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Lately I have found myself debating something I never thought I would be debating. Lately I have been thinking about becoming a vegetarian. The problem I have is I have the unnecessary killing of animals and the inhumane ways they are kept and killed but at the same time I love eating meat.

I know that one person who stops buying meat is not going to make a difference. But at the same time I know if everyone feels that way than it really won't change. Part of my dilemma comes from the fact that I know I couldn't (unless it was life or death related) kill an animal myself and yet I hide behind the fact that I am not killing the animal and so I eat meat. But lately the hypocrisy of that logic has been getting to me. Now if I did become a vegetarian I would still eat dairy products and eggs but I still can't decide. The main problem I am having is that most of my favorite foods have meat in them.

Now granted I can modify most of those so they don’t have meat but I can't figure out if that will really work to curb my desire to eat meat. I am also a bit concerned about how easy it would be to keep get a good amount of protein. I know I can always drink protein drinks, eat peanuts, legumes, eggs, dairy products, etc. but I still can’t decide if it is worth it. I know that the final decision has to come from me and it can’t be something someone else decides but I would still love to hear any info for or against eating vegetarian. So if anyone here is a vegetarian or used to be one or if you just have some info to add I am all ears to hear.

You could eat meat that has that "the animal was not treated that bad" guarantee thing. I forget what it's called. Like free-range chicken and stuff. usually if you go to say a health food store or something they might have more options for that.

It is more than just the fact that they are treated inhumane (although that is a major point) I also just have a hard time dealing with the hypocrisy of the fact that i know I wouldn't kill an animal myself but since someone else is doing the killing I go ahead and eat it. There are other things as well but that is a major issue I have been having with it and that is why I came here so I could find out some difference of opinions or maybe some people who have already taken the plunge or who used to.

If you do decide to go vegetarian, make sure to eat your vegetables. It sounds like common sense but many vegetarians forget that. Meat has a lot more calories per oz than veggies so in a short time after becoming vegetarian people tend to try and fill that gap with carbs and tend to start leaving their healthy greens behind.

If you really have a moral objection to how the animals are kept, you can try buying meat you know comes from farms that are more respectful of the animals living conditions. Cut back on meat overall and just be conscious of what you are purchasing.

Eating out has to be the hardest part of being vegetarian unless you live a city that caters to vegetarians. Don't be afraid to ask for custom type plates. Most restaurants serve tasty things along side or mixed in their meat dishes so ask for a dish without meat or mix and match different sides that you see even if they are not shown on the 'side' menu. One of my frequent restaurants, I have them replace the chicken with squash or broccoli which turns out delicious. Well I hope I've helped a little and good luck coming up with the solution fits your needs.

Clearly the most elegant solution is to have someone force you to kill an animal.

First step: stop feeling guilty for making a choice to better your eating habits, and fuck people who get all indignant because you feel ethical treatment of animals is a bad thing.

Second step: Figure out exactly what your philosophy is, and how you want to go about it. There are thousands of different ways to change your diet, so solidify where your goal is, find that mission statement, and then build a plan that goes up to it. If it's unethical treatment of animals, there are plenty of companies that do organic / ethical and sustainable practices on their animals. Great start. If you're thinking of going all out veg, be careful. Make sure you're doing your diet right.

Third step: Buy a bunch of cookbooks. The PETA dorm one is actually pretty badass (even though I fucking hate PETA). Easy, simple shit that you make and tastes great.

Fourth step: Fuck the haters. Once more, just because.

PS: you don't have to go cold turkey. Read up, and make the best call.

You can not live in the modern world and not have some one do nearly all of life's functions for you. Why should your source of protein be any different?

I don't mine coal, copper or oil. Yet, my job and lifestyle revolve around those products.

I went vegetarian for a month and it was surprisingly easy. It's on my list of things to do more consistently when my life settles down somewhat. Eating out is still possible, but you would probably be going to different restaurants. Even in Houston, I was/still am able to find some awesome veggie friendly type restaurants. There's a couple really awesome Vegan Chinese places I've been to.

Also it's surprisingly easy to still eat god awful while Vegetarian. It's not a cure for eating healthy. Eating healthy is a cure for eating healthy. I went to a fast food joint once and ate three large fries. Vegetarian, yes, but blaaaaaghhhhh fat.

Yeah, and cheese. Cheese is an easy stand-by for the veg, but it's soo loaded with sodium and fat and processed.

