Are You a Vegetarian? | Poll & Discussion

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In summary: My parents didn't let me do those things but I would see people slaughter livestock .. so the reason I was a vegetarian at that age.I am a committed omnivore.

What are you?


  • Total voters
    136
  • #106


I don't see the point of going against nature.
I am not a vegetarian.
 
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  • #107


I definitely eat meat. It makes up the vast majority of my diet.

Most of the beef I eat these days is already packaged up, but I've participated in the butchering of a few pigs and cattle. I've killed and eaten many other game species. We always have some venison (whitetail deer or axis) in the freezer. I used to be an avid duck and goose hunter, but that tapered off when I started working as much as possible in preparation for going back to school.

I also live on the gulf coast, so fishing is easy and accessible. Up until I got married and bought a house, we always had fresh fish around. We haven't caught and boiled any blue crab in quite a while, but we still buy live crawfish to boil a few times a year.

I also eat lots of vegetables and fresh fruit, but they make up a smaller portion of my diet.
 
  • #108


Evo said:
Emotionally, I could not eat any animal if I had to kill it.

But that's when it tastes the best! :eek:
 
  • #109


Drakkith said:
But that's when it tastes the best! :eek:
:eek:
 
  • #110
Evo said:
:eek:

I understand Evo. I'd have a hard time killing my cats if it came down to that.
 
  • #111


Drakkith said:
But that's when it tastes the best! :eek:

I must concur, freshly caught trout or mackerel are some of the nicest things you'll ever taste. No need to go over board or use any spices, just salt pepper and flour, whack them in a hot pan with butter and serve with crusty bread.
 
  • #112


rollcast said:
I must concur, freshly caught trout or mackerel are some of the nicest things you'll ever taste. No need to go over board or use any spices, just salt pepper and flour, whack them in a hot pan with butter and serve with crusty bread.

I concur, but never did it myself. I only experience this traveling:

1) Row boat comes into tiny Carribean island, blows conch shell announcing fish, get chunk of red snapper caught within the hour.

2) At a small middle eastern village, our group of friends is invited to join a feast. We see live poultry being carried to a shed. They are killed and plucked while we chat and drink turkish coffee. Cooked over a fire. Never had better chicken in my life.
 
  • #113


turbo said:
I worked with a guy that once was a research assistant at the University of Maine. They were involved with programs studying the feasibility of flash-freezing and shipping Maine lobsters. Guess what happened to the lobsters and lobster-parts that were not required? I would love to have been in Gerry's research group. (who buys the butter?)

That's about as good as the person I met from Louisiana who did research with crayfish. The project involved only females, but they couldn't buy just females, so their lab had very well-fed grad students with lots of crawfish boils of the males.
 
  • #114


Moonbear said:
That's about as good as the person I met from Louisiana who did research with crayfish. The project involved only females, but they couldn't buy just females, so their lab had very well-fed grad students with lots of crawfish boils of the males.
Not only did Gerry and his pals get all of the unused parts of the lobsters, but they made their own "vodka" out of research-grade ethanol with a little citric acid to add a bit of sourness.
 
  • #115


turbo said:
Not only did Gerry and his pals get all of the unused parts of the lobsters, but they made their own "vodka" out of research-grade ethanol with a little citric acid to add a bit of sourness.

You have to be careful with that. A lot of research grade alcohol is "denatured" alcohol, which means it has a small percentage of methanol or isopropanol added to keep it from being drunk. The pure stuff is basically the same as Everclear, which is dreadful!
 
  • #116


The stuff that we had in the pulp mill lab was denatured with methanol, ethyl acetate, and even aviation gasoline. The university had real ethanol. Gerry was a little "out there" but he wasn't suicidal.
 
  • #117


Hi
I used Pure Vegan B12 spray.There is also a cheaper version that does not advertise vegan but says so on the label called Pure Advantage B12. The ingredients are identical.
 
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  • #118


richart2012 said:
Hi
I used Pure Vegan B12 spray.There is also a cheaper version that does not advertise vegan but says so on the label called Pure Advantage B12. The ingredients are identical.

