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After 25 years as a strict vegetarian, I came out as a meat eater

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Always one to try and show both sides of the coin :

bear in mind this is a so -called educated person writing this, who for 25 years didnt seem to grasp the idea of a healthy diet!!!!

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/food_and_drink/article5618321.ece

 

Being a non-meat eater had always made me feel special. As a teenager growing up in Glasgow I was the only veggie in my school. At college my confident cooking became legend among friends. I successfully made vegetables taste... quite nice. And in my twenties my food shopping bills were teeny-weeny, leaving me more money for wine.

But here at almost fortysomething, on a French holiday with my husband, children and our friends all tucking into robust peasant food, I suddenly felt as pale and wan as the chickpeas on my plate. My old vim and vigour seemed to be missing. I was always hungry and, without a daily iron tablet, I felt tired and down in the dumps.

Back in the UK I thought that the urge to sink my teeth into something meaty would leave me - after all, I had been a vegetarian for 25 years. But my desire simply intensified. I made a deal with my husband to “trial†meat for three months. My plan was to see how it suited me. I finally “came out†about six months ago.

I am not the only staunch veggie to give up a lifetime devotion to pulses and tofu in the past year. The Food Standards Agency in Britain states that the number of people eating a partly or completely veggie diet fell from 9 per cent in 2007 to 7 per cent in 2008. However, we are, on average, eating less meat per head, as Su Taylor from the Vegetarian Society points out. “In 2006 the average person consumed 74.3kg. In 2007 that figure was 74kg - only a slight reduction, but a downward trend. People are realising that plant-based diets are better for the environment.â€

I see my decision to return to meat as part of a bigger change in Britain's food culture. We've shifted away from the old-school “meat is murder†approach, and now well-sourced meat is seen as healthy and natural.

We've been swayed by Jamie, Hugh and Gordon. They seem to love animals, yet have no trouble killing well- brought up specimens and putting them in a pie.

Recent advances in food labelling have also made it easier to understand where our meat is from, and how it is raised. The Soil Association stamp means that animals have been reared under strict organic guidelines on welfare. Guilty former vegetarians are also reassured by Freedom Food labels, which guarantee that animals have been kept in RSPCA-approved conditions.

Moving to the country also changed my outlook. I now live near a village butcher, who rears much of the meat he sells. I can see his happy pigs snuffling in their field from my office window. And I walk past his cows and sheep every day. Their journey to his shop window, via the abattoir, is shorter than my school run.

Some people who revert to meat eating say that they feel instantly rough. For me it was the reverse: I felt my energy levels steadily rising, and something incredible was happening. Shreds of slow-cooked lamb stirred into ratatouille seemed to tingle a whole different set of taste buds. I ate chicken in a leek and mushroom pie and loved it.

While intensively farmed meat may be murder for the environment, food experts generally agree that a little meat is good for human health. Judith Wills (www.thediet detective.net), author of the The Food Bible, isn't surprised that I started feeling more rosy cheeked by changing my diet. “Meat gets a bad press, but small amounts of well-brought up meat is good for you. People focus on saturated fat, especially in red meat, but lean beef has less saturated fat and total fat than chicken.â€

Most red meats are an excellent source of high-quality protein, B vitamins (for a healthy nervous system), iron (for proper use of the energy in food, healthy blood and aerobic capacity) and zinc (for immune system and fertility).

But is it fattening? Wills says: “Lean beef contains only around 5g of fat per 100g meat so lean meats aren't a problem for people trying to watch their weight.†And I felt ful-ler for longer so I ate less. “Because meat takes a long time to digest, it offers satiety over a long period.â€

I have also learnt to love cooking meat again. In my vegetarian days when I prepared chicken for my husband and kids I would pull on Marigolds and tip a tray of diced meat into a curry sauce. Now I get properly stuck in.

Last month my allotment-loving neighbours Jane and Adam brought me a brace of pheasants. When it was time to turn the hanging pheasants into dinner I hopped around the kitchen squealing while Adam gave my husband a five-minute lesson in how to debone and skin a bird.

We ate the meat in a rich pie, cooked with red wine, orange, peeled chestnuts and leeks: a feast that was delicious but cost next to nothing. And another step on my meaty rehabilitation. Rabbit pie is next.

HOW TO BE A BORN-AGAIN CARNIVORE

To begin Nutritionist Judith Wills recommends small amounts of easily digestible chicken mixed with lots of vegetables. Don't launch into steak.

How much? About 120g at each serving, the equivalent of a small chicken breast, a little lamb chop or a very small steak.

How often? No more than three portions a week. Leave room in your diet for lots of veg, pulses and fish.

Buy organic It usually takes longer to mature, it has a lower water content than meat from intensively farmed animals and this can increase its nutrient- to-weight ratio.

Get inspiration Discover the 1990s classic Roast Chicken and Other Stories (Ebury Press) by Simon Hopkinson for homely, meaty recipes that will get your juices flowing.

 

Peter vv

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i was a strict anti-racist for 25 yrs.

then, while watching my family enjoy themselves at a Klan rally, i felt envious of their comraderie and togetherness. so, my husband and i agreed to a trial racism. the first time i pushed a terrorist something er other down the stairs i never felt more alive. coming to our country and speaking that foreign giberish. speak american!

now i go to Cross burnings very weekend. we hold white power family gatherings where we sieg hiel each other, have weenie roasts and clean our ak 47's. never has our family been so happy and unified in hate.

sorry, have to be honest . actually i only read part way thru the post before quitting. was there unicorns and fluffy kittens at the end?

Peter VV Feb 1, 2009 1:09 AM Re: After 25 years as a strict vegetarian, I came out as a meat eater

 

 

 

 

 

 

Always one to try and show both sides of the coin :

bear in mind this is a so -called educated person writing this, who for 25 years didnt seem to grasp the idea of a healthy diet!!!!

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/food_and_drink/article5618321.ece

 

Being a non-meat eater had always made me feel special. As a teenager growing up in Glasgow I was the only veggie in my school. At college my confident cooking became legend among friends. I successfully made vegetables taste... quite nice. And in my twenties my food shopping bills were teeny-weeny, leaving me more money for wine.

But here at almost fortysomething, on a French holiday with my husband, children and our friends all tucking into robust peasant food, I suddenly felt as pale and wan as the chickpeas on my plate. My old vim and vigour seemed to be missing. I was always hungry and, without a daily iron tablet, I felt tired and down in the dumps.

Back in the UK I thought that the urge to sink my teeth into something meaty would leave me - after all, I had been a vegetarian for 25 years. But my desire simply intensified. I made a deal with my husband to “trial†meat for three months. My plan was to see how it suited me. I finally “came out†about six months ago.

I am not the only staunch veggie to give up a lifetime devotion to pulses and tofu in the past year. The Food Standards Agency in Britain states that the number of people eating a partly or completely veggie diet fell from 9 per cent in 2007 to 7 per cent in 2008. However, we are, on average, eating less meat per head, as Su Taylor from the Vegetarian Society points out. “In 2006 the average person consumed 74.3kg. In 2007 that figure was 74kg - only a slight reduction, but a downward trend. People are realising that plant-based diets are better for the environment.â€

I see my decision to return to meat as part of a bigger change in Britain's food culture. We've shifted away from the old-school “meat is murder†approach, and now well-sourced meat is seen as healthy and natural.

We've been swayed by Jamie, Hugh and Gordon. They seem to love animals, yet have no trouble killing well- brought up specimens and putting them in a pie.

Recent advances in food labelling have also made it easier to understand where our meat is from, and how it is raised. The Soil Association stamp means that animals have been reared under strict organic guidelines on welfare. Guilty former vegetarians are also reassured by Freedom Food labels, which guarantee that animals have been kept in RSPCA-approved conditions.

Moving to the country also changed my outlook. I now live near a village butcher, who rears much of the meat he sells. I can see his happy pigs snuffling in their field from my office window. And I walk past his cows and sheep every day. Their journey to his shop window, via the abattoir, is shorter than my school run.

Some people who revert to meat eating say that they feel instantly rough. For me it was the reverse: I felt my energy levels steadily rising, and something incredible was happening. Shreds of slow-cooked lamb stirred into ratatouille seemed to tingle a whole different set of taste buds. I ate chicken in a leek and mushroom pie and loved it.

While intensively farmed meat may be murder for the environment, food experts generally agree that a little meat is good for human health. Judith Wills (www.thediet detective.net), author of the The Food Bible, isn't surprised that I started feeling more rosy cheeked by changing my diet. “Meat gets a bad press, but small amounts of well-brought up meat is good for you. People focus on saturated fat, especially in red meat, but lean beef has less saturated fat and total fat than chicken.â€

Most red meats are an excellent source of high-quality protein, B vitamins (for a healthy nervous system), iron (for proper use of the energy in food, healthy blood and aerobic capacity) and zinc (for immune system and fertility).

