Veganism/Vegetarianism

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Re: Veganism/Vegetarianism

Post by BluMajica »

before I get on to my own answers I wanted to address a comment I saw. and please keep in mind this is from an Australian point of view - I dont know how it is all the time in the US although many do follow similar procedures.
Spoiler
#1The cow is usually forcefully inseminated, which isn't rare when you're in the business of impregnating large masses of animals, or breeding animals in captivity. So I can get past that part. I am #2 upset that the usual method of using cows for milk involves taking the calf from the mother so that we can take the milk. Milk that's not even made for us. Simply put, we're not even really intended to ingest it from animals like cows. It's not only those who are lactose intolerant that have trouble digesting it. Interestingly enough, I've heard that goat's milk is promoted as being closer to human milk, so we would have an easier time digesting the stuff... that aside, this isn't something I'd suggest looking to PETA for answers about. You'll get all sorts of fantastical answers.

In the old days, the calves would be separated from the mother and usually used as veal products, or left to die. Now, with animal rights activists breathing down dairy farmer's necks about this and that, several special farms have developed a better method where sometimes the dairy cows are rotated. When it's their turn to give milk, the calves are raised on a different feed and used for various other reasons. Usually it's still for veal... but the males can be kept for future breeding or beef, and the females as future dairy cows. I think it all depends on where you live. It's not a perfect system, but at least the animals are slowly allowed some dignity and healthier conditions, despite what they're being used for.
#1 - I have done/watched artificial insemination and I would not call it forceful. Yes a hand goes op their bum to find the uterus so the tube is inserted to the right place, and yes I would assume it is uncomfortable, but it is not forceful. it is done in a calm and careful way - no rushing, no matter how many cows there are.

#2 - new calves are kept with their mother for up to 2 weeks, due to the fact that only she has the colostrum required for the new born. In the dairy farms I have worked at, the new calves are introduced to the bucket and then put into a pen with other calves and fed milk twice a day - some get more depending on their age of course - from a large trough or feeder. Why? because the heifers (girls) are important to continue the milking herd, and the males are used as income, gelded and sold on to feed lots to fatten/raise for eventual butchery (unless they are unlucky enough to be on a farm which sells veal). Unless of course he is a special bull calf in which case he gets special treatment and then leads a life of love, sleep and eating.

Goats milk is awesome. though I have not tried the stuff from the supermarket, I was raised on fresh goats milk from about 8 weeks of age (it saved my life incidentally) and always recommend it if people are having problems with regular milk and cheeses.
A few questions you may want to answer:

1: Are you vegetarian or vegan?
Neither.

2: If yes WHY did you decide to become vegetarian/vegan.

3:If you are, how long have you been vegetarian/vegan.

4: Would you ever consider becoming vegan/vegetarian (if a meat eater)
I would consider being a vegetarian, at least most days of the week. There is so many more options now than just tofu and veggies that I am now aware of - it makes it actually appealing to me. Also meat is getting very expensive for my budget, so I am incorporating some legumes, chickpea and vegetable dishes in my weekly menu just to keep my costs lower. I am also grateful that Tofu is not my only option lol

5: Do you feel healthier/less healthy since going vegetarian/vegan (if vegetarian/vegan)

6: How are your energy levels/iron levels etc (i guess both could answer this)
they are good, my iron is always in a very healthy range, although my energy could use a boost lol

7: Do you take a vitamin suppliment. (i guess both could answer that too)
I take omega3 fish oil, ginkgo biloba (memory assistant) , magnesium and a multi-vitamin

On the battery/cage eggs that I have seen others answer (understanding that it has been removed due to the animal rights thread) I only buy cage eggs due to cost. I simply can not afford the $6+ for 12 free range eggs when i can buy them for 2.59 a doz. it is a purely cost thing and I rarely buy them due to the guilt I feel over the hens conditions - although many are getting better due to scandals and awareness of the conditions they have been forced to live in, the authorities are attempting to regulate this area more thoroughly.
and as I am aware - there are no factory farms in Australia, but I do admit i don't really know.
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Re: Veganism/Vegetarianism

Post by HobbitFeet »

Mordeth wrote:
Spoiler
#1The cow is usually forcefully inseminated, which isn't rare when you're in the business of impregnating large masses of animals, or breeding animals in captivity. So I can get past that part. I am #2 upset that the usual method of using cows for milk involves taking the calf from the mother so that we can take the milk. Milk that's not even made for us. Simply put, we're not even really intended to ingest it from animals like cows. It's not only those who are lactose intolerant that have trouble digesting it. Interestingly enough, I've heard that goat's milk is promoted as being closer to human milk, so we would have an easier time digesting the stuff... that aside, this isn't something I'd suggest looking to PETA for answers about. You'll get all sorts of fantastical answers.

