please help me, just want to know

[Guest guest]

I have danced around vegetarianism/veganism for the last dozen years or so,

but never stuck with it. Now I am older and because of health issues and

family history, I decided to go on a vegan diet to help prevent/postpone any

health issues and to (hopefully) lose a little weight (because on my

mother's side of the family, hereditary endocrine tumors don't help in the

weight department). I started the beginning of this year, so I'm definitely

a newbie to all of this. While I started this vegan journey for health

reasons, because of reading and videos * *I have come across regarding

commercial farming of animals, I don't think I could ever eat meat again.

 

I have had no desire for meat of any kind. Now, a fluffy dessert with

whipped cream..... ;^) that would be my weakness, but so far I haven't

felt a desire for anything that would be considered " off limits " for a

vegan. I may come to that, but so far, no.

 

Ginger

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Around 30 yrs vegetarian.  Have no desire for many non-veg food.

I have cow's milk allergy so I avoid dairy as much as possible and I don't care

for eggs but I do bake with them.

 

Donna

 

Through violence, you may 'solve' one problem, but you sow the seeds for

another. Dalai Lama

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

20 year ethical vegetarian here and whatever health benefits I've reaped I

consider a plus. Never have real milk in the fridge (soy or almond is my

preference), rarely eat eggs but like Donna, I do bake with them (cage free -

hopefully they're telling me the truth) and do eat cheese, yogurt and

occasionally ice cream.

 

 

There are still some things I miss (chicken, tuna, hot dogs, good Italian

sausage) but I know if they were put in front of me I'd probably gag. With the

many veggie/vegan choices available today no one really has to feel deprived.

 

 

TM

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

=

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

I strongly recommend the book The China Study by T. Colin Campbell; it makes a

strong nutritional argument for vegetarianism. You should be able to find it at

your local library.

I initially stopped eating meat when I was a senior in high school. I was doing

a report on work hunger, and learned how meat is an incredibly inefficient

delivery system for nutrition. Now, I also know that meat production is bad for

the planet and bad for our health.

Being vegetarian not about what I don't eat, it is about what I do eat. When

asked how I get nutrition by not eating meat, I respond by asking how meat

eaters get nutrition by eating meat. The Standard American Diet (SAD) is

overloaded with protein, fat, sodium, etc.; and is " underloaded " with whole

grains, fruits and vegetables. By the time I eat my recommended 7-8 servings of

fruits and vegetables (in at least 3 different colors), 5-6 servings of whole

grains, two servings of legumes, and one serving of chocolate, I could not

possibly make room for meat.

[Guest guest]

BUT, what you would do as a non-vegetarian is not necessarily what all

non-vegetarians would do or do. After all, one banana is considered two fruits,

one whole grain bagel CAN count as two or three whole grain servings all

depending on how much it weighs, 1/2 cup is a serving of legumes....except, for

instance, only 2 tablespoons of peanut butter is considered a serving of legumes

also....one large carrot is one serving of orange vegetables and on and

on.....so it would not be hard for a person who was not a vegetarian to get in

all of the USDA recommended servings from the food pyramid in one day and still

eat one ounce of animal protein at breakfast, two to three ounces at lunch and

three ounces at dinner.....IF they choose to do so.

 

And, I am really curious.....since when has " one serving of chocolate " been

considered an necessary food source?

 

Nancy C.

East Texas

 

. The Standard American Diet (SAD) is overloaded with protein, fat, sodium,

etc.; and is " underloaded " with whole grains, fruits and vegetables. By the time

I eat my recommended 7-8 servings of fruits and vegetables (in at least 3

different colors), 5-6 servings of whole grains, two servings of legumes, and

one serving of chocolate, I could not possibly make room for meat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

I think the disgraceful way that animals are raised commercially, treated in

this country, and probably others, is one of the primary reasons I think that

more people should consider not eating meat. I personally do not understand

how a thinking, caring human being could treat any animal so horribly and still

be able to live with themselves.

Nancy C.

East Texas

[Guest guest]

I totally agree with Nancy and TM - I started this for ethical reasons and

only then realized all of the health benefits I gain. But those health

benefits are secondary. I just finally realized that there isn't any

difference, ethically, between the animals I treat better than some people

treat their children (and call my pets) -- and the livestock truck full of

cattle rattling down the highway. I made the connection with poultry much

sooner, as I am a bird lover and am owned by several parrots, and the

physical similarities made me slightly ill. I think it's a safe bet that I

will never eat meat, poultry, or fish of any kind again. I limit my egg

consumption to free-range, and have serious reservations about dairy, though

I still consume dairy about once a week. I have a lot more energy since I

decreased my dairy consumption, though, so that helps.

 

Audrey

 

Sorry if this is too OT - I'm just answering the question

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

> And, I am really curious.....since when has " one serving of

> chocolate " been considered an necessary food source?

 

How could anyone POSSIBLY live without chocolate??????? :-)

 

Alex

 

 

[Guest guest]

I don't dislike chocolate, I rarely eat it and never crave it.

I prefer vanilla

Donna

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

 

 

Alexandra Soltow <pamra

Tue, 06 Apr 2010 14:59:59

 

[veg_grp] Re: please help me, just want to know

 

> And, I am really curious.....since when has " one serving of

> chocolate " been considered an necessary food source?

 

How could anyone POSSIBLY live without chocolate??????? :-)

 

Alex

 

 

[Guest guest]

Give me a scoop of an extra special vanilla over any kind of

chocolate any day. I think that there are actually more

people who prefer vanilla ice cream than chocolate in the

United States. Something I heard on a news program.

Nancy C.

[Guest guest]

Not me.. I LOVE my chocolate!!

 

Patti

[Guest guest]

My reason for going vegetarian was to boycott the factory farming industry.

Blessings,

Chanda Maria

[Guest guest]

Florentine - What a great name! One of my favorite quick dinner staples is

Lundberg's Organic Risotto Florentine. To address your inquiry - I'll quote

Albert Einstein: " The single most important thing an individual can do for

their health, for the environment, and for the world is to adopt a

vegetarian diet. " It's a huge waste of natural resources to grow cows for

eating. I believe that eating flesh of any kind (except for fruit & /or

vegetable " flesh " ) is one of mankind's original sins. I have a great true

story about some meat-eater's debates about vegetarianism that is kind of

lengthy, so I won't go into it here & now, unless requested by popular

opinion. It will be a part of a book I'm working on for publication. It's a

story told to me by one of my greatest friends & teachers, who has been

referred to as a personal physician to the Dalai Lama. The reasons for being

a vegetarian are numerous and overwhelming in their implications and

outright practicality. It is resisted vehemently by those who cannot

overcome their programing, but is is vital to the survival of our ( &

other's) species.

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Nancy, I LOVE chocolate (the dark semi-bitter kind) but I understand this

statistic completely. Chocolate ice cream does not do justice to chocolate.

Chocolate is not such a good flavor for ice cream IMHO, even though to some of

us, it is heavenly by itself, or used in other ways. I prefer vanilla ice cream

over chocolate ice cream myself. Coffee ice cream is still my favorite though.

 

Also, I think the claim of chocolate as a required nutrient was made in jest.

Actually I would add nuts and seeds to things that are a good idea to eat every

day, the USDA leaves those out. Reading the book that was earlier recommended

(The China Study) did enlighten me on how misguided the USDA is in their

recommendations though.

 

, " Nancy Curtis " <nancihank wrote:

>

> ... there are actually more

> people who prefer vanilla ice cream than chocolate in the

> United States. Something I heard on a news program...