I have already started eating healthier and if I do decide to become a vegetarian I would definitely make sure to keep eating healthy. Now if I do decide to become a vegetarian besides making sure not to eat junk food and to make sure to eat healthy is there anything I would need to keep an eye or be aware of?

Going full vegan is really hard, BUT just saying that milk/cheese/eggs are super cruel to animals.

I know that the dairy products and eggs are hard on the animal as well but I would have to draw the line there because I really enjoy/need my dairy products. I would have a easier time dropping eggs but if I do go vegetarian I would prefer to keep the eggs as a way to help broaden my selections. I would do my best to keep from relying on them to much for my dietary needs but I think dropping them would make it to hard on myself.

Get a book about going vegan. There are nutrients necessary to the human diet that are easy to get via meat, but you have to work a little harder to get going vegan. Given that you're still consuming dairy products you might not have such a difficult time, but you don't want to miss out on these nutrients. You can't just stop eating meat, start eating more green veggies, and call it good.

There's information on the internet, but I'd take some/much of it with a grain of salt. Spend the money on a book from a writer/researcher/doctor you believe you can trust.

Never mind whether or not you think it will make a difference; do what makes you feel best. If abstaining eases your own conscience, then fine. And yeah, be careful of cheese. My brother in law has serious cholesterol problems mainly because of that. He started having problems back when he *was* a vegetarian.

I've ha thoughts like that too--could I kill my own meat? Maybe if I was starving. It doesn't bother me personally. Everybody has their "skill set." Preparing animals for consumption is not in my skill set.

I have been eating more veggies than meat lately anyways (in my journey to eat more healthy) so I am not concerned about just cutting meat out right away. As far as the nutrients go for the most part I know which areas I would need to hit be stay healthy so I am not concerned about that either.

Eggs and milk aren't necessarily super cruel to animals; just depends where you get it. Try and focus on eating superfoods like peas and beans. And eat plenty of nuts to get dat protein.

Hylian said:

It is more than just the fact that they are treated inhumane (although that is a major point) I also just have a hard time dealing with the hypocrisy of the fact that i know I wouldn't kill an animal myself but since someone else is doing the killing I go ahead and eat it. There are other things as well but that is a major issue I have been having with it and that is why I came here so I could find out some difference of opinions or maybe some people who have already taken the plunge or who used to.

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I can dIg that. I sometimes feel the same way. Anyway more to what you're looking for in advice I'm afraid I'm speaking 2nd hand from when my brother was one for a while. He said that the main thing to remember is to make sure you're getting your protein. You can get powdered protein for smoothies or what have you at most vitamin shops.

Greek yogurt it a wonderful way to get protein. Sprinkle some wheat germ and fresh berries on there... So satisfying.

Cajungal said:

Greek yogurt it a wonderful way to get protein. Sprinkle some wheat germ and fresh berries on there... So satisfying.

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While I can't fast I have tried the wheat germ on it yet I can say that I eat Greek Yogurt for breakfast almost every day and it is delicious.

It's a very good source of vitamin E. It's a good addition to crumbles, too--both sweet and savory.

Way easier solution. Pay someone else to be vegetarian for you. You can eat all the meat you want, but you've still taken one person's worth of meat eating out of the world.

It's like carbon credits, but for veggies!

Well I decided I am going to give going vegetarian a trial run and see how it goes. If I dislike it or feel it is not going to work for me after the trial than so be it but if it seems like it is working out well for me than I will go ahead and keep at it.

So thanks for the all the info and the points to consider and please wish me luck

Enjoy it! Do you have some good recipes?

Cajungal said:

Enjoy it! Do you have some good recipes?

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Not at the moment but the only meal I really have to worry about is dinner because my breakfast is usually greek yogurt and my lunch I just buy at my works cafe and they usually have a couple of vegetarian options available. For the moment I picked up some meat substitutes to use for wraps, stir fry, etc. My sister told me that her boss is a vegetarian and she said that she would ask him for some recipes for me.

Do you think you'll go the full V or do you think you'll keep fish, as some do?

But then how will you eat bacon? Not eating bacon makes you less of a man.


@ElJuski

You're such a pig

Seriously, don't half-ass it if you want to make any lasting changes. But tell us how the trial-run goes!

phil said:

Do you think you'll go the full V or do you think you'll keep fish, as some do?

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I am going full vegetarian so no meat of any kind. I am not going vegan though so I will keep eating dairy products and eggs.

