Guest guest Posted November 3, 2003 Report Share Posted November 3, 2003 One of my biggest bugbears these days is feeling like I am being constantly punished by the idiot majority for being vegetarian. I was feeling a little bit down the other week and scouring the supermarket for a pick-me-up (please keep in mind that in the UK we have practically NONE of these wonderful sounding alternatives mentioned on this board) - I swear one day I will EXPLODE in the supermarket from sheer frustration. I think most people on this site are vegan and so disapprove of milk chocolate anyway. I've never really had a tooth for it (which is great 'cos it's almost as if my body has instinctively known to avoid eating animal products) still, once in a blue moon my eyes will stray to a bar - they almost all seem to have Whey or E471 in them and it's so hard to keep from screaming. All the brand name herbal supplements are in gelatin capsules as well which is very annoying. I just don't think the makers are really thinking it through. Don't they think that vegetarians get depressed?? Surely we are amongst the most likely to be driven to it! Well, they say no GOOD deed goes unpunished I suppose. As to the people who say things like " but plants are alive so you might as well just eat meat and be done with it " short of becoming a breatharian at least we are doing something. I read a good retort to that somewhere on this board previously about classifying things with spinal columns etc as being truly " alive " . But take heart Kel, I always find strength in knowing that whatever frustrating obstacles get thrown at us for making ethical choices I am suffering considerably less than many animals (and people) every day. Perhaps it would be a good idea to look up some famous/historic vegetarians (Socrates, Immanuel Kant, Leonardo Da Vinci, George Bernard Shaw, amongst so many others, have battled the prejudice much more eloquently than I). Just an idea, what does everyone think about possibly getting together a collection of our favourite veggie related quotes? , kheli@c... wrote: > I became a vegetarian in May of this year due to a spiritual type epiphany. I have since learned all the other benefits. Lately I have been getting alot of prejudice. I can't believe how often people try and tell me whats wrong with being vegetarian. I just nod and say nothing, but WOW. Have any of you experienced this?? > Another question. Someone was discussing Krshna and how they do not use garlic or onions in their cooking, Why?? This was about a month ago. > Thank you Kel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 4, 2003 Report Share Posted November 4, 2003 My husband has two " favorite " sayings when someone is going on about something, or spouting on something about which they think they know it all -- and don't, or is unbearably boring. They are, " Oh, really, " and " Amaaazing. " Keeps him from losing his temper and making a comment which would inevitably extend a conversation he doesn't want to have with someone he doesn't want to converse with (sorry, poor grammar)! Paula J. Tulsa, OK - , kheli@c... wrote: > I became a vegetarian in May of this year due to a spiritual type epiphany. I have since learned all the other benefits. Lately I have been getting alot of prejudice. I can't believe how often people try and tell me whats wrong with being vegetarian. I just nod and say nothing, but WOW. Have any of you experienced this?? > Another question. Someone was discussing Krshna and how they do not use garlic or onions in their cooking, Why?? This was about a month ago. > Thank you Kel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 4, 2003 Report Share Posted November 4, 2003 Hi there Oneira - Resident herb lover here. Sorry to hear about the trials and tribulations you face. (I lived in Eire for a year, I know how tough it can be to be veggie over in the Isles.) If you're looking for herbal pick-me-ups, it's actually better to avoid capsules anyway - they get broken down in the intestines and don't do as much for the whole you. The best thing to do is have a tea or infusion of the herb - for the blues, try St. John's Wort or Passionflower. You can find dried herbs in natural stores or online (I use blessedherbs.com, but there might be some UK based ones). Just fill a tea ball w/ the dried herb, let it steep awhile and enjoy! -K , " Oneiro " <tentaclesofdoom> wrote: > > All the brand name herbal supplements are in gelatin capsules as well > which is very annoying. I just don't think the makers are really > thinking it through. > Don't they think that vegetarians get depressed?? Surely we are > amongst the most likely to be driven to it! > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 4, 2003 Report Share Posted November 4, 2003 I share many of your frustrations. I somedays find it quite difficult to remain even slightly pleasant when confronted with the idiotic responses I get when people discover I am a vegetarian. This weekend a guy said he would like it if we all went out to a lobster dinner and I politely declined the invitation as I am not one that eats the flesh of dead animals. He laughed and said, " Well lobsters are not animals, they are crustations (sp) ! " I explained that they were seaLIFE and I was not interested in taking their life just to eat them. Then you can all probably guess the next line in this scene, " Well plants are alive and you still eat them, so you are killing plants! " Well gee wiz Goober, I mus be one plum stoopit gal not to know thet one. I guess I jus been beezin silly. Thanks a heap fer settin me straight! NOT! *lol* Oh well... I wanted to say that but didn't. I just politely told him I had to survive on some manner of food and I had made the decision a while ago that I would allow myself to only kill plants to obtain that nourishment, but that in no way do I disagree that plants are indeed sentient life. I thought the UK had quite a few meat replacement items and that they were veggie friendly; at least more so than the US. That is a bummer if they aren't. I would be happy to put all of our vegetarian related quotations into one file so everyone would