No beef, no fish....guess we should all become vegetarians??

[truthseeker1]

First, we're warned not to eat the fish because of the high mercury levels (instead of fixing the problem, i.e., enforcing the environmental regulations, the govt. just says don't eat the fish) and now the beef.......

Hmm.....I'm starting to seriously think about becoming a vegetarian.

(Oh yeah, I forgot about the headless chickens pumped full of hormones and antibiotics.)

[oceanpoetry]

1. vegetarian diet

I have been a vegetarian for more than 10-years...however I don't feel like I am out of risk of mad cow. There are so many animal by-products used in manufacturing, it is virtually impossible to eliminate from your diet. For example - that harmless little Altoid mint is made with gelatin, with is ground up animal teeth and bones. Yum!

[private_ryan]

2. pesticides

GM veggies. Either way you're in trouble. I would never be one, not by choice anyway. Even if I didn't like meat and fish that much, finding vegetarian food to eat and cook it's a nightmare. At least where I live...

[Eric J in MN]

7. you can buy organic vegetables, which aren't gm and which

You can buy organic vegetables, which aren't gm and which are produced with a minimal amount of pesticides.

Another point about pesticides is that pesticides build up in the fat of animals, and so there is more pesticide in the meat of an animal than in the food the animal was fed.

[private_ryan]

10. yeah, if you want to travel 15 miles everytime you go shopping

let's not kidd ourselves, being a vegetarian in most areas is a nightmare. Much easier to stop by a place and get a sandwich or grill a steak in 5 minutes at home.

I work out to keep the weight and heart in check and I'm in great shape. I'm not anorexic looking, nor do I want to be one. That's not healthy to me.

[creativelcro]

27. Agreed... I go to Whole Foods, here in Boston.

There are 2 or 3 in the area. Got to drive a couple of miles, but I go once every 2 weeks and stock up on organic stuff... Seems to work well so far...

[private_ryan]

33. every two weeks is not enough

if all you eat is veggies. That stuff goes bad really quick.

[Eric J in MN]

35. buy frozen and canned vegetables in addition to fresh nt

nt

[FlaGranny]

30. Poor people cannot afford to eat "organic."

It costs at least 50% more. Poor people just can't afford it. Also, fruit and vegetables from South America and Mexico always seem to be causing E. coli outbreaks.

[truthseeker1]

31. So buy less of it and less junk food

Here in LA, organic fruits and vegetables are not always more expensive, in fact, sometimes they are even cheaper. It just depends. I have to shop the bargains and cut out certain foods that are more expensive. But I can manage to buy the staples as long as I don't buy a bunch of junk along with it.

Now when it comes to meat, organic is usually quite a bit more expensive, but again, buy less of it. I try to keep in mind that a serving of meat is considered 3 ounces. How many people do you know that only eat 3 ounces of meat?

[FlaGranny]

37. I can afford it - I said poor people cannot

and it is true, poor people cannot afford it. Telling them to eat less is not a viable option. The very poor shop by buying huge bags of rice and beans and small amounts of cheap cuts of meat to flavor the rice and beans. They don't buy fresh or frozen vegetables; they buy large cans of vegetables. Fresh fruit is not on the menu. People who buy like that cannot eat less. They are already getting a poor diet and having a hard time keeping their stomachs full, but they are feeding probably three generations of family members on less money than most of us spend for one couple with no kids. They don't eat like that on purpose. They eat like that so they don't go hungry. They would be quite flabbergasted to have someone tell them to buy organic and just eat less.

You obviously don't have much exposure to really poor people.

Edit: grammar

[HuckleB]

39. Most people can't afford to do that.

Most people can't afford to live as vegetarians, regardless. It's a choice available to only a very small portion of the population.

[falcon]

3. organic farm

There's one near Tacoma, Wash. that I'm going to check out Monday.

[Atman]

4. With Genetically Modified agri-biz crops?

No thanks. I've given up eating altogether. Drinking heavily is the safest way to survive the Bush regime.

[oceanpoetry]

6. organic foods

I shop at a local natural foods store, buy exclusively organic fruits and veggies. But pesticide, GMO food, animal by-products are so common, it is nearly impossible to avoid them completely.

[truthseeker1]

9. LOL!!

I hear that! *chink*
:toast:

[RebelOne]

15. Yep, me too. Toast.

But occasionally, I do eat my non-meat products and veggies.

[Atman]

28. I almost never eat beef anyway.

We gave it up years ago. Since then, we occasionally get a steak because we have teenagers and I had heard they kinda needed the protein every now and then, instead of all Pop Tarts all the time. Stopping completely will be easy. But there are so few options left. Poultry farming is just as scary, only different. People need to start raising their own damn food again, or at least buying it only from small local farms.

As for organic, has the Bush FDA changed even those rules to a shell of their former selves?

[greatauntoftriplets]

25. I'll drink to that!

:toast:

[Karenina]

32. Atman, I actually did that

during a bout of depression last year after finding plastic TWINE fibers in a can of tuna. I'd confronted our local supermarket manager about the GREEN potatoes they were selling... Solution? Package them in PINK PLASTIC so the consumer cannot see it. I simply stopped eating. I'm better now, thank you.

[Eric J in MN]

5. Yes, many reasons to vegetarian.

If you become a vegetarian:

1) you're avoiding health risks, like the saturated fat in meat and the mercury in fish.

2) you're helping animals. If fewer animals were raised for slaughter, those who are can be treated more humanely.

3) you're helping the environment. It's more efficient to get protein directly from soybeans than to feed the soybeans to pigs and eat the pigs. Meat production consumes massive amounts of oil and water.

