Why did you become a veggie?

I went vegetarian when I was a young child out of my own choice, I couldn't bare the thought of all the suffering, pain and torture another living being would have to go through just to satisfy by taste buds.
My mum always knew I would , but my dad just thought it was a phase that children go through lol, that was 20years ago now so I think he's given up thinking it was a childhood phase I went through lol.

Then when I was grew up and investigated more about it I became vegan, becuase I don't support the veal trade and the veal trade only exists because of the dairy industry, plus the huge environmental damage cuased by consuming meat and dairy ,so it was then when I went vegan.

Many people I know are vegan for other reasons and not for animal welfare reasons
but for own personal health reasons for example,

some of my friends also have cut out meat and dairy for environmental reasons being their main 'drive' for being vegan.

I don't think it's morally, physically or spiritually healthy to want a creature to die in order to satisfy my taste buds. I have the choice to avoid a diet that causes suffering and death to other creatures, so it's the choice I make. 🙂

moral for me.

(Energylz, I am hoping you will still look at my members introduction and answer why you arent a veggie 🙁 because youre so thoughtful. :))

Consider it done. 🙂

Understanding (to the extent I do presently, I'm no expert) interdependence of all things allows me to recognise that not just animals suffer from our actions, but all living things. Plants suffer, animals suffer and so do other humans. If we all chose to stop eating meat from this point forward, many farmed animals would suffer as the farmers would have no means to look after them and also those farmers would suffer as would their families. This would impact on the country's economy and cause suffering for many other people, through taxes, job losses etc. etc. (Oooo, I can hear the thoughts coming already "That's not an excuse to eat animals!"). No it's not an excuse to eat animals but, in my humble opinion, for what it's worth, it's important to recognise the interdepence of everything and work towards a way for everyone and everything, plants included, to benefit in the greatest possible way.

All Love and Reiki Hugs

Ditto.
I love animals, unlike those who torture & kill them.

The smell of 'meat' & death disgusts me. I can't understand how anyone's taste buds could respond positively to that blood-&-fat stench you get when walking past some burger joint or carvery. Eugh!

Even as a v young child, I would retch myself sick & cry from innocent horror when passing butchers' shops / stalls.
The stench of blood and raw flesh nauseates me. I hold my breath & avert my eyes 'on automatic' now, & avoid meat aisles in supermarkets.

When there's such a huge variety of delicious foods all around us, why & how can some people overcome revulsion and choose to eat corpses?!

We could feed the world many times over if we didn't farm animals for meat. The resources used benefit so few at the expense of so many poorer ones 🙁

energylz

yes i agree the meat farmers would be out of work, but then they could start growing crops instead! win win!

I choose not to eat meat.......but, if I had no choice...I would eat meat!!. That I'm affraid is the survivor in me....

I try my best not to judge others, because I remember what it's like to be hungry.......In fact, I've just finished a three day fast, for that very reason.

(Oooo, I can hear the thoughts coming already "That's not an excuse to eat animals!")

On the contrary, Giles, it sounds like an excuse to me (and not a good one :)).

On the contrary, Giles, it sounds like an excuse to me (and not a good one :)).

I think I've said on VeggieGails welcoming thread that people would not understand what I mean and that I can't really put it into words. It's not an excuse and I don't need to justify it. It is only really people who want me to change to their beliefs who insist that I justify it. I'm quite happy to talk about it, but I have no need for justifying it. If anyone has issue with the way I am then that is their issue, not mine and they should look within themselves to find the cause of their issue and deal with it, because it is not something I can sort out for them (unless they fancy some therapy of course. ;))

All Love and Reiki Hugs

I've been vegetarian for over 20 years. I first became vegetarian because of the disgraceful farming methods in this country. I felt that standing around holding a sign or signing a petition doesn't often get very far in this country and that by not giving them my money would go an extra bit of the way (in a small way). In fact, I remember a farm vet I knew who switched to running a small animal practice, claimed "I wouldn't feed British beef to my dog, it is a health accident waiting to happen". This was before the first outbreak of BSE so I guess she was right!