But is it fattening? Wills says: “Lean beef contains only around 5g of fat per 100g meat so lean meats aren't a problem for people trying to watch their weight.†And I felt ful-ler for longer so I ate less. “Because meat takes a long time to digest, it offers satiety over a long period.â€

I have also learnt to love cooking meat again. In my vegetarian days when I prepared chicken for my husband and kids I would pull on Marigolds and tip a tray of diced meat into a curry sauce. Now I get properly stuck in.

Last month my allotment-loving neighbours Jane and Adam brought me a brace of pheasants. When it was time to turn the hanging pheasants into dinner I hopped around the kitchen squealing while Adam gave my husband a five-minute lesson in how to debone and skin a bird.

We ate the meat in a rich pie, cooked with red wine, orange, peeled chestnuts and leeks: a feast that was delicious but cost next to nothing. And another step on my meaty rehabilitation. Rabbit pie is next.

HOW TO BE A BORN-AGAIN CARNIVORE

To begin Nutritionist Judith Wills recommends small amounts of easily digestible chicken mixed with lots of vegetables. Don't launch into steak.

How much? About 120g at each serving, the equivalent of a small chicken breast, a little lamb chop or a very small steak.

How often? No more than three portions a week. Leave room in your diet for lots of veg, pulses and fish.

Buy organic It usually takes longer to mature, it has a lower water content than meat from intensively farmed animals and this can increase its nutrient- to-weight ratio.

Get inspiration Discover the 1990s classic Roast Chicken and Other Stories (Ebury Press) by Simon Hopkinson for homely, meaty recipes that will get your juices flowing.

 

Peter vv

 

 

 

 

 

"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we.

They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we."

--George W. Bush

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It makes you wonder why they were veggie for so long in the first place.

 

A lot of veggies do not eat properly. We have several friends who have spent many years on a veggie diet, not eating properly. One has MS and was told by her doctor to eat meat again, and is improved. One couple had been trying for a baby for four years, and were told by their doctor to try eating meat. As they were desperate for a baby they did - and within a couple of months they are expecting.

 

Vegans and vegetarians do need to eat a properly balanced diet - otherwise the only way to obtain some things is through meat, which unfortunately seems to be the easier way. Maybe if doctors were better educated they would recommend people to eat more pulses, nuts etc. etc. instead of meat - which would be the best advice ever. Until advice is correct there will always be vegans and vegetarians who get it wrong - and it makes it look bad for the rest of us!

 

Jo

 

 

-

Peter VV

Sunday, February 01, 2009 9:09 AM

Re: After 25 years as a strict vegetarian, I came out as a meat eater

 

 

 

 

 

Always one to try and show both sides of the coin :

bear in mind this is a so -called educated person writing this, who for 25 years didnt seem to grasp the idea of a healthy diet!!!!

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/food_and_drink/article5618321.ece

 

Being a non-meat eater had always made me feel special. As a teenager growing up in Glasgow I was the only veggie in my school. At college my confident cooking became legend among friends. I successfully made vegetables taste... quite nice. And in my twenties my food shopping bills were teeny-weeny, leaving me more money for wine.

But here at almost fortysomething, on a French holiday with my husband, children and our friends all tucking into robust peasant food, I suddenly felt as pale and wan as the chickpeas on my plate. My old vim and vigour seemed to be missing. I was always hungry and, without a daily iron tablet, I felt tired and down in the dumps.

Back in the UK I thought that the urge to sink my teeth into something meaty would leave me - after all, I had been a vegetarian for 25 years. But my desire simply intensified. I made a deal with my husband to “trial†meat for three months. My plan was to see how it suited me. I finally “came out†about six months ago.

I am not the only staunch veggie to give up a lifetime devotion to pulses and tofu in the past year. The Food Standards Agency in Britain states that the number of people eating a partly or completely veggie diet fell from 9 per cent in 2007 to 7 per cent in 2008. However, we are, on average, eating less meat per head, as Su Taylor from the Vegetarian Society points out. “In 2006 the average person consumed 74.3kg. In 2007 that figure was 74kg - only a slight reduction, but a downward trend. People are realising that plant-based diets are better for the environment.â€

I see my decision to return to meat as part of a bigger change in Britain's food culture. We've shifted away from the old-school “meat is murder†approach, and now well-sourced meat is seen as healthy and natural.

We've been swayed by Jamie, Hugh and Gordon. They seem to love animals, yet have no trouble killing well- brought up specimens and putting them in a pie.

Recent advances in food labelling have also made it easier to understand where our meat is from, and how it is raised. The Soil Association stamp means that animals have been reared under strict organic guidelines on welfare. Guilty former vegetarians are also reassured by Freedom Food labels, which guarantee that animals have been kept in RSPCA-approved conditions.

Moving to the country also changed my outlook. I now live near a village butcher, who rears much of the meat he sells. I can see his happy pigs snuffling in their field from my office window. And I walk past his cows and sheep every day. Their journey to his shop window, via the abattoir, is shorter than my school run.

Some people who revert to meat eating say that they feel instantly rough. For me it was the reverse: I felt my energy levels steadily rising, and something incredible was happening. Shreds of slow-cooked lamb stirred into ratatouille seemed to tingle a whole different set of taste buds. I ate chicken in a leek and mushroom pie and loved it.

While intensively farmed meat may be murder for the environment, food experts generally agree that a little meat is good for human health. Judith Wills (www.thediet detective.net), author of the The Food Bible, isn't surprised that I started feeling more rosy cheeked by changing my diet. “Meat gets a bad press, but small amounts of well-brought up meat is good for you. People focus on saturated fat, especially in red meat, but lean beef has less saturated fat and total fat than chicken.â€

Most red meats are an excellent source of high-quality protein, B vitamins (for a healthy nervous system), iron (for proper use of the energy in food, healthy blood and aerobic capacity) and zinc (for immune system and fertility).

But is it fattening? Wills says: “Lean beef contains only around 5g of fat per 100g meat so lean meats aren't a problem for people trying to watch their weight.†And I felt ful-ler for longer so I ate less. “Because meat takes a long time to digest, it offers satiety over a long period.â€

I have also learnt to love cooking meat again. In my vegetarian days when I prepared chicken for my husband and kids I would pull on Marigolds and tip a tray of diced meat into a curry sauce. Now I get properly stuck in.

Last month my allotment-loving neighbours Jane and Adam brought me a brace of pheasants. When it was time to turn the hanging pheasants into dinner I hopped around the kitchen squealing while Adam gave my husband a five-minute lesson in how to debone and skin a bird.

We ate the meat in a rich pie, cooked with red wine, orange, peeled chestnuts and leeks: a feast that was delicious but cost next to nothing. And another step on my meaty rehabilitation. Rabbit pie is next.

HOW TO BE A BORN-AGAIN CARNIVORE

To begin Nutritionist Judith Wills recommends small amounts of easily digestible chicken mixed with lots of vegetables. Don't launch into steak.

How much? About 120g at each serving, the equivalent of a small chicken breast, a little lamb chop or a very small steak.

How often? No more than three portions a week. Leave room in your diet for lots of veg, pulses and fish.

Buy organic It usually takes longer to mature, it has a lower water content than meat from intensively farmed animals and this can increase its nutrient- to-weight ratio.

Get inspiration Discover the 1990s classic Roast Chicken and Other Stories (Ebury Press) by Simon Hopkinson for homely, meaty recipes that will get your juices flowing.

 

Peter vv

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Well put Fraggle.

 

Jo

 

 

 

-

fraggle

Sunday, February 01, 2009 5:59 PM

Re: After 25 years as a strict vegetarian, I came out as a meat eater

 

 

 

i was a strict anti-racist for 25 yrs.

then, while watching my family enjoy themselves at a Klan rally, i felt envious of their comraderie and togetherness. so, my husband and i agreed to a trial racism. the first time i pushed a terrorist something er other down the stairs i never felt more alive. coming to our country and speaking that foreign giberish. speak american!

now i go to Cross burnings very weekend. we hold white power family gatherings where we sieg hiel each other, have weenie roasts and clean our ak 47's. never has our family been so happy and unified in hate.

sorry, have to be honest . actually i only read part way thru the post before quitting. was there unicorns and fluffy kittens at the end?

Peter VV Feb 1, 2009 1:09 AM Re: After 25 years as a strict vegetarian, I came out as a meat eater

 

 

 

 

 

 

Always one to try and show both sides of the coin :

bear in mind this is a so -called educated person writing this, who for 25 years didnt seem to grasp the idea of a healthy diet!!!!

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/food_and_drink/article5618321.ece

 

Being a non-meat eater had always made me feel special. As a teenager growing up in Glasgow I was the only veggie in my school. At college my confident cooking became legend among friends. I successfully made vegetables taste... quite nice. And in my twenties my food shopping bills were teeny-weeny, leaving me more money for wine.

