vegitarians?!

[jewscout]

I don't know if a thread like this already exists but i was wondering how many people here are vegitarians or vegans and why you chose to give up eating meat? Do you buy products made from animals? Just curious.

 

[huajiro]

http://www.religiousforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4996&highlight=vegetarian

I put one up...I quit eating all meat the 6th of this month. I will never eat meat again as long as I live. I have made this decision based on my belief that all living beings are equal.

 

[Engyo]

My wife is vegetarian; I am partially so. For me it's primarily about sustainability, and then about health. I am working to release my attachment to a meat diet. As far as animal products, I assume you mean leather and such? My feeling here is that if an animal is being killed anyway (for food or what-have-you) then it is best to use as much of the animal as possible. I see no reason to waste any of it once the initial decision is made.

 

[Simon the Cat]

I do eat meat, although I do make a point of buying meat from places/people that have choosen to ethically raise such animals. Before I could afford this lifestyle, I ate a lot of chicken. I have a belief that to kill something is to ultimately take responsiblity for it - up until that point - if possible - and that you should be willing to kill what you eat. To that end, I have worked for butchers and really given a lot of thought as to what I would be capable of killing and etc... The funny thing is is that it changes over time. Some years I haven't eaten much of one thing or another because I didn't think I was capable of killing it. Pretty weird.

 

[Druidus]

My wife is vegetarian; I am partially so. For me it's primarily about sustainability, and then about health. I am working to release my attachment to a meat diet. As far as animal products, I assume you mean leather and such? My feeling here is that if an animal is being killed anyway (for food or what-have-you) then it is best to use as much of the animal as possible. I see no reason to waste any of it once the initial decision is made.

Most leather products are made by cows raised purely for leather. They are bred to make better leather, and the meat is unsuitable.

I became a vegan about eight months ago now. I've seen no side affects at all, except for positive ones. I can run faster and longer, I can lift more, longer. It's only been good. Vegan means I "gave up" meat, milk, eggs, and all animal by-products. It was no trouble for me, and it's actually cheaper to live this way! (What costs more, a pound of veggies or a pound of beef?)

My reasons are many, but I'll compress it here, but first, I'm gonna nip some myths in the bud:

Myth #1.

Vegetarians don't get enough protein. There was a time when nutritionists and dietitians even said this _ but no longer. Now, we know that vegetarians get plenty of protein. What they don't get is the excessive amount of protein found in the typical modern diet. If you eat a variety of fruits, vegetables, grains, and legumes, then getting enough protein is not an issue.


Myth #2.

Vegetarians don't get enough calcium. This myth is applied, in particular, to vegans - vegetarians who have eliminated meat and milk products from their diets. Somehow, the notion got started that the only good source of calcium is milk and cheese. Granted, milk does have a good supply of calcium, but so do many vegetables _ especially green, leafy veggies. The truth is, vegetarians suffer less from osteoporosis (a deficiency of calcium that leads to weak bones) because the body assimilates the calcium they eat more easily during digestion.


Myth #3.

Vegetarian diets aren't balanced, so vegetarians are risking their health for their principles. First of all, a vegetarian diet isn't out of balance. It has a good proportion of complex carbohydrates, protein, and fat - the three macro nutrients that are the cornerstone of any diet. Plus, vegetarian food sources (plants) tend to be higher sources of most of micro nutrients. Another way to look at it is this: The average meat eater consumes one or fewer servings of vegetables a day and no servings of fruit. If a meat eater does eat a vegetable, chances are it's a fried potato. "Out of balance" depends on your perspective.


Myth #4

A vegetarian diet is all right for an adult, but kids need meat to develop properly. This somehow makes the assumption that protein from plants isn't as good as protein from meat. The truth is, protein is protein. It is all made from amino acids. Children need 10 essential amino acids to grow and develop properly. These amino acids are as readily available in plants as they are in meat.

Myth 5:

Vegetarians are weak and malnourished.



Technically speaking, potato chips and soda are "vegetarian," to use the term loosely, and those vegetarians who choose to subsist on such fare probably are weak and malnourished. The point, however, is that anyone with a bad diet can suffer ill effects. Vegetarians are no more likely to to be malnourished when following a balanced diet than those who eat meat.


Consider the following vegetarian athletes:

• Dave Scott is a vegetarian who won the Hawaii Ironman Triathlon in 1980, ´82, ´83, ´84, ´86 and 87. Next time you have a steak, try swimming 2.4 miles, cycling 112 miles and running a marathon. You´ll see that eating meat doesn´t instantly equate to peak athletic performance.
• Anthony Peeler is a guard for the Minnesota Timberwolves. Considering the amount of training required to be a professional athlete, as well as the rigorous schedule of the basketball season, Peeler would be foolish to maintain a vegetarian diet if it wasn´t supporting his performance needs.

