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Vegetarianism vs Non-Vegetarianism

Discussion in 'General Discussions' started by FastBullet, Jun 4, 2011.

  1. FastBullet

    FastBullet Level IV

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    What do you think about this?

    Vegetarianism encompasses the practice of following plant-based diets (fruits, vegetables, etc.), with or without the inclusion of dairy products or eggs, and with the exclusion of meat (red meat, poultry, and seafood). Abstention from by-products of animal slaughter, such as animal-derived rennet and gelatin, may also be practiced.

    There's also a third possibility :

    Semi-vegetarian diets consist largely of vegetarian foods, but may include fish or poultry, or other meats on an infrequent basis. Those with diets containing fish or poultry may define "meat" only as mammalian flesh and may identify with vegetarianism.[6][7][8] A pescetarian diet, for example, includes "fish but no meat".[9] The common use association between such diets and vegetarianism has led vegetarian groups such as the Vegetarian Society to state diets containing these ingredients are not vegetarian, due to fish and birds being animals.[10]
     
  2. Commy

    Commy Moderator
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    Although I respect others who practice it, I enjoy meat too much to abstain.

    Suppose you've got to make sure you're getting everything you need as well. They've got lots of nutrient fortified soy milk these days.
     
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  3. Freja

    Freja Level IV

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    I don't really eat meat myself. I never buy meat when I get groceries, so whenever I eat it, it's somewhere else than at my own house. It's not that I'm against killing animals or anything, I just don't love meat that much. I try to get the right vitamins and such, but I'm not good at it :p I just love vegetables and fruits too much.
     
  4. PrinceErik

    PrinceErik Level IV

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    you ma'am, are crazy. I go through wayyyy too much meat, and just dont see any point in eating veggies or fruits except for health haha
     
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  5. Drumstick

    Drumstick Level III

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    Aite this might be a long post depending on how much I feel like writing before I get bored.

    So I was a vegetarian for like 2 and a half years, I think it was good. I was healthy. I was a vegetarian for the whole morality aspect of it, whatever. It's not like I would go and be like "yo everyone be a vegetarian killing animals is wrong and you all suck and I hate you for eating meat" but when people asked I would tell them what I thought. I'm all for animal rights, and the only reason I stopped being a vegetarian was it got really hard to stay with it at university (even though all I really ate was beans and pasta anyway XD).

    My main concern with vegetarianism is that one has to be very careful with their diet. One has to make sure that they are getting all their essential proteins and amino acids and all the stuff that most people get from eating meat. One must be educated to be a vegetarian; just cutting meat out from your diet won't work. It can lead to serious illness, and no one wants that. I'm not against people eating meat either, but it's a whole moderation thing. Society consumes much more than necessary, causing more animals to be killed than need be. Like I said before, I'm not going to force people to change their diets, I just let them know. And with money being super important, living on a vegetarian diet is less expensive.

    Then people go on about "Well what about other world issues? Obviously they are more important than animal rights and we should think about them first." Let's go with something like kids in Africa (this was brought up when I did an animal rights presentation in highschool lmfao). I told the guy that you don't really have to go out of your way to be a vegetarian. You don't have to be super active about it. It's not like you're going and changing your routine to donate money to some organization. All you do is buy different groceries, then the money you save can go towards whatever other issue that needs to be addressed, and is "more important than animal rights."

    I dunno what else to say right now and I'm kinda hungry, so debate away lmfao.
     
  6. person18

    person18 Newbie

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    I'm a vegan so I can weigh in on this. :p
    I became a vegan 4 years ago after I watched a horribly and brutally graphic movie about the meat industry. What I didn't realize until then was that animals are not only being killed for their meat, they are essentially being tortured for their short lives and suffer extreme cruelty before being killed. Meat also has one of the biggest impacts on climate change because of the methane gases cows produce and the rain forests that are being burned down for pasture land ("slash and burn" method). A vegan driving a hummer is better for the environment than a meat eater riding a bike. Plus being a vegan can be really healthy. I eat a lot of fruits and vegetables than I used to and I feel great.
    However, it is very possible to eat meat in a way that is good for the environment and good for animal rights. Vegetarianism isn't the only route one can take. Grass fed meat is the best because the cows are allowed to roam and lead healthy lives and they don't produce the methane gas because their digestive systems were made to process grass (unlike corn or meat or the other gross things some animals are fed). I recommend that the interested meat eater look for local meat farms in their area. You can meet your farmer this way which is usually really interesting, it builds community, and it's great for the animal and the environment (no CO2 for shipping the meat).The taste is much better too! Even Mark Zuckerburg has started raising and slaughtering his own meat because he has realized how important it is.
    As for health, it took my body a while to acclimate to a vegan diet and it was hard in the beginning, but now I feel wonderful and healthy. And although there are other very important issues in the world, being aware of where your meat comes from (and eggs, dairy, etc. for that matter) is a pretty simple lifestyle change that everyone can make that can have a really big impact. A lot of times it's hard to know what to do with so many problems in the world and it seems like nothing we do can make a difference. But just by spending a few minutes on the net researching a company to see if their animals are treated well or looking for the organic label in the grocery store you can make a really big difference for animal rights, the environment, and more!
     