But here at almost fortysomething, on a French holiday with my husband, children and our friends all tucking into robust peasant food, I suddenly felt as pale and wan as the chickpeas on my plate. My old vim and vigour seemed to be missing. I was always hungry and, without a daily iron tablet, I felt tired and down in the dumps.

Back in the UK I thought that the urge to sink my teeth into something meaty would leave me - after all, I had been a vegetarian for 25 years. But my desire simply intensified. I made a deal with my husband to “trial†meat for three months. My plan was to see how it suited me. I finally “came out†about six months ago.

I am not the only staunch veggie to give up a lifetime devotion to pulses and tofu in the past year. The Food Standards Agency in Britain states that the number of people eating a partly or completely veggie diet fell from 9 per cent in 2007 to 7 per cent in 2008. However, we are, on average, eating less meat per head, as Su Taylor from the Vegetarian Society points out. “In 2006 the average person consumed 74.3kg. In 2007 that figure was 74kg - only a slight reduction, but a downward trend. People are realising that plant-based diets are better for the environment.â€

I see my decision to return to meat as part of a bigger change in Britain's food culture. We've shifted away from the old-school “meat is murder†approach, and now well-sourced meat is seen as healthy and natural.

We've been swayed by Jamie, Hugh and Gordon. They seem to love animals, yet have no trouble killing well- brought up specimens and putting them in a pie.

Recent advances in food labelling have also made it easier to understand where our meat is from, and how it is raised. The Soil Association stamp means that animals have been reared under strict organic guidelines on welfare. Guilty former vegetarians are also reassured by Freedom Food labels, which guarantee that animals have been kept in RSPCA-approved conditions.

Moving to the country also changed my outlook. I now live near a village butcher, who rears much of the meat he sells. I can see his happy pigs snuffling in their field from my office window. And I walk past his cows and sheep every day. Their journey to his shop window, via the abattoir, is shorter than my school run.

Some people who revert to meat eating say that they feel instantly rough. For me it was the reverse: I felt my energy levels steadily rising, and something incredible was happening. Shreds of slow-cooked lamb stirred into ratatouille seemed to tingle a whole different set of taste buds. I ate chicken in a leek and mushroom pie and loved it.

While intensively farmed meat may be murder for the environment, food experts generally agree that a little meat is good for human health. Judith Wills (www.thediet detective.net), author of the The Food Bible, isn't surprised that I started feeling more rosy cheeked by changing my diet. “Meat gets a bad press, but small amounts of well-brought up meat is good for you. People focus on saturated fat, especially in red meat, but lean beef has less saturated fat and total fat than chicken.â€

Most red meats are an excellent source of high-quality protein, B vitamins (for a healthy nervous system), iron (for proper use of the energy in food, healthy blood and aerobic capacity) and zinc (for immune system and fertility).

But is it fattening? Wills says: “Lean beef contains only around 5g of fat per 100g meat so lean meats aren't a problem for people trying to watch their weight.†And I felt ful-ler for longer so I ate less. “Because meat takes a long time to digest, it offers satiety over a long period.â€

I have also learnt to love cooking meat again. In my vegetarian days when I prepared chicken for my husband and kids I would pull on Marigolds and tip a tray of diced meat into a curry sauce. Now I get properly stuck in.

Last month my allotment-loving neighbours Jane and Adam brought me a brace of pheasants. When it was time to turn the hanging pheasants into dinner I hopped around the kitchen squealing while Adam gave my husband a five-minute lesson in how to debone and skin a bird.

We ate the meat in a rich pie, cooked with red wine, orange, peeled chestnuts and leeks: a feast that was delicious but cost next to nothing. And another step on my meaty rehabilitation. Rabbit pie is next.

HOW TO BE A BORN-AGAIN CARNIVORE

To begin Nutritionist Judith Wills recommends small amounts of easily digestible chicken mixed with lots of vegetables. Don't launch into steak.

How much? About 120g at each serving, the equivalent of a small chicken breast, a little lamb chop or a very small steak.

How often? No more than three portions a week. Leave room in your diet for lots of veg, pulses and fish.

Buy organic It usually takes longer to mature, it has a lower water content than meat from intensively farmed animals and this can increase its nutrient- to-weight ratio.

Get inspiration Discover the 1990s classic Roast Chicken and Other Stories (Ebury Press) by Simon Hopkinson for homely, meaty recipes that will get your juices flowing.

 

Peter vv

 

"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we."

--George W. Bush

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If you wanted there to be...........

 

Peter vv

 

 

 

 

fraggle <EBbrewpunx Sent: Sunday, 1 February, 2009 5:59:40 PMRe: After 25 years as a strict vegetarian, I came out as a meat eater

 

 

i was a strict anti-racist for 25 yrs.

then, while watching my family enjoy themselves at a Klan rally, i felt envious of their comraderie and togetherness. so, my husband and i agreed to a trial racism. the first time i pushed a terrorist something er other down the stairs i never felt more alive. coming to our country and speaking that foreign giberish. speak american!

now i go to Cross burnings very weekend. we hold white power family gatherings where we sieg hiel each other, have weenie roasts and clean our ak 47's. never has our family been so happy and unified in hate.

sorry, have to be honest . actually i only read part way thru the post before quitting. was there unicorns and fluffy kittens at the end?

Peter VV Feb 1, 2009 1:09 AM @gro ups.com Re: After 25 years as a strict vegetarian, I came out as a meat eater

 

 

 

 

 

 

Always one to try and show both sides of the coin :

bear in mind this is a so -called educated person writing this, who for 25 years didnt seem to grasp the idea of a healthy diet!!!!

http://www.timesonl ine.co.uk/ tol/life_ and_style/ food_and_ drink/article561 8321.ece

 

Being a non-meat eater had always made me feel special. As a teenager growing up in Glasgow I was the only veggie in my school. At college my confident cooking became legend among friends. I successfully made vegetables taste... quite nice. And in my twenties my food shopping bills were teeny-weeny, leaving me more money for wine.

But here at almost fortysomething, on a French holiday with my husband, children and our friends all tucking into robust peasant food, I suddenly felt as pale and wan as the chickpeas on my plate. My old vim and vigour seemed to be missing. I was always hungry and, without a daily iron tablet, I felt tired and down in the dumps.

Back in the UK I thought that the urge to sink my teeth into something meaty would leave me - after all, I had been a vegetarian for 25 years. But my desire simply intensified. I made a deal with my husband to “trial†meat for three months. My plan was to see how it suited me. I finally “came out†about six months ago.

I am not the only staunch veggie to give up a lifetime devotion to pulses and tofu in the past year. The Food Standards Agency in Britain states that the number of people eating a partly or completely veggie diet fell from 9 per cent in 2007 to 7 per cent in 2008. However, we are, on average, eating less meat per head, as Su Taylor from the Vegetarian Society points out. “In 2006 the average person consumed 74.3kg. In 2007 that figure was 74kg - only a slight reduction, but a downward trend. People are realising that plant-based diets are better for the environment.â€

I see my decision to return to meat as part of a bigger change in Britain's food culture. We've shifted away from the old-school “meat is murder†approach, and now well-sourced meat is seen as healthy and natural.

We've been swayed by Jamie, Hugh and Gordon. They seem to love animals, yet have no trouble killing well- brought up specimens and putting them in a pie.

Recent advances in food labelling have also made it easier to understand where our meat is from, and how it is raised. The Soil Association stamp means that animals have been reared under strict organic guidelines on welfare. Guilty former vegetarians are also reassured by Freedom Food labels, which guarantee that animals have been kept in RSPCA-approved conditions.

Moving to the country also changed my outlook. I now live near a village butcher, who rears much of the meat he sells. I can see his happy pigs snuffling in their field from my office window. And I walk past his cows and sheep every day. Their journey to his shop window, via the abattoir, is shorter than my school run.

Some people who revert to meat eating say that they feel instantly rough. For me it was the reverse: I felt my energy levels steadily rising, and something incredible was happening. Shreds of slow-cooked lamb stirred into ratatouille seemed to tingle a whole different set of taste buds. I ate chicken in a leek and mushroom pie and loved it.

While intensively farmed meat may be murder for the environment, food experts generally agree that a little meat is good for human health. Judith Wills (www.thediet detective.net) , author of the The Food Bible, isn't surprised that I started feeling more rosy cheeked by changing my diet. “Meat gets a bad press, but small amounts of well-brought up meat is good for you. People focus on saturated fat, especially in red meat, but lean beef has less saturated fat and total fat than chicken.â€

Most red meats are an excellent source of high-quality protein, B vitamins (for a healthy nervous system), iron (for proper use of the energy in food, healthy blood and aerobic capacity) and zinc (for immune system and fertility).