Admittedly, nowadays farming methods have improved some since then and if you don't mind paying a bit extra you can buy responsibly farmed produce. I do feel that if everyone stopped eating meat as a form of protest - in other words take their income away, then we wouldn't be paying extra for responsibly farmed produce as the industry would be forced to make this the standard.

However, after 20 years and having been responsible in the way I eat as a vegetarian, even when it was far more difficult than it is today, I have noticed the health benefits and would not consider going back to eating meat again. I don't expect other people to be vegetarian, in fact my wife isn't but when she does eat meat, it is always locally and responsibly farmed produce, not the antibiotic and water filled rubbish from the supermarkets where the animal has suffered from the day it was born - we wouldn't give that to our dog!

It is only really people who want me to change to their beliefs who insist that I justify it.

Thank you Giles for sharing the way you do.
I am not a veggie either but haven't ever wanted to share on this forum in case someone got cross with me.

I just wanted to share that there are certain things that I do try not to eat when I do have a choice. One of those is sheep/lamb.

When I was about 15 I went with the family for a countryside holiday. My bedroom faced onto a field of recently born lambs. I spent every spare minute watching them and gave names to the ones I got to recognise and know.

That was fine and the holiday was good.
Until it got to the final evening and guess what.... we were served lamb!

Welll I looked at it and just couldn't eat it. And havent been able to since. I am fine with the mint sauce and the veg but not the meat. I quite like mint sauce!

When I see the sheep/lambs being transported in big lorries, it upsets me.
What I do is, I ask for Love and I just pray for them. I do not know what else to do, except that when I pass sheep in a field or on the hills I look at them and pause in my thoughts of their specialness.
And I wonder if they are here for their wool?

I am not vegetarian but I try to buy locally where the produce has not had to be transported long distances and I try to buy free range eggs when I can.

To tell you the truth I am not sure about fish. Which would be morally better for me to eat? A fish swimming freely in the water or a fish which is farmed? If I was a fish and I knew, then if I was the free fish and I was then caught I might think that it was so not fair but if I was a farmed fish I would know what to expect wouldn't I? But, if I was a farmed fish and it was then decided that there wouldn't be any any more then I wouldn't even be alive would I?

I'm quite happy to talk about it, but I have no need for justifying it.

You're right, Giles, there is no need for you to justify it. It just seemed like you were trying to. As you've made clear on other threads, you enjoy eating meat and you have no problem with it. 'Nuff said 🙂

Going back to Engerlyz 1st post.
You have got it totally wrong.

Farm animals would not suffer because they woudl not be bred in the 1st place . The animals left would be taken care of, they would not be allowed to suffer , people would take care of them.
There are many farmed animals rescued by people and taken to safe homes all the time. If there was no demand for meat, farmers would not breed animals. Just with any industry, if there is no demand for a product, then the manufacturers stop making more.

It is not just farmed animals that suffer because of peoples obsession with wanting to eat flesh, but wild animals too.
Many wild animals loose their homes becuase of land clearing to grow farmed animals and food for farmed animals.
As do many people.
So to say we should carry on eating meat for all the reasons you've mentioned is crazy.

If we all stopped eating meat than animals would not be bred , and then they would not suffer at all.
Farmers would still work, they would use their land for other use, and besides , people loose their jobs all the time and have to find other work, what makes farmers any different. As tax payers we already give farmers £millions in free hand outs annually so maybe we would be better off without them not worse off.

Our planet, country side, both farmed and wild animals, people , rivers , our whole environment suffers as a direct result from farming animals to eat them.
Our NHS would be better off too if people ate less meat and dairy products as there would be less admissions into hospital from people suffering health related problems from eatting meat and consuming dairy- another boost for the economy too. This would also mean that more people would get treated when they needed it and recieved the time they deserve with both their GP and in hospitals, not put on such a huge waiting list as it is at the moment, another good reason to stop eating meat and dairy.

