Not trying to start crap, just want to know... how many people here are actually Vegan?

As in no animal products whatsoever (including honey)

I have been vegan for 13 years! Drop in and say hi if you're vegan too! We can support each other with our fitness goals!

HI :P

Yup, vegan for about 6 years; veggie for another 10 before that!

Im a noob i guess, three weeks in, but im disciplined as hell and no.... i choose not to eat something that comes out of the anus of another creature so honey is out of the question. Good to see we can finally gather somewheres!

As for fitness goals i am woking to gain a little weight and increase strength/get a little more toned.

-peace and love-

Hi Darth and Clay :)  I've been vegan for about two years, and I don't eat honey either.  I want to build more muscle but maintain the same weight.

Darth - what are your fitness goals? 

Original Post by veryvegan:

Hi Darth and Clay :)  I've been vegan for about two years, and I don't eat honey either.  I want to build more muscle but maintain the same weight.

Darth - what are your fitness goals? 

I live in good ol' Portland, OR.

It is probably the most vegan friendly city in the country, it also has more vegan junk food than one could possibly imagine.

So every winter I gain weight eating yummy comfort food, and every summer I burn off as much as possible!

I am planning on breaking the cycle this year!

Most years I end up in much better shape then I started, but I never reach my ultimate fitness goal. I plan to make this year different.

I also want to get back in shape for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, I did it for 3 years and started getting really good until life and school got in the way.

I wish we had an actual vegan forum here, all the pescetarian threads are frustrating for me.

I'm not vegan I'm a strict vegetarian tho. No meat by-products for me. May become vegan some day but not at the moment. I just wanted to comment on your thread b/c all the "I'm vegetarian but eat fish/ I'm vegetarian but sometimes eat me" people annoy the crap out of me. I also had a friend who was "vegan" but ate egg beaters >_<

And as far as honey it's kinda half/half with the vegans. I wouldn't say someone isn't a vegan for eating honey, especially if it's a trace amount in something like bread.

Hey everyone!

So good to see vegans-only here. I was getting frustrated by the pesc's and ovo-lacto's as well.

My name's Ella, I'm 16, I've been vegan for just over a month so that makes me a newborn :) I LOVE it though and I was omni for my whole life except for a few weeks of ovo-lacto that I didn't plan properly a few years ago and felt weak so I went back to omni, then this year I went vegan for Lent, after Lent I stayed ovo-lacto, now I'm back to vegan and I'm definitely here to stay.

I have a question for everyone though: Since figs contain dead wasp matter (fig wasps that fertilise figs in a natural, mutualist symbiotic relationship - nothing to do with farming) does that mean you choose not to eat figs? Farmers actually try to reduce the number of wasps in each fig so they don't over-fertilize. I found all this out yesterday and I'm so confused because obviously I don't eat honey, but this is all just the way nature is, no man interruptions except picking the fig off the tree. That said, I don't want to undermine my principles that one life is as precious as the next.

What are your thoughts?

Ellabella that's an interesting point. I think since it's done naturally it would be ok. Animals fertilize a lot of plants, also they spread seeds so more plants will go, but no humans interact with those things so it's fine to eat them.

But if you personally feel guilty for eating them you could give them up, but as a whole I think it'd be fine.

Actual long time vegan here, also from Portland OR. Portland's vegan friendliness is a double edged sword. It has made it harder for me to keep my weight down. In the past, lack of choices made avoiding junk food much easier. 

If you are going to worry about potential insect bits in figs, you'll have to eliminate a lot of other foods that potentially contain insect parts.  Check this out (*not for the easily queasy*): http://www.fda.gov/Food/GuidanceComplianceReg ulatoryInformation/GuidanceDocuments/Sanitati on/ucm056174.htm

Honestly, I think the fig thing is one of those topics most often brought up by honey apologists and taunters of vegans. Figs aren't an animal product and the amount of insect fragments present are similar to what is in other plant products that come into contact with insects during their life cycles.

Welcome Ella!

To answer your question I personally would not worry about the fig thing, but that is me.

I certainly do not think that is a justification for eating honey!

But anyway thanx everyone for posting, I am glad I wasn't the only one getting annoyed.

people claiming eating honey is vegan really annoy me. what's vegan too, then? wearing wool or silk? (the production of silk is even more disgusting than fur)

fact is we're stealing the bee's food and give them 'sugar water' instead. if it was really just as good we'd use it ourselves, right? right :P

either way .. yah.. forums here are meh. but there's groups around, too ;)

and if all else fails we make our own one :)

Thanks for the input about figs, everyone. Honestly I didn't *think* I had a problem with it but I wanted to see what the general vegan consensus was :)

Agreed though - that does NOT make eating honey okay!

One more post and I'll leave you vegans alone :P

I think we're allowed to post links, I'm on this forum called veggieboards.com so if you're looking for a good vegan/vegetarian forum that's it! It's not all vegan but you can NOT be on there if you eat any meat (yes that includes fish) so that's nice. People get banned all the time for posting about being pescatraian or "sometimes eating fish." Luckily since you're vegans you won't get crap for being lacto/ovo like me >_< But yea, check it out :-)

http://www.happycow.net/

this above website has a veg*n chat room and lots of other cool info..

Original Post by ellabella89:

 Since figs contain dead wasp matter

 Ugh... sounds so gross.  I love figs too! 

vegan here.

(to the best of my ability and to the best of my knowledge).

vegan :)

Konnichiwa! ^^ I am vegan too!

I am not a vegan, however I fully respect anyone that lives that lifestyle.

I do my best to eat well and stay relatively meat free. 

I stopped eating red meat a while ago, and occasionally have chicken or seafood. Although, since I grew up eating seafood, that will be a hard one to give up.

Whenever I eat out, or go grocery shopping I do my best to stay meat free, and for the most part I do. It's all about choices you make, and veganism is something requires a lot of commitment that I am not ready to give myself to. But more power to the vegans out there!