Vegetarianism/veganism.

I had to go on a dairy-free diet for six weeks a few years ago when we were trying to figure out what triggered my migraine headaches. I had to eat the soy alternatives to dairy -- so it was soymilk, soy cheese, soy ice cream, the works. It was a huge adjustment but I found out that I do love some of those items.

I went to the grocery and had some soymilk in my cart, as well as my usual healthful assortments of fresh produce and a veggie came up to me and was like, "Hey sister! Good to see I'm not the only vego in town! Want to join me at a protest?" I felt really odd telling her I was actually heading to the meat aisle -- I am not a vegetarian myself, although I have significantly reduced the amount of red meat that I eat for health reasons. She immediately started railing on me on how meat is murder and how I shouldn't eat it. It was incredibly uncomfortable to be confronted so in the grocery.

I have friends who are vegetarians and I will honor that when they come to my home, I will prepare a veggie meal or have veggie alternatives available for them. They don't push their beliefs on me, because we have had discussions on my choice to eat meat, but they appreciate the fact that I respect their choices enough to provide for their dietary needs when they are in my home.

^I'd like to thank you on behalf of all vegetarians and vegans for your respect.
I myslef hate preaching people, and don't shove my beliefs down others throats. It's always complicated when the topic of meat eating and what not comes up, because i want to put in my input but don't want to sound preachy or get too gory and upset other people. I'm lucky to have never encountered radical meat eaters who want to convert me back, but i'm always afraid i will which is why i don't tell people. Kinda sad, i know, but i don't want...to make a fool out of myself i guess...
I also get really uncomfortable when people ask me why i'm vegetarian, i generally don't go in to detail, but i'm always afraid of coming off preachy...

Any fellow vegetarians or vegans got any advice?

p.s in 3 days i will have been vego for a year! I'm going to celebrate somehow...lol

^ eat meat emily!! eat meat!!
im kidding. you know i love you

but yer. im so proud of you for sticking to it and you've done such an awesome job! and you've helped me realise some things, so ive avoided some things that i know animals are definately treated cruelly with and yer.
you rock. will you have my babies? (look out gerard way! emily is coming in #1!)

^aww thanks...yeah okay why not...theyll prob be better looking. lol

amity_xo:

^I'd like to thank you on behalf of all vegetarians and vegans for your respect.

No worries. I have no problem respecting veggies who respect me in return, and I think it's great when people are able to have a veggie diet. Incredibly long story short: I eat meat because I was very poor growing up, and was taught to be thankful for all food. My upbringing and my faith both taught that animals were put on the earth for food. As an adult, again, I have embraced a healthier diet and eat more veggies than meats, but I do not have problems eating meat. I do, however, try to purchase from animal-friendly farms whenever I can. I don't eat veal or eat at KFC. I purchase eggs only from free-range farms, and either soymilk or milk from cruelty-free farms. I choose antibiotic-and-hormone free chicken and beef. So I do my best to be a pro-active meat-eater, and do eat meat-free quite a bit.

Personally I find meat pretty gross.
Who wants to eat something that was just alive? Ew.
Anyway, we don't need to eat meat. People can survive just fine without it. You can get protien from quite a lot of things other than meat. And, the way we raise animals these days is horrific. I wouldn't have a problem with it if animals were raised in semi-decent conditions (although, I still wouldn't eat it for previous reasons)

Actually ummm..FYI, plants are alive too. Just because they cannot communicate doesn't mean they don't have emotions, feelings, and their own sets of organs

omg, you have the same situation as me. im a veggie, and my dad always shoves meat in face. ug and in my science class, we have to do expirements with raw chicken wingsss. AND its not optional. it goes againts everything i belive in and i dont want to do it.

Actually, yes, I am
Within the last few years, many studies have shown that plants are just as connected to the emotions of human being as animals are. They themselves are completely aware of their existence, as well as when they are killed for food. You can't say that just because animals can move, and physically feel, means that they matter more then plants.

Fruits however, are not alive, and never were.

