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Helloooo Vegetarians/Vegans

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  • Wow – I am really shocked by how many people on this forum eat meat. I make no moral judgements (I eat cheese, and I wear leather shoes), but I just figured that most of us were at least vegetarians if not vegans. I went vegetarian at 15, so I really don’t remember how fish, poultry, and red meat taste. I never felt right eating meat as a kid – it just rationally did not make sense to me to put something that had died into my mouth. My parents fought me on it for years but finally gave up. I usually don’t care what other people pick as labels for themselves, but it has always been a huge pet peeve of mine when people who eat fish call themselves vegetarians. I don’t understand why they would consider themselves to be veggie when they are eating dead animals. It’s not as if we get special parking spots or some kind of tax break. In my opinion, if you call yourself a vegetarian, it means you eat vegetarian ALL the time – not that you occassionally have some sushi but mostly don’t. Also, I think if you call yourself a raw vegan, it really means you do it 100% of the time. I eat probably about 80% raw vegan, and I do not call myself by that label. I specifically say I eat mostly raw and vegan foods but that I also eat some bread/grains and probably a bit too much cheese (man, I love cheese).

  • Vegetarian. I eat all raw but I do drink coffee.

  • troublesjustabubbletroublesjustabubble Raw Newbie

    hmm, dagney, very good point. I guess I’ll just have to say I eat around 90% raw food that is mostly vegan. I wrote my exceptions specifically not to alienate my family so that’s when I eat some meat.

  • I eat all raw, but I include raw honey, milk and cheese – for now, anyway.

  • JoyceHJoyceH Raw Newbie

    I do family/friend stuff all the time, especially for holidays. Everyone knows we are vegetarians and respect our decisions. So there is usually something available for us to eat that doesn’t involve killing another living being. And if not, then I will bring something to eat. Last year for Thanksgiving I brought down a raw food broc salad and 2 raw desserts. I didn’t touch any turkey. No one felt alienated and I didn’t make any comments about how I felt about the turkey. I just believe in leading by example.

    Anytime I am going to have dinner at someone’s house, I MAKE SURE they know we’re vegetarians so we will not have us sit down to a plate full of dead flesh. So I guess I would be surprised that some folks find themselves in that situation. I believe in communication and always let people know I won’t eat meat/fish (fish are animals too!!!)

    Again, I’m not judging but this is supposed to be a little corner for fellow vegetarians (definition in my book: one that doesn’t eat other living creatures- animals, fish, birds, crabs, lobsters, etc)

    DagneyTaggart- I too have been surprised by all the meat eating on this website but I believe in everyone’s right to choose what they eat. It’s really not that hard to be at least a vegetarian nowadays…

    I love beer and wine and the occassional cooked vegetarian meal or even some hard-core vegetarian/vegan junk food like these vegan brownies at a particular coffee house. But eating meat for me personally is wrong on so many levels. There so many other ‘naughty’/non-raw things to indulge in such as beer, pizza or even Irish whiskey (gasp!) that don’t harm any animals….

  • troublesjustabubbletroublesjustabubble Raw Newbie

    I get the point

  • lol – tjb. my family is really into accomodating me now. my mom takes pride in making all of the thanksgiving side dishes with vegetable broth instead of chicken broth. and i always make a big salad and some kind of mushroom dish for people to share. as for the smell of meat, i know it’s terrible, but i think a steak on the grill smells fantastic. it would never occur to me to eat it, but it’s a nice smell (probably not to a cow…).

  • JoyceHJoyceH Raw Newbie

    Heck if I can lead by example and gently influence one person into becoming vegetarian during my lifetime, then I’m a very happy camper :-)

    I have a brother-in-law who’s a self proclaimed carnivore and totally unhealthy. I know he’s intrigued with my lifestyle but I never judge or preach. Maybe someday he’ll at least give it a try

  • I have been a Vegetarian for a little over 6 months and my parents keep telling me to at least eat fish and that you can eat seafood and still be a veg… When I first switched they thought it was perfectly fine just to pick meat off of pizza(meat grease anyone?)! They do try they they are just ill informed:(