But is it fattening? Wills says: “Lean beef contains only around 5g of fat per 100g meat so lean meats aren't a problem for people trying to watch their weight.†And I felt ful-ler for longer so I ate less. “Because meat takes a long time to digest, it offers satiety over a long period.â€

I have also learnt to love cooking meat again. In my vegetarian days when I prepared chicken for my husband and kids I would pull on Marigolds and tip a tray of diced meat into a curry sauce. Now I get properly stuck in.

Last month my allotment-loving neighbours Jane and Adam brought me a brace of pheasants. When it was time to turn the hanging pheasants into dinner I hopped around the kitchen squealing while Adam gave my husband a five-minute lesson in how to debone and skin a bird.

We ate the meat in a rich pie, cooked with red wine, orange, peeled chestnuts and leeks: a feast that was delicious but cost next to nothing. And another step on my meaty rehabilitation. Rabbit pie is next.

HOW TO BE A BORN-AGAIN CARNIVORE

To begin Nutritionist Judith Wills recommends small amounts of easily digestible chicken mixed with lots of vegetables. Don't launch into steak.

How much? About 120g at each serving, the equivalent of a small chicken breast, a little lamb chop or a very small steak.

How often? No more than three portions a week. Leave room in your diet for lots of veg, pulses and fish.

Buy organic It usually takes longer to mature, it has a lower water content than meat from intensively farmed animals and this can increase its nutrient- to-weight ratio.

Get inspiration Discover the 1990s classic Roast Chicken and Other Stories (Ebury Press) by Simon Hopkinson for homely, meaty recipes that will get your juices flowing.

 

Peter vv

 

"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we."

--George W. Bush

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At 9:59 AM -0800 2/1/09, fraggle wrote:

.....

sorry, have to be honest . actually i only read part way

thru the post before quitting. was there unicorns and fluffy kittens

at the end?

>.

 

They ate them, of course. Only because they were free range and,

like a shmoo, died happy knowing they'd be the main course.

 

(remember the shmoo? http://www.lil-abner.com/shmoo.html)

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Whether an animal is seen to be raised ethically, humainly of just in

good conditions, nothing will ever escape the fact that using another

species for food, milk or clothes is imposing our will and control

over another. They never had a choice in this and all animals whether

free frange, organic will still be slaughtered in conditions of pure

hell whatever those involved would say.

 

Nothing's changed except the mind set of people who can quite easily

justify their actions because they believe its not as bad as before,

well since i've never had an health problem from being vegan and

little educated to what i need in my diet then i wonder if some

people would be ill whether they eat meat or not. Loads of people get

sick from eating meat, through food poisioning and obesity, heart

related conditions from food high in saturated fat and dairy but

often they attack vegans when they become sick and blame their diet.

 

Well Vegans still suffer from health problems and most times it will

be nothing to do with being vegan but other things. Free range is a

myth and many under cover films show this fact in detail and if you

went veggie for the ethical, moral reasons of farming animals then

nothing as got better just adapted to look like its ethical and fair.

 

But if you didn't eat any animal product then there's no debate and

its always ethical and fair....

 

I can never understand people going back to eating meat after not for

so long and wonder why they've lost that compassion inside for life

and the oppressed beings of this planet, what changed and what we're

their motives in the first place for being vegan or veggie. Animals

still suffer by the billions each year and the impact on humans, the

environment and all of life create's a situation in my mind that by

being vegan then will give this planet the most chance for

survival... , " jo.heartwork "

<jo.heartwork wrote:

>

> It makes you wonder why they were veggie for so long in the first

place.

>

> A lot of veggies do not eat properly. We have several friends who

have spent many years on a veggie diet, not eating properly. One has

MS and was told by her doctor to eat meat again, and is improved.

One couple had been trying for a baby for four years, and were told

by their doctor to try eating meat. As they were desperate for a

baby they did - and within a couple of months they are expecting.

>

> Vegans and vegetarians do need to eat a properly balanced diet -

otherwise the only way to obtain some things is through meat, which

unfortunately seems to be the easier way. Maybe if doctors were

better educated they would recommend people to eat more pulses, nuts

etc. etc. instead of meat - which would be the best advice ever.

Until advice is correct there will always be vegans and vegetarians

who get it wrong - and it makes it look bad for the rest of us!

>

> Jo

>

> -

> Peter VV

>

> Sunday, February 01, 2009 9:09 AM

> Re: After 25 years as a strict vegetarian,

I came out as a meat eater

>

>

>

> Always one to try and show both sides of the coin :

> bear in mind this is a so -called educated person writing this,

who for 25 years didnt seem to grasp the idea of a healthy diet!!!!

>

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/food_and_drink/article

5618321.ece

> Being a non-meat eater had always made me feel special. As a

teenager growing up in Glasgow I was the only veggie in my school. At

college my confident cooking became legend among friends. I

successfully made vegetables taste... quite nice. And in my twenties

my food shopping bills were teeny-weeny, leaving me more money for

wine.

>

> But here at almost fortysomething, on a French holiday with my

husband, children and our friends all tucking into robust peasant

food, I suddenly felt as pale and wan as the chickpeas on my plate.

My old vim and vigour seemed to be missing. I was always hungry and,

without a daily iron tablet, I felt tired and down in the dumps.

>

> Back in the UK I thought that the urge to sink my teeth into

something meaty would leave me - after all, I had been a vegetarian

for 25 years. But my desire simply intensified. I made a deal with my

husband to “trial†meat for three months. My plan was to see how

it suited me. I finally “came out†about six months ago.

>

> I am not the only staunch veggie to give up a lifetime devotion

to pulses and tofu in the past year. The Food Standards Agency in

Britain states that the number of people eating a partly or

completely veggie diet fell from 9 per cent in 2007 to 7 per cent in

2008. However, we are, on average, eating less meat per head, as Su

Taylor from the Vegetarian Society points out. “In 2006 the average

person consumed 74.3kg. In 2007 that figure was 74kg - only a slight

reduction, but a downward trend. People are realising that plant-

based diets are better for the environment.â€

>

> I see my decision to return to meat as part of a bigger change in

Britain's food culture. We've shifted away from the old-school

“meat is murder†approach, and now well-sourced meat is seen as

healthy and natural.

>

> We've been swayed by Jamie, Hugh and Gordon. They seem to love

animals, yet have no trouble killing well- brought up specimens and

putting them in a pie.

>

> Recent advances in food labelling have also made it easier to

understand where our meat is from, and how it is raised. The Soil

Association stamp means that animals have been reared under strict

organic guidelines on welfare. Guilty former vegetarians are also

reassured by Freedom Food labels, which guarantee that animals have

been kept in RSPCA-approved conditions.

>

> Moving to the country also changed my outlook. I now live near a

village butcher, who rears much of the meat he sells. I can see his

happy pigs snuffling in their field from my office window. And I walk

past his cows and sheep every day. Their journey to his shop window,

via the abattoir, is shorter than my school run.

>

> Some people who revert to meat eating say that they feel

instantly rough. For me it was the reverse: I felt my energy levels

steadily rising, and something incredible was happening. Shreds of

slow-cooked lamb stirred into ratatouille seemed to tingle a whole

different set of taste buds. I ate chicken in a leek and mushroom pie

and loved it.

>

> While intensively farmed meat may be murder for the environment,

food experts generally agree that a little meat is good for human

health. Judith Wills (www.thediet detective.net), author of the The

Food Bible, isn't surprised that I started feeling more rosy cheeked

by changing my diet. “Meat gets a bad press, but small amounts of

well-brought up meat is good for you. People focus on saturated fat,

especially in red meat, but lean beef has less saturated fat and

total fat than chicken.â€

>

> Most red meats are an excellent source of high-quality protein, B

vitamins (for a healthy nervous system), iron (for proper use of the

energy in food, healthy blood and aerobic capacity) and zinc (for

immune system and fertility).

>

> But is it fattening? Wills says: “Lean beef contains only

around 5g of fat per 100g meat so lean meats aren't a problem for

people trying to watch their weight.†And I felt ful-ler for longer

so I ate less. “Because meat takes a long time to digest, it offers

satiety over a long period.â€

>

> I have also learnt to love cooking meat again. In my vegetarian

days when I prepared chicken for my husband and kids I would pull on

Marigolds and tip a tray of diced meat into a curry sauce. Now I get

properly stuck in.

>

> Last month my allotment-loving neighbours Jane and Adam brought

me a brace of pheasants. When it was time to turn the hanging

pheasants into dinner I hopped around the kitchen squealing while

Adam gave my husband a five-minute lesson in how to debone and skin a

bird.

>

> We ate the meat in a rich pie, cooked with red wine, orange,

peeled chestnuts and leeks: a feast that was delicious but cost next

to nothing. And another step on my meaty rehabilitation. Rabbit pie

is next.

>

> HOW TO BE A BORN-AGAIN CARNIVORE

>

> To begin Nutritionist Judith Wills recommends small amounts of

easily digestible chicken mixed with lots of vegetables. Don't launch

into steak.

