Are you a vegetarian?

Started by q1we3
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I watched part of the movie and the stuff about the immigrants really bothered me, too. Instead of punishing them for working, they should do something about the slaughterhouses that give them their jobs! The immigrants need to make money somehow (I know many that are just here to send money to their families in Mexico because otherwise they'd starve). Letting the slaughterhouses get out of it without any punishment is what I hate. They should have to pay for breaking the law, too!
 
As an interesting tangent... I'm currently working as a day camp counsellor at an animal-themed camp for kids. We do one week on farm animals, one on companion animals and one on wildlife. This past week was farm animals. It's impossible for me to teach them about farm animals without addressing that a lot of farm animals are raised for food. Up until this week, it wasn't a problem. The area is predominantly rural and most kids know where their food comes from. This week though, I had a kid who was adamant that "Who would want to eat animals?? I love animals, I don't eat them!" So I just told him that some people (including me) do eat animals, and that everyone's different. I thought, no biggie, his family must be vegetarian. Until the third day of camp, when he brought a Lunchables with ham. I contemplated pointing out to him that those were made of pig almost the same as the cute little pot-bellied pigs he was feeding each morning and afternoon, but I didn't know if it was my place or to leave it to his parents. 😕
 
There are some kids in Germany that think purple-white cows exist because a famous chocolate company (Milka) has them on their package.
 
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Coquette22 said:
As an interesting tangent... I'm currently working as a day camp counsellor at an animal-themed camp for kids. We do one week on farm animals, one on companion animals and one on wildlife. This past week was farm animals. It's impossible for me to teach them about farm animals without addressing that a lot of farm animals are raised for food. Up until this week, it wasn't a problem. The area is predominantly rural and most kids know where their food comes from. This week though, I had a kid who was adamant that "Who would want to eat animals?? I love animals, I don't eat them!" So I just told him that some people (including me) do eat animals, and that everyone's different. I thought, no biggie, his family must be vegetarian. Until the third day of camp, when he brought a Lunchables with ham. I contemplated pointing out to him that those were made of pig almost the same as the cute little pot-bellied pigs he was feeding each morning and afternoon, but I didn't know if it was my place or to leave it to his parents. 😕
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Aww, poor kid! 🙁
 
I don't understand how kids don't know where food comes from. I feel like I've always known. Also this is taking me forever to type.
 
I don't think I ever fully comprehended it. My dad did fish and hunt. He took me fishing on many occasions. I understood why why he did it. In all seriousness, I do not remember ever having an opinion on food animals until I turned 13. My family studies teacher brought in tofu sandwiches slices for us. I remember telling her that I'd like to stop eating meat when I became an adult because it sucks to have I kill them in the first place. Then I saw a factory farming video (by accident) and cut meat out cold-turkey (haha).

With the duck, dad said it helped control the population and I believed him. I was fairly desensitized to fishing because we caught and released. When I was 12 an my dad was away, I went mackerel fishing with a man. He threw them in a bucket and let them suffocate. I felt badly for the fish and guilty for participating in the act.

Even as adults, people are jaded to where their food comes from and whether the animals are capable of feeling pain. Unless people are shown images or get to see the process from food to plate, they are naive. Perhaps that's why kids aren't making the connection as easily.
 
It makes sense. I just visited a dairy one time, and they gave tours to kids and it was sad to learn that kids didn't know that milk comes from cows.
 
It's not milk if it doesn't come from an udder...

Try sheep, goats, cattle, water buffalo, reindeer, elk, moose, yak, mares, donkeys, camels, llamas and alpacas, etc.

Ewe milk tastes like heavy whipping cream!!!

Almond, rice, coconut, etc. "milks" are extremely unappealing in my opinion. It's great that there are options for those allergic to milk but they really are a poor substitute for the real thing.

Besides, Jerseys and East Freisians and Saanans are so much more fun than soybeans and coconuts...
 
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Finnsheep said:
It's not milk if it doesn't come from an udder...

Try sheep, goats, cattle, water buffalo, reindeer, elk, moose, yak, mares, donkeys, camels, llamas and alpacas, etc.

Ewe milk tastes like heavy whipping cream!!!

Almond, rice, coconut, etc. "milks" are extremely unappealing in my opinion. It's great that there are options for those allergic to milk but they really are a poor substitute for the real thing.

Besides, Jerseys and East Freisians and Saanans are so much more fun than soybeans and coconuts...
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People like different things.
 
irrelephant23 said:
Vegan for five years 😍 but that is completely separate from my veterinary aspirations.
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Give me your willpower, please! I was a pescetarian for about two years and now I don't eat pork. Every vegan I've ever met was in it for health reasons more than animal rights, and seriously they are all energetic and extremely fit people. I've heard of vegan diets helping alleviate migraines and allergies/asthma?
 
