Everyone's going to hate me for this...

But I really think that a vegetarian diet just might not be the right thing for me at this time - especially a vegan one. It's not that I am not able to handle being vegan or vegetarian, but I just don't know if it would be benificial to my health anymore than eating a diet lfrom mostly plants, and small amounts of animal proteins. For example, I wouldn't eat yogurt or eggs every day for breakfast like I used to, but maybe one or two days out of the week, I'd choose one or the other. And maybe every two weeks I'd actually have a piece (small serving) or chicken breast or lean fish. My mom says that she thinks I should have at least a little bit of animal proteins in my diet (I'm not basing this completely on her of course), and my dad always tells me that I should "live life to the fullest" and enjoy whatever I feel like eating; as long as it's sensible of course.

I have been pondering this for a while now, and I just don't know if I should continue vegetarianism, or allow myself to consume animal proteins in moderation. This year, I'm finally going to start exersizing and going on a plan - weight training, cardio, etc. I'd really like to build some muscle, and I was thinking that some extra protein might not hurt. I'm not going to go overboard, but I just thought it would be alright to include some more. I have previously read the book "The Clean Eating Diet" by Tosca Reno (and am reading it again currently) and she seems to include a lot of animal protein sources (not saying that's a good thing!) and yet she is very healthy (no signs of disease or cancer) and she looks amazing!

I'm just saying, can't people be healthy while including animal proteins too?

um, yeah, actually we are meant to consume some animal proteins, on a purely cellular level.  Maybe it's more responsible for the environment to not support huge ag business that abuses animals, but ethically as long as you make sure you know where your meat/eggs/milk is coming from and that it's being produced in a responsible and respectful way, I don't think there's an issue.  I mean, your morals are YOUR morals.  Don't let anyone guilt you into vegetarianism/veganism any more than you'd let them bully you into eating a huge sirloin steak.

Just take it easy on your body.  SMALL amounts of animal protein as you reintroduce them to your diet.  I ate half a sausage once after being vegan for months (veg before that, but timingwise it's the vegan that counts) and threw up for six straight hours.  It's like when you first go full veg or vegan and you feel a ittle odd for about a week unless you were weaning yourself onto it.  NO MORE THAN 1 ounce of animal protein at a sitting for the first little while.

Saroful: No offence intended, but are you a biologist?  There is a lot of "fact" out there on the internet which is not actually fact.   What is your source for the statement "actually we are meant to consume some animal proteins, on a purely cellular level."?

 

zebulancherry: strictly in terms of health, I agree.  It is possible to be a healthy vegan, and it is possible to be a healthy vegetarian and it is possible to be a healthy omnivore.  I think for a lot of vegans, what it comes down to is ethics.  Is it right to eat animals which are abused?  Is it right to support an industry which is adding to deforestation problems, and polution problems (veganoutreach.org)?  You decide.  It is, I think, an extremely personal choice and people certainly do get bent out of shape very quickly when this issue comes up.  Good luck with whatever you decide.

Trid 

p.s. I realize I used a vegan site as my source, but they are the least propagandist site I have yet found.  They even talk about studies which show that of the three groups, omnis, vegans and vegetarians, the vegetarians live the longest, with the omnis and vegans being tied in second.  They also have sources for their information. 

Do whatever you feel is right for you.  Nobody's going to hate you for it, that's for sure.  I agree with saroful, maybe go for locally raised natural/free range/grass fed meats.  It'll help cut back on your carbon footprint (less fossil fuels used in shipping the product to you), and you'll be supporting your local economy by keeping your money in the community.  Here's a good place to start if you're interested- you'll find info on farmers who promote the welfare of their livestock and their land.  Either way, I hope you can find a lifestyle that fits your needs...

trid- no, but my sister's a biochemist.  So I asked.  it's not internet "facts," but good for you for being skeptical and not just accepting it's true because it's something you read.

But yeah, there's a reason for those pointy teeth in your mouth.  You can choose not to use em and be just fine, but they did evolve for eating meat.