>

> How much? About 120g at each serving, the equivalent of a small

chicken breast, a little lamb chop or a very small steak.

>

> How often? No more than three portions a week. Leave room in your

diet for lots of veg, pulses and fish.

>

> Buy organic It usually takes longer to mature, it has a lower

water content than meat from intensively farmed animals and this can

increase its nutrient- to-weight ratio.

>

> Get inspiration Discover the 1990s classic Roast Chicken and

Other Stories (Ebury Press) by Simon Hopkinson for homely, meaty

recipes that will get your juices flowing.

>

>

>

>

> Peter vv

>

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Posted
Posted

Ah, the hapless yet happy shmoo....in case anyone doesn't get it:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ShmooI seem to recall a parody of Li'l Abner in Mad magazine in the mid-70s; in fact, I think it was a reprint of a 1950's issue that Mad used to regularly feature in their Supersized issues. I just looked it up and it was called " Li'l Melvin " and it graphically depicted the slaughtering of the Shmoo (heads cut off, intestines yanked out) as opposed to " Li'l Abner " 's sanitized version.

Funny what sticks with you after a few decades....might have been a subtle influence on how things have turned out! Blake On Sun, Feb 1, 2009 at 11:32 PM, <yarrow wrote:

 

 

 

 

 

 

At 9:59 AM -0800 2/1/09, fraggle wrote:

.....

sorry, have to be honest . actually i only read part way

thru the post before quitting. was there unicorns and fluffy kittens

at the end?

>.

 

They ate them, of course. Only because they were free range and,

like a shmoo, died happy knowing they'd be the main course.

 

(remember the shmoo? http://www.lil-abner.com/shmoo.html)

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Posted

you know, i remember that issue!

i used to jump with undisguised glee when Mad would shove one of their old issues in the back or front of their Supersized issues

Tales Calculated to Drive You..Mad!

heh

Blake Wilson Feb 2, 2009 7:07 AM Re: After 25 years as a strict vegetarian, I came out as a meat eater

 

 

 

Ah, the hapless yet happy shmoo....in case anyone doesn't get it:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ShmooI seem to recall a parody of Li'l Abner in Mad magazine in the mid-70s; in fact, I think it was a reprint of a 1950's issue that Mad used to regularly feature in their Supersized issues. I just looked it up and it was called "Li'l Melvin" and it graphically depicted the slaughtering of the Shmoo (heads cut off, intestines yanked out) as opposed to "Li'l Abner"'s sanitized version. Funny what sticks with you after a few decades....might have been a subtle influence on how things have turned out! Blake

On Sun, Feb 1, 2009 at 11:32 PM, <yarrow wrote:

 

 

 

 

 

 

At 9:59 AM -0800 2/1/09, fraggle wrote:

.....

sorry, have to be honest . actually i only read part way thru the post before quitting. was there unicorns and fluffy kittens at the end?

>.

 

They ate them, of course. Only because they were free range and, like a shmoo, died happy knowing they'd be the main course.

 

(remember the shmoo? http://www.lil-abner.com/shmoo.html)

 

 

 

 

 

"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we.

They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we."

--George W. Bush

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Posted
Posted

Most vegans don't have health problems. Some vegans and vegetarians need to eat a better diet. Of course meat-eaters become unwell - but we should know more about nutrition than a lot of us do.

 

Jo

 

 

-

dean_bracher

Monday, February 02, 2009 12:06 PM

Re: After 25 years as a strict vegetarian, I came out as a meat eater

 

 

Whether an animal is seen to be raised ethically, humainly of just in good conditions, nothing will ever escape the fact that using another species for food, milk or clothes is imposing our will and control over another. They never had a choice in this and all animals whether free frange, organic will still be slaughtered in conditions of pure hell whatever those involved would say.Nothing's changed except the mind set of people who can quite easily justify their actions because they believe its not as bad as before, well since i've never had an health problem from being vegan and little educated to what i need in my diet then i wonder if some people would be ill whether they eat meat or not. Loads of people get sick from eating meat, through food poisioning and obesity, heart related conditions from food high in saturated fat and dairy but often they attack vegans when they become sick and blame their diet. Well Vegans still suffer from health problems and most times it will be nothing to do with being vegan but other things. Free range is a myth and many under cover films show this fact in detail and if you went veggie for the ethical, moral reasons of farming animals then nothing as got better just adapted to look like its ethical and fair.But if you didn't eat any animal product then there's no debate and its always ethical and fair....I can never understand people going back to eating meat after not for so long and wonder why they've lost that compassion inside for life and the oppressed beings of this planet, what changed and what we're their motives in the first place for being vegan or veggie. Animals still suffer by the billions each year and the impact on humans, the environment and all of life create's a situation in my mind that by being vegan then will give this planet the most chance for survival... , "jo.heartwork" <jo.heartwork wrote:>> It makes you wonder why they were veggie for so long in the first place. > > A lot of veggies do not eat properly. We have several friends who have spent many years on a veggie diet, not eating properly. One has MS and was told by her doctor to eat meat again, and is improved. One couple had been trying for a baby for four years, and were told by their doctor to try eating meat. As they were desperate for a baby they did - and within a couple of months they are expecting.> > Vegans and vegetarians do need to eat a properly balanced diet - otherwise the only way to obtain some things is through meat, which unfortunately seems to be the easier way. Maybe if doctors were better educated they would recommend people to eat more pulses, nuts etc. etc. instead of meat - which would be the best advice ever. Until advice is correct there will always be vegans and vegetarians who get it wrong - and it makes it look bad for the rest of us!> > Jo> > - > Peter VV > > Sunday, February 01, 2009 9:09 AM> Re: After 25 years as a strict vegetarian, I came out as a meat eater> > > > Always one to try and show both sides of the coin :> bear in mind this is a so -called educated person writing this, who for 25 years didnt seem to grasp the idea of a healthy diet!!!!> http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/food_and_drink/article5618321.ece> Being a non-meat eater had always made me feel special. As a teenager growing up in Glasgow I was the only veggie in my school. At college my confident cooking became legend among friends. I successfully made vegetables taste... quite nice. And in my twenties my food shopping bills were teeny-weeny, leaving me more money for wine. > > But here at almost fortysomething, on a French holiday with my husband, children and our friends all tucking into robust peasant food, I suddenly felt as pale and wan as the chickpeas on my plate. My old vim and vigour seemed to be missing. I was always hungry and, without a daily iron tablet, I felt tired and down in the dumps. > > Back in the UK I thought that the urge to sink my teeth into something meaty would leave me - after all, I had been a vegetarian for 25 years. But my desire simply intensified. I made a deal with my husband to “trial†meat for three months. My plan was to see how it suited me. I finally “came out†about six months ago. > > I am not the only staunch veggie to give up a lifetime devotion to pulses and tofu in the past year. The Food Standards Agency in Britain states that the number of people eating a partly or completely veggie diet fell from 9 per cent in 2007 to 7 per cent in 2008. However, we are, on average, eating less meat per head, as Su Taylor from the Vegetarian Society points out. “In 2006 the average person consumed 74.3kg. In 2007 that figure was 74kg - only a slight reduction, but a downward trend. People are realising that plant-based diets are better for the environment.†> > I see my decision to return to meat as part of a bigger change in Britain's food culture. We've shifted away from the old-school “meat is murder†approach, and now well-sourced meat is seen as healthy and natural. > > We've been swayed by Jamie, Hugh and Gordon. They seem to love animals, yet have no trouble killing well- brought up specimens and putting them in a pie. > > Recent advances in food labelling have also made it easier to understand where our meat is from, and how it is raised. The Soil Association stamp means that animals have been reared under strict organic guidelines on welfare. Guilty former vegetarians are also reassured by Freedom Food labels, which guarantee that animals have been kept in RSPCA-approved conditions. > > Moving to the country also changed my outlook. I now live near a village butcher, who rears much of the meat he sells. I can see his happy pigs snuffling in their field from my office window. And I walk past his cows and sheep every day. Their journey to his shop window, via the abattoir, is shorter than my school run. > > Some people who revert to meat eating say that they feel instantly rough. For me it was the reverse: I felt my energy levels steadily rising, and something incredible was happening. Shreds of slow-cooked lamb stirred into ratatouille seemed to tingle a whole different set of taste buds. I ate chicken in a leek and mushroom pie and loved it. > > While intensively farmed meat may be murder for the environment, food experts generally agree that a little meat is good for human health. Judith Wills (www.thediet detective.net), author of the The Food Bible, isn't surprised that I started feeling more rosy cheeked by changing my diet. “Meat gets a bad press, but small amounts of well-brought up meat is good for you. People focus on saturated fat, especially in red meat, but lean beef has less saturated fat and total fat than chicken.†> > Most red meats are an excellent source of high-quality protein, B vitamins (for a healthy nervous system), iron (for proper use of the energy in food, healthy blood and aerobic capacity) and zinc (for immune system and fertility). > > But is it fattening? Wills says: “Lean beef contains only around 5g of fat per 100g meat so lean meats aren't a problem for people trying to watch their weight.†And I felt ful-ler for longer so I ate less. “Because meat takes a long time to digest, it offers satiety over a long period.†> > I have also learnt to love cooking meat again. In my vegetarian days when I prepared chicken for my husband and kids I would pull on Marigolds and tip a tray of diced meat into a curry sauce. Now I get properly stuck in. > > Last month my allotment-loving neighbours Jane and Adam brought me a brace of pheasants. When it was time to turn the hanging pheasants into dinner I hopped around the kitchen squealing while Adam gave my husband a five-minute lesson in how to debone and skin a bird. > > We ate the meat in a rich pie, cooked with red wine, orange, peeled chestnuts and leeks: a feast that was delicious but cost next to nothing. And another step on my meaty rehabilitation. Rabbit pie is next. > > HOW TO BE A BORN-AGAIN CARNIVORE > > To begin Nutritionist Judith Wills recommends small amounts of easily digestible chicken mixed with lots of vegetables. Don't launch into steak. > > How much? About 120g at each serving, the equivalent of a small chicken breast, a little lamb chop or a very small steak. > > How often? No more than three portions a week. Leave room in your diet for lots of veg, pulses and fish. > > Buy organic It usually takes longer to mature, it has a lower water content than meat from intensively farmed animals and this can increase its nutrient- to-weight ratio. > > Get inspiration Discover the 1990s classic Roast Chicken and Other Stories (Ebury Press) by Simon Hopkinson for homely, meaty recipes that will get your juices flowing. > > > > > Peter vv>

