Any other vegans here?

[JohnQDriveway]

My wife and I have been vegan for a year and a half, are there any other MMJ loving vegans on here?

[Leontheslut]

Do you miss eating things that are tasty? Like steak, or burgers?

[pawpaw]

Hi JohnQ. Don't worry about the hut, I don't think he can help it.

I'm not a vegan, don't think I could do it, but several of my friends are. What did you suppliment into your diet to make up for the protein that you previously got from meat and dairy? Any tasty vegan recipes you can recommend?

[Leontheslut]

All I asked is if he misses eating those kinds of food, no need to try and pick a fight.

[Vadie Stark]

All I asked is if he misses eating those kinds of food, no need to try and pick a fight.

Leon come back to the dark side (baseball thread)

[at dawn]

Hey JohnQ.  I've been a vegetarian for about five years now.  Thought about going vegan, but it's already hard enough in the middle of beef country (oklahoma) - and no, not hard because I miss those "tasty" foods, hard as in not a lot of options.  I don't understand why people think vegetarians/vegans are somehow torturing themselves.  It's a preference.  I like what I eat.

sidenote:  I heard JJ went vegetarian.  Pretty cool.

[Leontheslut]

Don't lie: At Dawn you know you like to sneak some of this...





Disclaimer: please don't get bent out of shape. it's just a joke

[JohnQDriveway]

There aren't any types of meat I miss eating, really, just things like peanut M&Ms, donuts, and pizza with real cheese.  I don't take offense to people asking if I miss certain things, it happens all the time. We still get plenty of protein, I eat a lot of pb&j sandwiches, soybeans are loaded with protein, and they're in a lot of the things we eat.  We've made some pretty good recipes, the best is probably eggplant rollatini from Veganomicon (the best cookbook title ever).  We don't feel like we're depriving ourselves, it's not really a huge deal.

[aMillionDreams]

I just don't really understand it on a philosophical or practical level.  It's certainly not natural as humans are omnivores.  And it's not because of any mistreatment of animals because chickens will produce eggs whether we are there to eat them or not, so why does it have to be a deal at all?  

It reminds me of that Seinfeld where he says, "You know, I've discovered: I really enjoy depriving myself of things!" But why

I'm not trying to judge, I only seek to understand.

[at dawn]

I just don't really understand it on a philosophical or practical level.  It's certainly not natural as humans are omnivores.  And it's not because of any mistreatment of animals because chickens will produce eggs whether we are there to eat them or not, so why does it have to be a deal at all?  

It reminds me of that Seinfeld where he says, "You know, I've discovered: I really enjoy depriving myself of things!" But why

I'm not trying to judge, I only seek to understand.

Honestly I started after giving it a try and realizing how much it forced me to cut back on fast food, eat more vegetables, and generally putting more thought into what I would eat.  

As for some good reasons, there are lots of environmental ones...destruction of rain forests for raising livestock, water pollution from huge corporate farms' animal waste..

And it's not exactly "natural" to eat as MUCH meat as Americans do (multiple times a day) nor is it natural to eat hormone-injected oversized cattle or chickens that produce more eggs than you would ever find in nature.

I'm not trying to judge those who eat meat either...like I say it's just a preference.   :)

[JohnQDriveway]

Yeah, I don't have a problem with people who eat meat, but I don't really think it's "natural".  I don't think my diet is any less natural than if I ate meat. Yeah, chickens would lay eggs anyway, but for the purpose of reproducing.  Egg-laying chickens are treated horribly, but I won't go into detail because it's pretty gruesome.

[aMillionDreams]

Actually, chickens lay eggs consistently whether or not they are reproducing.  The eggs we eat are unfertilized eggs.  And not all chickens are treated horribly.  I know people who pamper their chickens like they're poodles.  There are many factory or corporate farms where the livestock are treated horribly but it is possible to eat meat/animal products AND eat responsibly.  


EDIT: I just read a thread on a composting forum I go to where one of the members has 4 feral (wild) chickens who come by every now and then to "scratch" her compost piles and they leave gifts in the form of eggs for them.  She collected six yesterday.  Now I know we all can't take advantage of feral chickens but how could anyone object morally, or otherwise, to her eating those eggs?

[JohnQDriveway]

I know that there are egg-laying chickens, cattle, pigs, etc. that are cared for humanely and I don't have any objection to people eating their eggs an/or meat.  I don't really object to people hunting deer either (although I could never shoot a deer) because they live good lives.  I personally don't want to eat any animal byproducts, and don't think it's "unnatural" to be vegatarian or vegan.  I just think it's ridiculous that these corporations that treat the animals horribly make millions of dollars a year and it's considered no big deal, but when people hear about dogfighting they fly into an indignant rage. The only real difference there is the amount of money being made.

[the_wizzard]

I have not eaten meat for 16 years.  Don't miss it at all.  No adverse side effects, no need for supplements for protein.  You don't need nearly the amount of protein that American's seem to find appropriate.  Leafy greens, soy, beans, cheese (I never had an issue with local produced dairy....i digest it fine and buy my dairy products from local, organic farms....but I don't drink milk) all provide me with more than enough protein.  I have been a pescatarian for the last 8 years or so, but we do not eat fish on a regular basis (maybe once or twice a week, if that).  For me the reason to not eat meat is based on many aspects: lack of humanity and healthy conditions, it is not an eco-friendly food source on a large scale, the connection I feel with animals and nature, and it just made me feel like shit when I ate it (I instantly felt more energized when I gave up meat).  So I do the very Portland-esque diet of pescatarianism (no mammals or fowl, light dairy intake, no eggs, and tons of fresh vegetables and alternative forms of protein).  I have no problem if others want to eat what they want, as long as I can do the same.

"Although I have been prevented by outward circumstances from observing a strictly vegetarian diet, I have long been an adherent to the cause in principle. Besides agreeing with the aims of vegetarianism for aesthetic and moral reasons, it is my view that a vegetarian manner of living by its purely physical effect on the human temperament would most beneficially influence the lot of mankind." Translation of letter to Hermann Huth, December 27, 1930. Albert Einstein Archive 46-756

[aMillionDreams]

Right on, Wiz!