Why did you become a veggie?

for the animals and now i also know, see and feel that it was one of the best gifts i have ever given to myself.

If we all chose to stop eating meat from this point forward, many farmed animals would suffer as the farmers would have no means to look after them and also those farmers would suffer as would their families. This would impact on the country's economy and cause suffering for many other people, through taxes, job losses etc. etc. (Oooo, I can hear the thoughts coming already "That's not an excuse to eat animals!").

:confused::) Vegans post above says it all..also I dont want to be too pessimistic, but i dont think it would ever happen... Meat eating is "normal" and many feel its something they need.
This is a quote from a man who horribly has proven his point.
"The bigger the lie, the more people will believe it"
A. Hitler
So we live on a planet were about 50 Billons animals get slaughtered every year..for me and many more this is a big crime, but for most of us its quite ok.

I became a vegetarian in 1991. I had suffered from glandular fever and was struggling with post viral syndrome and visited a homeopath to see if he could help. He recommended giving up red meat, so I went the extra step, became a vegetarian and gave up all meat and fish. It certainly seemed to help, along with the homeopathic remedies and with a couple of years my energy had returned 99%. I enjoyed being a vegetarian as it introduced me to so many other foods that I wouldn't have otherwise tried and my cooking became more creative.

However, at the end of 1998 my Dad died and I remember looking at the turkey in the fridge that everyone else had eaten over Christmas and thought "damn it, I'm having a turkey sandiwch". Being vegetarian just completely dropped from my priorities and I've eaten meat every since. I don't eat a lot though, maybe a couple of times a week as I enjoy other foods just as much. I actually found it strange how easily I went back to eating meat and felt, for me, there were more important things in life to worry about. This isn't to say I don't love animals, I absolutely do, but I can disassociate the meat on the plate from the lamb in the field.

Sx

Hi Sarah

To say there are more important things to worry about is to me rather a strange , but typical , attitude I hear all the time.

What is more to worry about than your own health, the lives of others, children in developing countries going without food one of the reasons for this is peoples greed for meat, your own tax payers money been given as free hand outs to animal farmers when it could be used for so many more worthwhile projects such as helping single mothers back to work,helping children from poor backgrounds getting the extra help they need to get out of the cycle living on benefits etc etc therefore off benifits which comes from your taxes, etc etc rather than bumping up the bank accounts of animal farmers. The state of the planet , many other problems as a direct result of farming animals.
If these are not worth worrying about to you ....

Hi Vegan,

I don't worry about the things you mentioned, worry is a negative attitude, but I am certainly concerned about them. And back in 1998, my father's death and everything that surrounded that was of more importance to me and my family than anything.

Of course I'm concerned about my health which is why I eat more than five-a-day, I limit my intake of salt and artificial flavours, I don't eat ready meals, I keep fit and run marathons, but that doesn't mean I can't eat meat. In fact, I try to eat organic meat when I can.

I am certainly concerned about the lives of children in developing countries and poor backgrounds. I have seen the poor conditions families live in in Cambodia and Vietnam where I have travelled extensively and will do what I can to help. Not eating meat isn't going to improve these children's lives. I am also just looking into supporting children in a particulary village in Africa, after seeing a documentary on tv where, incidentally, they were all shown eating meat and the adults were killing animals in front of the children, a ritual that was part of their culture.

I'm not going to argue the merits for or against here on this thread, if people wish to be vegans or vegetarians, and for whatever reasons, then I will support them in any way and accept their choice, and it's interesting reading why people have chosen to become vegetarians.

