Veganism

[Darth Plagueis]

I've been a Vegan since the start of 2016, and was vegetarian around september 2015.

I did it when I realised that I couldn't really defend my position as an animal product consumer.

- Healthwise

I realised that that no animal product could literally be labled a health food. We've all been fooled into thinking that we need meat to get our protein and need dairy milk to get our calcium. This is absolutely false.

I noticed a massive improvement in athletic performance after giving up meat and cheese, and also a reduction in headaches and sluggishness after meals.

- Environmental

Animal agriculture causes more greenhouse gas emmisions/climate change than any other industry. It's indefensible here.

- Morally

If we don't need to eat animals to live or to be healthy, then torturing and slaughtering them has to be considered an act of animal abuse. We all cry when we see those RSPCA adverts of dogs being starved, beaten and near killed, but animals of the same level of intelligence on farms are treat very similarly quite often.

Pigs are just as smart as dogs and have the capacity to feel pain. I don't see how abuse of a dog can labeled abhorrent but not the abuse of animals like Pigs.

Humanity -

Again, we all cry when we see the adverts including starving Africans, but the reason why they're starving is because resources that could be diverted to those people is being wasted on animal agriculture.

I'm not saying we can save the world in every way, but if we reduce our consumption of animal products significantly, the whole world benefits.

Humans in more ways than one, and all the animals in it.

 

[bum_chinned_crab]

Tell you what else pisses me off - when vegans or vegetarians refer to people who eat meat as carnivores. No they're not. Unless they only eat meat then they're omnivores.

****s.

 

[Darth Plagueis]

Tell you what else pisses me off - when vegans or vegetarians refer to people who eat meat as carnivores. No they're not. Unless they only eat meat then they're omnivores.

****s.

Agreed. I'm a vegan, and I'll be the first to admit that many vegans are arseholes, and the reason so many people are frightened away from a plant based diet is because of the approach of some Vegans.

All I'd ask people to do is to keep an open mind and look into the matter themselves. Forget about what I or anyone else says.

I'm not going to hate on anyone for eating meat, but this topic is too important for everything on the planet for us to just shrug our shoulders as if the problem will just go away.

 

[Tyler]

Eat whatever you want to, just don't force it down people's throats.

 

[Spook]

Spooks are mystical.

Spooks are everywhere. That's some real ****ing spooky ****.

 

[Darth Plagueis]

Eat whatever you want to, just don't force it down people's throats.

I'd never force it down anyone's throat, I'd just ask that you keep an open mind and look into it, rather than turning a blind eye to the issue.

 

[Ullofaman]

I am a vegan but I would never discuss this with someone face to face nor would I ever pass judgement on anyone else. We all have our own moral compass. I suppose I could therefore be classed as a plant murderer. But hey just as an aside, did you ever notice that clientele in health food shops are usually either sick limp sticks or two ton tessies. Both ends of the spectrum and very few average types!!!!!

 

[Tyler]

I'd never force it down anyone's throat, I'd just ask that you keep an open mind and look into it, rather than turning a blind eye to the issue.

Advice to all positions.

 

[DMD]

I find it odd when people buy pretend meat, that's designed to taste and even look like chicken or a burger or a sausage ( as if they're 'meat').

 

[Quill]

No ****ing chance I'm giving up bacon.

Though everyone else can do what they want, it's their life.

 

[ElTigre]

Synthetic meat produced on an industrial scale might only be a few years away. If it can be made to taste as good as real meat and is cheaper I don't see why it won't destroy the livestock industry.

 

[Barchullona]

I like the 'I'm a Vegetarian, but I eat fish....?'

So, you're not a Vegetarian then?!

Meat is murder. Fish is justifiable homicide.

 

[Darth Plagueis]

I find it odd when people buy pretend meat, that's designed to taste and even look like chicken or a burger or a sausage ( as if they're 'meat').

Because most Vegetarians/Vegans liked meat, and if we can find a non-meat alternative that tastes the same and costs the same, why not?

 

[HCAFC (Airlie Tiger)]

I realised that that no animal product could literally be labled a health food. We've all been fooled into thinking that we need meat to get our protein and need dairy milk to get our calcium. This is absolutely false.

I noticed a massive improvement in athletic performance after giving up meat and cheese, and also a reduction in headaches and sluggishness after meals.

Yes you can get everything you need as an athlete from a vegan diet, but very few actually do. It takes an awful lot of knowledge, discipline and research to design an athletic vegan diet that rivals a omnivorous one, most people simply don't know enough about it.

