Vegetarian vs. Vegan

**IntlMom** · 04-27-2010, 12:04 PM

Ok, so what are your reasons for why you choose to eat and live the way you do?

I have come to the conclusion that eating vegetarian is extremely easy, however vegan is very VERY difficult.

I choose to eat a mostly vegetarian diet largely because of the environmental impact that a meat based diet has on our planet. The amount of water needed to produce just one pound of beef is astronimical compared to how little it takes to grow grains or vegetables.

taken from GoVeg.com:
GoVeg.com // Meat and the Environment // Wasted Resources // Water

"It takes 5,000 gallons of water to produce 1 pound of meat, while growing 1 pound of wheat only requires 25 gallons. A totally vegetarian diet requires only 300 gallons of water per day, while a meat-eating diet requires more than 4,000 gallons of water per day. You save more water by not eating a pound of beef than you do by not showering for an entire year."

But since animal cruelty isn't my big issue (sorrry animal lovers

), a vegan diet just doesn't win me over......

What are everyone's thoughts on this? I'm sure we all have some ideas we could share on why we eat the way we eat....... and we can all learn from each other for sure!

**KeithBC** · 04-27-2010, 02:47 PM

For me, animal issues were the major factor. I became vegetarian because I couldn't justify eating the flesh of any animal. I figured if I couldn't bring myself to do the killing, it wasn't right to pay someone else to do it for me. I also started cutting out non-dietary slaughterhouse products (leather, for instance) for the same reason.

For a long time, veganism simply wasn't on my radar. It wasn't until I found out that most cheese contains meat products (rennet or pepsin) and went looking for rennet-free cheeses that I realized that it would be much simpler just to not eat it at all.

Once I learned about veganism, it made total sense to me as a logical extension of what I was doing already. Giving up milk was easy, since I was becoming lactose-intolerant anyway. I was never a big honey-eater. Wool took longer to give up, because I don't believing in wasting anything. A move to a warmer climate gave me the incentive to unload my remaining wool sweaters.

I really like the health, fitness and environmental benefits of veganism, but they are not my main motivation.

I haven't found it difficult at all. There are tons of vegan resources on the Internet with recipes and nutrition information. When I lived in redneck cattle country, the social challenges were the biggest obstacle. However, we now live in a more accepting community, where being vegan is, if not mainstream, at least not out of the ordinary. One of the world's top vegan chefs lives just a couple of kilometres away and writes a recipe column for the monthly newspaper.

Originally Posted by IntlMom

(sorrry animal lovers

)

Don't worry about it! You are doing a lot more for animals than most people, just by not eating them!

**Palooka** · 04-28-2010, 08:47 AM

For me it just started when I was a child and was very sensitive to where animals came from and I never liked the taste of meat. I only ate very little and in 1997 I started reading a lot on the subject and 2000 I was a Vegetarian. Health was a motivating factor at that time but I started reading more....

Yes, animal cruelty was a huge issue for me and factory farming. And what GoVeg says is very true.

And saying that...I have absolutely no excuse not to be a Vegan.

**MomsaBasketCase** · 04-28-2010, 10:25 AM

For me it was health reasons at first, then it was about the animals. I couldn't bring myself to eat anymore meat based on what I saw animals go through. It was anything but humane.

Then I started researching the dairy industry. I had no idea that by eating/drinking dairy, we support the veal industry. It was heartbreaking to know that. Knowing that rennet came from the stomach of calves was equally disturbing. On top of that, I discovered that dairy cows are absolutely miserable and live very short lives.

The clincher was knowing that the cows are machine milked and can develop mastitis....all that blood and puss goes directly into the milk supply. Pasteurized or not, it's kind of disgusting to think of consuming any dairy products based on that fact alone.

So yes, it was health reasons but I do it for the animals, too. Jumping to Vegan was an easy step after considering everything I've learned.

**Palooka** · 04-28-2010, 10:54 AM

Originally Posted by MomsaBasketCase

Then I started researching the dairy industry. I had no idea that by eating/drinking dairy, we support the veal industry

Yeah...many don't. For a long time I didn't know what veal meant. The baby calf is ripped away from the momma so she can't feed and the little one is a Big Mac. ):

The momma keeps producing milk on and on and the same cycle until she is just to old and she ends in the slaughter house too.