Granted, a few high-profile vegetarians may not convince any skeptics, but they are living, breathing proof that a sound vegetarian diet can support even the most grueling physical activities. Try incorporating a few of these energy-boosting recipes into your next meal plan and compare the difference to a heavy meat-centered meal.


My reasons to be vegetarian:



[size=+2]World Hunger[/size] Number of people worldwide who will die of starvation this year: 60 million
Number of people who could be adequately fed with the grain saved if Americans reduced their intake of meat by 10%: 60 million
Human beings in America: 243 million
Number of people who could be fed with grain and soybeans now eaten by U.S. livestock: 1.3 billion
Percentage of corn grown in the U.S. eaten by people: 20
Percentage of corn grown in the U.S. eaten by livestock: 80
Percentage of oats grown in the U.S. eaten by livestock: 95
Percentage of protein wasted by cycling grain through livestock: 99
How frequently a child starves to death: every 2 seconds
Pounds of potatoes that can be grown on an acre: 20,000
Pounds of beef produced on an acre: 165
Percentage of U.S. farmland devoted to beef production: 56
Pounds of grain and soybeans needed to produce a pound of beef: 16



[size=+2]Environment[/size] Cause of global warming: greenhouse effect
Primary cause of greenhouse effect: carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels
Fossil fuels needed to produce a meat-centered diet vs. a meat free diet: 50 times more.
Percentage of U.S. topsoil lost to date: 75
Percentage of U.S. topsoil loss directly related to livestock raising: 85
Number of acres of U.S. forest cleared for cropland to produce meat-centered diet: 260 million
Amount of meat U.S. imports annually from Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Panama: 200 million pounds.
Average per capita meat consumption in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Panama: less than eaten by average U.S. house cat.
Area of tropical rainforest consumed in every quarter-pound hamburger: 55 sq ft.
Current rate of species extinction due to destruction of tropical rainforests for meat grazing and other uses: 1,000 per year.
Also cattle contribute to global warming by being one of the biggest sources of carbon dioxide and methane gases.



[size=+2]Cancer[/size] Increased risk of breast cancer for women who eat meat 4 times a week vs. less than once a week: 4 times.
For women who eat eggs daily vs. less than once a week: 3 times
Increased risk of fatal ovarian cancer for women who eat eggs 3 or more times a week vs. less than once a week: 3 times.
Increased risk of fatal prostate cancer for men who eat meat daily vs. sparingly or not at all: 3.6 times.

(This is because casein, found in all meat, is a carcinogen to humans)



[size=+2]Natural Resources[/size] Use of more than half of all water used for all purposes in the U.S.: Livestock portion
Amount of water used in production of the average steer: sufficient to float a destroyer.
Gallons to produce a pound of wheat: 25
Gallons to produce a pound of meat: 2,500
Cost of common hamburger if water used by meat industry not subsidized by the U.S. taxpayer: $35 a pound.
Current cost of pound of protein from beefsteak if water was no longer subsidized: $89
Years the world's known oil reserves would last if every human ate a meat-centered diet: 13
Years they would last if human beings no longer ate meat: 260.
Barrels of oil imported into the U.S. daily: 6.8 million.
Percentage of fossil fuel returned as food energy by most efficient factory farming of meat: 34.5
Percentage from least efficient plant food: 32.8
Percentage of raw materials consumed by U.S. to produce present meat-centered diet: 33

 

[Druidus]

[size=+2]Cholesterol[/size] Number of U.S. medical schools: 125
Number requiring a course in nutrition: 30
Nutrition training received by average U.S. physician during four years in medical school: 25 hours
Most common cause of death in U.S.: heart attack
How frequently a heart attack kills in U.S.: every 45 seconds.
Average U.S. man's risk of death from heart attack: 50%
Risk for average U.S. man who avoids the meat-centered diet: 15%
Meat industry claims you should not be concerned about your blood cholesterol if it is: "normal"
Your risk of dying of a disease caused by clogged arteries if your blood cholesterol is "normal": 50%



[size=+2]Antibiotics[/size] Percentage of U.S. antibiotics fed to livestock: 55
Percentage of staphylococci infections resistant to penicillin in 1960: 13
Percentage resistant in 1988: 91
Response of European Economic Community to routine feeding of antibiotics to livestock: ban
Response of U.S. meat and pharmaceutical industries to routine feeding of antibiotics to livestock: full and complete support



