To Be Vegetarian or Not?

unfortunately it doesnt matter weither you eat meat or not...its about whats in your food as so many of you have mentioned...I was raised vegetarian for the 1st 10 years of my life, i was a very sick child and now cannot tolerate alot of foods, i actually had to have my gallbladder removed, as did my mother and father...hmmm?!
i say eat what makes you happy and healthy, and think about all the countries where food is sparce...and they dont have a choice!

If I had to eat meat to survive I would, that sounds selfish and horrible but I would. I just think that its a bit over consumed in todays culture...

im trying to be a vegitarian but my family is giving me a tough time with it. i personally just dont enjoy meat that much and i dont enjoy knowing where it comes from.
if u like meat u can look online and fine cruelty free brands so the animals dont suffer
BTW
DONT EAT AT KFC PPL
ITS CHICKEN HELL

I have been a vegetarian since I was 15 (I am now 30) and I don't like it very much. I eat eggs and dairy but no chicken, fish, etc, etc. I don't eat meat because I hate the way it tastes so I am this way for life :-P I think that, as a meat eater, you can always choose to eat vegetarian/vegan meals whenever you want. But having the option to eat meat is a good thing. My doctor told me that things like grilled chicken breast or certain fish can be good. (Never going to happen for me, though!) This is my long way of saying, don't restrict yourself too much.

I dont see how people can think eating meat or fish is at all good for you in any way!
Heres why... You do not know what the animal had been eating before it died. Cows, Pigs and Sheep are often given things to bulk them up. ie drugs and proteins to fatten and muscle out more quickly (not the kind of proiein you want). They arn't fed good quality feed all the time if ever, they are given remains of dead animals, the same breeds and different (pigs are fed pigs) and manure.
They are usually kept in appauling conditions in their own muck with no room to move. And suffer because of this. OK so organig may have better lives but that is rarly the case.
And as for fish... they swim in the sea...its full of alsorts of chemicals...that then are absorbed like everything in to your body when you eat it.

http://www.vegansociety.com/resources/animals/

Well...not to be annoying or anything but:

What the heck do you think they do to plants? What about all the chemicals sprayed on them? Then the rain washes this off into the soil, and the roots soak it up. Then the CRAP that the COW produces is mixed into the soil and the plant soaks that up too. And if you're worried about eating meat because it's a living being...well, plants are alive. Right?

I say eat what you want because it tastes good and makes you happy. We're all going to die anyways, and EVERYTHING it seems these days can give you cancer. (or other terrible things)

No offence to anyone's lifestyle, but I've got more important things to worry about. And by God, burgers are tasty.

*for the record, all things in moderation. If you want to be a vegetarian because you enjoy it. Then do it. If you feel pressured, or feel like choosing between the two lifestyles makes you stressed or unhappy, then DON'T do it. Eat what you want. You don't have to please anyone but yourself. What you eat shouldn't cause you stress. It's not healthy to obsess over what you can or can not eat. (or should or should not eat)

Fair point there but atleast fruit and veg is not full of junk.
I mean its healthy!

I dont agree with eating animals. I am a health freak! (she said eating chocolate...but ita allowed at this time of year right)

They say fruits and veg can help prevent cancer! NOT meat.

And if you got more important things they why bother posting...

I totally enjoy being Vegan! Nothing and no one will ever chance my views. And if I can help some one else become Vegetarian I will be more than happy to help in any way....
Feel free to ask me anything Ani.

I can see both sides to this. I was vegetarian for 6 years and vegan for 2 years. One day I just decided to have some fish and chips, and it rolled on from there. you probably wont like this next comment - but I will try virtually anything as I went to China recently and there were so many different foods! Some things you just looked at and didnt ask what it was lol! (I didnt eat stuff like that though - ew - weird alien sea like creatures!)
I think if you are thinking about it your body may be telling you it wants it. We need to be more in tune with what our bodies need and want.
No food at all is of the same standard of years ago. This may sound a little weird but the government are in control of way too much - and yes they control what we eat and the quality of what we eat - the only way to truely know what you are eating is by growing your own - but even then the soil is lacking basic nutrients. I have a condition called PCOS and one of the nutrients my body desperately needs is Chromium. Everyone needs this - but if you research it you will find that our soil is not substantial enough for anyones consuption. So in short we are all lacking vital nutrition regardless of what we eat. I say eat what your body tells you it wants and enjoy! It is so important to enjoy everything we do as it creates the right kinds of energy - as food gives us our main energy source you have to really enjoy it

