Why are you a vegetarian (or not a vegetarian)?

Bacon!!!

So long as bacon exists, I could never be a vegetarian.

I am a forced vegetarian…my family are big game hunters, we always have a huge supply of meat in our deep freezer. I love meat! But I am sick so my doctors have put me on a special diet and unfortunately elk is not in it.

I eat meat because I am a picky eater. If I don’t eat whatever sounds good to me at the time, then I simply won’t eat. I am, however, more likely to eat tofu than steak. look at that cut of bean

For hundreds of thousands of years, humans and their infra-human ancestors have been omnivores. I prefer to be what I was apparently meant to be, and see no good reason, other than sentimental ones about the death of animals (we all die, and in Nature we mostly die to feed something else) to change my habits.

I’m both a vegetarian and a barbequetarian. All at the same time!!

I believe one reason animals were put here is for us to eat them.
However, I almost never eat mammals because I don’t want my money going to an industry that tortures animals.
I will eat animals that I know were raised and killed in a humane way, but it doesn’t happen often.

@Likeradar That is why I miss NH. When I lived there, I knew who/where my meat, eggs, and cheese came from. It’s easier to be a “localvore” when there are so many farms (meat and dairy) around.

I know vegetarians who took it up for humane reasons, for religion and for health.

If I had to kill the animals I would be a vegetarian, but somehow I compartmentalize and keep ‘animals’ and ‘food’ apart in my mind.

@jerv Yes, that’s one of the many things I love about living in farm country.

@jaytkay Like this person?

I’m not a vegetarian because I love animals, I’m a vegetarian because I hate vegetables!

I refuse to eat meat because the idea of eating someone’s child disgusts me.
Don’t even get technical or give me shit about this, I’m not in the mood.

@pdworkin I see what you are saying, but I don’t think that just because something is natural that it is entirely good. One could argue that violence is natural, but I know I can’t agree that violence is good. In addition, an important part of being a human, I believe, is the ability to control and rise above natural impulses.

We’re not talking about behavior toward others here, we are discussing our own diets. That’s what works for me. I don’t act like an anthropoid at parties, but I see no good reason to stop eating meat for myself.

I’ve been thinking of becoming a vegetarian for quite a while. I am not going to make the shift just yet, but I’m thinking if I do, then I’d raise my second son as a vegetarian with me (my toddler is too obsessed with meat to take it away from him, I’ll let him decide when he’s older)
Honestly? I’d mainly be doing it because the meat we eat disgusts me. If we could afford the best quality meat, then I’d feel more comfortable, but I just hate the hormones and antibiotics in all our meat. This has nothing to do with loving animals or whatever.

I know we’re not talking about our behavior toward others, but I think it’s a valid analogy. And, for the record, so no one thinks I’m a jerk, I really don’t care what any other person’s diet is because it is a choice.

@casheroo You can do it gradually… it doesn’t have to be an all-or-nothing kind of thing. He’d probably hardly notice if you just started making small changes.

I watched a PETA video about a slaughterhouse when I was 11… I’ve been a vegetarian ever since.

My son is a vegetarian, and my oldest daughter was a vegetarian for about 10 years. I’m glad to cook to accommodate them, or guests. I just prefer that no one try to proselytize me.

@Likeradar Well, he loves his corndogs..but those can easily be changes to veggie dogs. He seems to really love chicken (which I find to be disgusting, of course), so that and the fact he enjoys cheeseburgers makes me wonder what to do. I don’t like tofu, so I’m not sure what I’d feed him.

@pdworkin I’m sorry if I came off that way, because that’s really not what I intended. I was honestly just trying to discuss this.

@pdworkin I find that Indian cuisine has quite a few great vegetarian dishes.

Because I don’t like the idea of being eaten by animals so I thought I might live by example and not eat animals.

This is a hard one, I am a complete animal lover and I am absolutely incapable of killing my own meat, but I do like to eat it. I try to buy only products which are free range, where the creature has lived a good life and dies a humane death. It is not always possible where I live now but that is my goal and I am willing to pay the higher price when it is available. Hopefully soon I will be living in an area where this can be done always.

As it was said, we are all going to die, it is simply a question of when. If I come back as a chicken in my next life, I am willing to be someone’s dinner as long as I can run around free and scratch in the dirt until my time comes.

I like meat.

@jerv jaytkay Like this person?

Yep, that’s me!

We’re not talking about behavior toward others here

That depends on how you define ‘others’.

I love animals. They’re delicious.

I am mostly veggie, but sometimes I crave meat.

(I am a poor college student, so I eat a lot of toast and canned items.)

When I do cook with meat, I try to use it more as a seasoning than as the main bit. For example, a ham bone cooked in a pot of split peas makes the whole thing tasty, but reduces the meat in the finished product. I feel that if you do want to eat meat, but also want to reduce your environmental impact, this is the best way to use meat without giving it up.

I do know that I could never be completely vegan; the backbone of my diet is milk, yogurt, cheese and butter. :P

I like alittle of everything in moderation.

I turned vegetarian because I saw a great deal of detailed video footage and read about factory farming and slaughterhouses. Upon seeing the unnecessary suffering that was involved with that whole industry, I decided I didn’t want to be part of it anymore…it just felt morally wrong to me. I was also never interested in hunting of fishing for my own food, so I felt that was just not an option for me. I’ve been vegetarian or vegan now for 16 years and it works just fine for me.