  • chicorychicory Raw Newbie

    I occasionally eat eggs, but, only if they are unfertilized, and only if I can get them directly from the chickens. My neighbor has hens and they run around the yard freely and happily, so I don’t have a problem eating them on occasion (the eggs, not the chickens!) The chickens have never seemed to mind me taking their eggs. In fact if they are on the nest, they just kind of lift up one leg so that you can get under them?! If they squawked, or objected, I may think differently about it. I would also never buy any eggs from the store. I don’t trust anything that packaging tells me about how the chickens were treated. I was eating fish, but I know that I couldn’t stand the thought of catching one and killing it, so I stopped eating them. I even feel remorse when I accidentally kill a bug~ I find myself becoming more of a ground watcher, because I don’t want to thoughtlessly smoosh any buggies when out for a stroll. I know it’s unavoidable at times… some insects are practically microscopic, an I can’t walk around with a magnifying glass strapped to my forehead, but just a quick glance…it’s fun to discover and watch them do their thing anyway :).....and there are always stranded earthworms to rescue… (why oh why did you journey onto the pavement?!) As for alcohol, can’t drink beer because I have celiac, but have tried bard’s tale ale sorghum, which is a twice a year thing, partly the expense, plus it still makes me feel like crap after~ my glands always get swollen after I drink. Wine gives me intestinal trouble and migraines, so that’s out, so the only stuff left is hard liquor…. tequila, whiskey, gin. Don’t like any of that stuff either. I guess if I had a choice, I would indulge in a little organic wine now and again

  • All raw, all vegan (except honey). I totally enjoy my food, don’t even think about meat anymore. Anything else I crave, I have come up with a more wonderful substitute. It really helps to be around people who eat the same way you do…

  • I’m a vegan for ethical reasons, have been for 6 years.

    I’ve been a raw foodist since January 2008.

    I find it surprising, too, when vegans or vegetarians or people who say they don’t want to eat meat but do for social situations, don’t have the - I’m trying to think of a nice word - “courage” to say that they aren’t going to eat X. Why would someone take what you choose to eat, considering you are causing less harm to other beings, including humans, personally and take offense?

    Not to mention that eating vegan is the lowest common denominator; everyone will eat vegan food; I don’t know anyone who has a moral objection to it. So if you make vegan or gluten-free or raw, everyone can indulge, unless, of course, they don’t like mushrooms or something fungal. :p hehe

  • troublesjustabubbletroublesjustabubble Raw Newbie

    joyce-my family is extremely good about making sure I have something to eat. They all love the idea of raw and all of them have tried it several times(they’re extremely busy, and can’t keep up with prep and all that I guess) but my husbands family totally doesn’t understand it. They cook the WORST unhealthy food and I eat over there once a week. They are very nice and understand that I am healthier on raw food but would be offended if I didn’t eat their food. My father in law loves cooking and so I think that’s why. I eat small portions and as much of the dishes not including meat and dairy as possible. They do salads sometimes and I fill up on that when I can.

    It’s kind of rough but I figure if I have only one meal per week that is unhealthy and the rest raw beegan than I suppose I’m doing just fine.

    Also, I think it’s silly when people call themselves vegetarians and eat fish. Fish isn’t a vegetable is it? It’s meat!

  • CalebCaleb Raw Newbie

    Hmmm, just wanted to apologize if I offended anybody by bringing up that I still eat some meat. I guess there is no reason for me to do that when I can simply say I’m not 100% raw. So, in the future I will try to not mention that. I respect everybody’s beliefs here and should be a bit more careful I guess.

  • troublesjustabubbletroublesjustabubble Raw Newbie

    You’re so thoughtful Caleb

  • JoyceHJoyceH Raw Newbie

    I used to eat fish when I lived in Ireland but am now a vegetarian and don’t eat fish anymore. Yup I wouldn’t consider a fish eater a vegetarian. btw – I do feel very badly about that time in my life where I did eat fish. Ireland is an extremely tough place to be a vegetarian but that’s no excuse. But it’s in the past and I’m now totally happy eating mostly fruits nuts, seeds, and veggies and eating in a manner that doesn’t take the life of other living creatures:-)

    troubles – there are a ton of meat eaters on this website and that’s fine if you eat meat at your in-laws. It’s really none of my business. I was interested in the vegetarians on this website and their lifestyles…....

    I feel lonely sometimes being a vegetarian (and more lonely being mostly raw) but most people in my life are accepting of it. And those that are not: well then, life is too short for me to deal with that nonsense :-)

  • JoyceHJoyceH Raw Newbie

    Caleb – you’re cool! No offense taken at all.

    I guess I was really surprised at all the meat eaters out there on goneraw. I thought at one time I was sort of the ‘bad girl’ on this site, drinking beer and eating grilled tempeh sandwiches on occassion :-)

  • MOTHMOTH Raw Newbie

    I am a plant eater; a frugavore. It’s what feels the most natural for me.