Sx

Worrying is sometimes a negative attitude yes, but is also a reality.
Yes by people in developed countries eating meat does cause people in less developed countries huge problems
The following links explain it better than I can:

[DLMURL="http://www.viva.org.uk/guides/feedtheworld.htm"]Food for the future[/DLMURL]
[url]Meat Means Misery for the World's Hungry[/url]

Charities such as
[url]HIPPO (Help International Plant Protein Organisation)[/url]

As i write this the news is on , and talking about teh cost of food and how children are starving to death as food costs rise.
Meat eating westerners are partly to blame for this as more and more food is needed to instead be feeding people we are giving it to farmed animals to give to meat eaters just to satisfy their taste buds , such a total waste of food and lives.
This is shameful but for as long as people eat meat , this problem of starving people, tortured animals and a heavier polluted planet will continue and get worse.
All this just to satisfy meat eaters taste buds.
It is shameful and a disgrace.
I've just looked at a baby starving on the news, many of these sit next to acres of land full of food , but not for them, but for farmed animals around teh world for meat eaters to then eat them.
Meat eating is unsustainable and immoral on so many grounds , some I've not even mentioned, there is no excuse for ignoring or not caring about these issues.
sorry I'm getting a bit emotional ,but seeing the babies on the telly just upsets me and knowing that a major part of why they are suffering is people in more deveolped countries, greed for eating animal flesh .

Going back to Engerlyz 1st post.

Like I said to VeggieGail on her welcome thread, you can call me Giles, it's easier to type. 🙂

You have got it totally wrong.

And I appreciate your opinions :hug:

Farm animals would not suffer because they woudl not be bred in the 1st place . The animals left would be taken care of, they would not be allowed to suffer , people would take care of them.
There are many farmed animals rescued by people and taken to safe homes all the time.

There aren't enough people about to take care of all the discarded pets that are having to be put down each day in animal shelters etc.
You say the things I say are crazy, but I'm wondering where all these people are going to come from who are going to look after the hundreds of thousands of farm animals who suddenly don't have a home and where all these animals are going to be kept if the fields are going to be used for growing vegetation? Now that, to me, is crazy.

If there was no demand for meat, farmers would not breed animals. Just with any industry, if there is no demand for a product, then the manufacturers stop making more.

Well that's obvious, but animals are bred for a lot more than just eating meat. Clearly I don't need to tell you, but animal ingredients are used in many many products of our everyday lives. So it won't just be farmers who are having to change what they do, but the lives of so many other people in many other industries will be effected. Potentially there will be rising unemployment as a result because people in specialized jobs will suddenly find they have no work and the cost of re-training everyone would be phenomenal.

It is not just farmed animals that suffer because of peoples obsession with wanting to eat flesh, but wild animals too.
Many wild animals loose their homes becuase of land clearing to grow farmed animals and food for farmed animals.
As do many people.

And people and wild animals also suffer because of other industries, road building, political decisions etc. etc. There's more to it than just eating meat. To suggest otherwise would be a pure narrow vision of things.

So to say we should carry on eating meat for all the reasons you've mentioned is crazy.

I didn't say we should all carry on eating meat. I said that we should gain a better understanding of interdependence and recognise that you can't just get everyone to stop eating meat just like that. It can't happen and it won't happen. If it were forced to happen, it would have disasterous results, not just for people, but for all things.

If we all stopped eating meat than animals would not be bred , and then they would not suffer at all.

Who's to stop the animals breeding. It's in their nature to breed like any other animal. If you stop an animal from taking it's natural course, then you are controlling it and would be just as bad as a farmer abusing animals.

Farmers would still work, they would use their land for other use, and besides , people loose their jobs all the time and have to find other work, what makes farmers any different.

It would be good to get a farmer on here to tell you the ins and outs of what would be involved for getting rid of all the livestock and turning a farm from a livestock farm to a vegetation growing farm. It think you'll find it's a little more complex than just stopping one and starting the other.
Yes, people do lose their jobs, and it is often devestating, upsetting and very hard for people when it happens. You seem to wish this suffering on the farmers. Sounds a bit like an eye for an eye to me.

As tax payers we already give farmers £millions in free hand outs annually so maybe we would be better off without them not worse off.