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I agree that we all need educating in nutrition to some extent, but not so that we over complicate the issue. Most people whether vegan/ veggie/ meat-eaters don't know that much about protein, carbahydrates, vitimins, calcium, fat, fibre and sources of these but usually if you go vegan. veggie it means you've looked into more than most and become self aware of what you need in your diet. Its not a perfect world and we do our best,

 

Dean.. --- On Mon, 2/2/09, jo.heartwork <jo.heartwork wrote:

jo.heartwork <jo.heartworkRe: Re: After 25 years as a strict vegetarian, I came out as a meat eater Date: Monday, 2 February, 2009, 4:45 PM

 

 

 

Most vegans don't have health problems. Some vegans and vegetarians need to eat a better diet. Of course meat-eaters become unwell - but we should know more about nutrition than a lot of us do.

 

Jo

 

 

-

dean_bracher

@gro ups.com

Monday, February 02, 2009 12:06 PM

Re: After 25 years as a strict vegetarian, I came out as a meat eater

 

 

Whether an animal is seen to be raised ethically, humainly of just in good conditions, nothing will ever escape the fact that using another species for food, milk or clothes is imposing our will and control over another. They never had a choice in this and all animals whether free frange, organic will still be slaughtered in conditions of pure hell whatever those involved would say.Nothing's changed except the mind set of people who can quite easily justify their actions because they believe its not as bad as before, well since i've never had an health problem from being vegan and little educated to what i need in my diet then i wonder if some people would be ill whether they eat meat or not. Loads of people get sick from eating meat, through food poisioning and obesity, heart related conditions from food high in saturated fat and dairy but often they attack vegans when they become sick and

blame their diet. Well Vegans still suffer from health problems and most times it will be nothing to do with being vegan but other things. Free range is a myth and many under cover films show this fact in detail and if you went veggie for the ethical, moral reasons of farming animals then nothing as got better just adapted to look like its ethical and fair.But if you didn't eat any animal product then there's no debate and its always ethical and fair....I can never understand people going back to eating meat after not for so long and wonder why they've lost that compassion inside for life and the oppressed beings of this planet, what changed and what we're their motives in the first place for being vegan or veggie. Animals still suffer by the billions each year and the impact on humans, the environment and all of life create's a situation in my mind that by being vegan then will give

this planet the most chance for survival...- -- In @gro ups.com, "jo.heartwork" <jo.heartwork@ ...> wrote:>> It makes you wonder why they were veggie for so long in the first place. > > A lot of veggies do not eat properly. We have several friends who have spent many years on a veggie diet, not eating properly. One has MS and was told by her doctor to eat meat again, and is improved. One couple had been trying for a baby for four years, and were told by their doctor to try eating meat. As they were desperate for a baby they did - and within a couple of months they are expecting.> > Vegans and vegetarians do need to eat a properly balanced diet - otherwise the only way to obtain some things is through meat, which unfortunately seems to be the easier way. Maybe if doctors were

better educated they would recommend people to eat more pulses, nuts etc. etc. instead of meat - which would be the best advice ever. Until advice is correct there will always be vegans and vegetarians who get it wrong - and it makes it look bad for the rest of us!> > Jo> > - > Peter VV > @gro ups.com > Sunday, February 01, 2009 9:09 AM> Re: After 25 years as a strict vegetarian, I came out as a meat eater> > > > Always one to try and show both sides of the coin :> bear in mind this is a so -called educated person writing this, who for 25 years didnt seem to grasp the idea of a healthy diet!!!!> http://www.timesonl ine.co.uk/ tol/life_ and_style/ food_and_ drink/article5618321.ece> Being a non-meat eater had always made me feel special. As a teenager growing up in Glasgow I was the only veggie in my school. At college my confident cooking became legend among friends. I successfully made vegetables taste... quite nice. And in my twenties my food shopping bills were teeny-weeny, leaving me more money for wine. > > But here at almost fortysomething, on a French holiday with my husband, children and our friends all tucking into robust peasant food, I suddenly felt as pale and wan as the chickpeas on my plate. My old vim and vigour seemed to be missing. I was always hungry and, without a daily iron tablet, I felt tired and down in the dumps. > > Back in the UK I thought that the urge to sink my teeth into something meaty would leave me -

after all, I had been a vegetarian for 25 years. But my desire simply intensified. I made a deal with my husband to “trial†meat for three months. My plan was to see how it suited me. I finally “came out†about six months ago. > > I am not the only staunch veggie to give up a lifetime devotion to pulses and tofu in the past year. The Food Standards Agency in Britain states that the number of people eating a partly or completely veggie diet fell from 9 per cent in 2007 to 7 per cent in 2008. However, we are, on average, eating less meat per head, as Su Taylor from the Vegetarian Society points out. “In 2006 the average person consumed 74.3kg. In 2007 that figure was 74kg - only a slight reduction, but a downward trend. People are realising that plant-based diets are better for the environment.†> > I see my decision to return to meat as part of a bigger change in

Britain's food culture. We've shifted away from the old-school “meat is murder†approach, and now well-sourced meat is seen as healthy and natural. > > We've been swayed by Jamie, Hugh and Gordon. They seem to love animals, yet have no trouble killing well- brought up specimens and putting them in a pie. > > Recent advances in food labelling have also made it easier to understand where our meat is from, and how it is raised. The Soil Association stamp means that animals have been reared under strict organic guidelines on welfare. Guilty former vegetarians are also reassured by Freedom Food labels, which guarantee that animals have been kept in RSPCA-approved conditions. > > Moving to the country also changed my outlook. I now live near a village butcher, who rears much of the meat he sells. I can see his happy pigs snuffling in their field from my office

window. And I walk past his cows and sheep every day. Their journey to his shop window, via the abattoir, is shorter than my school run. > > Some people who revert to meat eating say that they feel instantly rough. For me it was the reverse: I felt my energy levels steadily rising, and something incredible was happening. Shreds of slow-cooked lamb stirred into ratatouille seemed to tingle a whole different set of taste buds. I ate chicken in a leek and mushroom pie and loved it. > > While intensively farmed meat may be murder for the environment, food experts generally agree that a little meat is good for human health. Judith Wills (www.thediet detective.net) , author of the The Food Bible, isn't surprised that I started feeling more rosy cheeked by changing my diet. “Meat gets a bad press, but small amounts of well-brought up meat is good for you. People focus on saturated

fat, especially in red meat, but lean beef has less saturated fat and total fat than chicken.†> > Most red meats are an excellent source of high-quality protein, B vitamins (for a healthy nervous system), iron (for proper use of the energy in food, healthy blood and aerobic capacity) and zinc (for immune system and fertility). > > But is it fattening? Wills says: “Lean beef contains only around 5g of fat per 100g meat so lean meats aren't a problem for people trying to watch their weight.†And I felt ful-ler for longer so I ate less. “Because meat takes a long time to digest, it offers satiety over a long period.†> > I have also learnt to love cooking meat again. In my vegetarian days when I prepared chicken for my husband and kids I would pull on Marigolds and tip a tray of diced meat into a curry sauce. Now I get properly stuck in. > >

Last month my allotment-loving neighbours Jane and Adam brought me a brace of pheasants. When it was time to turn the hanging pheasants into dinner I hopped around the kitchen squealing while Adam gave my husband a five-minute lesson in how to debone and skin a bird. > > We ate the meat in a rich pie, cooked with red wine, orange, peeled chestnuts and leeks: a feast that was delicious but cost next to nothing. And another step on my meaty rehabilitation. Rabbit pie is next. > > HOW TO BE A BORN-AGAIN CARNIVORE > > To begin Nutritionist Judith Wills recommends small amounts of easily digestible chicken mixed with lots of vegetables. Don't launch into steak. > > How much? About 120g at each serving, the equivalent of a small chicken breast, a little lamb chop or a very small steak. > > How often? No more than three portions a week. Leave room in

your diet for lots of veg, pulses and fish. > > Buy organic It usually takes longer to mature, it has a lower water content than meat from intensively farmed animals and this can increase its nutrient- to-weight ratio. > > Get inspiration Discover the 1990s classic Roast Chicken and Other Stories (Ebury Press) by Simon Hopkinson for homely, meaty recipes that will get your juices flowing. > > > > > Peter vv>

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I can honestly say my diet of the last 20 years has not affected me one bit.................baaaaaah, baaaaah, baaaaah.

