Guest guest Posted November 9, 2009 Report Share Posted November 9, 2009 Hi Rosey and welcome to the list. I love your idea of changing the world by influencing those around you who will then influence others and so on - this is one of the ways change comes about! And you can do a lot too by correcting some common misunderstandings about vegetarianism - it's not cranky, doesn't have to be expensive, is much more healthy than an omnivorous diet. If you google for lists of famous vegetarians you can find a lot of inspiration there (though there are some notorious ones too, but that's so with everything). There's not one good way to follow a vegetarian way of life, some like to choose products that imitate the meaty ones they used to eat, others find the idea abhorrent. You may want to be strictly vegetarian or vegan, checking carefully all the restaurants and friends you visit and prepared foods you buy, or may allow yourself a little freedom - there are supporters of both approaches. But these and other topics come up in the discussion if you stick around, or you can find our views in the message archive. We've got some wonderful recipes here too which should inspire you and help influence your friends, who will try them out on their friends and ... Best, Piers (co-owner with Pat) Rosey's answers: 1. Which description best fits your situation? - I am in transition to vegetarian or vegan This is me. I'm in transition. 2. What is your main reason for choosing a vegetarian or vegan way of life? Concern for the treatment of animals. 3. Is your household totally vegetarian? If not, do you find you need to produce non-vegetarian meals some of the time? My household is not totally vegetarian. I really hardly know any vegetarians. 4. Do you like hot and spicy food? If not, what is your favourite kind of food? Hot and spicy is fine as long as it doesn't burn. 5. Is there anything else you would like to tell us (such as your country or region, age group, household pets/companion animals, hobbies, activities, interests, indoor and outdoor sports, etc.)? Let's hear it! I live in New York with two wonderful rescue dogs. None of my friends are vegetarian, but that really doesn't matter. I don't want any part of the cruelty that is involved in raising and slaughtering animals for food. As frequently happens, some of my friends kind of follow my lead. If my actions start changing those around me, then I'd be more than pleased as they'd then have an influence on those in their circle. I'm new to this and have been reading as much as possible as I really don't know how to go about this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 9, 2009 Report Share Posted November 9, 2009 Thanks for responding and sharing your ideas. I've lately been forwarding pertinent emails that I receive from The Humane Society of which I've contributed to for some time. It was particularly alarming to watch the video of calves going to slaughter for the production of veal. Almost everyone I've forwarded this to has watched it and if they hadn't given up veal beforehand, they now say they'll never touch it. I have one friend who is gluttenous and way over weight. Her world revolves around food. She actually said to me that she couldn't watch it as it was too upsetting. We can't immediately reach everyone, but we can sure plant a seed of thought in their brain and show how it is not only possible, but has all sorts of benefits. My first concern is the animals themselves but the benefits to ones health and the environment are huge also. I spent some time this weekend browsing Amazon and Borders Books for vegetarian/vegan books. There is so much for me to learn and I've definately started the journey. I made a huge pot of cabbage/potate/mushroom soup and it was wonderful! Every time I turn around, I'm looking at products that animals have unwillinglly provided us. My living room set is leather. I thought it was tougher and more durable (which it has been for many years). With my dogs, fabric didn't make sense at the time. What alternative could I choose in the future? Also, I'm so concerned about what my diet will be, but can anyone help me with what to feed my dogs? Even their dry food is lamb based, and they are big chewers, so they've kind of spent the last year of their puppyhood chewing up rawhides. What does a vegetarian or vegan feed their animals? Any thoughts/help would be greatly appreciated. Rosey - Piers Clement Monday, November 09, 2009 10:49 AM Welcome to new member Rosemary Jonassen Hi Rosey and welcome to the list. I love your idea of changing the world by influencing those around you who will then influence others and so on - this is one of the ways change comes about! And you can do a lot too by correcting some common misunderstandings about vegetarianism - it's not cranky, doesn't have to be expensive, is much more healthy than an omnivorous diet. If you google for lists of famous vegetarians you can find a lot of inspiration there (though there are some notorious ones too, but that's so with everything). There's not one good way to follow a vegetarian way of life, some like to choose products that imitate the meaty ones they used to eat, others find the idea abhorrent. You may want to be strictly vegetarian or vegan, checking carefully all the restaurants and friends you visit and prepared foods you buy, or may allow yourself a little freedom - there are supporters of both approaches. But these and other topics come up in the discussion if you stick around, or you can find our views in the message archive. We've got some wonderful recipes here too which should inspire you and help influence your friends, who will try them out on their friends and ... Best, Piers (co-owner with Pat) Rosey's answers: 1. Which description best fits your situation? - I am in transition to vegetarian or vegan This is me. I'm in transition. 