    However, I have some thoughts about veganism; such as there are no pure vegans in nature; it’s impossible to avoid 100% of all the insects living on the live food. Most of them we can’t see, but even herbivores in Nature must accidentally ingest insects on occasion. Is this where they get b12?

    For months I’ve been a strict raw vegan. However, one time I was out strawberry picking, and an insect wandered on top of a strawberry destined for my mouth. It was a very wild and free patch of strawberries and the insects enjoy the sweet berries as much as I did. I am the type to save insects from destruction in daily life, so I briefly hesitated, before eating the strawberry, along with the insect. I felt like if I was “in nature,” I wouldn’t pick it off; it would just be part of my fruit meal. So that’s when I started questioning veganism a little. However, for the moment, I haven’t eaten any more insects because I only want plants (to my knowledge;microscopic organisms are everywhere) and consider myself a vegan; because there is some deep shield stopping me from using honey; I just don’t want to tax the bees.

    Any thoughts on true veganism in nature (how can any creature avoid the insects as they are chomping along in the wild?) appreciated. .

  • troublesjustabubbletroublesjustabubble Raw Newbie

    You amaze me MOTH. I aspire to become like you. I don’t know if it’s possible yet but someday hopefully I’ll become something closer.

    I agree about other animals eating insects unavoidably. I never thought about it but has anyone seen an animal brush off a bug from the food? I don’t think it’s happened.

    I have probably consumed little worms as I eat apples and peaches from my families orchard but I definitely try not to. Interesting. I think I’m a little grossed out by eating bugs.

  • WinonaWinona Raw Newbie

    the bad girl! haha joyce! i feel lonely being vege sometimes too – but heck, i have a whole slew of nonconforming labels. i’m atheist, believe in living child-free marriage-free, very liberal, anti technology, feminist, raw vegan…

    It sure seems like food is the least of my labels at times. Anyway, I welcome your lovely explanation of what you do when visiting others – declare that you’re vege, and will NOT sit down to a plate of dead flesh. hehe. I’m rarely invited to anyone’s house for dinner – I guess that’s an older thing to do? i hang around college kids mostly. Lucky for me I drink wine, otherwise there would be the final SNIP in how different I am!

    I used to be defensive around everyone, but after reading postsecret website i realized that other folks have a sad life with problems too, and under that defensive hard shell is a soft underbelly that’s lonely.

  • beate64beate64 Raw Newbie

    Just got back from the city to see where this post is going ;))

    Superfood, it is actually surprising how many people do feel personally offended when they hear we dont do meat, dont do cheese either, nor eggs… and so sugar, so they are totally thrown off with our eating habits and life choices and they sure let us feel that they are really personally offended, in a big way!

    No always an easy thing to deal with, but I just go over it and be done with it. As more someone gets upset as lesser it helps to react in the same way. My husband’s brother has a t-shirt with the statement ‘Real men eat beef’! Well, what to say?? Nothing, thats the best. It is everyone’s choice, if they like to get advice, I am there to give it… like ‘where do you get your protein from when do dont eat dairy’ and all that… but otherwise I dont get into their food and they should stay out of mine :))

    I know, if I do it this way, they should hold it the same way, but that’s just not the way… I can only control what I do… and even so it does bother me sometimes, there is not much I can do about, other than living my life and let them live theirs…

  • kminty3kminty3 Raw Newbie

    bee-gan!! I do honey but no meat/dairy/eggs/etc. I have not thrown away any leather purses/shoes but haven’t bought any new ones. Oh.. I’m sure my pets eat animal products because they eat iams.

  • beate64beate64 Raw Newbie

    Oh yes the animals… switched our dogs to a vegetarian dry dog food and they love it! It is made in Canada, so not imported and really good but still affordable quality.

    Could not find anything similar for cats… they love their CatChow… and both, dogs and cats love to catch mice ;)) cant do anything about that… and on and in a farm house it is better you let them catch the mice too ;))

  • beate64beate64 Raw Newbie

    Hey Springleaf, where are you from?? I could really need some people like you up here… can get a bit lonely at times ;)) And it is good to have related souls around… even so we all are anyway :))

    Still, its just nice to have people like you there who make me feel good, hey, anyone else is included too… dont want to leave anyone out ;))

    Hugs

  • 1sweetpea1sweetpea Raw Newbie

    I know I’m getting off topic, but speaking of pets, has anyone tried transitioning their pets to raw food? Ani Phyo writes about this in her book and even includes recipes for doggie pate, biscuits and crunchy sweet potato treats for dental health. I have no pets, but I’m curious to know if anyone’s tried this and noticed any changes in their pets, for better or for worse. Some might argue that dogs and cats are meat eaters, but since they are omnivores, can they really thrive on a raw vegan diet?