Would it be weird to try and have a vegetarian week every month? Just to cut back a little and eat a bit healthier. I feel like it'd be something "real" vegetarians would laugh at. Haha
 
Has any one every watched forks over knives? I am not a vegan completely but I dont buy animal products anymore because of this documentary. But when I go to family parties and such I will eat meat. I alraedy lost 5 pounds and I dont have to drink coffee to wake me up in the mornings.
 
PetPony said:
Would it be weird to try and have a vegetarian week every month? Just to cut back a little and eat a bit healthier. I feel like it'd be something "real" vegetarians would laugh at. Haha
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Wait, why would the "real" vegetarians need to know? It's your food, it's not really any of anyone else's business. 😕 Heck, if you didn't want to make it super obvious, just pick seven random days in a month to not consume meat.
 
Riaton said:
Has any one every watched forks over knives? I am not a vegan completely but I dont buy animal products anymore because of this documentary. But when I go to family parties and such I will eat meat. I alraedy lost 5 pounds and I dont have to drink coffee to wake me up in the mornings.
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I've watched it. I'm making the move to try and eat more "healthy" and fresh foods. It was amazing what food can do for us or two us. However, I don't think I'll ever be able to give up my morning milk or my cheese. I enjoy eating animal products.
 
I can so read humor...

Just though we could go off and discuss camels and other nontraditional (for the US anyway) milk sources...and I'm gluten free (not by personal choice- health reasons only) and absolutely HATE wheat alternatives- when I was a kid my mom made me drink that almond "milk" and other whitish vegetable-type fluids...ugh. And she made pudding with it. But definitely, if you like it, go ahead and drink it. I just think that you can't ever come close to the real thing.

Anyways, yes, I know when you guys are joking. I guess I'm more of a serious person who doesn't joke around much and my "jokes" are kind of lame. Oh well. Also I have been at the county fair for the whole week working in the circle of life barn and sheep barn and my mind is fried from the public going, "Does she bite?" about a cow in labor and calling a lamb so very obviously ovine a goat and asking if the 500 lb. sow in the farrowing crate is the baby.

So I am nerdy, I guess, so be patient with me when I respond like that. Oh yes, I also need to make use of the emoticons.

Gotta get back to my toxicology paper...and get off of here for now.
 
I'm aware of Meatless Mondays 🙂

I understand that some people cannot see themselves giving up meat. That's okay. What upsets me is when someone finally realizes that meat doesn't come from happy animals on sunny farms, admit they are bothered by it, and yet do absolutely nothing in response to that guilt.

When two of my coworkers saw Food Inc for the first time, one admitted that she felt guilty for not knowing where who food came from and couldn't even watch the footage of free-range chickens being slaughtered. Then she ordered pep and cheese pizza for lunch. Then you forgot about the entire ordeal. Really? Don't whine about how you feel sorry for yourself if you're not going to act on these deep feelings that you claim to have. It is so easy to get local meat here. It is so easy to have "Meatless Mondays". It is so easy to give up just meat. It is so easy to read labels. It is so easy to do research into some of the claims that films are making. So, someone around here claiming it is "so hard", I don't have any sympathy for.

I've actually contemplated being a LA vet if I were to stay in this area, so I'm not entirely against animals used for meat. I know LA vets who do the family farms and I'm fine with that! But... I have very little LA experience to begin with :/

How I deal with these people kind of reminds me of vet med. Im going to run into all sorts of people who don't want to educate themselves, listen but don't act, or just dont plain agree with me on how animals should be treated. I've realized that these people are never going to go away. It's been a leaning curve for me, trying to pick and choose my battles.

End tangent!
 
I'm not planning on giving up meat, but want to eat healthier than I am now and be more responsible about where I get it.

One goal as a vet for me is to find cost effective ways for animals to be treated better before and during slaughter. Because it's all about money.

So while I don't want to stop eating meat, I do want to make a change in the industry if I can.

/end dreaming :laugh:
 
Finnsheep said:
Just though we could go off and discuss camels and other nontraditional (for the US anyway) milk sources...
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If you wanted to talk about nontraditional milk sources, you should have suggested that rather than say, "It's not milk if it doesn't come from an udder..." (Do you see how that comes across as aggressive and judgmental?) You'll earn a lot more patience and goodwill if you can manage to communicate nicely.
 
I wish they'd take most of the French fry potatoes and Big Mac patties and turn them into something healthier.

After watching my dad have a heart attack, it really hurts to see him eating unhealthy food (he has cut back, but he still hasn't learned the meaning of "moderation").

Eating healthy has become pretty important to me too.
 
I never worried about eating healthy, but know that it makes me feel better about my body and about myself. So I want to try.
 
