We had similar topic in the past, but it was more about Liser than anything else...
Do we have vegetarians/vegans here? What do you know/think about it? Was you ever mocked for your beliefs, or maybe mocked someone else?

I Live in Argentina. In this country if you don't eat 200 Kg of meat per day are rare  . But many years ago I travelled to the country and I see the farmers kill a cow. That was the most horrible and disgusting I saw in my life  . Since that day I was eating less meat.
I'm not vegetarian but I am in the process  , for this I vote the first option...

(sorry for my bad English)

*Thanks Dag for creating this thread, I love threads that encourage debate/opinions. :x

Yer, I finally decided to become a lacto-ovo vegetarian (means I still eat/drink dairy products and eggs) a few months ago. Reason being that I just don't want to feast on the remains of a dead animal while it's completely unnecessary. I can manage just fine without hurting an animal, so why not?
Alot of these animals are being tortured to death, and some of them are being raised in cramped up spaces, living in agony until the day they may finally go to rest. This is completely unacceptable, whether we actually need the meat to survive or not.
I'm not really extreme though, I envy people who can actually feel bad for the animals, I don't really "feel" that strongly about it, I just figured it's somehow right not to eat animals. Don't feel that it's inherently wrong... it's just nature. So eating meat isn't wrong, but it's not right either. I'd be alot more at peace if it wasn't cos we cause the animals unnecessary suffering. I respect people who eat meat as long as they can admit that there is a problem with the way the animals are treated. (I respect vegetarians more though )

As for veganism I think it's just overkill... stay away from any products that involves harming animals (including clothing), enjoy the rest. Milk cows and hens are usually being treated well in their lives, and it's a win-win situation. We provide the animals food and shelter from their natural predators, they reward us with food (and clothing!). Eggs doesn't involve taking a life or anything, for most of the industry they're unfertilized. If one's a vegan because they still think the animals are treated poorly, I guess that's alright, I'd rather just try making an effort to improve conditions for animals.

Hunting for the sake of preserving the biodiversity, like thinning out the number of a species in order to save them from starvation is fine with me, I think it's important for us to preserve our current ecosystems.

As for being mocked... few know or care that I am a vegetarian, my brother keeps going on about it though, how it's wrong to be a vegetarian and that eating meat is right. No arguments other than it's whimpy to not eat meat and manly to do so. Not really a big deal though, he mocks me for absolutely everything, I just filter him out and have a laugh when I can. ^-^

Casper
Well, being a vegetarian/vegan doesn't really restrict you from eating the same meals you've always had, there are substitutes in the form of quorn, tofu and soy products. Variations of quorn are heavenly, I can't get enough of that stuff. I didn't really change my diet much at all since I became a vegetarian, I eat the same meals as the rest of my family, just replacing the meat products.

Rain_Kid
Aww, well I hope your family will respect your choice if you ever decide to go full vegetarian. I wanted to become a vegetarian for well over a year before I made the transition, mostly because I assumed my family wouldn't support me. My mom does. Her husband, my brother and sister don't appear to see it though. ;/ So yer, I know it's harder than it may sound to some, but don't drop the idea... if not while living at home you can always switch over once you've moved out. (=

I voted 3...I just CAN'T LIVE without a bacon butty or a chicken pizza...
However, I am not a fan of all meats, I could probably deal without beef, or lamb...I am usually very fussy about a lot of pork too (sausages for example, tend to have "expensive tastes" ),...

I could try to be a vegetarian, would probably last a week at the most till I crave meat again...
plus as already mentioned, it obviously won't stop the killing/slaughtering of animals
I'm no passionate animals rights activist but like most people, I'm no fan of animals being hurt/tortured/tested on for our sake etc...
but it's not something I tend to think about, or even want to think about when eating meat, would rather just enjoy the taste of a chicken chow mein rather than worry about where it came from X)

I went for the second option. I'm not a vegetarian, in fact I eat more meat than veggies (I should've went for the third option), but I understand their points of view. Killing animals is cruel, I agree, but meh, circle of life.

Vegans don't eat eggs and drink milk? o_O I'm sorry, I just didn't understand...

Anyway, I agree with you. Killing animals for fun is cruel. I do not like that one bit. They're living organisms, just like we are (I was gonna say "living animals just like we are" but it would sound kinda... I don't know, stupid). I'm being kinda hypocritical, because I don't like animals to be killed, but I do like to eat meat. x_x It's some sort of "damned if you do, and damned if you don't" thingy.

I've been eating meat for whole my life, so when I think of a vegetarian's diet I can only imagine a plate of tasteless maccaroni or a bowl of some vegetables and green leaves. I'd die of starvation if I had to limit myself to such food:-)
Yes, I know vegetarian cuisine can be pretty nutritious, and there are a lot of spices to add taste to any meal, but still, I can't imagine a meal without a good piece of meat;-)

I tried going vegetarian once. It lasted a day.

That was back when I was infatuated with Lisa, so her views about animal cruelty naturally spilled over into my life. But it just seemed like a lot of effort to keep going with something that was trivial in the sense that it didn't accomplish much; as Mat said:


I couldn't agree more. Even if one person stopped eating meat, that doesn't mean one less animal would be killed - instead it means that one more animal would die needlessly, instead of providing nourishment to someone. And eating meat is not something people do for entertainment; it contains protein and a variety of other things needed to keep human beings going.

I don't believe that people have the right to be excessively cruel to animals, but I do believe that killing them is a necessary evil in which humankind must take part in to survive. It's the way of the world.