Is it for health reasons? Is it for ethical reasons? Is it for financial reasons?  Or don’t you know really? Drop a comment here

I am not vegetarian because I like the taste and am worried about cutting meat out of my diet. However I only buy free range [for the animals] and organic meats [for me]. I have also cut down my meat intake from 6 days a week to about 3 days.

GriffBerg:

I am not vegetarian because I like the taste and am worried about cutting meat out of my diet. However I only buy free range [for the animals] and organic meats [for me]. I have also cut down my meat intake from 6 days a week to about 3 days.

 I can dig where you are coming from. I am trying to increase the amount of vegetables and reduce the amount of meat I consume. Its just a conscious thing you have to always think about the other vegetables you could be eating instead of just wolfing down the meat.

I wouldnt say that I am like a hardcore vegetarian but I would say that I am into eating more vegetables and less meat lately.    

Hello I am a newbiew from Adelaide-south australia.

I accidently came across Vegi Delights in my local wolwortsh & tried them.

I am a vegetarian, I am not 100% committed as I do like the occasional steak or lice of salmon but i would eat meat about every 2-3wks depending on moods/tastes.

I started my intrest in vegataianism because I had some tummy/bowel troubles. I have been to DR upon Dr with tests even resulting in cat scans & the like until they came up with the result I have UC "ulcerative Colitus".

By cutting out my meats I find it easier on my bowel & tummy to digest vegetables & those of the plant varietys.

I am having an awsome time experimenting with all things plant like & find I can easily enjoy all my old favourites inlcuding spaghetti bolgnese, tuna mornay (without the tuna) & even hamburgers & chinese foods.

I have never felt healthier & also "Lighter" and realy enjoying this lifestyle.

I just wish my local woolworts would stock the whole range of products like woolworths marion does!!

*Buffy

I have been vegetarian on and off for years. This time around I did it for a couple of reasons. I manufacture vegan, nut free eco-friendly skin care and I felt it would be hypocritical of me to say I am environmentally friendly, and my business is, yet I am not So I decided it was time again. So, I did it for ethical reasons, environmental ethics and also personal ethics, so I come across as honest and with integrity. I am currently doing a detox by being vegan. In another week or so, I will stop the detox and be near-vegan. That is, I plan to eat mostly vegan meals, but will not rule out the occasional naughty (dairy) dessert. I have no intention of ever eating meat again. skinessence

I have only recently become a meat reducer. I do enjoy the taste of meat so it is been a gradual process. The main reason I have decided to eat less meat is for health reasons, I never have really eaten a lot of fruit and veg and by really reducing the amount of meat I eat I have had to drastically increase the amount of salads, baked vegies and fruit i eat. And tell you what, I have never felt better! A friend of mine recommended Vegie delights as they do cater pretty well for people like me, I haven't had to change my recipes much if I do feel like a stir fry or a burritto (stir fry's with just vegies is just too boring for me). I have only tried a few products so far but they seem ok. Ethically, it's nice to think you are doing your part to help reduce the killing and mistreatment of animals.

Dairy reduction may be next on my list, but changing to soy milk, that is a completely different story. I don't think i can ever bring myself to (1) drink bean juice & (2) order a soy latte in public!

 

i think this is true of a lot of vegetarians i know. as well as the health and taste reasons, the ethics of slaughtering animals when we can subsist healthily without is the major reason i dont eat meat.

I'd been putting on a bit of extra beltspace, lately. Rather than cut back on the beer, I'm looking at other basic ways to improve my health. Not really looking at becoming a full on vegetarian, but if it's relatively painless to have a vegie burger every now and then, why not? On a related note, beer is vegetarian, right?

Great to have you on board Buffy! I am a reforming meat eater looking to supplement my diet with more vegetables. I listened to a John Tickel speech at Sanitarium and it really changed my perspective.

I am still "almost" vegetarian but i seemt o be having trouble with my weight.

i thought that being a vegie would instantly make me thin but now i see i was horribly mistaken.

i havnt increased my use of cheese nor dairy but i havnt cut it out either so maybe that should be the next step in my journey.

any ideas on weightloss & vegie??

 

OK, why am I vegetarian.

 Well, I'm not vegetarian, I'm vegan, so I'll answer the question in two parts. Originally, when I first became vegetarian, it was because I couldn't stomach meat. After having worked in an abbatoirs, even though it was only for a week, I found that I became ill if I smelled lamb or beef. It wasn't much effort to then give up chicken and fish and pork once I decided that meat in general wasn't for me. It also wasn't long before I decided that eating meat was just wrong, and I shouldn't do it. I lost SO much weight, it wasn't funny! This was mainly because I was living on pasta and water however, so I don't recommend this method of weight loss to anyone.