  • beanybeeganbeanybeegan Raw Newbie

    I consider myself a vegan but since I eat honey I am “beegan”. I feed my dog raw chicken necks 5 days a week and blended veggies with ofal or eggs 2 days a week. In the morning we share my green Super food smoothie. He gets fresh fruit as treats during the day, and sometimes some of my crackers. I believe dogs have canine teeth and short intestine for a reason.

  • TomsMomTomsMom Raw Newbie

    1sweetpea, they are not omnivores. The definition of carnivore has little to do with what owners feed them. Also, raw diets, as pertaining to cats and dogs, imply a raw meaty bone diet, not vegan. That would be a raw vegan diet.

    (I know you might not be interested in a real, species-appropriate diet for cats, but it saved my rescue kitten’s life.)

  • JoyceHJoyceH Raw Newbie

    Winona – yeah we’re a tad older. I’ll be 39 in March and my husband is 40. We like to do dinner with different friends, drink wine, have good conversations, complain about getting older :-) My husband is more of a social butterfly – the kind of guy that everyone likes. He’s always making friends at work and we have other couples where we takes turns making dinner at each others’ homes. My husband is a vegetarian mostly by default and also b/c it’s really helped his gallbladder and IBS issues. So if we are to have dinner at a new friend’s house, it’s easy for him to say we are vegetarians (due to his health issues). My husband brings in my raw food experiments all the time and his friends at work are always more than happy to try stuff and think the whole raw thing is rather hip and cool. Mind you, we work in the Burlington area which is rather open-minded.

    My In-laws: I guess I’m lucky that they bend over backwards to please and impress me (which is totally unnecessary and wish they wouldn’t try so hard). But they also know that if they gave me any crap about being a vegetarian, I wouldn’t stand for it one bit! I’m not one to be polite when it comes to standing up for what I truly believe is right. The thing is that I feel really strong, fit and healthy being a vegetarian and even better doing the raw thing so no one dares to challenge me very often (especially when I wake up early, go for a 5-8 mile run and then have breakfast with the friends or family I’m visiting). Most people want to learn more about what I’m doing…but in spite of that, I still feel like a loner….like Winona, I’ve had other labels too that make me even more non-conforming :-)

    Moth – such a good point about insects! It’s funny, we go around our house collecting spiders and safely depositing them outside so that our cats don’t chase and eat them. We do this with just about most insects, especially the ones that fly as the cats will go nuts!

    cat food! – this is where it’s a big dilemma for me. But when I returned home from Ireland after living there for a year, my husband had adopted a Maine coon cat to keep him company. And then we adopted another cat to keep the coon cat company. So since these lovely feline’s totally depend on our care, we give them the best diet possible: raw meat, Wellness canned food and Evo, special freeze dried chicken treats, Greenies snacks for their teeth, etc. Some days I spend more at Pet Food Warehouse then I do at City Market Co-op! So it does pain me to have this raw meat in the house and I feel a bit like a hypocrite . But I love our kitties like children and want to provide them with the best diet I can…

  • JoyceHJoyceH Raw Newbie

    Superfood – I’m on the same page with you regarding your surprise to the folks who only eat meat at social occassions in order not to offend anyone. I just can’t imagine how someone could be offended by another person’s choice to be a vegetarian. It’s such kind and caring way to live. Personally I try to make sure that I’m around people who support me and accept me the way I am. Again, i’m not being judgemental, I just think it’s sad…...

    I just wanted to add: In ‘real life’ I keep my opinions on being a vegetarian to myself and don’t ever preach to anyone (as I know it’s a turnoff). I do my own thing, eat in a manner that makes me happy and try to tread lightly on this fragile planet. However, I started this thread as a place to vent with other like-minded vegetarians. These conversations I’ve posted are only things that I’d say or admit to other vegetarians. I’d be mortified if a co-worker read this stuff. This thread is kinda like a private little sanctuary to get things off our chests! A sort of support group for vegetarians who have to live normal lives among a modern day world of carnivores.

    Everyone cool with this thread and my motive? :-)

  • WinonaWinona Raw Newbie

    Everyone’s cool Joyce. I’ll take this moment to stress that we’re all okay with folks eating whatever they like. It’s fine with me if people eat meat. However, we personally choose to not eat meat – we are not judging the choices of others.

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