Hylian said:

I am going full vegetarian so no meat of any kind. I am not going vegan though so I will keep eating dairy products and eggs.

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What? Fish don't have feelings.

Ravenpoe said:

What? Fish don't have feelings.

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What? Then why the hell have I been torturing them to death all this time?! What a freakin waste of grumble grumble snarl huff.

Ravenpoe said:

What? Fish don't have feelings.

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Sill if I am going to stop eating meat I am going to stop eating all meat. I am not going to hide behind a loophole by claiming certain animals are okay and others are alright.

I could never go vegan, I like milk products way too much.

Bowielee said:

I could never go vegan, I like milk products way too much.

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Same here. Also, eggs.

Yeah, no cake. No thank you, sir.

Well, these dead animals aren't going to eat themselves...

As a side note, I've been hunting before. I know I can kill an animal for food. I just disagree with recreational killing.

If you're going vegetarian, start looking at the Indian cuisine. (Disclaimer; yes, I am aware that there are vast regional differences, but let's keep it simple here) It's got probably the most variable options for vegetarians (and vegans!). Also, it's fukkin delicious.

Granted it has only been a few days but it seems to be going fine so far. The only real issue I have had is finding out there is animal is some stuff I didn't think to look. Now it isn't that huge of a deal but it did lead me to being surprised when I found out my multivitamins had fish in it and it also lead me to eat a gummi bear only to find out later that the gelatin in them is derived from animals (I knew Jello was made from animals but for some reason I didn't correlate that with gummi bears).

Hey, the ground up and reconstituted hooves are the best part.

Enjoy that cherry jello.

Bowielee said:

Hey, the ground up and reconstituted hooves are the best part.

Enjoy that cherry jello.

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I tried to explain that to this guy one time, he totally thought I was pulling his leg.

There are supplements which are derived from yeast instead of animal sources, and which are in non-gelatin capsules, but they are notoriously expensive compared to the usual stuff. Also, you can take yeast supplements.

Learn to love mushrooms. Lots of mushrooms. And ginger.

Be careful not to sub in too much hydrogenated oil (margarine, Crisco, Oreos, Jif, etc) to replace your fat requirements (frying, recipes).

Go easy on the tofu and protein powder. Eating too much soy-based product will screw up your hormone balance.

--Patrick

I already ordered some vegetarian multivitamins and I already love mushrooms and ginger, I will do my best to go easy on the soy-based products although with my work schedule being as hectic as it has been lately I did go and my some quick (but still healthy) meat substitutes (mushroom burgers, soy bacon, etc) for some quick dinners. I also ordered myself a juicer so I can get fresh juice loaded full of vitamins whenever I want. I have been taking a protein drink once a day but it has the protein from multiple sources (whey,soy,etc) plus I have been working out at the gym still so I don't think that would be to much protein drink.

Just remember that whey comes from milk, and gelatin can show up in the darndest of places (marshmallows!).

--Patrick

PatrThom said:

Just remember that whey comes from milk, and gelatin can show up in the darndest of places (marshmallows!).

--Patrick

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I am going with for the ovo-lacto vegetarian diet so I will still be eating dairy and eggs. I will keep in mind about the gelatin though because I have already been surprised once (damn gummi bears)

You can, in fact, make or buy vegan marshmallows.

I've always thought it weird that so much vegan food is replacement food. Meat substitute, for instance. If you're going to make a stand and change your diet, why not change your tastes to suit your diet? It seems like a lot of needless excess processing and chemical alteration just to get a food that looks, smells, and tastes like it's non vegan, but still "counts" as vegan.

It'd sound way less pretentious if you just say "I don't eat meat".

It really shouldn't be too hard. Meat isn't supposed to make up the majority of the Human diet anyway, so if you keep your ovo/lacto down to 25% or less of your total diet, you probably won't be taking in enough saturated fats to be a concern.

--Patrick

SeraRelm said:

It'd sound way less pretentious if you just say "I don't eat meat".

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Being vegan simply means you're better than everyone else.

Vegan is a lot more than just not eating meat, it means not using any animal product.

stienman said:

You can, in fact, make or buy vegan marshmallows.

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Yup. We do. Kati makes 'em. They're delicious.

--Patrick

stienman said:

If you're going to make a stand and change your diet, why not change your tastes to suit your diet?

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On the other hand, who am I to question another's tastes?

Carry on!

SeraRelm said:

It'd sound way less pretentious if you just say "I don't eat meat".