I eat what I want. I’m vegetarian on the days I don’t eat meat.

I have a couple of reasons.
1.) I don’t believe in eating something that I couldn’t bring myself to kill.
2.) It’s not ecologically sustainable to eat red meat. (Something you hunted does not count in this regard. I respect hunting a great amount.)

I am curious though, if you are strictly vegetarian, what is your source of protein? I don’t want to eat cheese and beans all the time and I think eggs more than 2x a week isn’t good. So I would soon run out of ideas.

Meat is yum and it feels good in my tum.
just a little rhyme for you guys

I’m not a vegetarian because meat is good for me.

I am not a vegetarian but I avoid meat where possible and if I do buy it myself then I am picky about where I buy it from because I don’t like the way a lot of animals raised for meat are treated. If I am at someones house and they make me dinner with meat then I will usually eat it and often enjoy the taste (although there is certain meats that I don’t enjoy and so will politely decline) but if I am making a meal for myself then it doesn’t often include meat.

Like my brother says, “if God meant for me to only eat vegetables, I’d have molars up front too. These incisors are for ripping and tearing flesh!”

Well, my mother is a vegetarian, and so is my older brother. So, like some kids do, regardless of whether they stick to it, I decided to be a vegetarian. My decision then may have been just a picky eater one, but because I had a vegetarian cook, it wasn’t like I was really changing my lifestyle (although other family members have always had meat available), so I did stick to it. The reason for vegetarianism has been discussed very little with me. It’s no effort on my part, it’s just the way I have lived. I am aware that people have good reasons, and I should become more aware of what those reasons are.

@stratman37 that sounds like the penis+vagina argument for heterosexuality

It’s very healthy to eat fish occasionally.

@mattbrowne Very true. Fish is the one meat that I don’t avoid.

I was a vegetarian for a few years, but I gave up on it because me being a vegetarian made absolutely no positive impact whatsoever on the meat industry, and I just got so tired of having to study labels all the time for the hidden animal byproducts. Now I’m back to eating meat but I eat much less than I used to before I was vegetarian, and still don’t really like it that much. I would never willingly go back to having to study labels like that again.

I am not a Vegan Vegetarian . I do not eat red meat . I eat some lean chicken and wild fish. I eat mostly fresh fruit and vegetables. I maintain a low Gylermic index. I eat very little saturated fat. I eat Whole Foods, no chemicals or trans fats. I eat salmon ,nuts and berries . I make sure to consume foods rich in Omega 3 and antioxidants .

When I went inside my Uncle’s slaughterhouse at the age of 14, the experience just disturbed me. In addition to that, I’ve always heard stories of livestock being mistreated. I just don’t believe in supporting such senseless abuse and slaughter.

@jerv So right about bacon! :)

I am not a vegetarian but did give it a shot for 7 months. It was great while it lasted but I just couldn’t stay away from beef, fish, poultry and, yes, good ol’ bacon!

I love having all veggie meals regularly. There is this great cookbook my sister just bought for her and her family (including her 19-month old vegetarian baby) which is meant for vegetarians and is also vegan-friendly, but even meat eaters can pick this up and try out any recipe. They all look delicious! The book is called The Vegetarian Family Cookbook by Nava Atlas. It’s def worth a read! :) I leafed through it earlier today and my mouth started watering!

I was raised a vegetarian, for no good reason other than that my parents strive to be different (no institutionalised holidays, particularly not Christmas, no friends, etc). I reached 17 without the slightest morsel of meat passing through my lips (not including the tongues of hormonal teenage boys, urgh).

My boyfriend at the time was Macedonian- a tall, beautiful, guitar playing dickhead. His family had fled war-torn Yugoslavia when he was eleven, and his parents had learned little english. Upon learning that the prodigal son had found himself a girlfriend, they invited me around for tea.

I arrived at their home to the rich smells of something wafting about their living room. His parents were darling, and we had a difficult conversation of nods and smiles. His mother took me by the arm into their backyard, grinning and nodding, to our meal- an entire suckling pig, roasting slowly on a spit above a homemade barbie.

I was desperate to please his parents, who had gone to so much trouble in my honour. I tucked into a plate of the pig, delighted by its salty richness, renouncing every vegetarian bone in my body. They piled my plate up again and again. My stomach bulged, and twisted, and I had to dash to the toilet to vomit. Again and again and again. I spent the night curled on their bathroom floor, as my body reacted to the meat of another animal- an entirely foreign concept until then! His parents regarded me with a certain wariness after that dinner.

Nowadays, I love meat. LOVE it. I’ve done my time and I’m making up for it. Ethical problems aside, it’s bloody delicious. And although my exotic ex was an asshole for whom I moved cities for, only to receive a thoroughly broken heart, I am grateful for his ignorance today- after all, who on earth doesn’t recollect his girlfriend’s vegetarianism when his parents are basting a pig in her honour?

I’m vegan for too many reasons to list. In short, even if meat tastes good or is more convenient than avoiding it, it’s simply not worth it. There are plenty of other foods to eat that don’t involve torturing animals.

@Anemone
I am not a Vegan but I will not eat red meat.
How do you feel about Monsanto getting a bill through Congress which says we can’t grow Organic food in our own backyard? Bill S510.
I only eat fruit, nuts, seeds, vegetables, organic or minimally processed poultry and wild fish.

@philosopher, that bill sounds kind of nutty without reading the details. Also, it sounds like it would make an interesting Question of its own.