Original Post by melonhoney:

Do whatever you feel is right for you.  Nobody's going to hate you for it, that's for sure.  I agree with saroful, maybe go for locally raised natural/free range/grass fed meats.  It'll help cut back on your carbon footprint (less fossil fuels used in shipping the product to you), and you'll be supporting your local economy by keeping your money in the community.  Here's a good place to start if you're interested- you'll find info on farmers who promote the welfare of their livestock and their land.  Either way, I hope you can find a lifestyle that fits your needs...

Cattle farming is the #1 cause of global warming, whether it is factory farming or happy little local farms. The cattle are also usually slaughtered in the same slaughterhouses, too.

I strongly stand for compassion and fair treatment of animals. I hate to watch and hear about what slaughterhouses do to innocent animals; it pains me.

The thing is, my friend owns a chicken farm, so I can get fresh, free-range, hormone-free eggs from her anytime. At least I know how they're raised.

Original Post by disease_of_ease:

Original Post by melonhoney:

Do whatever you feel is right for you. Nobody's going to hate you for it, that's for sure. I agree with saroful, maybe go for locally raised natural/free range/grass fed meats. It'll help cut back on your carbon footprint (less fossil fuels used in shipping the product to you), and you'll be supporting your local economy by keeping your money in the community. Here's a good place to start if you're interested- you'll find info on farmers who promote the welfare of their livestock and their land. Either way, I hope you can find a lifestyle that fits your needs...

Cattle farming is the #1 cause of global warming, whether it is factory farming or happy little local farms. The cattle are also usually slaughtered in the same slaughterhouses, too.

You're absolutely correct. However, you have to choose your battles wisely. If one was to consume meat, would you prefer they choose factory farmed or locally produced? I'd personally prefer to see the money stay in the local community than further line the pockets of large scale factory owners and CEOs. (edited to add:  The farmers that produce grass fed beef in my town have their livestock slaughtered at a local privately owned slaughterhouse, although I'm sure many farmers elsewhere don't.  It's always wise to ask)

Cattle farming overall actually produces about 4% more greenhouse gasses than transportation, from what I've read. In terms of what the animals actually emit, I'm inclined to believe grass fed cattle emit less than their factory farmed counterparts, as it's what they've evolved to eat as domesticated animals, though this is just a guess.

From the very beginning I remember you wanted to eat meat, you were very pro-meat eating, but became convinced by others that in order to be healthiest you should deprive yourself.
Yes, you care about animals. I care about animals too, but I'm not vegan.

If you haven't yet, read The China Study and read Eat to Live.  You'll get a much better understanding of what the risks of consuming animal protein are.  Then you can decide if you should incorporate animal protein in your diet and in what quantities.

The answer is yes, you can be healthy consuming animal proteins; however, there can be disasterous consequences later in life.  Educate yourself on this, then make the decision.  It's your body.

I care about animals, but I also care about myself too. Last night, we went out to eat for my baby cousin's birthday; there were no vegetarian options on the menu. I nearly ordered the chilean sea bass, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. Instead, I asked the waitress if she could have something prepared for me. I got a Thai noodle dish (sans chicken) with black bean sauce, bean sprouts, rice noodles, and steamed veggies on the side. It was quite delicious, actually. x) I didn't miss the meat one bit.

I'm just going to think about this. I hate the thought of drinking cow's milk, but I still like yogurt. Maybe I'll just buy Stoneyfield Farms if I buy it at all, since I think they are a very humane company. As for eggs, I MIGHT eat the ones from my friend's farm, since I know their conditions and how they are treated.