And if they stopped livestock they'd be given £millions more to assist them with the transition. The economy is bad enough as it is from what I can tell.

Our planet, country side, both farmed and wild animals, people , rivers , our whole environment suffers as a direct result from farming animals to eat them.

Along with the multitude of other factors that also have a direct result.

Our NHS would be better off too if people ate less meat and dairy products as there would be less admissions into hospital from people suffering health related problems from eatting meat and consuming dairy- another boost for the economy too.

Well I know plenty of people who eat meat and dairy and have never had to be admitted to hospital for any reason to do with that. Yes there are some people who do 'too much' of meat and dairy and it does effect their health, but there's also people who do 'too much' of many things and get admitted to hospital for their conditions too. Picking on just meat eaters as an example is again looking at a very narrow view.

This would also mean that more people would get treated when they needed it and recieved the time they deserve with both their GP and in hospitals, not put on such a huge waiting list as it is at the moment, another good reason to stop eating meat and dairy.

Most of my GP's time seems to be spent with all the new (and very young) mothers in the community, or the very elderly who are there having their weekly checkups. I guess it's different from GP to GP, but that's what I've seen when I go.
It's a huge assumption that there would be less admissions to hospital and that waiting lists would change or that people would get better care etc. There's no evidence to show that to be the case.

I respect that vegan and veggies don't want to eat meat, as I respect their choices, but I think some of the arguments that are being banded about to justify their choices and try and sway others to be that way are, in my humble opinion, misguided and the bigger picture is not being looked at. We can all quote statistics till they come out of where the sun don't shine, but statistics only ever focus on a small collection of data. As I like to say, statistics are completely accurate 50% of the time (;) note the contradiction)

All Love and Reiki Hugs

well i gave up lamb and pork for my own medical reasons( they stay in tum for ages I get very constipated) years ago ate chickens,turkey and beefburgers( cheeseburgers!)and fish. then i read robin cooks toxin oh my god that put me off beef i never felt so sick reading how the cows **** themselves knowing they are next.

then after while gave up chickens and turkey as realised how they die and felt sick too! ate fish for one year before seeing leaflet of them with their eyes oh am not going to explain but i felt sick as well so gave up fish

thats it so am now a vegetarian and proud of it. am now eating less eggs( use egg replacement) and eggs from my sisters chickens which will not be killed after they have stopped laying eggs! and hardly any cows milk.( prefer to drink herbal teas in friends houses therby avoiding cows milk)

my daughter bless her decided to be vegan from day one and still is.

Amethystfairy:)

I'll reply fully to Energlyz post later,

in the mean time this should answer a few questions

[url]Meet your meat[/url] and no this is not just a few exceptions to the rule , these are common place. I've not once gone to a cattle market or similiar where I dont see some form of abuse such as bulls in such a small cage they cannot move and having electric prods put up their bottoms just for pure entertainment and cows been hit in the eyes becuase they are confused and scared while at the same time been kicked and punched.

Also [DLMURL="http://video.google.co.uk/videosearch?q=earthlings&sitesearch=#"]Earthlings[/DLMURL] , if you can watch this and find excuses then there is no hope for us, other living creatures that share this planet or the planet itself.

Wow!!!! Its great we are all so different with our views and reasons and can disagree and agree. :):o:(:):confused::mad::)

Thank you Giles and sorry it took me time to realize youd answered me here. Though I didnt like Vegan getting angry with me or lettuceleaf.org on the thread I started about lettuceleaf, I do agree with him that farm animals are just produced for the market and I think it will only die out slowly if more people become veggie. I loved a lot of what you said later and I think we have to realize lots of things are complex and arent simple as you wisely said.

Hi Sarah and Im really sorry that your dad died and I hope you have lots of good memories of him and remember stuff about him you respected a lot.

I hated the thought that what I put in my mouth, once took breath. First went veggie at 16 and wandered in and out for the next decade - it was convenient (for other people) but I could take the guilt no more. I have not eaten meat by choice by 13 years and have been a vegan for 8-9.

