MagiStream

Mod Note: Edited for inflammatory content. While I appreciate the intent, and will monitor the thread carefully to make certain people are not harassed about their choices, you really are not allowed to post passive aggressive attacks on other players. Also, YOU need to keep your articles and information factual rather than simply attacking meat producing companies. Links would be helpful. Thank you!

I would love to know how many of us are in the magistream community.

Ive been vegan for several years myself, and have never been healtier.

I would like this to be a place where people can come to ask questions of the vegan/vegetarian community, to gain information direct from the horse's mouth, rather than relying on those articles out there that are not telling the absolute truth.

Please respect the contents of the thread. Do not come in here to moralize against vegetarianism and veganism. By the same token, do not moralize against those who choose to eat meat. The key here is respect.

Also, as there is already an Animal Rights thread, please refrain from discussing those aspects here. Keep the topic about veganism/vegetarianism in context. You may briefly mention your choices if they hinge on morality but if you wish to expound on them, you must do so in the Animal Rights thread.

A few questions you may want to answer:

1: Are you vegetarian or vegan?

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 going back to eating meat (if vegan/vegetarian)
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)

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

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

1: Are you vegetarian or vegan?
No, but I tried to be at one time in college because meat was just too expensive for a student budget.

4: Would you ever consider becoming vegan/vegetarian (if a meat eater)
Vegetarian, maybe. Vegan, no. I like cheese too much. >.> I've tried the vegan cheese before, and sorry, it's just not the same.

6: How are your energy levels/iron levels etc (i guess both could answer this)
Nowadays, I'm a little tired, but I've been blaming that on school, stress and junk food that I've mostly been living on. And I haven't had a blood test in years, so I don't really know my levels of anything.

7: Do you take a vitamin suppliment. (i guess both could answer that too)
I take Caltrate. Not because I don't know if I actually need the calcium, but I like the chocolate flavor. >.>

8: What are your views on the dairy/veal industry
I'm against the veal industry because of how they house and treat the calves (which is most predominantly male dairy calves since they're not really of much use in the dairy industry). And like I said, I like cheese and dairy products too much to give those up.

9: What are your views on battery hens/cage eggs
After doing a class project to improve the welfare of the slaughter used up layer hens, I've completely sworn off cage eggs. Actually, I do have a couple of freely roaming chickens (from a neighbor who moved) in the yard that lay eggs almost every day. Not like I buy eggs any more.

10: What are your views on factory farming
I understand their importance to meat industry (and such), but I steps should be taken to reduce stress, disease and injury from raising to slaughter.

11: What are your views on animal testing.
I support animal testing if its purpose is to advance medical knowledge. We would not have such an extensive lifespan without all the medicines that had been tested on animals before being approved for human use. Cosmetic testing I do NOT support.

1: Are you vegetarian or vegan? No, though admittedly I don't eat a great deal of meat, in general.
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) No.
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 (i guess both could answer this) Just fine.
7: Do you take a vitamin suppliment. (i guess both could answer that too) No.
8: What are your views on the dairy/veal industry An kind of mass "industrial" food production leaves a lot to be desired and is often cruel. Now, veal in particular is tricky. I would not condone treating an animal in the way the baby cows are, and yet, I do enjoy it on occasion and would not ban it. I'm really of two minds about it.
9: What are your views on battery hens/cage eggs Deplorable. Those poor hens are so stressed and being feed corn and supplements just isn't good enough and on top of it produces inferior eggs. Even if the quality of the eggs wasn't affected, I still wouldn't approve as there are better ways to go about it.
10: What are your views on factory farming Again, deplorable. Industrial farming isn't healthy for anything or anyone. Cruel, unsanitary, long term suffering. I strongly disapprove.
11: What are your views on animal testing. Hm, now this one is tricky. What kind of "testing" are we talking about? Cosmetic testing or scientific testing? The way that labs have discovered so much valuable information about genetics and physical and mental health by testing rats, flies, worms, and at times moving up to primates...I find it difficult to disapprove. Which makes me wonder, am I saying that the ends justify the means?...I would rather like to think that I'm not and yet, that's what it sounds like to me. I think that if a product needs animal testing first, I shouldn't be putting it on me, but to further our understanding...? Hm...I do believe that it doesn't much bother me. Am I saying that the lives aren't worth more than the information gathered? Yes, I suppose I am. And eventually drugs will go to human testing as well and people will die of it. Yes, the difference is that people have a choice and the animals don't. But it's the poorest of our societies who get into the human testing phase, those in desperate need of just a little money to get by. That is also a cruelty I am willing to live with.