2. What is your main reason for choosing a vegetarian or vegan way of life? Concern for the treatment of animals. 3. Is your household totally vegetarian? If not, do you find you need to produce non-vegetarian meals some of the time? My household is not totally vegetarian. I really hardly know any vegetarians. 4. Do you like hot and spicy food? If not, what is your favourite kind of food? Hot and spicy is fine as long as it doesn't burn. 5. Is there anything else you would like to tell us (such as your country or region, age group, household pets/companion animals, hobbies, activities, interests, indoor and outdoor sports, etc.)? Let's hear it! I live in New York with two wonderful rescue dogs. None of my friends are vegetarian, but that really doesn't matter. I don't want any part of the cruelty that is involved in raising and slaughtering animals for food. As frequently happens, some of my friends kind of follow my lead. If my actions start changing those around me, then I'd be more than pleased as they'd then have an influence on those in their circle. I'm new to this and have been reading as much as possible as I really don't know how to go about this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 9, 2009 Report Share Posted November 9, 2009 Hi Rosemary! I'm Angela, and I've been vegan (again) since 1 Oct. (I've actually been vegetarian/vegan off-and-on since I was 13...I'm 34 now.) Those videos are powerful, aren't they? The Land o' Lakes videos over at the PETA site got me this final time. I'm glad for it, because this journey is an amazing one.  I know that for me personally, every day I feel better both physically and emotionally and I know that I'm living as compassionately as I can.  I love cookbooks, and I'm personally extremely fond of Sarah Kramer's cookbooks. She's a really sweet and cool person in the forefront of the vegan movement; check out her webiste at govegan.net. I also bought The Kind Diet, Alicia Silverstone's new book, last week and it's really good. I haven't made anything from it yet, though. Changing over to the vegetarian/vegan lifestyle doesn't completely happen overnight, so don't beat yourself up over animal products that you still have.  Donate or use up what you can and just start making the humane choices from now on. The diet part was easy for me, but I'm striving to give up non-humane products and find the kind replacements. It's fun, though, to discover new companies and products and know that with your consumer dollars, you're sending a powerful message and supporting the right causes. Often these cruelty-free companies give portions of their proceeds to animal charities, which is awesome! Check out Vegan Etsy for crafts, jewelry, bath products, etc.   I understand your concern about humane pet foods; I'm trying to figure out what I should be feeding my kitty.  I've heard that dogs are actually omnivorous and can thrive happily on a vegan diet, but I think that cats are obligate carnivores so I'm not sure what to do. Does anyone here have more info for Rosemary and myself?  AKM  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Angela K. Marvin >^..^< Jackie ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ --- On Mon, 11/9/09, Rosemary Jonassen <jonassen wrote: Rosemary Jonassen <jonassen Re: Welcome to new member Rosemary Jonassen Monday, November 9, 2009, 12:23 PM  Thanks for responding and sharing your ideas. I've lately been forwarding pertinent emails that I receive from The Humane Society of which I've contributed to for some time. It was particularly alarming to watch the video of calves going to slaughter for the production of veal. Almost everyone I've forwarded this to has watched it and if they hadn't given up veal beforehand, they now say they'll never touch it. I have one friend who is gluttenous and way over weight. Her world revolves around food. She actually said to me that she couldn't watch it as it was too upsetting. We can't immediately reach everyone, but we can sure plant a seed of thought in their brain and show how it is not only possible, but has all sorts of benefits. My first concern is the animals themselves but the benefits to ones health and the environment are huge also. I spent some time this weekend browsing Amazon and Borders Books for vegetarian/vegan books. There is so much for me to learn and I've definately started the journey. I made a huge pot of cabbage/potate/ mushroom soup and it was wonderful! Every time I turn around, I'm looking at products that animals have unwillinglly provided us. My living room set is leather. I thought it was tougher and more durable (which it has been for many years). With my dogs, fabric didn't make sense at the time. What alternative could I choose in