But again, like I said, I might not eat any of this; I just have to think about it.

melonhoney, I guess really the bottom line for me is like I said most small organic farms still bring their cattle and hogs to the same slaughterhouses that factory farmed animals are brought to... there is the same contamination. Regardless, I could never and would never eat any form of an animal again. I have been a vegetarian for half of my life and vegan for almost 3 years, I think that as of now I'm a little set in my dietary habits. :)

It's all good, disease. :) 

zeb, best of luck with your decisions!  The dish you had specially prepared sounds fantastic.

i was under the impression that you went vegetarian after seeing where your meat comes from... while consuming certain meats in certain quantities that can be healthy, but that doesn't do anything for all the animals suffering out there for the meat does it? it's still raised in awful conditions and in pain all the same.  so if you feel bad contributing to that, well eating less meat is better than nothing i guess, but it's still contributing. 

no one said that this was going ot be easy.  you just started this a week? two weeks ago? it takes a lot longer than that to get adjusted to such a big change in your life.  sure it's exciting in the beginning, but then real obstacles come up and you have to decide if it's something you really want and are committed to or if it was just a fling that you lost interest in.

you'll certainly be healthy on a vegetarian diet, even if your active you can get more than enough protein.  and for some peole "living life to the fullest" means not contributing to pain and suffering for the convenience of eating meat like "everyone else does"... so you have to decide whats more important to you. i personally think you should give it a little longer.  you don't need any animal proteins or everyone on this site would be, well, dead.  you can be healthy and happy being a vegetarain. 

Original Post by zebulancherry:

I strongly stand for compassion and fair treatment of animals. I hate to watch and hear about what slaughterhouses do to innocent animals; it pains me.

imo: what you see in the videos is just rare cases. not every farm treats their animals the same. near my grandmas house theirs a farm that raises cows.. &they roam... completely free.

Original Post by zebulancherry:

I care about animals, but I also care about myself too. Last night, we went out to eat for my baby cousin's birthday; there were no vegetarian options on the menu. I nearly ordered the chilean sea bass, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. Instead, I asked the waitress if she could have something prepared for me. I got a Thai noodle dish (sans chicken) with black bean sauce, bean sprouts, rice noodles, and steamed veggies on the side. It was quite delicious, actually. x) I didn't miss the meat one bit.

I'm just going to think about this. I hate the thought of drinking cow's milk, but I still like yogurt. Maybe I'll just buy Stoneyfield Farms if I buy it at all, since I think they are a very humane company. As for eggs, I MIGHT eat the ones from my friend's farm, since I know their conditions and how they are treated.

But again, like I said, I might not eat any of this; I just have to think about it.

i saw one of your psots a while ago that said you eat meat like 4 days &are vegetarian 3 days a week. or something like that. why dont you just go back to doing that?

 

hehe, you kinda have a all-or-nothing mentality. you can help by just cutting half or 1/4 out of your diet.

Original Post by peacelovehominy:

Original Post by zebulancherry:

I strongly stand for compassion and fair treatment of animals. I hate to watch and hear about what slaughterhouses do to innocent animals; it pains me.

imo: what you see in the videos is just rare cases. not every farm treats their animals the same. near my grandmas house theirs a farm that raises cows.. &they roam... completely free.

Sadly the farm near your grandmothers house is actually the rare case. There is a lot of information out there on factory farming... which is the MAJORITY of farming.

http://www.farmsanctuary.org/issues/factoryfa rming/

idk.. i suppose im not easily convinced. i saw what i saw.

Original Post by peacelovehominy:

idk.. i suppose im not easily convinced. i saw what i saw.

If you choose to go to the link I posted, click on "economy" to read about how small farms like the ones by your grandmother's house are being threatened by factory farming.

Original Post by peacelovehominy:

idk.. i suppose im not easily convinced. i saw what i saw.

what you saw is one instance.  that's like saying i saw one old person who smoked and they are healthy so smoking is healthy....

if you read the information given above or research it yourself you will see that small independent farms like what you've seen are the rarity.  do you really think mcdonalds is suppoly .99$ meals from independent farms with cows roaming free? or that's where the super markets stock their shelves from? there's NO WAY that much of a product could come from small independent farms.  it comes from factory farms and they are very very much the majority.  your lucky you live near a farm where you can obtain your own meat products from animals raised humanely, but most of the country cannot.

 

i just find itr hard to believe that MOST factory farm waorkers abuse the animals. i mean, some people do have a life.