have a reference for them. Feel free to post them and I will gather them up as they appear. Good idea. ~ PT ~ People travel to wonder at the height of mountains, at the huge waves of the sea , at the long courses of rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motion of the stars; and they pass by themselves without wondering. ~ Saint Augustine (354-430) ~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~~~~~~> , " Oneiro " < tentaclesofdoom> wrote: > One of my biggest bugbears these days is feeling like I am being > constantly punished by the idiot majority for being vegetarian. > > I was feeling a little bit down the other week and scouring the > supermarket for a pick-me-up (please keep in mind that in the UK we > have practically NONE of these wonderful sounding alternatives > mentioned on this board) - I swear one day I will EXPLODE in the > supermarket from sheer frustration. > Don't they think that vegetarians get depressed?? Surely we are > amongst the most likely to be driven to it! > As to the people who say things like " but plants are alive so you > might as well just eat meat and be done with it " short of becoming a > breatharian at least we are doing something. > I read a good retort to that somewhere on this board previously about > classifying things with spinal columns etc as being truly " alive " . > Perhaps it would be a good idea to look up some famous/historic > vegetarians (Socrates, Immanuel Kant, Leonardo Da Vinci, George > Bernard Shaw, amongst so many others, have battled the prejudice much > more eloquently than I). > > Just an idea, what does everyone think about possibly getting > together a collection of our favourite veggie related quotes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 4, 2003 Report Share Posted November 4, 2003 They are, " Oh, really, " and " Amaaazing. " That's great. I love it! Donni - Paula Joseph Johnson Tuesday, November 04, 2003 6:15 AM Re: Mob Mentality My husband has two " favorite " sayings when someone is going on about something, or spouting on something about which they think they know it all -- and don't, or is unbearably boring. They are, " Oh, really, " and " Amaaazing. " Keeps him from losing his temper and making a comment which would inevitably extend a conversation he doesn't want to have with someone he doesn't want to converse with (sorry, poor grammar)! Paula J. Tulsa, OK - , kheli@c... wrote: > I became a vegetarian in May of this year due to a spiritual type epiphany. I have since learned all the other benefits. Lately I have been getting alot of prejudice. I can't believe how often people try and tell me whats wrong with being vegetarian. I just nod and say nothing, but WOW. Have any of you experienced this?? > Another question. Someone was discussing Krshna and how they do not use garlic or onions in their cooking, Why?? This was about a month ago. > Thank you Kel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 4, 2003 Report Share Posted November 4, 2003 People usually don't get harrassed for a dietary restriction if they're following a religious doctrine (ie. kosher). So, if the meatheads are punishing you, it's probably because on some (unconscious) level, your refusal to eat brutally slaughtered animals makes them feel guilty. So just go right on chomping your veggie foods in front of them; besides, it's not as if they EVER have the courtesy to not in meat in front of vegetarians. As for candy bars, I believe dark chocholate (i.e. mounds) is usually vegan; although, it tends to be bitter. They make soy chocholate bars, but they're very hard to find. They make gelatin capsules because it's cheap. unfortunately, the govts subsidize livestock so all animal products are WAY cheaper than they would be in a free enterprise market. As for the " plants are alive /sentient too " argument, it's pure crap, because: (A) if true, it is an argument for going fruitarian, not for eating meat (B) livestock eat plants, so by eating meat you will always consume more plants indirectly © Everything scientists know about pain / emotion seems to point to the requirement of a nervous system (not necessarily a spine- because many sea creatures lack one) but at least nerves and the neurotransmitter " substance p " ), which all plant life lacks. So uh, tell them to put that in their pipe and smoke it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 4, 2003 Report Share Posted November 4, 2003 Hi Jigilou, it was indeed St John's Wort I was after, Passionflower is good for insomnia too isn't it? Must look into that one more. Up till now the only veg*n version I'd found in Holland & Barratt was a liquid extract that you have to mix with water, tastes quite pleasant - slightly nutty (I wonder what would happen if anyone tried selling St John's Wort beer??) but paying twice as much as for any of the others for half the amount of uses left a bad taste in my mouth. Perhaps I should stick to using that one in future then if it is better than capsules? Finding cheap store-brand own tablets was cheering though. >I lived in Eire for a year, I know how tough it can be to be veggie >over in the Isles.) It is admittedly much worse trying to find anything veggie in Ireland (and Scotland), they tend to fry everything in lard and dripping. I suppose that's to be expected from farming regions. Oddly enough my tiny Welsh university town was very veggie friendly - (a lot more so than London!) even though the local shops had signs in their windows supporting eating beef throughout the BSE outbreaks and most of the locals were farmers it was so easy to find veggie-foods impossible to find in a city, weird. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 4, 2003 Report Share Posted November 4, 2003 lol, thats a great answer! , " Paula Joseph Johnson " <welshaires@q...> wrote: > My husband has two " favorite " sayings when someone is going on about something, or spouting on something about which they think they know it all -- and don't, or is unbearably boring. They are, " Oh, really, " and " Amaaazing. " Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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