I would add to the discussion. I have a sister who is mostly vegetarian, not for any moral reasons, but because she simply doesn't like the flavor. This is something I can respect without batting an eye. I don't like peanutbutter. Just the way each of us is built. But I would ask several questions of the vegetarians and vegans.

1. Why did you make the choice to become a vegetarian or vegan?
2. If it is because you find meat to be a taking of a life, why is it okay to eat living plants?
3. If you are vegan, what is your objection to dairy and egg products?

Personally, I view the ripping of a carrot out of the ground to be on the same level as cutting off a chicken's head. They both make my heart squeeze a little and I value both lives equally. I honestly don't understand people who eat a plate full of fresh green and tell me meat is murder. I have heard the argument that if you are eating fruit (for example) the tree is still strong and healthy, and therefor you have not caused death. Yet for me, this is the same as saying that eating a fertilized egg isn't killing anything, since the hen is fine. I see these in the same light and I am always grateful to each life given to me to feed me. There is a part of me that feel that people who say meat is murder, but you can eat anything else as a sort of...statement. Almost saying, "Only lives that work enough like my own have value." Plants breath, ingest nutrients, even leave a little something behind in the earth, and have also been shown to be able to communicate with their neighbors enough to warn them of coming trouble, which boosts the plant's defenses against specific problems. All life is precious and as long as plants and animals grown specifically to feed us is done ethically and respectfully, I have no issues with any of it.

1: Are you vegetarian or vegan?
No.

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 going back to eating meat (if vegan/vegetarian)
Would you ever consider becoming vegan/vegetarian (if a meat eater)
No. I don't see the value in having to take supplements for what I can already have naturally, with better flavor.

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)
Just fine. I do occasionally get sleepy, but that is because of my sleep schedule being messed up rather than my eating habits.

7: Do you take a vitamin suppliment. (i guess both could answer that too)
No.

8: What are your views on the dairy/veal industry
I enjoy dairy so I don't view it as anything bad. Veal, while tasty, is NOT something I'll eat more than very, very rarely. I'm not comfortable with it too much.

9: What are your views on battery hens/cage eggs
Bad, but thankfully I don't have to worry about this as I get local meat and eggs.

10: What are your views on factory farming
Don't like it.

11: What are your views on animal testing.
Medical testing is necessary for the advancement of medicine; the life of one mouse could save hundreds of thousands of people in the future. Cosmetics testing, however? No, test that shit on people like it should be.

Larger answers were spoilered to keep the text wall at a minimum.

1: Are you vegetarian or vegan?:
Vegetarian

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

Spoiler

When I was younger, it was because I loved animals. Since I've been a veg for 9-10 years now, my view on it has changed a bit. I do still very much love animals, and I can't see myself eating one. I had always been very picky as well, so giving up meat wasn't difficult for me. As I grew, I because repulsed by the smell of cooked meat. Maybe that had to do with me having not eaten any in a very long time, or because I had convinced myself mentally that meat was distasteful, so my body followed suit. Then again, I've always found burger meat to have a distinctive scent that I never could stand. For now, I suppose it's half by choice, half by bodily reaction.

3:If you are, how long have you been vegetarian/vegan.
Like I said, about 9-10 years. I started young, while I was in the 6th grade, but I'm not sure exactly when I just stopped eating it altogether.

4: Would you ever consider going back to eating meat (if vegan/vegetarian)
I've thought about it, several times. A few years back I wondered whether or not, on my current diet, I would be able to properly support a child if I were to become pregnant. Since I'm so picky, even with healthy, vegan/vegetarian foods, I'd consider integrating some meat back into my meals. Slowly, of course.