Whilst I am on a waffle about how thoughts are important to energy and happiness - check out this guy Masaru Emoto - simply amazing - just try it it cant do any harm Merry Christmas folks

"I just think that its a bit over consumed in todays culture..."

Why do you think we have an obesity epidemic? If you like to eat meat, eat in moderation and don't strain yourself over being something you don't want to be.

"I am a health freak!"

That doesn't make you a health freak. A health freak knows that everything is good in moderation. Meat is important in a diet since it gives a person B12, which is a common deficiency in vegetarians and vegans.

"Meat is important in a diet since it gives a person B12, which is a common deficiency in vegetarians and vegans"

So how does the meat contain Vitamins????

Those animals are Herbivours remember! They eat grass that is grown in the soil....

vegetarian for 16 years. i grew up very much alone and i never stopped liking the taste of meat. hang in there!

I'm sorry, but i am going to have to disagree with everything PinkWeeds has said. (no offense to you at all)
But if you still think that the meat in stores STILL comes from "farms with farmers", you are HORRIBLY wrong my dear. I would relate Factory Farms (where all non-organic meat comes from) to the death-camps where jews were sent by nazis. You obviously dont know where your meat/food comes from. Factory farms abuse, mutilate, mistreat, and pump their animals with all kinds of toxins (to keep them alive from the harsh conditions they live in, NOT to make them safe for us to eat). The animals have no grass, nowhere to even stand, or even live, and are born and die there within a year or 2 of life. (i could go on and on, but ill just make others and myself upset).
And on top of that, most slaughter houses (meat processing) are not very humane either. Some tie up LIVE cows from its leg, then knife its stomach open from head to tail....ALIVE. Its MURDER. There are almost no laws in some of these places, and even when there are, some dont follow them because of time and meat demand.
There are some humane REAL "Farms", with "farmers". But those places are either family-run local places, and are considered Organic.

I am all for eating whatever you want to eat. If it doesnt feel right to you, then change! (And believe it or not, some people DO stop eating meat just to protest the use of factory farms).
My advice to ANi W. .... start eating meat agian, if you want to. If it would make you feel better, try buying organic meat/milk products, or only locally grown food. You could probably find them at health-food stores. You dont have to go back to eating meat completely either. You could go back to eating just 1 meat meal a week (or month), & you will still be saving lots of animals and serving a purpose. I even know 1 girl who is a strict vegan (for health & animal reasons), but still eats 1 burger a year, because she likes it. Your not hurting anyone hun.

I've been a lacto ovo vegetarian for nine years. I stoppe eating meat because I love animals. I never really liked meat to begin with, except for burgers and ribs (yummm). I can't bring myself to kill a bug.

But if you're having problems because you miss eating meat here is what I did:
I loved steak. I mean LOVED it. I had to just stop eating it as much and then when I'd crave it, I would eat the steak sauce.

But the lovely thing about now is that at grocery stores everywhere (pretty much) offer Veggie Meals and Morning Star. Basically, it's fake meat And it's REALLYYY yummy. Even my friends who aren't vegetarian eat the soy burgers and nuggets. I actually get freaked sometimes because they taste and are textured to be like meat.

I hope this helped some!!

Animals wouldnt want to be eaten!

Why would you want to eat the flesh and what not of some poor animal!

Well that's the thing, animals eat other animals.

But I think that we are far more superior and it's up to us to decide for ourselves whether or not we want to change.

DarkAshHurts, you should read a Rolling Stone article on the Pig Farms in North Carolina. It's HORRIBLE. It's talk about how people have actually died and getting sick due to the harsh conditions that they have made the pigs endure. It's crazy, I live in NC but mainly talks about the farms on the coast and I live near the mountains.