Vegetarian?
 

This is mainly directed at the vegetarians on this site. But I have a few questions.

What's it like being vegetarian?
Does it take time getting used to?
Is it hard at first?
And finally;

Should I go vegetarian?

I've been thinking but I dunno yet, so I'd like to get your opinions on it.

Cheers

I'm about a week into being one, really just for eating healthier. If you wanna save animals, that's fine too.

I became a vegetarian four years ago, mostly due to health reasons. I have a bad stomach condition and meat makes me very ill. I didn't find it too hard to get used to, but then again, I never really liked the taste of meat when I did eat it.

I'm not sure of yr reasoning for turning vegetarian, but try it anyway and see if it's for you. That's probably the best way to know.

i was vegetarian for about 5 years, then i stopped in 2005, sushi, kebabs & bacon sandwiches.
sometimes i think i should go back to it, or stop eating meat and only eat fish, but being vegetarian gets kind of dull.

i've been a vegetarian since i was ten, so i honestly don't really remember what it is not to be one, but i do know it has to be your own choice... i became one because i disliked the taste of meat and fish for as long as i remember, which makes it easy to be vegetarian..

it might be a bit hard sometimes, as you have to get 'special arrangements' at certain occasions, and sometimes people forget that there's a vegetarian in the company... and you have to watch your food more, which i think is a good thing: it really makes you think about what you stuff your face with.

so i'd say, go for what you want yourself!

I have never cared about food enough to notice, but I'm basically a vegetarian. Not a vegan at all... but I don't eat meat ever. Hmm. So I dunno. The hardest part, really, is at thanksgiving/christmas. Which I wouldn't celebrate at all if it wasn't for the fam. But then, I don't want to start any arguments and I'll take a little nibble of turkey. It's not going to hurt me. I don't feel all political or anything regarding animal rights or whatever. I just don't really enjoy the taste of animal flesh usually. Meh.

Fish are not meat: that's a bit weird to me (although widely accepted).

yes i never understood that either. they gave me fish all the time on a school trip, and loooked really funny at me when i said i didn't eat fish either.

I've been veggie for about 30 years.
The only time I find it difficult is when I go to Mexico. The concept of vegetarianism seems pretty alien to most people out there.

I went veggie for ethical reasons, but I can't advise you as to whether it's right for you or not. Give it a try.

my wife and son do not really like meat, so I'm forced to eat meatless dishes, most of the time.

personally, I enjoy rending the flesh of small animals with my teeth. I wish I was able to do it more often.

Yes. I mean, obviously it's a personal choice, but since you asked...

1.) Ethical reasons--There's a ton of footage, I'm sure, of the goings on at the slaughterhouse. If you watch and are willing to participate and support the practice, eat meat. Also, watch footage of the animals cramped into the smallest possible space, living on top a bed of feces. If you think such practices are fine, eat meat.

2.) Enviornmental- At least in America, the majority of the grains that feed animals are grown in the razed land of the rain forest, where land and labor are dirt cheap.

3.) Health- When you eat a burger, you are actually eating hundreds of cows. The parts from a multitude of cows are ground into burger, and if one cow is less than healthy, the entire batch is contaminated. This happens all the time.

"Free range" animals raised locally would solve some of the above problems, except, of course the first. It would also be a hell of a lot more expensive.

Personally, the ethics of killing animals for no good reason (anything you can get from animals you can get elsewhere) is the biggest reason why I'm a vegetarian. If I ate one animal, there's nothing to prevent me from eating my cat other than "convention," which I laugh at in general. Needless to say, I would never eat my cat.

By the way, when I became a vegetarian 14 years ago, I promised myself that I wouldn't badger people about what they ate. Sadly, this curtousy has not been returned and I've taken years and years of shit from people who probably deep down suspect I'm actually on to something. The only reason why I've gone on about not eating meat is because, again, you asked.

its great, you live on food that can rightfully be called such.

yes, it takes a lot of time, I suggest taking it slow and steady, working it into your diet, or more correctly, working meat and animal products out of your diet gradually, try one or two days out of the week for a start.

it is hard? no, I actually eat a greater variety of vegan food then when I ate whatever I wanted too..

I say go for it.

I have been having exactly the opposite experience, I have never eaten such a wide variety of foods and flavors until becoming vegan, after all, when you can't just eat the same ol burger that everyone else is eating for lunch, you tend to look around for something entirely different than the usual. your routines become far more interesting

In regards to animal rights and cruelty etc etc..

yes the meat and animal by-products industries in america are truly a nightmare, its almost like Upton Sinclair never even existed in some circumstances, but I find this is not a convincing argument to many americans, after all, some take it as a challenge, like you said, "I dare you to eat that dangerously processed animal food product" as if Joe Rogan was at everyone's dinner..

I've tried it several times. Longest stretch was about 8 months with no meat at all. Still now, well until the last two weeks when I said 'fuck it' for a while, I rarely eat it usually.

I did a hardcore vegan diet for one month once, just to see if I could make it. I did it, and I felt great the whole time, but I didn't have the discipline to keep it up.

you can always return gradually :)

life is a two way street..

or as Bob sang, "life is one big road with lots of signs, so when you ridin through the ruts don't you complicate your mind.."

lol...

I would, but this looks too appealing:

I have a vegetarian diet, with meat-based supplements such as black pudding, veal, duck etc.

I've read lots of the vegetarian literature - I have a friend who's a hard-liner. I'd have a hard time giving it up though. I've also killed animals to eat them. And still, I like meat.

I see your american steak and potatoes, and up you an Ethiopian vegan plate (what I am coincidentally having for lunch today)

Sorry, can't see it...