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I realize now that she and her work is fairly well known, but I found that Temple Grandin's books on animals and her work with slaughterhouses was a well-rounded, transparent glimpse of the food animal welfare. I kinda wish that I'd get a chance to work in that part of the profession (life is short, but who knows). I'd definitely now jump at the chance to see a slaughter plant firsthand.

Anyway, I'd recommend her books to everyone.
 
hai1983 said:
If you wanted to talk about nontraditional milk sources, you should have suggested that rather than say, "It's not milk if it doesn't come from an udder..." (Do you see how that comes across as aggressive and judgmental?) You'll earn a lot more patience and goodwill if you can manage to communicate nicely.
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I want to play the devil's advocate and say that comment was probably mad in response to the "milk comes from nipples" comment made earlier.

I actually read the whole post as more of a sarcastic joke, but I can see how people might not take it that way.
 
orcagirl said:
I want to play the devil's advocate and say that comment was probably mad in response to the "milk comes from nipples" comment made earlier.

I actually read the whole post as more of a sarcastic joke, but I can see how people might not take it that way.
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Maybe it was, but then she launched into a list of mammals humans could milk and shared how disgusting she finds non-animal-sourced milks. I read her tone as serious. Maybe that's not what she intended.
 
I still want to read Temple Grandin's books one day.

Didn't milk come out with a commercial recently that claimed you shouldn't drink soy milk because you have to shake the carton?!

I've been shying away from dairy. It hurts my stomach sometimes. I just bought almond milk to try in my cereal and coffee. I can't drink other "milk" like regular milk (in a cup for instance) because the consistency or sweetness makes me gag.

Besides that whole milk debate, I love hearing what others have to say on the whole vegetarian/vegan/vet topic. I haven't once felt threatened for sharing my opinions.
 
I really like reading her books. I've always been thinking about doing mixed animal but after reading about her and parts of her books, I know that I want to do mixed with mostly food animal. I like to think that maybe I could make a difference someday like she does. 😳

I never tried any other milk. Maybe I should sometime.
 
Trematode said:
I still want to read Temple Grandin's books one day.

Didn't milk come out with a commercial recently that claimed you shouldn't drink soy milk because you have to shake the carton?!

I've been shying away from dairy. It hurts my stomach sometimes. I just bought almond milk to try in my cereal and coffee. I can't drink other "milk" like regular milk (in a cup for instance) because the consistency or sweetness makes me gag.

Besides that whole milk debate, I love hearing what others have to say on the whole vegetarian/vegan/vet topic. I haven't once felt threatened for sharing my opinions.
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Silk chocolate soy milk is super good straight from the glass. 🙂 I can't drink the other ones straight either though. Then again, I can't drink cow milk straight...
 
I've been known to mix unsweetened plain almond milk with protein shakes because it's less calories then even skim milk. I can't drink anything other than dairy milk though, preferably 1% or 2%. I also insist on cream in my coffee. Anything else just tastes wrong to me. I could probably drink the chocolate soy stuff, but I'd rather buy local chocolate dairy milk.
 
Coconut Milk 😍 I like it slightly better than almond milk, but the almond milk is usually cheaper.


Anything with lactose in it give me sharp, stabbing pains all through my abdomen and they last for up to three days sometimes. Needless to say, I avoid dairy for that reason.

Thank goodness most hard cheeses have no or little lactose, because that's one thing I don't think I could give up!
 
I love the taste of soymilk, but unfortunately the phytoestrogens from the soy make me a raging hormonal lunatic. None of the men in my life could stand it. 😛
 
Silk chocolate is m favorite!

Now that I know that the local milk comes from farms where the farmers care about their animals, I'm alright with it! I don't like cow chocolate milk though. Too sweet :/

And one benefit to soy milk is that it lasts a LOT longer in the fridge. When I was buying milk for coffee, if the store is out of 500ml containers, it would end up going to waste. Plus, the soy milk adds a different flavor to coffee. I like it better... so much that if I get a hot drink and soy is available, I get it instead of milk.
 
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PetPony said:
I'm not planning on giving up meat, but want to eat healthier than I am now and be more responsible about where I get it.

One goal as a vet for me is to find cost effective ways for animals to be treated better before and during slaughter. Because it's all about money.

So while I don't want to stop eating meat, I do want to make a change in the industry if I can.

/end dreaming :laugh:
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Hey, if that really is your dream then you should stick with it. If people are really serious about something, then they need to make changes.

Also, I am def not a vegetarian but I do have those days where I don't eat meat and/or animal products.
 
hai1983 said:
Maybe it was, but then she launched into a list of mammals humans could milk and shared how disgusting she finds non-animal-sourced milks. I read her tone as serious. Maybe that's not what she intended.
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Oh no, I wasn't mad at all- it was a slightly sarcastic response to the other comments. I thought it was funny. Obviously I am very bad at writing humor.