I think Vegetarians are taking the easy way out by pretending that the lives of plants don't matter...like they claim that omnivores do with animals.
All living things that are conscious of their life and death, and the creatures around them, are worth the same, it's ignorant to say otherwise

They can't feel the way we feel, but they can feel, and they are aware of their existence
Here is a quote documenting a famous plant study

"Cleve Backster used a polygraph (lie-detector) to test plants, attaching electrodes to the leaves. By recording electrical impulses he found the plants to be extremely sensitive to his thoughts, particularly thoughts that threatened their well-being. Backster also observed a reaction in a plant when even the smallest cells were killed near it. He noted that they have a kind of memory, reacting to someone who earlier had done harm to another plant nearby: in a line-up of anonymous people the plant could pick out the one who had performed the act (John Van Mater, theosophist).*"

& It is taking the easy way out, by even suggesting that somehow it is okay to eat plants and not animals on a moral standpoint. Not liking a food is one thing, but pretending like animals are worth more then plants,and while it is totally immoral to eat animals, its is perfectly fine to eat plants, well, that';s QUITE Ignorant.

http://www.derrickjensen.org/backster.html
Here is a link that covers a bit of what he did with plants
And how can you eat plants guilt free exactly, but see animals as terrible things to eat?

This is where I find veggies to be rather hypocritical. You guys talk about how we have no right to eat animals because we are living living things, but you guys are too. Whether something is a plant or animal, it is still alive, and still has feelings and a desire to live.

This is why the moral argument for vegetarians is a complete and utter waste. I don't see how many of you get on meat eaters cases for being ignorant about the lives of animals, when you are ALL ignoring the lives of plants.

Now me, I see things on an equal basis, which also means equal basis for eating

I wasn't arguing about you
I was arguing the point that was made before, and that you appeared to be supporting
or just the very idea that it is morally right to eat plants but not animals

I agree with DIE! DIE! DIE!. I've recently read an argument about whether we shouldn't eat animals because that would be "cruelty", here's a link

I've edited here for clarity, since the context is about Muslims being allowed to eat meat.

"Even plants have life

Certain religions have adopted pure vegetarianism as a dietary law because they are totally against the killing of living creatures. If a person can survive without killing any living creature, I would be the first person to adopt such a way of life. In the past people thought plants were lifeless. Today it is a universal fact that even plants have life. Thus their logic of not killing living creatures is not fulfilled even by being a pure vegetarian.


Even plants can feel pain

They further argue that plants cannot feel pain, therefore killing a plant is a lesser crime as compared to killing an animal. Today science tells us that even plants can feel pain. But the cry of the plant cannot be heard by the human being. This is due to the inability of the human ear to hear sounds that are not in the audible range i.e. 20 Hertz to 20,000 Hertz. Anything below and above this range cannot be heard by a human being. A dog can hear up to 40,000 Hertz. Thus there are silent dog whistles that have a frequency of more than 20,000 Hertz and less than 40,000 Hertz. These whistles are only heard by dogs and not by human beings. The dog recognizes the masters whistle and comes to the master. There was research done by a farmer in U.S.A. who invented an instrument which converted the cry of the plant so that it could be heard by human beings. He was able to realize immediately when the plant itself cried for water. Latest researches show that the plants can even feel happy and sad. It can also cry.


Killing a living creature with two senses less is not a lesser crime

Once a vegetarian argued his case by saying that plants only have two or three senses while the animals have five senses.

Therefore killing a plant is a lesser crime than killing an animal. Suppose your brother is born deaf and dumb and has two senses less as compared to other human beings. He becomes mature and someone murders him. Would you ask the judge to give the murderer a lesser punishment because your brother has two senses less? In fact you would say that he has killed a masoom, an innocent person, and the judge should give the murderer a greater punishment. "
-Dr Zakir Naik


So yeah, I agree with all this. Prevent animal 'cruelty' and promote plant 'cruelty'. As a result, this is, I believe, hardly a valid reason for being a vegetarian.

Techinically if you're calling eating animals as animal cruelty then eating plants is also plant cruelty, isn't it?

I attempted to become a vegetarian before.
I was feeling sick, tired, weak and dizzy.
Tbh, it was a very bad experience.
Although a friend of mine tried to become one too.
And, she told she felt fresher.

Honestly, it's your option.
Becoming a vegetarian is something you need to decide.