the future? Also, I'm so concerned about what my diet will be, but can anyone help me with what to feed my dogs? Even their dry food is lamb based, and they are big chewers, so they've kind of spent the last year of their puppyhood chewing up rawhides. What does a vegetarian or vegan feed their animals? Any thoughts/help would be greatly appreciated. Rosey - Piers Clement Monday, November 09, 2009 10:49 AM Welcome to new member Rosemary Jonassen Hi Rosey and welcome to the list. I love your idea of changing the world by influencing those around you who will then influence others and so on - this is one of the ways change comes about! And you can do a lot too by correcting some common misunderstandings about vegetarianism - it's not cranky, doesn't have to be expensive, is much more healthy than an omnivorous diet. If you google for lists of famous vegetarians you can find a lot of inspiration there (though there are some notorious ones too, but that's so with everything). There's not one good way to follow a vegetarian way of life, some like to choose products that imitate the meaty ones they used to eat, others find the idea abhorrent. You may want to be strictly vegetarian or vegan, checking carefully all the restaurants and friends you visit and prepared foods you buy, or may allow yourself a little freedom - there are supporters of both approaches. But these and other topics come up in the discussion if you stick around, or you can find our views in the message archive. We've got some wonderful recipes here too which should inspire you and help influence your friends, who will try them out on their friends and ... Best, Piers (co-owner with Pat) Rosey's answers: 1. Which description best fits your situation? - I am in transition to vegetarian or vegan This is me. I'm in transition. 2. What is your main reason for choosing a vegetarian or vegan way of life? Concern for the treatment of animals. 3. Is your household totally vegetarian? If not, do you find you need to produce non-vegetarian meals some of the time? My household is not totally vegetarian. I really hardly know any vegetarians. 4. Do you like hot and spicy food? If not, what is your favourite kind of food? Hot and spicy is fine as long as it doesn't burn. 5. Is there anything else you would like to tell us (such as your country or region, age group, household pets/companion animals, hobbies, activities, interests, indoor and outdoor sports, etc.)? Let's hear it! I live in New York with two wonderful rescue dogs. None of my friends are vegetarian, but that really doesn't matter. I don't want any part of the cruelty that is involved in raising and slaughtering animals for food. As frequently happens, some of my friends kind of follow my lead. If my actions start changing those around me, then I'd be more than pleased as they'd then have an influence on those in their circle. I'm new to this and have been reading as much as possible as I really don't know how to go about this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 9, 2009 Report Share Posted November 9, 2009 Angela, Thanks for your insight. I'll look into Sarah Kramer's coodbooks and I had also planned on checking out " The Kind Diet " . I read recently that the actress, Natalie Portman, who is vegan, is creating a line of shoes and handbags that are not made from any animal products. I think that's just wonderful and I'm sure there will be others planning various products with animal welfare in mind. Hey, I think Stella McCartney is wonderful in that she exists and thrives in high fashion and does it with kindness. I think she's shamed and " turned " other designers along the way too. And yes, any products or things derived from animals, that I've got now, well what an ourtrageous trajedy all around if they are not utilized. So, I'm looking at my behavior from here on out. Maybe we'll get some guidance on the right approach to caring for our pets too. Thanks for writing and nice to meet you! Rosey - Angela K. Marvin Monday, November 09, 2009 5:13 PM Re: Welcome to new member Rosemary Jonassen Hi Rosemary! I'm Angela, and I've been vegan (again) since 1 Oct. (I've actually been vegetarian/vegan off-and-on since I was 13...I'm 34 now.) Those videos are powerful, aren't they? The Land o' Lakes videos over at the PETA site got me this final time. I'm glad for it, because this journey is an amazing one. I know that for me personally, every day I feel better both physically and emotionally and I know that I'm living as compassionately as I can. I love cookbooks, and I'm personally extremely fond of Sarah Kramer's cookbooks. She's a really sweet and cool person in the forefront of the vegan movement; check out her webiste at govegan.net. I also bought The Kind Diet, Alicia Silverstone's new book, last week and it's really good. I haven't made anything from it yet, though. Changing over to the vegetarian/vegan lifestyle doesn't completely happen overnight, so don't beat yourself up over animal products that you still have. Donate or use up what you can and just start making the humane choices from now on. The diet part was easy for me, but I'm striving to give up non-humane products and find the kind replacements. It's fun, though, to discover new companies and products and know that with your consumer dollars, you're sending a powerful message and supporting the right causes. Often these cruelty-free companies give portions of their proceeds to animal charities, which is awesome! Check out Vegan Etsy for crafts, jewelry, bath products, etc. I understand your concern about humane pet foods; I'm trying to figure out what I should be feeding my kitty. I've heard that dogs are actually omnivorous and can thrive happily on a vegan diet, but I think that cats are obligate carnivores so I'm not sure what to do. Does anyone here have more info for Rosemary and myself? AKM ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Angela K. Marvin >^..