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  7. Commy

    Commy Moderator
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    The cows still do produce methane. The methanogens in their digestive system are what break down the fibre, which in turn releases methane. The amount is reduced compared to a grain based diet, but the gas is still released.
     
  8. person18

    person18 Newbie

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    Thank you for that important correction! It is true that cattle still emit methane when on an all grass diet, because of the anaerobic process that goes on that is part of their digestive method. However, methane emissions do decrease by 18%, and when you consider that methane has a 23 to 50 times higher impact on global warming than carbon dioxide this change is quite significant. This would account 3/4 for the department of agriculture's goal to reduce methane emissions by 25% by 2020, just by letting cows eat what nature intended them to.
     
  9. Bestower

    Bestower Level I

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    Yea if you watch food.incit's a great documentary on where are food comes from they said cows being fed corn instead of grass also develop diseases from it. I my self am a non vegetarian despite some of the gross things Ive seen about meat.
     
  10. Laniatus

    Laniatus Newbie

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    Exactly where do you get this information from?

    One meat eater or one vegan won't make a difference in the big picture.

    That movie you saw, I guarantee you that it's taking a few extreme cases and using that to build a case. There are laws (atleast in denmark) to ensure animals aren't mistreated. Actually all animals in danish slaughter houses are checked by a veterinarian to make sure that they're both healthy and that they havn't been mistreated. They also have to be sedated or instantly killed so there isn't really any torture.

    I remain very skeptic towards all information I am handed. Especially if it is trying to force an opinion onto me.

    So I'll go ahead and enjoy my bbq season.
     
  11. Virre

    Virre Level IV

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    Heyo! Fellow scandinavian (and vegan) here. Sweden is considered to have the world's best animal rights laws, but the actual truth is that farms aren't inspected as much as they should be. It's costly and low priority for politicians, I can guess that Denmark are very similar. So while these laws are really good, they aren't always (more like rarely) enforced.

    My personal view on the topic of eating meat is still that it is unnecessary suffering for something that we don't need. As for meat being good, taste and texture preferences can be changed. I used to love meat and egg and dairy products before I went vegan, but I have tasted products with at least milk and egg and I find them disgusting now. I can't remember who said that if you get a kid to try something ten times, they'll love it afterwards. The same goes for adults.

    And I'll be enjoying the bbq season aswell. With grilled vegtables, marinated tofu and tempeh and seitan ribs slathered in grill oil ;)
     
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  12. Laniatus

    Laniatus Newbie

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    I didn't actually mention farms in there. I mentioned slaughterhouses where before the actual slaughter they get checked by a veterinarian. If an animal was abused up to this point it'll be noticed before the slaughtering and proper action can be taken ;)

    But of course the system isn't fool proof. In a perfect world a veterinarian would be following every animal in the world all day long checking up on it's vital signs.

    not gonna happen :p
     
  13. Virre

    Virre Level IV

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    My bad. However, I find it extremely hard to belive that abused animals are found out before they go to slaughter seeing as the industry in Denmark slaughter 22 million pigs ((2005)the only production numbers I could find) every year. For a veterinarian to discover abused animals is very unlikely in this situation. This is also not including beef, poultry and other parts of the meat industry.

    Truth is that everyone seem to think that "this couldn't happen in my backyard". But take a closer look, and you'll be shocked to see what you find.

    And you're correct, the system isn't fool proof or even near good. In a perfect world everyone would see the benefits (including being compassionate of other species, enviromental benefits and health benefits for oneself) of a vegan diet and go for it. ;)
     
  14. Kruiciatos

    Kruiciatos Level I

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    I vote for the third possibility

     
  15. noodlesan

    noodlesan Newbie

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    I am a pescetarian; vegetarians do get all pissy if I call myself one of their own.
     
  16. HerbalSoup

    HerbalSoup Newbie

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    I was raised as a vegetarian all my life, but I have been vegan for quite a while now (No meat, eggs, dairy, honey, gelatin, etc.). I basically live off of apples, trail mix, and tomato soup.
     
  17. dawgi100

    dawgi100 Level I

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    animals are food. End of story.
     
  18. nichjg

    nichjg Newbie

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    ive been a vegetarian for 4 years woot~
    but i still eat dairy. could never be a vegan
     
  19. winston_tiu

    winston_tiu Newbie

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    This is a matter of choice, some who hates vegetable, can't be vegetarians naturally. But those who want to prolong their lives become vegetarian.
     
  20. Fang11

    Fang11 Level I

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    I'm proud to say that I am a vegetarian (can eat stuff made by an animal but not the actual animal) :yup: I been one for around 6-7 years now. I wasn't born a veg but I just have so much compassion for animals that I can't seem to eat them >.<