To help get started, visit VegSource. Click around

http://vegsource.com

and/or post on a message board there.

[Sterling]

24. I might try it again.

It is hard though but ironically the PETA threads here started by whoever that guy is that really hates PETA have got me thinking again about giving up animal products. It just seems like the natural evolution of humanity to leave our carniverous ways behind when we can develop an alternative.

People can block out the horrific reality of the cruelty we make animals go through but it does not make it go away. I am one of those people, it is hard to reinvent your diet when society is geared towards meat eaters. However if we truly stand against injustice and cruelty we must address this issue as well.

I know the PETA haters had a different agenda than recruting new vegans but just bringing the subject up will turn people off to eating meat and reinforces why we need groups like PETA.

[mmm]

8. I've tried it and it is not easy

I hated for people to fuss over my all-vegetarian diet.
Most people eat meat, all the time.

I finally decided to eat vegetarian at home, as often as
possible at restaurants and to forget about it when invited
into someone's home. Works quite well.

[truthseeker1]

12. Yeah, I'm thinking about going with a modified approach

I already buy all organic fruits and vegetables - luckily here in LA there are quite a few farmers markets and plenty of Whole Foods stores. Also, if I do buy chicken, I buy the Rosie chickens from Whole Foods - no antibiotics, no hormones and organic-fed. They're expensive, but we've just resigned ourselves to buying it less often and buying the good stuff. I suppose we could buy the organic-fed beef too and be safe?

My husband has always been a big meat eater but he's coming around to the idea of eating it less often and mixing in a few non-meat meals a couple times a week. At first it was hard for him to understand buying an $11 chicken when you could get a $2 chicken at Costco and especially when there are no immediate differences (you really can't taste the difference and you have to trust that you really are getting an all-natural bird at Whole Foods).

[Skittles]

18. they can stick a label on anything

that doesn't mean it's true

[truthseeker1]

20. So, what are you gonna do?

You can only do so much.

[oceanpoetry]

13. media coverage of mad cow

is a good thing if it gets ppl more educated about the livestock industry. Big business meat production is filthy and disguting. Meat is poorly inspected. Read "Fast Food Nation" and you won't feel bad about refusing meat, any place, any time.

[truthseeker1]

14. Done.

And I've been encouraging all my friends to read it too....Now they're remembering that I've mentioned it to them in the past and they're convinced now that they need to read it.

[MoonRiver]

11. I'm a vegetarian and also read the ingredients of everything I ingest.

Gelatin is pervasive especially in vitamins. I refuse to take any vitamins that aren't labeled vegan. Yes it's time consuming and more expensive but I don't want to pollute my body with that carp.

[curse10]

21. Me too- it only takes a few seconds to read labels

Although I've often purchased something then when I get it home realize it has gelatin or anchovy paste or something! You never can be too careful.

[MoonRiver]

23. Yes, and after making that mistake I have continued to ingest.

No more. I just threw out some expensive vitamins for the same reason. My life is more important than a few bucks.

[peacetalksforall]

16. This is an opportunity to get educted which is

what DU is all about anyway.

It takes five acres of grain to feed one cow (the way I remember it). How many people can be fed on one acre of grain?

There are dozens of reasons to not eat meat and the subject can be approached spiritually, environmentally, legislatively, humanly, industrially, plus more.

Many decades of no meat for me, but I'm sure going to miss butter. And I'm going to have to reassess labels for the fat ingredients if this runs wild here.

How long does it take for the ?-Jakob syndromes to appear?

Have you read the DU thread about the near persecuted soldier who came down with the disease?

And why are there no more threads about the recent Congressional budget decisions regarding testing, etc? Wasn't there a partisan decision that makes Pugs look bad.

[truthseeker1]

17. Oh no! I didn't think about butter, cream, cheese, etc.

Yikes! This is bigger than just giving up steaks, isn't it?
Butter, cream, milk, cheese, sour cream, yogurt, cottage cheese, cream cheese, buttermilk.....

I guess organic versions of these products will be ok?

[DinahMoeHum]

19. Yes, I think organic versions should be OK. . .

distributors like Organic Valley and Horizon carry these dairy products.

Also, you might consider buying "organically-raised" beef and other meats. The purveyors here feed their cattle only grass and other things that cattle would normally eat - also no growth hormones or pesticides or GM products in their feed.


:bounce:

[Lefty48197]

22. I wonder if E.L.F. spread the mad cow disease in an attempt to promote

vegetarianism? Is this an absurd suggestion?

[Sterling]

26. It would be pretty brilliant but I doubt it.

Maybe they invented all the other negitive effects of animal products too?

I think regardless of mad cow or any other health problems associated with animal products there will still be "People Eating Tasty Animals" in the world. Maybe this is just evolution. Maybe meat eaters will become extinct?

[oceanpoetry]

29. I doubt it ...

the meat industry is wholly responsible for this, due to their practice of feeding diseased rendered animals back to other animals. A few years ago it was outlawed, the addition of cow meat to the feed for other cows, but it was still allowed for chickens and pigs, leaving the disease circulating in the food chain.

[Deja Q]

34. Typical American/western philosophy:

Treat a symptom rather than FIXING the problem properly.

Sometimes "treatment" is nothing more than abandonment. x(

[alfredo]

36. Vegetarian diets take some time to learn, but you will become a

better cook. Meat is the lazy way out.

If I desire a burger, I get the Morningstar veggie patties. Pretty good.



Beans and rice, the breakfast of champions.

[Loonman]

38. I'd rather eat dirt

Yep.

[CalebHayes]

40. I have been since I was 6 y/o