That's not B12, it's a methylated form of it. Lots of "health food" shops sell these scammy products as supplements for vegans, but they aren't bioavailable forms. There is no bioavailable form in plants. Some supplements of cobalamin are produced from bacterial sources, and can be used, but there are far more scams out there than legitimate products.

Humans evolved to require a diet that includes some animal products. It doesn't need to be daily, and it doesn't need to be meat, but it does need to be an animal product of some sort...raiding the chicken house for a few sterile eggs now and then is fine. There's no sane reason to deny a person all animal products. But, instead of eatingna few animal products, they'd rather support an industry that manufactures synthetic vitamins, packages them up in plastic bottles, and ships them over long distances, and may not even be a usable form of the vitamin.
 
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  • #119


I eat everything [less breads and high carb foods] but keep the red meat to a minimum. And while I am on a low-carb diet, which by definition means relatively high fat and protein, I have probably eaten more fresh fruits and vegetables over the last year than in the previous ten [no kidding!]. Now, as long as I keep my party platter handy, I tend to eat vegetables like candy.

People here might be interested in learning more about former President Clinton's diet. He is on an extreme vegetarian diet that doesn't even allow processed plant oils. Even fish oil is forbidden. I saw the author of the diet interviewed. He claims that no one who has gone on this diet has ever had a heart attack; that some people have gone on this diet were in dire need of corrective heart surgery, but the disease was reversed through diet. He claims that while genetics plays a role, all heart disease is preventable and 100% attributable to food. A striking claim to say the least! And he claims to have the research to back it up. I've been meaning to learn more about this but hadn't gotten around to it yet.
 
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  • #121


Ivan Seeking said:
He claims that no one who has gone on this diet has ever had a heart attack; that some people have gone on this diet were in dire need of corrective heart surgery, but the disease was reversed through diet.
A damaged heart or valves cannot repair themselves, that's crackpottery.
 
  • #122


Evo said:
A damaged heart or valves cannot repair themselves, that's crackpottery.

He was talking about coronary artery disease. Obviously diet isn't going to repair a damaged valve.

Monique already posted his research.
 
  • #123


In case memory doesn't serve correctly, here is the interview.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4hbV4RgzI8
 
  • #125


Vegetarian throughout the year but I do eat a bit of meat during the holiday season, so mostly vegetarian aside from two dates on the calendar.
 
  • #126


Ivan Seeking said:
He was talking about coronary artery disease. Obviously diet isn't going to repair a damaged valve.

Monique already posted his research.
That was an unrelated list of papers that had his name listed.
 
  • #127


Evo said:
That was an unrelated list of papers that had his name listed.
What do you mean unrelated, it's a list of his peer-reviewed publications. Among them publications where he makes the claims of lifestyle changes and cardiovascular disease. Those are more on-topic than popular media statements that are known to distort facts.

People are free to look at his publications, the second one is very recent research. Here is an older publication that supports the claim of regression of coronary artery disease based on intensive lifestyle changes http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9863851

I don't have time to dig into it much further, but he also has publications on diet alone.
 
  • #128


If there are any vegetarians in this thread, could you explain the rationale behind eating some meats?
 
  • #129


There are no vegetarians or vegans if single celled animals are counted. Then where is the threshold. :tongue2:
 
  • #130


PAllen said:
There are no vegetarians or vegans if single celled animals are counted. Then where is the threshold. :tongue2:

single-celled are not classified as animals. You really need tissues/organs to be metazoan, technically.

Still, there are plenty of multicellular animals that are small enough to hide in a salad and not give a taste.

edit: to take a guess: probably many draw the line at vertebrae.
 
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  • #131


Pythagorean said:
single-celled are not classified as animals. You really need tissues/organs to be metazoan, technically.

Still, there are plenty of multicellular animals that are small enough to hide in a salad and not give a taste.

edit: to take a guess: probably many draw the line at vertebrae.

Ah, then let them eat escargot! :wink:
 
  • #134


I'm a veggie, and an athlete. I mentioned in another thread, but I do Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, power lifting, and running.