Anyway, I soon went back to eating meat, as a lot of 'well meaning' people kept telling me that I wasn't going to get enough of the right nutrients if I didn't consume flesh. Not knowing much about vegetarian nutrition then, I believed them, and for another 2 and a half years, I ate meat.

It was in July of 2005 that I decided I'd had enough, and once again gave up meat. Indeed, I took it further this time, and gave up animal products all together. I became vegan. That was fantastic, but unfortunately I still didn't know an awful lot about non animal based nutrition, and felt pretty lousy in pretty short order. Folks, if you become vegan, DO NOT just give up animal products without substituting them for the right foods from the plant kingdom. In January this year I went back to eating meat, believing it was the only way I could eat healthily. Bah! Rubbish. In July this year, I finally came to my senses, gave up animal products again, but this time read up a lot on what I should eat, and how to be vegan. Now I feel great. I don't need to kill to eat, nor to clothe myself. I highly recommend being vegan :-)

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"Veganism - Eating for an Intelligent Planet"

I am vegetarian to save animals the absolute horror of being slaughtered so people can eat them. I believe we are here to look after animals, among other things. I have always held the belief that it is not right to eat animals, yet did so as it was expected, and ignored my inner voice, up until a year ago. Oddly enough, what got me seriously thinking about it was my 10 year old daughter who had been saying for as long as I can remember that it wasn't right to eat animals. I finally listened to myself instead of everyone else and feel a whole lot better for it. Admittedly, I do eat fish and prawns at the moment, but again my inner voice is telling me I shouldn't be. With fish and prawns I do not believe they have sentience (the ability to think and reason, the ability to have a personality - a fish has a memory span of 3 seconds, prawns would have to be less..) therefore I am in 2 minds about whether it is acceptable to eat them, due to their lack of sentience, as they aren't much different to a plant in that way. So I continue to argue with myself about that (I'll let you know which side wins!) Being vegetarian has not been a hard adjustment at all. Although the reactions from and opinions of my friends and family has been surprising. Why don't they understand why I have become vegetarian? I have told them my reasons yet they continue to eat meat, which makes no sense to me, but I think people just don't care. And just because the bible says Jesus ate meat doesn't mean it's ok, one shouldn't believe everything that one reads. The bible (and most religions) contain too many contradictions and things that don't make sense for me (but that's another story for another day.....) At least I know I am saving animals from being killed by not eating meat, as demand for it has lowered from me (and my fiancee and daughter) not eating it, and I know when I pass over (die) that I can be at peace with that part of my life. It has surprised me just how many products contain dead animals, not only meat but cheese, confectionary (eg. gelatine), any product containing humectant like naan bread and chewing gum (humectant can come from vegetable or animal sources,) hair and skin care, among other things. Cheese surprised me the most I think. Anyhow, that's why I am vegetarian.

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Life is an amazing adventure! Enjoy it, share it, and help others enjoy it too! And lead by example.

In late 2004 i had a bowel resection for a tumor, the surgeons said they had it all and sent me home. 12 months later i had over 60% of my liver covered with secondary tumors, life expectancy was less than 12 months, the surgeon stated that chemo probably wouldn't work. What did I do? one night of "poor me" and then I searched for alternative methods, the following day i had made my decision, anything that would not assist was off my diet, this included meat, sugar, coffee, alcohol, yeast based products and any refined foods etc etc and an increase in known anti-oxident and anti-cancer vegetables/fruit. 15 months from diagnoses i still work in excess of 8 hours per day, have a normal lifestyle (with some restrictions), i have been off chemo now for 19 weeks, my last CEA tumor marker test showed an increase from 12 to 19, it was at 90+ before treatment started in 2005. We use vegie delights 2 or 3 times a week, fish and I have raw vegie and fruit juice daily. So as far as we are concerned there are definite benefits from a vegetarian based diet.

buffy:

I am still "almost" vegetarian but i seemt o be having trouble with my weight.

i thought that being a vegie would instantly make me thin but now i see i was horribly mistaken.

i havnt increased my use of cheese nor dairy but i havnt cut it out either so maybe that should be the next step in my journey.

any ideas on weightloss & vegie??

 

 

www.fatfree.com is a good resource for low fat recipes. Plenty of water and exercise and non greasy meals are a good start :) 

mawbea: that's awesome!

 

I gave up meat many years ago when I got into meditation. I don't believe we need to eat meat to be healthy and apart from it's just revolting for me to think of eating something that was once alive (that goes for seafood too), the fact that meat really isnt what it used to be doesnt help either.