**falan** · 04-28-2010, 12:52 PM

I stopped eating meat because I think it's gross (always was a picky eater

). The thought of it always grossed me out as a kid and as a grownup, I simply stopped eating meat and it was very, very easy.

I've attempted many times to go vegan but always end up failing when I simply can go no longer without a bite of cheese. Then I have the pizza I'm craving and get back on the wagon for another few months till I fall of again.

**RaineyDaye** · 04-28-2010, 01:23 PM

I grew up on a dairy farm, so I didn't think the lives of the cows were miserable. They were out in the pasture, eating grass, and seemed to be enjoying life. I did feel bad when we took a newborn calf away from the mother, so we, the farmers, could get the milk. The cow would run behind our tractor, bellowing, and her calf was very upset, too. Those are images I have never forgotten, but I still didn't really connect it to cruelty. Now that I know what the dairy industry has become, I am cutting out dairy. Since I very recently stopped eating meat, it is taking some time figuring out what to eat. I can't say I'm a vegan, yet, but I think that's the way I'm headed.

**thesightofoneself** · 04-28-2010, 02:30 PM

i'm a vegan because i dont want to eat my brothers and sisters

**Palooka** · 04-28-2010, 02:38 PM

Originally Posted by thesightofoneself

i'm a vegan because i dont want to eat my brothers and sisters

OMG, where have you been hiding?

*pulls and sucks you in and gives you a big hug*

**bast** · 04-28-2010, 03:13 PM

I chose to go vegan mainly because of the cruelty and environmental damage caused by factory farming. I've never liked meat much, and giving up cheese was the hardest part, but it was a lot easier for me after learning about the practices of the dairy industry, including the fact that the dairy industry feeds the veal industry.

I've gotten rid of things like leather and wool in my closet, but because I can't currently afford to replace the car I purchased about a year before going vegan, I'm stuck looking like a gigantic hypocrite with leather seats for a while.

**quiltingmommy** · 04-28-2010, 03:33 PM

I went vegetarian due to migraines caused by eating meat. I do have some vegan recipes I enjoy immensly, but would miss my small-farm made cheese.

**MomsaBasketCase** · 04-28-2010, 04:55 PM

Originally Posted by quiltingmommy

I went vegetarian due to migraines caused by eating meat. I do have some vegan recipes I enjoy immensly, but would miss my small-farm made cheese.

Interesting about the migraines...That's one of the first things I noticed when I went Vegan was that my migraines stopped entirely! I haven't had one in 6 weeks and that's a personal record lol

**Teresa T** · 04-28-2010, 08:08 PM

I was a half baked vegetarian through much of my 20's went vegetarian for good at 32 and went vegan over 4 years ago. I'll be 50 next month. Going vegan is one of the best things I ever did. I did it for the animals. It was after my first Thanksgiving Celebration FOR The Turkeys at Farm Sanctuary. I find it easy for myself and have never looked back.

I'm quiet about the fact that I'm vegan. I don't look like one anyway. Only one person at work knows I'm vegan.

So yes, in summary I did it for the animals and this planet. This planet makes me sadder every day. What we are doing to it. At times I worry about the suffering of animals and wonder what animal is waiting to be slaughtered and what fear they are feeling.

I find being vegan can be very isolating. But I never fit in well anyway so it's just one more thing.

**Dancing Lotus** · 04-29-2010, 07:30 PM

I'm worried about what our world is coming too.
My concern is about what modern farming practices have come to.
I think if a person does not wish to give up milk then it's fine to do things the old fashioned way. A pasture/ no corn feed , no hormones ever and only milked by hand during season. And yes, that is possible. A farm not 30 miles from me does it.

Ultimately I want to be a raw vegan but I haven't gotten there yet. I have a family to get used to the idea and I have had trouble balancing my diet so it's a work in progress.

**Teresa T** · 04-29-2010, 07:40 PM

AnnK, I think you bring up some good points. In the U.S. we are used to everything being in the stores. Out of season fruits available instead of buying local and in season. Many of these things are imported from far away and great energy use.

I worry every day, including my own foot print. More and more of what I see makes me sad.