I watched this video (warning to anyone who doesn't wish to watch some pretty horrific scenes):

I was raised a vegetarian. My parents were veg when I was conceived and stayed that way until I was about six years old. They reintroduced poultry and fish into their diets but could never get me to eat it (no matter how sneaky they were! :D). My doc says I never developed the enzymes to digest animal proteins so it has never been a part of my diet nor anything I am interested in. Suites me just fine though, I don't think I would eat meat if I could anyway. 🙂

My doc says I never developed the enzymes to digest animal proteins...

Wow, that's really interesting! There are so many good reasons not to eat meat - I understand that doctors are recognising that people who follow a vegan diet are far less likely to develop diabetes or to be overweight. I also read in one of Michio Kushi's books on macrobiotics (sorry don't have it to hand so can't reference it - probably The Macrobiotic Guide) that during the war in Belgium they had to slaughter all the cattle because they couldn't afford to feed both the cattle and themselves and ate a vegan diet. Apparently they saw a reduction in cancer deaths which returned to pre-war levels once they reintroduced animal products. (Slightly OT - sorry)

Back on topic: I became vegetarian when I was 18 when sharing a flat with a friend who was veggie. She had worked in a chicken factory for a holiday job and told me about how the chickens were treated. I have to'd and fro'd between vegetarianism and veganism and would now describe myself as mostly vegan but I do occasionally eat dairy - usually when eating out if it's too difficult to avoid it.

I became a vegetarian out of the need to stop being self desillusional or in denial, as most people are in trying to avoid worry, ie: pain of acknowledging reality (which is far from being all nice and cute).

Moreover it strikes me that piling humans into camps and forcing them to live in cells or cages with "unhuman" conditions (I find the "unhuman" word fascinating. the Elite of Humans) and then murdering them is the bottom of Horror (WW2, Stalinian camps, Guatanamo etc) but if it s our cousins who share over 90% our DNA and have exactly the same number of bones, organs and the wide spectrum of feelings that we have, then it 's no problem. They re dumb creatures who dont really suffer and are necessary for our health and pleasure. this is vice, in my opinion.

Now time to confess my sins: I still eat fish and sea food from time to time and I know these creatures suffer too and shouldnt have been taken out of the depth of oceans by big traulers, so Im asking you to inform me please on your convictions regarding fish and how you compensate for the loss of vitamin D etc.

many thanks to all. I sometimes think that if Im a mediocre person who doesnt change the world into a better place like some animal or environmental activists do, at least the best think Ive done on this planet is STOPPED giving my support and contribution to the worst horrors even witnessed on this planet. "Planet of the apes" is a favourite film of mine, it shows how programmed we are to think we can do what we please with the animals since we are "superiors" because we have language (ie intelligence, culture). If 2012 is ever going to change anything I hope it will be animals getting back in control!

Ever since I was a child I was very "animal aware" and instead of seeing a joint of meat on the table, as others did, I saw a piece of a dead animal.

I can remember my mother taking me shopping and going to the butchers, where there was sawdust on the floor and pigs heads and carcasses hung on meathooks from the ceiling. I hated the smell of the meat and the blood. I used to cry when I saw the dead animals, but the butcher laughed at me and my mother told me not to be silly.

Sunday lunch was a trial as we always had lamb and I can remember asking for a small bit of meat and then pretending to chew it but putting it into my sock when no-one was looking. Later on I went outside into the garden and threw it away.

When I was older I told my mother I didn't want to eat meat but I was told "If you live here you eat what you are given". Going away to uni was my liberation as, at last, I could choose my own diet.
I still ate some fish for many years but gradually that went as did the dairy products.
I joined the Vegetarian Society and later on the Vegan Society and the local groups, which enabled me to make friends with like-minded people.

So much for the school of thought that says blood group O persons (like me) instinctively need meat !