When you are working with non-lean, incomplete proteins that have half the bioavailability of animal products it takes meticulous planning of every meal to ensure your getting a complete amino acid profile without consuming too much fibre or soy, whilst balancing macro nutrient totals.

Most people experience a peak in athletic performance when they turn vegan, largely due to increasing their intake of fresh fruit and veg whilst eating less processed crap, however micronutrient deficiencies take months or even years to manifest as symptoms or illnesses. The fact you got headaches after meals suggests your diet wasn't great, I eat a lot of lean animal proteins but very little processed food and I never feel sluggish or get headaches after eating.

 

[HCAFC (Airlie Tiger)]

Because most Vegetarians/Vegans liked meat, and if we can find a non-meat alternative that tastes the same and costs the same, why not?

Well from a health perspective, reconstituted, processed soy and fungus proteins are far less nutritious than the lean chicken breast on which they are based.

 

[pierredelafranchesca]

Bit like religion, everyone is entitled to believe in what they want to believe in just as people can eat what they like, and as with religion the problem comes when people try to enforce their views and beliefs n others as at that point they are becoming fundamentalists, and all round dick heads.

 

[Darth Plagueis]

Yes you can get everything you need as an athlete from a vegan diet, but very few actually do. It takes an awful lot of knowledge, discipline and research to design an athletic vegan diet that rivals a omnivorous one, most people simply don't know enough about it.

When you are working with non-lean, incomplete proteins that have half the bioavailability of animal products it takes meticulous planning of every meal to ensure your getting a complete amino acid profile without consuming too much fibre or soy, whilst balancing macro nutrient totals.

Most people experience a peak in athletic performance when they turn vegan, largely due to increasing their intake of fresh fruit and veg whilst eating less processed crap, however micronutrient deficiencies take months or even years to manifest as symptoms or illnesses. The fact you got headaches after meals suggests your diet wasn't great, I eat a lot of lean animal proteins but very little processed food and I never feel sluggish or get headaches after eating.

You've made an assumption here that I was eating processed meats but actually I was primarily eating meats like Tuna, Mackrel, lean Chicken. My diet, omnivorous or not, has always been surrounded by knowledge of what the body needs. I was eating plenty of good fruits and veg, mixed with nuts and lean meats.

I never said I experienced headaches after eating, I said I experienced headaches more often when I was eating meat. I didn't just take health seriously when I turned Vegan.

When it comes to protein I agree that eating meat does seem to be a more convenient way to get your protein, but does convenience = healthier?

Even if it takes a bit more research and Vegans have to be even more careful, surely that is worth it if it means getting our protein from healthier sources that better promote athletic performance, rather than just convenience?

I get my protein from a mixture of sources -

Tofu, nuts like cashews and brazil nuts, seeds like hemp and chia seeds (containing my omega 3/6/9's also), beans, lentils and sometimes fortified mock meats and cereals.

Even though I'm having to make sure I eat a mixture of different types of foods, I'm getting plenty of health benefits from doing so. I was always aware that Vegans often struggle to get things like Lysine from their protein sources, and that's why I make sure to get things like lentils and black beans in my diet.

 

[spesupersydera]

Bit like religion, everyone is entitled to believe in what they want to believe in just as people can eat what they like, and as with religion the problem comes when people try to enforce their views and beliefs n others as at that point they are becoming fundamentalists, and all round dick heads.

Nicely put - as I've gotten older my diet has changed, I tend to only eat meat (locally reared and quite expensive) once in awhile; the rest of the time I'll rotate being eating miso noodle broths with steamed veg and meditteranean type salad dishes with fish/seafood. I feel better for it.

 

[Lincoln Tiger]

Because most Vegetarians/Vegans liked meat, and if we can find a non-meat alternative that tastes the same and costs the same, why not?

I'm perhaps the odd one out here. I hated being forced to eat meat and fowl when I was a child. I simply hated the taste and texture of it and the smell of bacon makes me gag. I have not eaten meat or fowl etc for 41 years. I have no issue with those who do eat it. Giving people a hard time about it is not my way. I love the Quorn stuff though tend to avoid anything that attempts to taste or smells like meat. The Quorn mince/pieces and sausages are great, whilst the Quorn bacon ...ugh! Each to their own!

The toughest deal is finding a chippy that doesn't cook in lard!

 

[Chazz Rheinhold]

Nicely put - as I've gotten older my diet has changed, I tend to only eat meat (locally reared and quite expensive) once in awhile; the rest of the time I'll rotate being eating miso noodle broths with steamed veg and meditteranean type salad dishes with fish/seafood. I feel better for it.

Get her