In the old days, the calves would be separated from the mother and usually used as veal products, or left to die. Now, with animal rights activists breathing down dairy farmer's necks about this and that, several special farms have developed a better method where sometimes the dairy cows are rotated. When it's their turn to give milk, the calves are raised on a different feed and used for various other reasons. Usually it's still for veal... but the males can be kept for future breeding or beef, and the females as future dairy cows. I think it all depends on where you live. It's not a perfect system, but at least the animals are slowly allowed some dignity and healthier conditions, despite what they're being used for.
#1 - I have done/watched artificial insemination and I would not call it forceful. Yes a hand goes op their bum to find the uterus so the tube is inserted to the right place, and yes I would assume it is uncomfortable, but it is not forceful. it is done in a calm and careful way - no rushing, no matter how many cows there are.

#2 - new calves are kept with their mother for up to 2 weeks, due to the fact that only she has the colostrum required for the new born. In the dairy farms I have worked at, the new calves are introduced to the bucket and then put into a pen with other calves and fed milk twice a day - some get more depending on their age of course - from a large trough or feeder. Why? because the heifers (girls) are important to continue the milking herd, and the males are used as income, gelded and sold on to feed lots to fatten/raise for eventual butchery (unless they are unlucky enough to be on a farm which sells veal). Unless of course he is a special bull calf in which case he gets special treatment and then leads a life of love, sleep and eating.

Goats milk is awesome. though I have not tried the stuff from the supermarket, I was raised on fresh goats milk from about 8 weeks of age (it saved my life incidentally) and always recommend it if people are having problems with regular milk and cheeses.
Maybe "forcefully" wasn't the correct term, but I did mean it in a sense. It's not a natural setting, and the cow isn't necessarily breeding. So although violence isn't used, it's still forceful to me. If it were a person, it'd be considered pseudo-rape, but since it's an animal, it's just normal to us. It benefits us.

Your second point... I guess it depends on the area, like you stated, and what the farmer decides to do with the calf. I don't know how a small time farmer compares to a factory farm with this one.
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Re: Veganism/Vegetarianism

Post by Nilan »

1: Are you vegetarian or vegan? I am a vegetarian, i became one last year and then stopped and now i am becoming one again as it means more to me now than it did then.

2: If yes WHY did you decide to become vegetarian/vegan. First it was just because i wanted something interesting to say about myself! But the second time round it was because i think that we can survive without meat and would be healthier if we did.
3:If you are, how long have you been vegetarian/vegan.
Only a few months now but i used to be veggie for about a year.
4: Would you ever consider going back to eating meat (if vegan/vegetarian) No, not any more, i might eat fish but i won't eat any other meat.
Would you ever consider becoming vegan/vegetarian (if a meat eater)
5: Do you feel healthier/less healthy since going vegetarian/vegan (if vegetarian/vegan)
I don't feel much healthier but i think that is because i don't eat very healthily anyway! I do feel better about my life though.
6: How are your energy levels/iron levels etc (i guess both could answer this)
As far as i know they are fine.
7: Do you take a vitamin suppliment. (i guess both could answer that too)
I don't but my friend (who is veggie) takes iron tablets.
I don't mind other people eating meat but i want to live as long and eat as naturally as possible. And besides-i love baby animals! :roll:
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Re: Veganism/Vegetarianism

Post by Niverdia »

1: Are you vegetarian or vegan?
No, omnivore.

2: If yes WHY did you decide to become vegetarian/vegan.
N/A.

3:If you are, how long have you been vegetarian/vegan.
N/A.

4: Would you ever consider going back to eating meat (if vegan/vegetarian)
Would you ever consider becoming vegan/vegetarian (if a meat eater)
I'd only consider it because of health reasons OR if I could guarantee buying only free range dairy products and eggs (will explain this later).

