Community: Forum: Vegetarian Discussion
Vegan / Vegetarian Discussion - All Things Veg*n Forum
I've recently decided to become vegetarian for health reasons (just in general not because of anything specific). I've watched a lot of Vegan youtube videos and have learned a lot of interesting things. I don't agree with all of them, but in general there are a lot of good information expressed. I don't think I will become completely vegan, but it does interest me. I currently still think I will eat seafood, local honey, and humanly raised eggs. Still unsure about how to handle special occasions....it's just new to me.
Please bear with me as I am newly mostly vegetarian. I don't want to create or receive negativity.
I have some general questions that I have not seen addressed on most of these sites.
1) What about farms that raise animals humanly? I see a lot of the horror situations discussed (which is disturbing), but what about giving kudos to farms that do it the right way? Even if someone doesn't want to eat the animal, there are plenty of farms that raise their animals humanly. My parents have 12 chickens which free roam and eat scraps. Which to me is as good as it gets. However, I don't live near them so I can only get their eggs when I am home.
2) Hunting and eating wild animals? I'm certain this is frowned upon strongly in general by this community. I do not hunt myself, but I think of wild animals as being more natural for eating. For instance, I have a hobby of fly fishing. Most of the time I put the fish back, but sometimes I eat them. I've always had the understanding of not wasting. If I was to keep a fish I would eat it. I'm probably going to stop keeping fish and in general eating even wild animals, but I don't have the same negativity toward hunting.
3) Kind of a follow-up to the first question. Do many Vegans work toward getting companies and farms to improve their treatment of animals? Rather than completely trying to get people to stop eating meat, it seems to me it would be better to improve the way farming is done. I'm sure there are people out there doing this. It's just that I see a lot of energy spent ripping on other vegans and not a lot of energy focused on improving how farming is done. I'm guessing the Vegan youtube community in general doesn't represent the majority of Vegans (like any other group of people).
I suppose in general I shouldn't worry if I am completely Vegan or not. I should just eat what I think is OK and try to become healthier. But I do think it's been good to realize a lot of mass produced farming is not done properly. I've always preferred food that is wild (animal or plant). Learning about what products are humane and those that are not is good information either way.
I have two young kids who are pretty picky eaters. My wife is willing to eat vegetarian meals though I don't think she wants to be completely vegetarian. That is despite the fact that she doesn't eat veal for animal humane reasons. I'll admit it will be somewhat difficult for me as well to be completely vegetarian. That being said, I think even if I am 90% that's probably a pretty good thing. And supporting farms who are doing things much more humanly should be a positive thing in my book.
Thanks.
Please bear with me as I am newly mostly vegetarian. I don't want to create or receive negativity.
I have some general questions that I have not seen addressed on most of these sites.
1) What about farms that raise animals humanly? I see a lot of the horror situations discussed (which is disturbing), but what about giving kudos to farms that do it the right way? Even if someone doesn't want to eat the animal, there are plenty of farms that raise their animals humanly. My parents have 12 chickens which free roam and eat scraps. Which to me is as good as it gets. However, I don't live near them so I can only get their eggs when I am home.
2) Hunting and eating wild animals? I'm certain this is frowned upon strongly in general by this community. I do not hunt myself, but I think of wild animals as being more natural for eating. For instance, I have a hobby of fly fishing. Most of the time I put the fish back, but sometimes I eat them. I've always had the understanding of not wasting. If I was to keep a fish I would eat it. I'm probably going to stop keeping fish and in general eating even wild animals, but I don't have the same negativity toward hunting.
3) Kind of a follow-up to the first question. Do many Vegans work toward getting companies and farms to improve their treatment of animals? Rather than completely trying to get people to stop eating meat, it seems to me it would be better to improve the way farming is done. I'm sure there are people out there doing this. It's just that I see a lot of energy spent ripping on other vegans and not a lot of energy focused on improving how farming is done. I'm guessing the Vegan youtube community in general doesn't represent the majority of Vegans (like any other group of people).
I suppose in general I shouldn't worry if I am completely Vegan or not. I should just eat what I think is OK and try to become healthier. But I do think it's been good to realize a lot of mass produced farming is not done properly. I've always preferred food that is wild (animal or plant). Learning about what products are humane and those that are not is good information either way.