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I hate how people have to cover that shit up--it's not pretentious to say that you're vegetarian. It's like if being a "lesbian" is pretentious and awful, so you have to go around saying, "I don't fuck men."

I know there are vegetarian supremacists out there, but when was the last time anyone really met an arrogant one? Every time I bump into a vegetarian they have to go out of their way to apologize to me for their choice. Who cares?

The more half words you add to it, the more pretentious it sounds. I'm not busting on someone for not eating meat, but I'm also not going to ask you to break down each and every thing you do eat when you can just say "I don't eat meat."

~Neo femi lesbo omni cauc Sera

ElJuski said:

I know there are vegetarian supremacists out there, but when was the last time anyone really met an arrogant one?

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It depends where you live. In New York, I run into them all the time.

Then again, in New York, you run into everyone all the time.

I once gave money to a street preacher who was loudly proclaiming that email spam was bringing the apocalypse and people should exercise discretion when sharing their personal info because Satan, that's why.

Ravenpoe said:

Way easier solution. Pay someone else to be vegetarian for you. You can eat all the meat you want, but you've still taken one person's worth of meat eating out of the world.

It's like carbon credits, but for veggies!

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Didn't they do that in Friends? You know, Phoebe getting pregnant and craving meat while she is a vegan - and Joey offering to abstain from meat-eating for the duration of her pregnancy. Which of course lead to 'hilarity' when he started getting cravings, particularly when Phoebe was making a huge pastrami sandwich...

JOEY: So, what if a cow dies of natural causes... Can I eat that?
PHOEBE: Not if I get to it first. *bites into sandwich*

Goddamn I love pastrami.

stienman said:

I've always thought it weird that so much vegan food is replacement food.

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I think it's primarily for people like us, who became vegetarian later in life. Think about what you eat every day for lunch or dinner. Now take out all of the meat and dairy. What's left? The fact is, a lot of comfort food is recipes that involve that stuff, so you use that stuff to make a dish once in a while.

A few years ago, I found out when visiting my sister and brother in law who are vegetarian that my digestive tract was not really ready for veggie fake meats. I had the absolute WORST smelling farts imaginable for the two monts I lived with them.
So what I did this year when becoming vegetarian is train myself to get used to that stuff, as well as the increase in fruits and veggies in my diet, by working up to it. For a month I cut myself back to meat just on weekends, then it became meat ONLY for one meal each day of the weekend, then just one meal a week before going all out.

Also, don't rely on the meat substitute tofu dogs and stuff, they are actually higher in fat than real meat. Make sure you are eating lots of vegetables and fruits. I have to admit that I still have a bit of a problem with getting enough fruits, especially. Veggies I get lots of, but fruits, not so much.

*edit: Also, early in the year when I was still craving meat a lot more, I found that with enough cheese, eggplant or jalepenos, I didn't even notice there was meat missing.

So far I have not found myself missing having meat in my meals. As I stated earlier I did purchase several different meat substitutes but that is mainly because they are quick and my works schedule is so hectic lately. I definitely don't plan on eating them all the time though.

Hylian said:

...I did purchase several different meat substitutes ...

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My tip: Tofurkey, cheese, pickle, mayo and sriracha sandwiches are simple, yet delicious. Tofu salami is pretty nasty though.
Added at: 19:06

Wahad said:

If you're going vegetarian, start looking at the Indian cuisine. (Disclaimer; yes, I am aware that there are vast regional differences, but let's keep it simple here) It's got probably the most variable options for vegetarians (and vegans!). Also, it's fukkin delicious.

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This. Indian food rocks.
I found a Punjabi place RIGHT NEXT to my laundromat that serves two big veggie samosas and a bowl of Channa for $2.99, and now I actually look forward to doing my laundry.

While we're on this sort of subject, either:

Jalepeno, pineapple and feta
or
Tomato, spinach and onion
have become my pizza toppings of choice.

SeraRelm said:

~Neo femi lesbo omni cauc Sera

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Uh huhuhuh huh huh huh... huh huh huh.... huh huh huh...

Veggie bacon is vile. That's about all I have to add here. I went meatless for a few years. I'd do it again if I didn't have two other people in the house who are definitely carnivores. Also I have gone hunting and know I'd starve since my aim is horrible.

Okay, Poptart, back that up right there. Morningstar Farms veggie bacon is crisp, salty goodness that, while lacking the chewy, greasy parts of real bacon, makes a damned fine BLT or pizza topping.