5: Do you feel healthier/less healthy since going vegetarian/vegan (if vegetarian/vegan)
From what I've read, vegetarians/vegans aren't necessarily healthier/don't live longer than omnivores.

6: How are your energy levels/iron levels etc (i guess both could answer this)
Fine as far as I know.

7: Do you take a vitamin suppliment. (i guess both could answer that too)
I sometimes take vitamin D and magnesium supplements.

As I said above, I'd only consider becoming vegetarian out of health reasons. If for ethical - only if I could also buy free range dairy products and eggs because I hate it and find it hypocritical when people say how awful it is to eat meat, but readily consume factory eggs and milk, ignoring the cruelty of those industries.
I don't mind other people eating meat but i want to live as long and eat as naturally as possible
Humans are omnivores. Therefore, eating meat is also natural.
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Re: Veganism/Vegetarianism

Post by audioburst »

1: Are you vegetarian or vegan?

Ohhhhh, jeez. Vegetarian, but just barely. Still too lazy to pick out meat if they're really tiny pieces. XD

2: If yes WHY did you decide to become vegetarian/vegan.

Needed to lose weight. Still do. T_T" Taking dance classes as well.

3:If you are, how long have you been vegetarian/vegan.

I'd say a month or two.

4: Would you ever consider going back to eating meat (if vegan/vegetarian)
Would you ever consider becoming vegan/vegetarian (if a meat eater)

I WOULD LOVE TO EAT MEAT AGAIN! xDD But I heard that once you stop eating meat, you gain a lot more weight when you do resume eating meat than if you'd never stopped in the first place. My friend was vegetarian for 8 years. O_O

5: Do you feel healthier/less healthy since going vegetarian/vegan (if vegetarian/vegan)

Possibly... But I'm just chucking oily food down my throat that isn't meat [I know, I'm horrible, right? XD But yeah, seeing as how my eating habits are right now - I eat when I'm bored - I doubt ahmunna get any skinnier] as of now. I can't control it! DDDD:

6: How are your energy levels/iron levels etc (i guess both could answer this)

Hm. I seem to be craving sugar more. Took WAYYY too much sugar in my coffee this afternoon... Crashed after dinner, shaking all over. Crazy.

7: Do you take a vitamin suppliment. (i guess both could answer that too)

No.
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Re: Veganism/Vegetarianism

Post by poofle »

1: Are you vegetarian or vegan?
Yes, I am a vegetarian, I am considering becoming vegan.
2: If yes WHY did you decide to become vegetarian/vegan.
I believe that it's cruel to eat animals, if they were allready dead then that would be ok.
3:If you are, how long have you been vegetarian/vegan.
About 6 months
4: Would you ever consider going back to eating meat (if vegan/vegetarian)
Would you ever consider becoming vegan/vegetarian (if a meat eater)
No.
5: Do you feel healthier/less healthy since going vegetarian/vegan (if vegetarian/vegan)
I feel less healthier, I'm not getting enough protien, I feel wak I keep getting sick and my nails are falling off.
6: How are your energy levels/iron levels etc (i guess both could answer this)
I have absolutely no idea.
7: Do you take a vitamin suppliment. (i guess both could answer that too)
No.
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Re: Veganism/Vegetarianism

Post by Jellyfilling »

1: Are you vegetarian or vegan? No.

2: If yes WHY did you decide to become vegetarian/vegan? N/A

3:If you are, how long have you been vegetarian/vegan? N/A

4: Would you ever consider becoming vegan/vegetarian (if a meat eater)? No. I believe that humans were designed to be omnivores, and as much as I love animals, I don't think I could give up steak.

5: Do you feel healthier/less healthy since going vegetarian/vegan (if vegetarian/vegan)? N/A

6: How are your energy levels/iron levels etc? My energy level is fine, I have no idea about iron level.

7: Do you take a vitamin suppliment? Multivitamin
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Re: Veganism/Vegetarianism

Post by Corvidae »

1: Are you vegetarian or vegan?
Omnivorous.

2: If yes WHY did you decide to become vegetarian/vegan?

3:If you are, how long have you been vegetarian/vegan?