One thing I'd recommend all vegetarians (especially in academia) supplement with is creatine monohydrate. I'm not positive what the commercial source is, I assume its synthetic but I'm not positive so it may not be strictly vegetarian. However, studies have shown that vegetarians who supplement with creatine (as they no longer have any in their diet) show increases in memory, as well as anaerobic energy.

I've been veggie for 11 years now, so I've had a lot of time to consider where to draw the line. For me, personally, its vertebrates. I guess that makes lobster and crabs okay to me, but not fish. Insects are natures most plentiful food source, maybe, so its not very ecologically impacting if I wanted to go that route. However, I'm not in a hurry to eat either. Go figure. Milk and eggs are just fine if I need fat or protein.
 
  • #135


I eat peanut, jelly, spam, butter, spam, bread, spam, spam, spam, chicken, spam, spam, spam, spam, steak, spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, spam...
 
  • #136


Kholdstare said:
I eat peanut, jelly, spam, butter, spam, bread, spam, spam, spam, chicken, spam, spam, spam, spam, steak, spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, spam...

No spamming on PF!
 
  • #137


PAllen said:
No spamming on PF!

There's always time for spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, spam,...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anwy2MPT5RE
 
  • #138


I am a strict carnivore. The only pleasure that I derive from eating is in knowing that something died violently so that I could eat it. Vegetables are not food; they're what food eats.
 
  • #139


You could, if you chose, kill vegetables violently. They're not big screamers though.
 
  • #140


Pythagorean said:
You could, if you chose, kill vegetables violently. They're not big screamers though.

I'm not so sure about that. The ex had the intellect of a vegetable, but she screamed like a wounded wombat.
 
<h2>1. What is a vegetarian?</h2><p>A vegetarian is someone who follows a diet that does not include meat, poultry, or seafood. Some vegetarians may also avoid other animal products such as dairy, eggs, and honey.</p><h2>2. Why do people become vegetarians?</h2><p>People become vegetarians for a variety of reasons, including ethical, environmental, and health reasons. Some people may also choose to become vegetarian for religious or cultural beliefs.</p><h2>3. What are the health benefits of being a vegetarian?</h2><p>Research has shown that vegetarian diets can have several health benefits, including lower risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and some types of cancer. Vegetarians also tend to have lower cholesterol and blood pressure levels.</p><h2>4. Can vegetarians get enough protein in their diet?</h2><p>Yes, vegetarians can get enough protein in their diet by incorporating plant-based protein sources such as beans, lentils, tofu, nuts, and seeds. It is important for vegetarians to have a diverse and balanced diet to ensure they are getting all the necessary nutrients.</p><h2>5. Is it difficult to maintain a vegetarian diet?</h2><p>Maintaining a vegetarian diet can be challenging at first, especially if you are used to consuming meat. However, with proper planning and education, it can become a sustainable and enjoyable lifestyle. There are also many resources and support groups available for those who are interested in becoming vegetarian.</p>

1. What is a vegetarian?

A vegetarian is someone who follows a diet that does not include meat, poultry, or seafood. Some vegetarians may also avoid other animal products such as dairy, eggs, and honey.

2. Why do people become vegetarians?

People become vegetarians for a variety of reasons, including ethical, environmental, and health reasons. Some people may also choose to become vegetarian for religious or cultural beliefs.

3. What are the health benefits of being a vegetarian?

Research has shown that vegetarian diets can have several health benefits, including lower risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and some types of cancer. Vegetarians also tend to have lower cholesterol and blood pressure levels.

4. Can vegetarians get enough protein in their diet?

Yes, vegetarians can get enough protein in their diet by incorporating plant-based protein sources such as beans, lentils, tofu, nuts, and seeds. It is important for vegetarians to have a diverse and balanced diet to ensure they are getting all the necessary nutrients.

5. Is it difficult to maintain a vegetarian diet?

Maintaining a vegetarian diet can be challenging at first, especially if you are used to consuming meat. However, with proper planning and education, it can become a sustainable and enjoyable lifestyle. There are also many resources and support groups available for those who are interested in becoming vegetarian.

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