I have finally decided to become a vegetarian.  I have seen on other websites that there are all sorts of vegetarians - I thought a vegetarian was someone who just did not eat any meat - after reading some posts on this forum I am a bit confused (as I am new to this) I did not know that gelatine came from animals?  I thought it was plant derived. I also never knew that by ingesting dairy products animals were still being slaughtered?(Is this correct?)  I figured if I didn't eat the meat no animals would have to die for me to have a meal! I gave up meat as ever since I was little (I am now 30) every time I would eat lamb (do not know why it was just this animal?) I would picture it alive and running around in my head and I found it really disturbing - but as of late I do this with anything I was eating and I just don't want to do it anymore. Every meal I now make I think to myself how much nicer it would taste without the meat in it. My family and friends are all sitting back laughing at me thinking that I am a moron and that this is just a phase...but it isn't.  If I decide to not eat dairy and eggs where will I get my B vitamins from as I have suffered in the past with chronic fatigue syndrom and anemia (I had this even when I ate red meat 3 times a week!).  And what about protein??  Are protein shakes ok to drink?  As you can see I am quite a bit confused and not quite sure whether or not to give up dairy (have never been a huge fan of eggs anyway...).  I love the taste of dairy (but I also love rice, oat and soy milk) and am looking more to give this up on an ethical basis more than anything else.  I think if everyone who visited the PETA website and watched the videos - the whole world would become vegetarians - it bought me to tears.  Any information that can be provided would be really appreciated.  Thank you in advance. :)

Hi TLP

I know this comes late but hopefully we can help you out a bit. If eating meat bothers you, you don't have to eat it. You also don't have to put up with family and friends having a lack of respect for your choice. If they have genuine questions, answer them politely. If they are bugging you just to see you get upset, ask them to respect your choice and change the subject.

Gelatine is made of the connective tissue of animals (bone, skin and offcuts) that is boiled down to produce a powder or sheet of collagen that can be dissolved and will set when chilled. There are vegetarian substitutes for gelatine, such as agar and carageen (made from seaweed) and pectin (from fruit, like the stuff that makes jam set). You can get vegetarian lollies and things, you just have to look at the ingredients.

There are many types of vegetarians, and you have to decide what you are personally comfortable with. (Just a note, I don't personally think anyone can call themselves vegetarian and eat meat at all, so no chicken/fish even though some people would consider that 'vegetarian'). Ovo-lacto vegetarians will eat dairy products and eggs but no meat. If you don't eat eggs but will eat dairy, you're lacto-vegetarian, the opposite would be ovo-vegetarian. Vegans do not eat any animal products at all, so no eggs or dairy and no animal by-products, such as honey, gelatine, whey, casein and some food colouring. 

People might choose not to eat eggs or dairy because of the way they are produced. Egg-laying hens are generally kept in cramped, unhealthy conditions and are killed when they stop laying eggs. Dairy cows are artificially inseminated, give birth to a calf which is taken away and are kept lactating by constant milking. The calf is usually killed for veal or might be kept as another dairy cow to continue the process. 

B-vitamins can be found in some plant products, such as vegemite, and most soy milks are fortified with B12. Most rice and nut milks are not. For convenience I take a multivitamin with B-complex and make sure it has B-12. If you were anemic in the past, you need to know whether it was because you had low iron or low folate or B12  or something else entirely and address the problem from there. If you are concerned you can talk to a sympathetic doctor or get a consultation from a nutrition specialist.

Protein is everywhere. You get most of your protein from beans, nuts and grains (and eggs or dairy if you choose to eat it). If you can worried about not getting enough, you can also make protein shakes! There are several types of protein, some based on whey (dairy) and others based on soy, peas or rice. You can get Nature's Way brand soy protein at coles or bilo I think, and it's not bad at all. It's easy to shake it up with some soy milk or put it in the blender with soy milk, soy icecream and frozen berries for a really yummy shake.

Being vegetarian or vegan is a personal choice. You have to look at what makes you comfortable, be willing to learn a bit about nutrition and enjoy finding new ways to cook. It is totally possible to be very healthy practicing a vegetarian or vegan diet!
 

Your best bet is to contact the Qld Vegie Society for information.  Most are Vegans due to how eggs and dairy products are produced.  The dairy cow is calved each year to keep up the supply of milk and most often the calves are slaughtered when 1 week old (alot die of starvation in this time on the way to the slaughterhouse).  Any type of egg whether cage or free range does not matter - all chickens come from the same hatcheries and all male chicks are killed.  De-beaking etc. happens know matter where they are going to lay the egg.  Also I found out that some of the lollies that look like they might be vegie because they contain glycerin (glycerin apprarently can be animal derived so be careful there too).  Also most margarines contain Vit D3 which is usually always animal based.  It gets very tricky and sometimes can become a headache.  Do the best you can and to me any decline in the consumption of animal based products is good.  So don't beat yourself up too much about it.  I have had to meet my family half way as my hubby is a carnivore and so are my 3 children.  I look at it that at least I have cut my hubby's intake of meat ect. down more then half of what it was when we met 17yrs ago.  My kids eat alot less then other children I know and all are wonderfully healthy, clever and beautiful children that have ethics which in this day and age is becoming a rarity.  They are all 7yrs and under and already understand that their are animals suffering, forests getting cleared, pollution in the rivers and children starving and without necessitys.  Being vegetarian is not just about what you eat but also how you respond to other beings in this world. 

Hi,

Hope you are finding things a bit easier now since your post? I've only been vegie for about 8 months aftger thinking about doing it for some time. I've never used cosmetics etc that are made by companies who test on animals, so I figured it was only natural that I should stop eating meat.  I have always eaten a lot of vege, rice, grains etc, so it really wasn't that difficult and I've discovered so many great new recipes.  My husband isn't vegie, but he loves a lot of 'my' recipes.  Asian groceries have a lot of vegie options.  I get one product (not sure what it's called it's in Chinese!), and you would swear that it was meat, same texture and appearance.  Great for stir fries, casseroles etc.  I love it, and it's around $8.50 for a 500g packet.  Sounds like others have answered your questions on protein etc.

I agree with you a bout the PETA site.  Everyone should watch it, it's very sad but very eye opening.  I think a lot of people don't realise what goes on and I always try and 'spread the word' wherever possible.