[size=+2]Pesticides[/size] Percentage of pesticide residues in the U.S. diet supplied by grains: 1
Percentage of pesticide residues in the U.S. diet supplied by fruits: 4
Percentage of pesticide residues in the U.S. diet supplied by dairy products: 23
Percentage of pesticide residues in the U.S. diet supplied by meat: 55
Pesticide contamination of breast milk from meat-eating mothers vs. non-meat eating: 35 times higher
What USDA tells us: meat is inspected
Percentage of slaughtered animals inspected for residues of toxins and chemicals including dioxin and DDT: less than 0.00004



[size=+2]Ethical[/size] Number of animals killed for meat per hour in the U.S.: 500,000
Occupation with highest turnover rate in U.S.: slaughterhouse worker
Occupation with the highest rate of on-the-job injury in the U.S.: slaughterhouse worker
Cost to render animal unconscious with "captive bolt pistol" before slaughter: 1 cent
Reason given by meat industry for not using "captive bolt pistol": too expensive.



[size=+2]Survival[/size] Athlete to win Ironman Triathlon more than twice: Dave Scott (6 time winner)
Food choices of Dave Scott: Vegetarian
Largest land carnivore that ever lived: Tyrannosaurus Rex
Last sighting of T-Rex: 65,000,000 B.C.

Just a few of the reasons.

 

[Simon the Cat]

Wow. Very impressive.

 

[Doc]

I am a partial Vegetarian. I have never liked the taste of meat. Or the slaughtering of animals. Especially having 3 pet turtles. I feel guilty killing God's innocent creation voluntarily. I eat it rarely but my 05 resolution is to get rid of meat for good in my life! Oh and Druidus, can I have the link or source for that info? I can't seem to gather enough to defend my morals against my carnivorous family!

 

[Lintu]

I was vegetarian but I simply could not get myself to eat healthily. I'm not sure if it was the fault of vegetarianism though, or that I went back to school after having lived on my own for the summer. I didn't have a hard time going without meat, but I was afraid I was getting too unhealthy with the replacements I was eating. While I used to eat lots of edamame, lentils, grain burgers, and whole wheat pasta, I was eating lots of cheese and peanut butter. I may go back to it in the future.

 

[huajiro]

One of the hardest part of being a vegetarian is the fact that you are a minority. My family and friends always want to go to McDonald's etc to eat, they even have lard in the fries!!!!!!!!

The mexican food places have lard in the beans!!!

It is not very convenient for a person in our society not to eat meat. I tend to go for pizza a lot more than I used to. I feel like I may OD on cheese as much as I eat.

If enough of us stop eating meat, the restaurants will have to do something. Especially if we pressure them.

 

[WitnessofJah]

Druidus, there also many other pros for meat consumption also. I have researched nutrition for many years and it is a fact that vegetable protein only provide a partial amount of amino acids, while on the other hand, meat (including fish), provide the entire spectrum of amino acids. Because meat has the full spectrum of amino acids, it keeps you in a positive nitrogen balance as opposed to to a catabolic one. Meat also provides Iron which is not particularly found in sufficient amounts in vegetables. Additional to that, there has been proven research that meat protein keeps your hormone levels higher than non-meat groups. There have been many other successful studies in which meat has had a positive influence on your muscle tissue, strength, liver, and kidneys.

 

[Mystic]

Thanks for taking the time to prove your point....by backing it up with all that wonderful data.

I've been a pesco vegetarian for 5 years now. Raw foodist for 6 months.
My hair started falling out so I started eating fish again and the hair loss stopped.

I choose to eat this way because of all the reasons you stated...but mainly for health and energy.

 

[Druidus]

Druidus, there also many other pros for meat consumption also. I have researched nutrition for many years and it is a fact that vegetable protein only provide a partial amount of amino acids, while on the other hand, meat (including fish), provide the entire spectrum of amino acids. Because meat has the full spectrum of amino acids, it keeps you in a positive nitrogen balance as opposed to to a catabolic one. Meat also provides Iron which is not particularly found in sufficient amounts in vegetables. Additional to that, there has been proven research that meat protein keeps your hormone levels higher than non-meat groups. There have been many other successful studies in which meat has had a positive influence on your muscle tissue, strength, liver, and kidneys.

Myth buster mode again, I guess.

Myth 1

Vegetarian foods provide only a partial amount of amino acids (Apparently, a "fact"):

Myth #3: OK, vegetarians get protein, but only meat and dairy are complete proteins.