^< Jackie ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ --- On Mon, 11/9/09, Rosemary Jonassen <jonassen wrote: Rosemary Jonassen <jonassen Re: Welcome to new member Rosemary Jonassen Monday, November 9, 2009, 12:23 PM Thanks for responding and sharing your ideas. I've lately been forwarding pertinent emails that I receive from The Humane Society of which I've contributed to for some time. It was particularly alarming to watch the video of calves going to slaughter for the production of veal. Almost everyone I've forwarded this to has watched it and if they hadn't given up veal beforehand, they now say they'll never touch it. I have one friend who is gluttenous and way over weight. Her world revolves around food. She actually said to me that she couldn't watch it as it was too upsetting. We can't immediately reach everyone, but we can sure plant a seed of thought in their brain and show how it is not only possible, but has all sorts of benefits. My first concern is the animals themselves but the benefits to ones health and the environment are huge also. I spent some time this weekend browsing Amazon and Borders Books for vegetarian/vegan books. There is so much for me to learn and I've definately started the journey. I made a huge pot of cabbage/potate/ mushroom soup and it was wonderful! Every time I turn around, I'm looking at products that animals have unwillinglly provided us. My living room set is leather. I thought it was tougher and more durable (which it has been for many years). With my dogs, fabric didn't make sense at the time. What alternative could I choose in the future? Also, I'm so concerned about what my diet will be, but can anyone help me with what to feed my dogs? Even their dry food is lamb based, and they are big chewers, so they've kind of spent the last year of their puppyhood chewing up rawhides. What does a vegetarian or vegan feed their animals? Any thoughts/help would be greatly appreciated. Rosey - Piers Clement Monday, November 09, 2009 10:49 AM Welcome to new member Rosemary Jonassen Hi Rosey and welcome to the list. I love your idea of changing the world by influencing those around you who will then influence others and so on - this is one of the ways change comes about! And you can do a lot too by correcting some common misunderstandings about vegetarianism - it's not cranky, doesn't have to be expensive, is much more healthy than an omnivorous diet. If you google for lists of famous vegetarians you can find a lot of inspiration there (though there are some notorious ones too, but that's so with everything). There's not one good way to follow a vegetarian way of life, some like to choose products that imitate the meaty ones they used to eat, others find the idea abhorrent. You may want to be strictly vegetarian or vegan, checking carefully all the restaurants and friends you visit and prepared foods you buy, or may allow yourself a little freedom - there are supporters of both approaches. But these and other topics come up in the discussion if you stick around, or you can find our views in the message archive. We've got some wonderful recipes here too which should inspire you and help influence your friends, who will try them out on their friends and ... Best, Piers (co-owner with Pat) Rosey's answers: 1. Which description best fits your situation? - I am in transition to vegetarian or vegan This is me. I'm in transition. 2. What is your main reason for choosing a vegetarian or vegan way of life? Concern for the treatment of animals. 3. Is your household totally vegetarian? If not, do you find you need to produce non-vegetarian meals some of the time? My household is not totally vegetarian. I really hardly know any vegetarians. 4. Do you like hot and spicy food? If not, what is your favourite kind of food? Hot and spicy is fine as long as it doesn't burn. 5. Is there anything else you would like to tell us (such as your country or region, age group, household pets/companion animals, hobbies, activities, interests, indoor and outdoor sports, etc.)? Let's hear it! I live in New York with two wonderful rescue dogs. None of my friends are vegetarian, but that really doesn't matter. I don't want any part of the cruelty that is involved in raising and slaughtering animals for food. As frequently happens, some of my friends kind of follow my lead. If my actions start changing those around me, then I'd be more than pleased as they'd then have an influence on those in their circle. I'm new to this and have been reading as much as possible as I really don't know how to go about this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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