You know who else was called the Morning Star?


SATAN?!

I have never even SEEN Veggie bacon in stores, but I looked it up yesterday, and now I'm afraid to try any. It seems to be something that is either done so well as to be superior to the original, or so poorly as to be nigh inedible. I need to do some deeper digging to find one of the good ones that is actually available here.

at least real bacon is delicious. Veggie bacon just tastes like fat-sweet cardboard.

Basically, my experience is that there is one good brand of anything.

Morningstar Farms: Chicken Nuggets, black bean burgers, Buffalo wings, corn dogs, bacon, breakfast sausage
Field Roast: Other sausages (frankfurters, italian, apple sage or spicy Mexican chipotle - sweet zombie Jesus those things are good)
Tofurkey: Roast and sliced turkey

Trust me - I've been through a lot of really lousy substitutes to get to these.

I just realized that my yogurt I have been eating every morning has gelatin in it. What is with companies and there desire to put gelatin in every possible thing they can? Now I have to go and find a new brand of yogurt to buy that is gelatin free.

Hylian said:

I just realized that my yogurt I have been eating every morning has gelatin in it. What is with companies and there desire to put gelatin in every possible thing they can? Now I have to go and find a new brand of yogurt to buy that is gelatin free.

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PatrThom said:

Just remember that whey comes from milk, and gelatin can show up in the darndest of places (marshmallows!).

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Toldja.

--Patrick

Supposedly, Danone Naturalia is gelatin free. Though looking into it more, I think they may have discontinued it.

Mmmm, Morningstar black bean burgers. I live to cut those up and throw em in a salad with romaine and avocado.

best store bought veggie burgers I've had were Lick's Nature burgers. Friggin' EXCELLENT. Do not buy Yves veggie burgers though, dry as sand.

Fun Size said:

Basically, my experience is that there is one good brand of anything.

Morningstar Farms: Chicken Nuggets, black bean burgers, Buffalo wings, corn dogs, bacon, breakfast sausage
Field Roast: Other sausages (frankfurters, italian, apple sage or spicy Mexican chipotle - sweet zombie Jesus those things are good)
Tofurkey: Roast and sliced turkey

Trust me - I've been through a lot of really lousy substitutes to get to these.

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Morning Star breakfast sausage is EXCELLENT!

I also like their BBQ ribs.

Ooh yeah, the riblet. It's like McDonald's McRib, but more meat-like.
Added at: 17:31

checkeredhat said:

Do not buy Yves anything though...

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Man, I have yet to find anything they make that I like.

I don't mind their tofurkey deli slices, or their veggie dogs. Unfortunately, Yves is pretty much all that most of the grocery stores around here carry. You need to go to either a Whole Foods or a SuperStore to get any real variety with vegetarian food around here.

I have tried 2 different brands of soy bacon and so far both have been pretty good. The first one I tried was Morningstar's bacon and I enjoyed it. But I also saw how heavily processed it was and so I decided to try Lightlife's smart bacon since it was fairly minimally processed. And while I think I may prefer Morningstar's bacon a bit I will probably buy Lightlife's smart bacon if I need a bacaon substitute since it is less calories and it is not so heavily processed.

I'll keep an eye out for those ones.

Fun Size said:

Okay, Poptart, back that up right there. Morningstar Farms veggie bacon is crisp, salty goodness that, while lacking the chewy, greasy parts of real bacon, makes a damned fine BLT or pizza topping.

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I admit I didn't try Morningstar Farms (who makes really good burgers, mini corn dogs and breakfast sausage btw). I am pretty sure it was Smart Bacon but it's been quite a few years so it may have been another brand my store carried. I could not get it out of my mouth fast enough (Nick, prom night, you know the drill.). The only thing I have eaten that was worse was green tea yogurt which still gives me a shiver down my spine just thinking about it.

Yeah, like I said - one good version of everything. It took me years of suffering to find good hot dogs. I got lucky with the bacon (which also bears similarities to Nick's Prom Night 2: Down On the Farm).

Busy at work, I grab a production order... from the copy, it's from "International Vegetarian Whatever" but it's a computer printout and the field for "client" was only long enough to display "International Vegeta."

So naturally I wrote on the form, "over 9000."

I found vegetarian bacon for the first time ever today. It's not a brand that's been mentioned though.
Let's see how this goes:





Edit: NO.