In order to survive, humans require twenty-two amino acids, the building blocks of protein. Of these, eight "essential" amino acids cannot be manufactured by the human body and must be ingested. Foods like meat and dairy products, which have all of the essential amino acids, are called perfect proteins. The argument is that vegetarians need to be careful to combine foods in order to get all eight essential amino acids with dishes like rice and beans.

However, virtually the only way to miss getting all of the essential amino acids you need is by eating the exact same food all the time. A diet of broccoli and water would be sorely deficient in terms of essential amino acids, but it would also be lack many vitamins, minerals, and other essential nutrients. A vegetarian diet with some variety provides all of the essential amino acids without fuss or worry. Finally, the soy bean, and hence tofu, tempeh, and their more processed derivatives, are all perfect proteins, equivalent in that respect to meat.

Myth 2

Vegetarians can't get enough iron:

Summary

Dried beans and dark leafy green vegetables are especially good sources of iron, better on a per calorie basis than meat. Iron absorption is increased markedly by eating foods containing vitamin C along with foods containing iron. Vegetarians do not have a higher incidence of iron deficiency than do meat eaters.

​

Heme vs. Non-heme Iron

Iron is an essential nutrient because it is a central part of hemoglobin which carries oxygen in the blood. Iron deficiency anemia is a worldwide health problem which is especially common in young women and in children.

Iron is found in food in two forms, heme and non-heme iron. Heme iron, which makes up 40 percent of the iron in meat, poultry, and fish is well absorbed. Non-heme iron, 60 percent of the iron in animal tissue and all the iron in plants (fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts) is less well absorbed. Some might expect that since the vegan diet contains a form of iron which is not that well absorbed, vegans might be prone to developing iron deficiency anemia. However, recent surveys of vegans and vegetarians [1, 2, 3] have shown that iron deficiency anemia is no more common among vegetarians than among the general population.

Iron Status in Vegans

The reason for the satisfactory iron status of many vegans may be that commonly eaten foods are high in iron, as Table 1 shows. In fact, if the amount of iron in these foods is expressed as milligrams of iron per 100 calories, many foods eaten by vegans are superior to animal-derived foods. This concept is illustrated in Table 2. For example, you would have to eat 340 calories of sirloin steak to get the same amount of iron as found in 100 calories of spinach.

Another reason for the satisfactory iron status of vegans is that vegan diets are high in vitamin C. Vitamin C acts to markedly increase absorption of non-heme iron. Adding a vitamin C source to a meal increases non-heme iron absorption up to six-fold which makes the absorption of non-heme iron as good or better than that of heme iron [4].

Fortunately, many vegetables, such as broccoli and bok choy, which are high in iron are also high in vitamin C so that the iron in these foods is very well absorbed. Commonly eaten combinations, such as beans and tomato sauce or stir-fried tofu and broccoli, also result in generous levels of iron absorption.

It is easy to obtain plenty of iron on a vegan diet. Table 3 shows several menus which would meet the RDA [5] of 15 milligrams of iron per day for an adult woman. Men and post-menopausal women need about one-third less iron, 10 milligrams daily.

Both calcium and tannins (found in tea and coffee) reduce iron absorption. Tea, coffee, and calcium supplements should be used several hours before a meal which is high in iron [6].

Myth (?) 3

Vegetarians have lower hormone levels:

Of course we do. Do you know why? Because the animals we would eat are loaded with both artificial and natural hormones, both of which are terrible for our health in the quantities that we would get from eating meat.

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]If you eat meat, you are consuming hormones that were fed to the animals. No one knows what effect those hormones will have on your health. In some parts of the world, as many as one on four hamburgers contain growth hormones that were originally given to cattle.[/font]

I don't know about you, but I choose not to experiment with growth hormones. Having higher hormone levels is not an indication of health. I don't know where you got this from.


Myth 4

Meat-eaters are have better muscles, bones, kidneys, and livers:

First of all, meat is so full of impurities and poisons that our kidneys and liver have to work overtime to get rid of them. The carcinogens, hormones, pesticides, and other substances, are bad for these organs.

Muscles are better in carnivorous humans? lol Alrighty then.... Here you go. Experiments from several prestigious universities, proving that the average vegetarian is stronger then the average non-vegetarian:

<H3 align=left>Yale Study

Tests have shown that vegetarian have twice the stamina of meat eaters. At Yale, Professor Irving Fisher designed a series of tests to compare the stamina and strength of meat-eaters against that of vegetarians. He selected men from three groups: meat-eating athletes, vegetarian athletes, and vegetarian sedentary subjects. Fisher reported the results of his study in the Yale Medical Journal 2.