 

Peter vv

 

 

 

 

jo.heartwork <jo.heartwork Sent: Monday, 2 February, 2009 4:45:18 PMRe: Re: After 25 years as a strict vegetarian, I came out as a meat eater

 

 

Most vegans don't have health problems. Some vegans and vegetarians need to eat a better diet. Of course meat-eaters become unwell - but we should know more about nutrition than a lot of us do.

 

Jo

 

 

-

dean_bracher

@gro ups.com

Monday, February 02, 2009 12:06 PM

Re: After 25 years as a strict vegetarian, I came out as a meat eater

 

 

Whether an animal is seen to be raised ethically, humainly of just in good conditions, nothing will ever escape the fact that using another species for food, milk or clothes is imposing our will and control over another. They never had a choice in this and all animals whether free frange, organic will still be slaughtered in conditions of pure hell whatever those involved would say.Nothing's changed except the mind set of people who can quite easily justify their actions because they believe its not as bad as before, well since i've never had an health problem from being vegan and little educated to what i need in my diet then i wonder if some people would be ill whether they eat meat or not. Loads of people get sick from eating meat, through food poisioning and obesity, heart related conditions from food high in saturated fat and dairy but often they attack vegans when they become sick and blame

their diet. Well Vegans still suffer from health problems and most times it will be nothing to do with being vegan but other things. Free range is a myth and many under cover films show this fact in detail and if you went veggie for the ethical, moral reasons of farming animals then nothing as got better just adapted to look like its ethical and fair.But if you didn't eat any animal product then there's no debate and its always ethical and fair....I can never understand people going back to eating meat after not for so long and wonder why they've lost that compassion inside for life and the oppressed beings of this planet, what changed and what we're their motives in the first place for being vegan or veggie. Animals still suffer by the billions each year and the impact on humans, the environment and all of life create's a situation in my mind that by being vegan then will give this

planet the most chance for survival...- -- In @gro ups.com, "jo.heartwork" <jo.heartwork@ ...> wrote:>> It makes you wonder why they were veggie for so long in the first place. > > A lot of veggies do not eat properly. We have several friends who have spent many years on a veggie diet, not eating properly. One has MS and was told by her doctor to eat meat again, and is improved. One couple had been trying for a baby for four years, and were told by their doctor to try eating meat. As they were desperate for a baby they did - and within a couple of months they are expecting.> > Vegans and vegetarians do need to eat a properly balanced diet - otherwise the only way to obtain some things is through meat, which unfortunately seems to

be the easier way. Maybe if doctors were better educated they would recommend people to eat more pulses, nuts etc. etc. instead of meat - which would be the best advice ever. Until advice is correct there will always be vegans and vegetarians who get it wrong - and it makes it look bad for the rest of us!> > Jo> > - > Peter VV > @gro ups.com > Sunday, February 01, 2009 9:09 AM> Re: After 25 years as a strict vegetarian, I came out as a meat eater> > > > Always one to try and show both sides of the coin :> bear in mind this is a so -called educated person writing this, who for 25 years didnt seem to grasp the idea of a healthy

diet!!!!> http://www.timesonl ine.co.uk/ tol/life_ and_style/ food_and_ drink/article5618321.ece> Being a non-meat eater had always made me feel special. As a teenager growing up in Glasgow I was the only veggie in my school. At college my confident cooking became legend among friends. I successfully made vegetables taste... quite nice. And in my twenties my food shopping bills were teeny-weeny, leaving me more money for wine. > > But here at almost fortysomething, on a French holiday with my husband, children and our friends all tucking into robust peasant food, I suddenly felt as pale and wan as the chickpeas on my plate. My old vim and vigour seemed to be missing. I was always hungry and, without a daily iron tablet, I felt tired and down in the dumps. > >

Back in the UK I thought that the urge to sink my teeth into something meaty would leave me - after all, I had been a vegetarian for 25 years. But my desire simply intensified. I made a deal with my husband to “trial†meat for three months. My plan was to see how it suited me. I finally “came out†about six months ago. > > I am not the only staunch veggie to give up a lifetime devotion to pulses and tofu in the past year. The Food Standards Agency in Britain states that the number of people eating a partly or completely veggie diet fell from 9 per cent in 2007 to 7 per cent in 2008. However, we are, on average, eating less meat per head, as Su Taylor from the Vegetarian Society points out. “In 2006 the average person consumed 74.3kg. In 2007 that figure was 74kg - only a slight reduction, but a downward trend. People are realising that plant-based diets are better for the

environment.†> > I see my decision to return to meat as part of a bigger change in Britain's food culture. We've shifted away from the old-school “meat is murder†approach, and now well-sourced meat is seen as healthy and natural. > > We've been swayed by Jamie, Hugh and Gordon. They seem to love animals, yet have no trouble killing well- brought up specimens and putting them in a pie. > > Recent advances in food labelling have also made it easier to understand where our meat is from, and how it is raised. The Soil Association stamp means that animals have been reared under strict organic guidelines on welfare. Guilty former vegetarians are also reassured by Freedom Food labels, which guarantee that animals have been kept in RSPCA-approved conditions. > > Moving to the country also changed my outlook. I now live near a village butcher, who rears

much of the meat he sells. I can see his happy pigs snuffling in their field from my office window. And I walk past his cows and sheep every day. Their journey to his shop window, via the abattoir, is shorter than my school run. > > Some people who revert to meat eating say that they feel instantly rough. For me it was the reverse: I felt my energy levels steadily rising, and something incredible was happening. Shreds of slow-cooked lamb stirred into ratatouille seemed to tingle a whole different set of taste buds. I ate chicken in a leek and mushroom pie and loved it. > > While intensively farmed meat may be murder for the environment, food experts generally agree that a little meat is good for human health. Judith Wills (www.thediet detective.net) , author of the The Food Bible, isn't surprised that I started feeling more rosy cheeked by changing my diet. “Meat gets a bad

press, but small amounts of well-brought up meat is good for you. People focus on saturated fat, especially in red meat, but lean beef has less saturated fat and total fat than chicken.†> > Most red meats are an excellent source of high-quality protein, B vitamins (for a healthy nervous system), iron (for proper use of the energy in food, healthy blood and aerobic capacity) and zinc (for immune system and fertility). > > But is it fattening? Wills says: “Lean beef contains only around 5g of fat per 100g meat so lean meats aren't a problem for people trying to watch their weight.†And I felt ful-ler for longer so I ate less. “Because meat takes a long time to digest, it offers satiety over a long period.†> > I have also learnt to love cooking meat again. In my vegetarian days when I prepared chicken for my husband and kids I would pull on Marigolds and

tip a tray of diced meat into a curry sauce. Now I get properly stuck in. > > Last month my allotment-loving neighbours Jane and Adam brought me a brace of pheasants. When it was time to turn the hanging pheasants into dinner I hopped around the kitchen squealing while Adam gave my husband a five-minute lesson in how to debone and skin a bird. > > We ate the meat in a rich pie, cooked with red wine, orange, peeled chestnuts and leeks: a feast that was delicious but cost next to nothing. And another step on my meaty rehabilitation. Rabbit pie is next. > > HOW TO BE A BORN-AGAIN CARNIVORE > > To begin Nutritionist Judith Wills recommends small amounts of easily digestible chicken mixed with lots of vegetables. Don't launch into steak. > > How much? About 120g at each serving, the equivalent of a small chicken breast, a little lamb chop or a

very small steak. > > How often? No more than three portions a week. Leave room in your diet for lots of veg, pulses and fish. > > Buy organic It usually takes longer to mature, it has a lower water content than meat from intensively farmed animals and this can increase its nutrient- to-weight ratio. > > Get inspiration Discover the 1990s classic Roast Chicken and Other Stories (Ebury Press) by Simon Hopkinson for homely, meaty recipes that will get your juices flowing. > > > > > Peter vv>

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Not necessarily - lots of veggies carry on eating the same way they did but omit the meat. Sometimes they eat more cheese to make up for it. Either way, they do not start eating beans, nuts, lentils, tofu - which is what a wise veggie should do. I think a lot of people who turn veggie/vegan do not give their diet much thought at all - they just don't want to hurt animals, but don't care much about their diets.

