44 replies to this topic

[loudlove]

My sister has been a vegetarian for almost 4 years now, she turned into a vegan for a few months but I think she has gone back to being a vegetarian. I personally do not like the taste of red meat much or mince or beef/steak etc... and I feel guilty sometimes when I eat it too. I think slowly I'm turning into a vegetarian... very slowly, I still eat fish and chicken and even then I just feel like maybe if I just stopped eating this meat those animals would have a better life. I just found out tonight at the dinner table that the cows living next door to me get sent away to the slaughter house... and I know what people say and tell me but hell I still cant sit there and not feel bad about it. I love animals... I would not like to to be a cow, I sometimes imagine if I was that cow and I had no idea where I was going or what was happening and then my life was just over like that. I know it sounds ridiculous to some people but thats how I feel sometimes. I just feel like there has to be a better way then putting all those animals through suffering... I know you can suppliment iron through eating spinach and lentils and such and you have to be so careful when becoming a vegetarian/vegan not to get to the point where your iron level is so low you collapse (thats what happened to my sister and she was not supplimenting right).

If I did turn full vegetarian I cant say the reaction would be positive (apart from my sisters reaction) I just get told that I'm silly and thats how it is. Well at least I can admit it and not sit there in denial about where the meat is coming from and how it is actually produced etc.

[Fenix]

loudlove, you sound exactly like me before I turned into a vegetarian. I suggest you try it for a week or two, see how it is and if you don't like it give up on it. I think one can't really have a fair opinion on something like this if they haven't experience it themselves.

Anyway the link below is related to this topic, it's a short blog I wrote on a gaming site about becoming a vegetarian;

click! [/nerd]

[zzz]

space lizard, on 30 May 2011 - 03:12 AM, said:

fish don't have the capability to think or feel anything, as their brains are too small. or at least that's what i learned in biology class.

Of course they have feelings! Every living creature which has a brain and a nervous system can feel pain.

Here is what you can read in the FAQ of PETA's website:

Quote

The only meat I still eat is fish. Can fish feel pain?
Research has shown that indeed they can. According to Dr. Donald Bloom, animal welfare advisor to the British government, "Anatomically, physiologically, and biologically, the pain system in fish is virtually the same as in birds and mammals." Fish have fully developed brains and nervous systems and very sensitive mouths. Fish use their tongues and mouths as humans might use their hands—to catch or gather food, build nests, and even hide their offspring from danger. Fish also experience fear. An Australian study found that when fish are chased, confined, or otherwise threatened, they react as humans do to stress: with increased heart and breathing rates and a burst of adrenalin.

As for omega-3, you can find it in seaweed, flax, nuts, lettuce, cabbage, rapeseed oil, soja oil, wheat germ oil, etc...

[loudlove]

Thanks Fenix yeah I think I will try it for a week or so and see how things go.

[J_Rob]

I am not a vegetarian at all. I absolutely love steak, and I enjoy pork and chicken as well. It's the diet that I've grown up with. Where I live and in my family, hunting is a really big deal. I have been considering the ethical ramifications of my diet, and I've cut down the amount of meat that I consume. I know that I'm still harming the environment, but it is a small step. I don't ever want to become fully vegetarian, but I have been considering pescetarianism. I really really love fish. Healthy and taste great. Generally when given the option, I choose fish over any other option.

I'm sure that fish feel pain, but I'm also sure that they don't think about pain, or anything. I just can't feel bad about eating fish.

I feel like developing tools to hunt prey was natural in the course of our development. If it weren't natural, then some outside source would have influenced our behavior, and I don't believe that. That doesn't mean that we should abuse this privilege, and I will certainly never tell a vegetarian that what he is doing is wrong; I find it admirable. What upsets me is when vegetarians think that I am an ignoramus that has obviously never considered the issue before and that their mindset is the only correct one. Anyway, I try to eat less to do my part, but I'm not really big on ideologies anyway.