5: Do you feel healthier/less healthy since going vegetarian/vegan (if vegetarian/vegan)
I think it's not my vegetarian choice that makes me feel unhealthy, but my extreme pickiness instead. So no.

6: How are your energy levels/iron levels etc (i guess both could answer this)
Sucks to be a woman with this question... Because of certain... monthly issues, I've had to find alternatives for iron as well as protein. I'm not particularly fond of peanuts, but sometimes I'll pop open a pack and nibble some when I'm feeling sluggish. I tend to eat healthier types of cereal when possible as well, since they hit on other vitamins and minerals that I could be missing out with my dysfunctional diet.

7: Do you take a vitamin suppliment. (i guess both could answer that too)
Not regularly. More or less, if I take one it's for specific things like my lack of vitamin D (I'm as pale as a ghost). But I don't wonder too much about protein and iron.

~Edited for sensitivity~

will put in my bit


1: Are you vegetarian or vegan?
Vegan

2: If yes WHY did you decide to become vegetarian/vegan.
I was once a rabid omnivore, calling myself an animal lover while chowing down on the animal of the day, not really thinking about what I was doing. A friend of mine made a comment about it, about a week later it really sunk in that yes, he was right, and my entire point of view changed, the idea of eating animals (and later when I discovered more about farming) their products, became repulsive to me, i have not looked back since.

3:If you are, how long have you been vegetarian/vegan.
Maybe 3 or 4 years.

4: Would you ever consider going back to eating meat (if vegan/vegetarian)
No, on the occasion i have accidentally eaten something containing an animal product it has made me physically ill.

5: Do you feel healthier/less healthy since going vegetarian/vegan (if vegetarian/vegan)
I do actually feel a lot healthier, a basically meat-based diet was doing me no good, i had more trouble than I do now keeping weight on, and was tired all the time, since going vegan ive been able to maintain a healthier weight (probably due to all the carbs)

6: How are your energy levels/iron levels etc (i guess both could answer this)
I was anemic before going vegan, but with the right diet (and yes you have to be very careful to be on a balanced diet) my iron levels have increased.

7: Do you take a vitamin suppliment. (i guess both could answer that too)
I take a daily multivitamin, and my orange juice has added calcium.

8: What are your views on the dairy/veal industry
I find the methods used in australia absolutely sickening when it comes to veal, the veal industry is the main reason I became vegan (the pork industry is one of the main reasons i became vegetarian though)

9: What are your views on battery hens/cage eggs
I have pet chickens, they are sensitive birds, and seeing their less fortunate cousins stuffed into tiny cages and forced to mass-produce eggs makes me cry.

10: What are your views on factory farming
I think factory farming is disgusting, particularly when it comes to pigs (not that other animals are any less important). Ive seen various pieces of footage of factory farming and each time i see pigs (or other animals) intensively housed like that, and the way they are treated it makes me physically ill.

11: What are your views on animal testing.
Where at all possible alternatives should be used. I would rather see no animal testing at all, I dont believe it is right, but as society deems animals less important than humans, I fail to see how that would be a possibility in the near future. In all honesty though, I think if you would not do it to a baby, you should not do it to an animal.

1: Are you vegetarian or vegan?
Yes.
2: If yes WHY did you decide to become vegetarian/vegan.
I've always been one, actually.
3:If you are, how long have you been vegetarian/vegan.
My Mum's been one since she was a teen, so I was raised veggie.
4: Would you ever consider going back to eating meat (if vegan/vegetarian)
Would you ever consider becoming vegan/vegetarian (if a meat eater)
Never. It'd be... wierd. Not just nasty, wierd.
5: Do you feel healthier/less healthy since going vegetarian/vegan (if vegetarian/vegan)
Eh. I wouldn't know.
6: How are your energy levels/iron levels etc (i guess both could answer this)
Okay... I do take vitimins from time to time, for my iron levels.
7: Do you take a vitamin suppliment. (i guess both could answer that too)
Just iron and Vitimin C, when I can remember.
8: What are your views on the dairy/veal industry
I don't like the diary industry all that much, but soya/oat milks aren't my thing. Veal is just like eating babies, in my opinion; so much cruelty for a luxury is just inhuman.
9: What are your views on battery hens/cage eggs
Simply horrible. The stories I could tell you... *shiver*
10: What are your views on factory farming
Just disgusting, all for a slightly cheaper chop.
11: What are your views on animal testing.
Only as a last resort.