 

Jo

 

 

-

dean bracher

Monday, February 02, 2009 7:59 PM

Re: Re: After 25 years as a strict vegetarian, I came out as a meat eater

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I agree that we all need educating in nutrition to some extent, but not so that we over complicate the issue. Most people whether vegan/ veggie/ meat-eaters don't know that much about protein, carbahydrates, vitimins, calcium, fat, fibre and sources of these but usually if you go vegan. veggie it means you've looked into more than most and become self aware of what you need in your diet. Its not a perfect world and we do our best,

 

Dean.. --- On Mon, 2/2/09, jo.heartwork <jo.heartwork > wrote:

jo.heartwork <jo.heartwork >Re: Re: After 25 years as a strict vegetarian, I came out as a meat eater Date: Monday, 2 February, 2009, 4:45 PM

 

 

 

Most vegans don't have health problems. Some vegans and vegetarians need to eat a better diet. Of course meat-eaters become unwell - but we should know more about nutrition than a lot of us do.

 

Jo

 

 

-

dean_bracher

@gro ups.com

Monday, February 02, 2009 12:06 PM

Re: After 25 years as a strict vegetarian, I came out as a meat eater

 

 

Whether an animal is seen to be raised ethically, humainly of just in good conditions, nothing will ever escape the fact that using another species for food, milk or clothes is imposing our will and control over another. They never had a choice in this and all animals whether free frange, organic will still be slaughtered in conditions of pure hell whatever those involved would say.Nothing's changed except the mind set of people who can quite easily justify their actions because they believe its not as bad as before, well since i've never had an health problem from being vegan and little educated to what i need in my diet then i wonder if some people would be ill whether they eat meat or not. Loads of people get sick from eating meat, through food poisioning and obesity, heart related conditions from food high in saturated fat and dairy but often they attack vegans when they become sick and blame their diet. Well Vegans still suffer from health problems and most times it will be nothing to do with being vegan but other things. Free range is a myth and many under cover films show this fact in detail and if you went veggie for the ethical, moral reasons of farming animals then nothing as got better just adapted to look like its ethical and fair.But if you didn't eat any animal product then there's no debate and its always ethical and fair....I can never understand people going back to eating meat after not for so long and wonder why they've lost that compassion inside for life and the oppressed beings of this planet, what changed and what we're their motives in the first place for being vegan or veggie. Animals still suffer by the billions each year and the impact on humans, the environment and all of life create's a situation in my mind that by being vegan then will give this planet the most chance for survival...- -- In @gro ups.com, "jo.heartwork" <jo.heartwork@ ...> wrote:>> It makes you wonder why they were veggie for so long in the first place. > > A lot of veggies do not eat properly. We have several friends who have spent many years on a veggie diet, not eating properly. One has MS and was told by her doctor to eat meat again, and is improved. One couple had been trying for a baby for four years, and were told by their doctor to try eating meat. As they were desperate for a baby they did - and within a couple of months they are expecting.> > Vegans and vegetarians do need to eat a properly balanced diet - otherwise the only way to obtain some things is through meat, which unfortunately seems to be the easier way. Maybe if doctors were better educated they would recommend people to eat more pulses, nuts etc. etc. instead of meat - which would be the best advice ever. Until advice is correct there will always be vegans and vegetarians who get it wrong - and it makes it look bad for the rest of us!> > Jo> > - > Peter VV > @gro ups.com > Sunday, February 01, 2009 9:09 AM> Re: After 25 years as a strict vegetarian, I came out as a meat eater> > > > Always one to try and show both sides of the coin :> bear in mind this is a so -called educated person writing this, who for 25 years didnt seem to grasp the idea of a healthy diet!!!!> http://www.timesonl ine.co.uk/ tol/life_ and_style/ food_and_ drink/article5618321.ece> Being a non-meat eater had always made me feel special. As a teenager growing up in Glasgow I was the only veggie in my school. At college my confident cooking became legend among friends. I successfully made vegetables taste... quite nice. And in my twenties my food shopping bills were teeny-weeny, leaving me more money for wine. > > But here at almost fortysomething, on a French holiday with my husband, children and our friends all tucking into robust peasant food, I suddenly felt as pale and wan as the chickpeas on my plate. My old vim and vigour seemed to be missing. I was always hungry and, without a daily iron tablet, I felt tired and down in the dumps. > > Back in the UK I thought that the urge to sink my teeth into something meaty would leave me - after all, I had been a vegetarian for 25 years. But my desire simply intensified. I made a deal with my husband to “trial†meat for three months. My plan was to see how it suited me. I finally “came out†about six months ago. > > I am not the only staunch veggie to give up a lifetime devotion to pulses and tofu in the past year. The Food Standards Agency in Britain states that the number of people eating a partly or completely veggie diet fell from 9 per cent in 2007 to 7 per cent in 2008. However, we are, on average, eating less meat per head, as Su Taylor from the Vegetarian Society points out. “In 2006 the average person consumed 74.3kg. In 2007 that figure was 74kg - only a slight reduction, but a downward trend. People are realising that plant-based diets are better for the environment.†> > I see my decision to return to meat as part of a bigger change in Britain's food culture. We've shifted away from the old-school “meat is murder†approach, and now well-sourced meat is seen as healthy and natural. > > We've been swayed by Jamie, Hugh and Gordon. They seem to love animals, yet have no trouble killing well- brought up specimens and putting them in a pie. > > Recent advances in food labelling have also made it easier to understand where our meat is from, and how it is raised. The Soil Association stamp means that animals have been reared under strict organic guidelines on welfare. Guilty former vegetarians are also reassured by Freedom Food labels, which guarantee that animals have been kept in RSPCA-approved conditions. > > Moving to the country also changed my outlook. I now live near a village butcher, who rears much of the meat he sells. I can see his happy pigs snuffling in their field from my office window. And I walk past his cows and sheep every day. Their journey to his shop window, via the abattoir, is shorter than my school run. > > Some people who revert to meat eating say that they feel instantly rough. For me it was the reverse: I felt my energy levels steadily rising, and something incredible was happening. Shreds of slow-cooked lamb stirred into ratatouille seemed to tingle a whole different set of taste buds. I ate chicken in a leek and mushroom pie and loved it. > > While intensively farmed meat may be murder for the environment, food experts generally agree that a little meat is good for human health. Judith Wills (www.thediet detective.net) , author of the The Food Bible, isn't surprised that I started feeling more rosy cheeked by changing my diet. “Meat gets a bad press, but small amounts of well-brought up meat is good for you. People focus on saturated fat, especially in red meat, but lean beef has less saturated fat and total fat than chicken.†> > Most red meats are an excellent source of high-quality protein, B vitamins (for a healthy nervous system), iron (for proper use of the energy in food, healthy blood and aerobic capacity) and zinc (for immune system and fertility). > > But is it fattening? Wills says: “Lean beef contains only around 5g of fat per 100g meat so lean meats aren't a problem for people trying to watch their weight.†And I felt ful-ler for longer so I ate less. “Because meat takes a long time to digest, it offers satiety over a long period.†> > I have also learnt to love cooking meat again. In my vegetarian days when I prepared chicken for my husband and kids I would pull on Marigolds and tip a tray of diced meat into a curry sauce. Now I get properly stuck in. > > Last month my allotment-loving neighbours Jane and Adam brought me a brace of pheasants. When it was time to turn the hanging pheasants into dinner I hopped around the kitchen squealing while Adam gave my husband a five-minute lesson in how to debone and skin a bird. > > We ate the meat in a rich pie, cooked with red wine, orange, peeled chestnuts and leeks: a feast that was delicious but cost next to nothing. And another step on my meaty rehabilitation. Rabbit pie is next. > > HOW TO BE A BORN-AGAIN CARNIVORE > > To begin Nutritionist Judith Wills recommends small amounts of easily digestible chicken mixed with lots of vegetables. Don't launch into steak. > > How much? About 120g at each serving, the equivalent of a small chicken breast, a little lamb chop or a very small steak. > > How often? No more than three portions a week. Leave room in your diet for lots of veg, pulses and fish. > > Buy organic It usually takes longer to mature, it has a lower water content than meat from intensively farmed animals and this can increase its nutrient- to-weight ratio. > > Get inspiration Discover the 1990s classic Roast Chicken and Other Stories (Ebury Press) by Simon Hopkinson for homely, meaty recipes that will get your juices flowing. > > > > > Peter vv>

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