"Of the three groups compared, ... the flesh-eaters showed far less endurance than the abstainers (vegetarians), even when the latter were leading a sedentary life." </I>3​

Overall, the average score of the vegetarians was over double the average score of the meat-eaters, even though half of the vegetarians were sedentary people, while all of the meat-eaters tested were athletes.

</H3>

​

<H3>Danish Study

In 1986, a Danish team of researchers tested a group of men on a variety of diets, using a stationary bicycle to measure their strength and endurance. The men were fed a mixed diet of meat and vegetables for a period of time, and then tested on the bicycle. The average time they could pedal before muscle failure was 114 minutes.

These same men later were fed a diet high in meat, milk and eggs for a similar period and then re-tested on the bicycles. On the high meat diet, their pedalling time be-fore muscle failure dropped dramatically - to an average of only 57 minutes.

Later, these men were switched to a strictly vegetarian diet, composed of grains, vegetables and fruits, and then tested on the bicycles. The lack of animal products didn’t seem to hurt their performance - they peddled for an average of 167 minutes.5

</H3>

<H3 align=left>Belgium Study

Doctors in Belgium systematically compared the number of times vegetarians and meat-eaters could squeeze a grip-meter. The vegetarians won handily with an average of 69, whilst the meat-eaters averaged only 38. As in all other studies which have measured muscle recovery time, here, too, the vegetarians bounced back from fatigue far more rapidly than did meat eaters. </I>6

</H3>

​

Research your "facts" before posting them.​

 

[huajiro]

Druidus, there also many other pros for meat consumption also. I have researched nutrition for many years and it is a fact that vegetable protein only provide a partial amount of amino acids, while on the other hand, meat (including fish), provide the entire spectrum of amino acids. Because meat has the full spectrum of amino acids, it keeps you in a positive nitrogen balance as opposed to to a catabolic one. Meat also provides Iron which is not particularly found in sufficient amounts in vegetables. Additional to that, there has been proven research that meat protein keeps your hormone levels higher than non-meat groups. There have been many other successful studies in which meat has had a positive influence on your muscle tissue, strength, liver, and kidneys.

I was a vegetarian for 5 years and felt no ill side-effects, I felt better in every way. The key is diet. My understanding is that you can create a complete protein with beans and rice.

 

[cardero]

Jewscout writes: I don't know if a thread like this already exists but i was wondering how many people here are vegitarians or vegans and why you chose to give up eating meat?

I'm not a vegitarian, but I K(NOW) a coworker who is a 5th level vegan. He doesn't eat anything that casts a shadow.

 

[Druidus]

I'm not a vegitarian, but I K(NOW) a coworker who is a 5th level vegan. He doesn't eat anything that casts a shadow.

Contrary to the Simpsons, we don't have "levels". However, I would be curious as to where he aquires this completely transparent food. I'd like some, at least for the novelty value...

 

[huajiro]

Druidus youre getting frubals as soon as it let's me give you more

 

[Yerda]

I tried to stop eating animals unsuccessfully when I was 16 years old but managed at 18. Currently I buy no animal products but I am weak on pizza and eat it about once a month. Slowly I'm trying to minimise the suffering caused by my diet.

 

[Quoth The Raven]

Sorry guys, I admire your principals, but I like steak. Having said that, we eat a LOT of vegies, because I really like them too. The hardest part with vegies is getting the kids to eat them...given their own way they'd live on Happy Meals.
I can honestly say I don't know how it works in America...you may well have cattle that are used solely for leather production. For people to say that the meat is 'unsuitable' is pretty much tripe though...my mother has a herd of mixed breed cattle, and of all the ones we've slaughtered and butchered there has not been an even vaguely inedible one. If it is unsuitable I'd be interested in knowing what the rationale is behind the unsuitability.Sounds just wasteful to me.
Granted, there are cattle that are better geared to dairy production and those that are better geared for meat production, but you get a yearling of any sort then meat is meat.

 

[cardero]

Druidus writes: Contrary to the Simpsons, we don't have "levels". However, I would be curious as to where he aquires this completely transparent food. I'd like some, at least for the novelty value...

I suppose he just consumes a steady diet of Gummi Bears and jello.

Huajiro writes: I put one up...I quit eating all meat the 6th of this month. I will never eat meat again as long as I live. I have made this decision based on my belief that all living beings are equal.

Plants aren’t living things? Frubals for me!!!

Doc writes: I am a partial Vegetarian. I have never liked the taste of meat.

This would probably be the only reason I would accept for vegetarianism. That and if someone couldn’t eat meat due to health reasons. Does anyone K(NOW) if this is possible?