1: Are you vegetarian or vegan?
vegetarian

2: If yes WHY did you decide to become vegetarian/vegan.
To me it was a question of ethics but also of tastes. I have never been keen meat eater. Now, after being veggie for several years, meat seems even more repulsive.

3:If you are, how long have you been vegetarian/vegan.
Long time, don't even remember exactly how long.

4: Would you ever consider going back to eating meat (if vegan/vegetarian)
Never. I'm sure of that.

5: Do you feel healthier/less healthy since going vegetarian/vegan (if vegetarian/vegan)
Ifeel much better, physically and mentally.

6: How are your energy levels/iron levels etc (i guess both could answer this)
7: Do you take a vitamin suppliment. (i guess both could answer that too)
I try to eat so that I get everything I need from my diet. I've never had any serious problems.

8: What are your views on the dairy/veal industry
9: What are your views on battery hens/cage eggs
Although I'm vegetarian, not vegan, I try to avoid also other animal based products than meat. I think there are serious flaws in those industries and there should be more laws to prevent maltreatment of animals.

10: What are your views on factory farming
Disgusting. Here too we should need more laws to guard animal rights. Small producers should be favored.

11: What are your views on animal testing.
I'm quite against it but in certain cases it can be justified. Of course all unnecessary testing, like that of cosmetics, should be prohibited. Medical testing is different thing...we just have to test it somehow, and results may be used to help animals, too. But I'm not against human testing, either, if there's someone who volunteers (and there are always people who would do anything for money).

A few questions you may want to answer:

1: Are you vegetarian or vegan?

Neither. The closest description of my diet would be seasonal. The bulk of it consists of legumes such as lentils, kidney beans, and black beans with cruciferous (the dark green vegetables) and the occasional root vegetable such as carrots or potatoes. I occasionally flavor my meals with meat, meaning there's no more than a few ounce of the meat in question in the food. It is never the main feature. I consume a lot of nuts and berries in season. Most of my cooking is toward the Mediterranean or Middle Eastern style. They don't use a lot of meat or dairy in their foods. I gave up beef when I moved to Florida; the beef I had in Colorado was home raised off my own land and I can actually taste the difference between the free range cattle and what they raise here (ick). Pork became too expensive so out it went as well. I do have to have some protein derived from animals --- went on a vegetarian diet supervised by a team of doctors, a nutritionist, and a dietitian and ended up so sick we had to stop the experiment --- but I stick with eggs (home raised if I can get them) or 2 to 3 ounces of chicken for the entire dish. I use the entire animal out of respect for the animal's sacrifice. Because we live near the ocean, I also consume a lot of shellfish and other seafoods. These are always bought from locals and always fresh. Their cost precludes eating them often, but I do so about one to two times a month. Again, small quantities --- just enough to satisfy the protein requirements not met by the legumes --- and flavoring, not a feature of the dish.

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

The move to a mostly vegetarian diet was initiated by a need for better physical health. I have metabolic failure, which means my body doesn't use the food it digests well. Most of it, whether I want it to do so or not, gets immediately stored as fat. A low carb diet, which was high in the vegetables I mentioned, seemed to be the answer...except I didn't like the high amount of fats. I substituted all the fatty meats for fish or seafood or chicken when I could get away with it but couldn't get away with eliminating it entirely. I LOVE my vegetables and will eagerly eat them and ask for more long before I even get to the main entree. A typical dinner at my table usually features a six inch wide plate, half of which is vegetables. The remaining half is two thirds grains (I use rice, wheat berries, and quinoa or bulgur) and the last portion, if we're serving it at all, is a meat protein of no more than two to three ounces.