4: Would you ever consider becoming vegan/vegetarian?
Maybe. I think I could stand to give up red meats; less so chicken, and even less so fish. It's probably better for the environment, it's probably healthier in the long run, and I (along with a good portion of my fellow Americans) probably eat too much meat anyway.

5: Do you feel healthier or less healthy since going vegetarian/vegan?

6: How are your energy levels, iron levels, etc?
As far as I know, they're fine. Energy levels are great, except that I'm primarily nocturnal, which means that I get an energy/creativity spike right when I need to stop doing whatever I've just gotten into.

7: Do you take a vitamin supplement?
No.
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Re: Veganism/Vegetarianism

Post by DreamingOfIslands »

1: Are you vegetarian or vegan?

Nope.

4: Would you ever consider going back to eating meat (if vegan/vegetarian)
Would you ever consider becoming vegan/vegetarian (if a meat eater)

No, I don't think so.

6: How are your energy levels/iron levels etc (i guess both could answer this)

Err. I have energy level issues but that's almost certainly due to a sporadic sleep schedule that I've been working to fix. It's just hard to get in bed on time and up in the morning for college, especially when one day's classes start at 9:45 and the other day's start at 11:30. It's so tempting to grab the extra two hours of sleep on the 11:30 days O_o My iron is fine, to my knowledge. The last time I had it checked was when I tried to give blood, and it was ever so slightly low (but I'm female and.... Oh, you know, and that was probably the reason I was low).

7: Do you take a vitamin suppliment. (i guess both could answer that too)

No.

Comments: I omitted questions that didn't pertain to me. While I appreciate and respect people on a vegetarian/vegan diet (whether it be morals, health, or cost), I do not believe I would consider a vegetarian/vegan diet unless placed in a position where it was necessary for my health or to stay in my budget. The only diet I ever tried was a casein (milk protein) free one, and it ended disastrously. It screwed with my entire digestion system so badly that I couldn't even eat plain toast without reacting violently. Thankfully, a brief stint of medicine fixed that up (It was some kind of anti-heartburn medicine, I think. Weird, right?) though I still have to watch how much dairy I eat. I originally started the diet because I'd read some research suggesting that a casein-gluten free diet helped some people with Asperger's with focus issues/etc. After seeing no behavoiral improvement in myself after a few months, I quit. Thing is, I'm scared to death to ever go on any kind of diet again because of that one terrible experience. In addition, everything I've ever read suggests that in most cases it's natural and healthy for humans to eat meat. I read a lot of stuff suggesting that dairy's not great for humans to start with, but I was sick of the digestive issues and I missed my icecream and chocolate. I will admit that I don't eat much red meat. It's not served often in the college cafeteria (except as burgers, and I don't eat beef burgers). Most of the meat I eat is chicken, with beef sprinkled in and the rare fish (which is usually a fried patty, but whatever. Better than no fish, right?)
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Re: Veganism/Vegetarianism

Post by Niverdia »

poofle wrote:1: Are you vegetarian or vegan?
Yes, I am a vegetarian, I am considering becoming vegan.
2: If yes WHY did you decide to become vegetarian/vegan.
I believe that it's cruel to eat animals, if they were allready dead then that would be ok.
3:If you are, how long have you been vegetarian/vegan.
About 6 months
4: Would you ever consider going back to eating meat (if vegan/vegetarian)
Would you ever consider becoming vegan/vegetarian (if a meat eater)
No.
5: Do you feel healthier/less healthy since going vegetarian/vegan (if vegetarian/vegan)
I feel less healthier, I'm not getting enough protien, I feel wak I keep getting sick and my nails are falling off.
6: How are your energy levels/iron levels etc (i guess both could answer this)
I have absolutely no idea.
7: Do you take a vitamin suppliment. (i guess both could answer that too)
No.
If you can't get enough protein with your current diet, then you shouldn't try to be vegetarian right now, especially considering how you're about to enter puberty. /checked your profile

I'm a bit iffy on the cruelty issue. Do you still consume milk and eggs? Do those come from mass producers? If the answer to those questions is yes, then you can call the "ethics" BS in this case, since milk and egg industry isn't very pleasant either, so, unless those are free-range products that you eat, you can stop pretending to be merciful to animals at the expense of your health. You need to eat properly first.
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