. Why do meat -eaters have it in sausage shapes too?

[Misty77]

Lonnie - being a veggie isn't an 'excuse' its a choice, and a the way we choose to live our lives. I choose not to eat meat because I get more pleasure seeing the animals alive than one a plate. If you're saying not eating meat is an 'excuse', then can you tell me why you wouldn't eat a dog, or horse ? Maybe this is beause you're making a choice, just like me.