And if other people love vegetarian "milks" (sorry but I can't not use quotes but no offence intended) then drink away! I just personally dislike substitutes (i.e. gluten free pasta for wheat pasta, soymilk for dairy milk, cashew butter for peanut butter) and there was probably a nicer way that I could have worded it.

I spend little time on the internet as we don't have it at home and I am not as inclined to go back and read it over and consider the meaning that other people can take from it. I was also a little bit stressed out because one of my lambs was not feeling well (actually one I took in for someone who wasn't caring for it well just a few days ago) and I had a bad sinus headache. Excuses, excuses. Sorry if I offended anybody.

I think in general internet forums are delicate places to bring up topics and speak your mind as the meaning of your words cannot be determined by inflection and your facial expressions, and also your readers do not know you.

I'm definitely not vegetarian and while I eat vegetarian food, it's because it's made that way normally (i.e. salads). That's not to say that I refuse to eat vegetarian food because it's vegetarian, but because it simply does not taste as good to me. Obviously many people think it's delicious. I love animal products and I respect the animals they come from and want to spend the rest of my life vetting such animals. And we do meatless Fridays for religious reasons.

But I do want to defend my original comment: "It's not milk if it doesn't come from an udder", which is true. Milk is fluid made in a mammary gland for the nourishment of the young of mammals. It's not judgemental or offensive, it's just fact. If you want to call coconut "milk" milk because it is white, go ahead, but that doesn't make it milk. It's no more judgemental than when I told the public that the lamb is a lamb, a baby sheep, not a goat. A fact is a fact. At least that's the way I look at it. 🙂 Whether soymilk tastes better or worse is obviously an opinion.
 
cowgirla said:
Coconut Milk 😍 I like it slightly better than almond milk, but the almond milk is usually cheaper.


Anything with lactose in it give me sharp, stabbing pains all through my abdomen and they last for up to three days sometimes. Needless to say, I avoid dairy for that reason.

Thank goodness most hard cheeses have no or little lactose, because that's one thing I don't think I could give up!
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Cowgirla,

My mom is very lactose intolerant and she has no problems with sheep and goat milk whatsoever. Both have lactose but for whatever reason it doesn't seem to affect her. Also she can drink lactose-free cow's milk (like Lactaid) with no problems. Yogurt also is no problem.

It's probably close to impossible for you to obtain sheep or goat milk but if you haven't tried the lactose free milk you might want to look into it. It is way cheaper than the vegetarian alternatives and works like real milk in foods like macaroni and cheese. You can buy it at WalMart and Meijer and other grocery chains.

It would be fascinating to do an in-depth study on the differences between different species' milks and why some sit better with some people than others. I've never heard of anyone being allergic to sheep's milk. My brother can't tolerate casein and the sheep milk works for him but not the goat milk. Our doctor doesn't get it at all...

Nice to know that there are other allergic people out there on SDN...any gluten-free?
 
Finnsheep said:
Cowgirla,

My mom is very lactose intolerant and she has no problems with sheep and goat milk whatsoever. Both have lactose but for whatever reason it doesn't seem to affect her. Also she can drink lactose-free cow's milk (like Lactaid) with no problems. Yogurt also is no problem.

It's probably close to impossible for you to obtain sheep or goat milk but if you haven't tried the lactose free milk you might want to look into it. It is way cheaper than the vegetarian alternatives and works like real milk in foods like macaroni and cheese. You can buy it at WalMart and Meijer and other grocery chains.

It would be fascinating to do an in-depth study on the differences between different species' milks and why some sit better with some people than others. I've never heard of anyone being allergic to sheep's milk. My brother can't tolerate casein and the sheep milk works for him but not the goat milk. Our doctor doesn't get it at all...

Nice to know that there are other allergic people out there on SDN...any gluten-free?
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Ive tried the lactaid and I'm not a fan. Much prefer the coconut milk. I've even tried the lactase drops that digest the lactose in regular milk, and it just gives it a gross sickly sweet taste. And yeah, don't think I'm finding sheep or goats milk anywhere around here (at least not in my price range.) I really love coconut milk and don't feel like I'm missing anything. I don't like mac and cheese out of the box, so dont need milk for that. Dont make pudding or other things that require milk enzymes to set very often either. They make coconut ice cream for when I have a major ice cream craving, but even that's rare. I've pretty much lost my taste for it.

Some yogurts bother me more than others. I can eat any cheese in moderation without a problem, although really cheesy meals will sometimes get to me if it's a soft cheese. (I can munch on swiss/gruyere and things like that all day long, luckily). Even goat cheese bothers me if I eat too much of it, so I wonder if goat milk would work or not.
 
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