I have two young kids who are pretty picky eaters. My wife is willing to eat vegetarian meals though I don't think she wants to be completely vegetarian. That is despite the fact that she doesn't eat veal for animal humane reasons. I'll admit it will be somewhat difficult for me as well to be completely vegetarian. That being said, I think even if I am 90% that's probably a pretty good thing. And supporting farms who are doing things much more humanly should be a positive thing in my book.
Thanks.
Responses (7)
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Posted by ahimsa32fa at 01/10/16 06:22:37
GOLGO-
The answers to your questions can be found in the Forum discussions and elsewhere on this site.
Your local library is another source. You can also visit my website for suggested reading...see my Profile.
There are some rather important reasons for moving to a vegan diet/lifestyle other than just personal health...
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Posted by Thalassa4 at 01/13/16 19:18:33
Cowspiracy is a documentary you might want to watch for your questions about fish, or "humane farming."
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Posted by Thalassa4 at 01/13/16 19:38:15
Also, sir, with all due respect, I absolutely MUST address this...saying your children are picky eaters is the most absolutely ridiculous excuse in the world. You are the parent, they are the children. ..there's a very good reason it's easier to teach a child a foreign language than an adult...children actually learn and change much more easily than fully grown adults. While I'm not telling you to bully or abuse your children, they really have no clue if you're buying Tyson chicken nuggests or Gardein veggie chkn alternative. They will adjust, it's vegetarianism, not nuclear war.
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Posted by Thalassa4 at 01/14/16 18:15:05
jlgoesvegan.com/vegan-101-wee-gans-raising-vegan-children/
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Posted by GOLGO13 at 01/16/16 18:06:55
Thanks for the info. Wasn't saying because they are picky that is why I would feed them meat. They don't eat too much meat. One doesn't eat much at all. One is hooked on mac and cheese. I did make a chopped up cashew mac and cheese and they liked it.
We'll see how far I go. There are good farms out there. But finding them takes effort. Eating out is tricky I bet...but lots of asian food has plenty of options. And I love thai and such. Documentaries are good, but they can be biased and don't apply to every situation.
been almost no meat for 2 weeks. Not completely vegan but mostly. Feel pretty good so far. Still I won't force my family but maybe they will by default. And mostly I prepare the food.
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Posted by V3ganFoodie at 01/19/16 13:19:16
My [biased] thoughts:
1. As Thalassa4 pointed out, you should watch Cowspiracy. It addresses the environmental impact of what we eat, specifically with regards to water usage. With droughts ripping through many parts of the world, more thought goes toward how to conserve water with appliances, but rarely is the connection made to what we eat. If we were to remove factory farming and society were to continue to expect to eat the same amount of meat, the devastation of the rain forests, land use, and water use would be worse. It can also be generally more expensive to reward good farmers and sustain the same level of animal consumption before going veg.
2. This is a personal choice and really depends on why you are motivated to be veg. With fish, I am personally concerned with contamination in the water they live in and overfishing concerns if I am eating out. For other wild animals, I am more motivated by environmental reasons (water use for a lb of deer meat vs water use for a lb of lettuce) and health (I can get more nutrition, calorie for calorie, from plants than animals).
3. Some do. Companies are typically more focused on making money and profits than animal or human welfare. There is a reason why so few videotapes of animal conditions exist... there are huge fines and legal ramifications for recording in such facilities. It's also really difficult to get laws protecting farm animals passed when a large number of people are paid advocates of different meat companies.
Do the best you can to cause less harm. People often go vegan for one reason, and stay for multiple reasons. It's natural for ideals based on veganism to evolve based on experience, time, and knowledge.
Out of curiosity, does your wife also consume milk, cheese, etc (dairy)? The reason why I ask is because the dairy industry is the whole reason why veal even exists. If you are interested: http://freefromharm.org/dairyfacts/
I would encourage exploring the plethora of new vegan items on the market geared toward making the switch easier (I crave daiya-cheddar-mac-and-cheese now). Ultimately, plant-based, non-processed will be healthier, but it might help your wife and kids acclimate to this new lifestyle.
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Posted by Woodoo at 02/06/16 21:35:21
Thank you guys for sharing! I feel so happy to meet more and more people becoming vegetarians and vegans ) that could really help to change our world!