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

I've been eating in this manner for about seven years now. The results have been fantastic. My A1C levels (that's the test they use to measure the levels of glucose in your blood over a period of at least three months) were high enough to be considered pre-diabetic. They're now within normal range. My good cholesterol levels were nonexistent but are now within acceptable range. My bad cholesterol remains a bit high, but the endocrinologist is attributing that to the nature of the disease (remember, my body doesn't use its energy naturally and has to be forced to burn it through medications and diet modification) rather than lifestyle. My triglycerides have dropped considerably, though they too are still on the high side. My blood pressure is in the low/normal range and always has been, a surprising fact since I'm so fat. It hasn't helped with weight loss but at least the health measurements which count are under control. I now prefer this method of eating. Some days my meals are entirely meatless, though I can't keep that up for long. I can, however, get away with eating meat proteins only once or twice a week and that's fine by me. I prefer the vegetables!

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 it if I could go completely vegetarian but my health situation just doesn't permit it. I don't know if that's the case for a normal healthy person, but my damaged metabolism apparently needs some of the components only found in meats (and that's with vitamin supplements). I don't crave it and it often disgusts me, but I still have to eat it if I want to remain healthy. As it is, I now grow my own --- a huge vegetable garden full of all sorts of varieties of plants --- and I eat avidly from that garden. Cutting down the meat in order to allow other tastes and textures to take their place has opened an amazing culinary vista for me. The Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cooking styles, for instance, focus on color and scent. The Far Eastern styles focus on color and texture. I 'd much rather eat a pretty, scented plate of vegetables than a grey and brown plate of meat and potatoes!

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

When the medical team had me on a vegetarian diet, I started having instances of abnormal heart rate. My magnesium and potassium levels, along with several other things measured in the blood, kept coming back low or nonexistent in spite of nutritional supplements. I didn't feel well and I slept all the time. They finally concluded that a vegetarian diet would be impossible for me. With my current diet, I find myself with better reserves of energy and better sleep patterns as long as I don't overindulge in the grains (everything is whole grain, but I still don't apparently use it well) or starches (such as potatoes or peas). I seem to have a clearer head and a more alert status for a longer periods of time. Unfortunately, of late my system doesn't seem to handle all that fiber very well. We'll have to adjust our dietary intake again to accommodate that.

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

Mine, as I mentioned, were poor even with careful supervision and dietary supplements. I just don't happen to be one of those folk who can live on vegetables, fruits, and roots alone. They were never able to determine whether that was the fault of the diet itself or more metabolic failure or some other complication but the fact remains: I need to eat at least some meat in order to be healthy. It doesn't help that I'm allergic to most of the protein substitutes like soy and that I refuse to eat Quorn since I found out about it being made with genetically altered materials.

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

I take:

- a women's multivitamin
- potassium
- iron
- flax seed oil (this helps lower cholesterol and provide some needed nutrients since my grain intake is limited)
- borage oil (another cholesterol helper and partial replacement for the heavy greens I can no longer eat in quantity)
- fish oil (lowers cholesterol and provides some of the nutrients I can't absorb from my food)
- primrose oil (helps regulate female courses)
- ginko biloba (helps with memory, an issue not strictly related to my diet)
- ginseng complex (for additional energy, since my body will not use its food sources)
- cinnamon (metabolic booster)
- cayenne (digestive booster)

A few questions you may want to answer:

1: Are you vegetarian or vegan?

No,but honestly if you are it doesn't matter,aslong as you get the nutrients somehow.

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

X

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

X

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 do believe in Animal Rights,but sadly everything in nature is put on Earth for one reason. Some reason is food wise,some is for beauty. I think the fact of eating cows is gross,but it to me taste good. I would become Vegetarian,not vegan. Lets just say i know a lot of crazy vegan's (not saying all are) and eh...

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

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

I love meat,but im slightly anemic,so i lack iron. So i'm a really laid back guy.

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

I never had,well ok once. When I was in CostCo they have booths there. And one was a flavored vitamin stand. It drops into water,and is really good tasting. So if I ever had to take one,it would be that flavored one.