Are There Any Vegetarians/ Vegans or Those Who Turned to Be So Permanently in The Forum?

• 

  altomic on 13/03/2016 - 22:22

  +6

  I've been vegetarian for 20 years. Grew up on meat & 2 veg but started to dislike the Smell&taste. Cut down to fish or chicken for 6 months and then went full "no dead animal". So no Allen's lollies (beef gelatine), some creams have gelatine, etx. My 9 year old daughter is the same as me. My eldest will eat meat as well as my youngest, but I won't cook it for them ( except whole breast nuggedts. They eat meat at parties or restaurants or at relatives house. My 2 eldest (omnivore and vegetarian) are boh in the 98th percentile for height. Me veg/middle daughter just competed in district swimming comp and was the age champion for cross country and swimming.

  I became veg because I didn't like killing animals and therefore if I wasn't prepared to kill then why should I eat them?

  I'm pretty tall(6ft) and athletic so people are usually surprised (because they believe vegetarians are unhealthy?) that I am vegetarian. But people are cool about it.

  Eating out is usually fine. Australia is pretty good for vegetarians. Recently in hawaii I noted that vegetarian options were much fewer than here.

  It's cheaper being a vegetarian as vegetables/fruits/nuts/pulses are usually way cheaper than meat.

  Plus vegetables are less of risk when they are "old" compared to "dead animal carcass".

  • 

    virhlpool on 13/03/2016 - 23:33

    Thanks. Bad smell is one of the reasons I tend to have a stronger liking for veggie food. And yes, being a vegetarian or a meat-eater doesn't make the person more healthy or unhealthy or intelligent or dumb. If that was the case, approx 50% of Indian population is vegetarian if not more. In many states in India, it's very uncommon to be a meat-eater.

    Btw, doesn't your vegetarian kid feel like eating meat seeing other kids eating meat? How did they develop different eating habits?

• 

  ant meal on 13/03/2016 - 22:31

  +2

  Yes, I'm a vegetarian.
  Became one in June 2015 after seeing how cruelly animals were being slaughtered both overseas and abroad. Some of the practices were just horrific; you'd need to go to websites like Animals Australia (of which I am a member), just to see how barbaric human beings can be.
  I feel much better, both mentally and physical and only wish I'd done it all my life.
  Just let everyone eat their usual food and order something vegetarian from the menus. The choices can be limiting but there's usually something delicious for the non-meat eaters. I'm enjoying the new foods that I hadn't previously tried.
  There are many recipe sites on the internet just for vegetarians, with lots of flavourful recipes and I'm sure there are lots of forums too.

  Good luck with your choice, hope it's the one I chose too.

• 

  mskeggs on 13/03/2016 - 22:42

  +3

  I eat meat but I find the environmental and animal rights arguments toward vegetarianism are very strong. They just haven't quite got me over the line yet ;-)
  I have many friends who are vegetarian, and quite a lot who describe themselves as "sh*t" vegetarians, as they keep largely vegetarian, but occasionally fall off the wagon and have bacon and eggs or whatever their personal weakness is.
  I have a lot of respect for these people, as even if they failed 10% of the time, they are still doing 90% better than me.

  So I would urge you consider that you can achieve many of the benefits of vegetarianism nearly all the time, while still perhaps participating in Xmas dinner, or whatever meat inclusive meal is holding you back.

  As for vegans. I have a few acquaintances who have been vegan. Their veganism included any products derived from animals, such as leather, honey, eggs, milk, cheese, beer that used finings (which are made from fish scales), foods that included gelatine and more. I can intellectually understand their belief system, but I personally find the approach becomes very difficult, and defines your lifestyle. If that is worth it, then ok, but I find it a bit more like a religious belief or non-rational set of beliefs than a practical approach. And, of course, there are religions with various vegan restrictions whose followers have their own priorities. So for me, the idea of being very militant about veganism makes it hard to find middle ground with people who aren't equally militant. Which might be self defeating if your motivation is to make the world a better place.

  My 7yro is currently vegetarian, as is my sister. We find that we can accommodate their needs almost always within our mixed western diet. Sometimes they might have larger portions of the side dishes and miss the protein flesh, and sometimes we add an extra portion of mushrooms or soy protein or something that gets added to their meal before the meat.
  My feeling is that it is unreasonable to insist on a meal that is completely vegetarian just to accommodate a single non-meat eater, but it isn't unreasonable to ask the cook if they can slightly modify their recipe or the timing of their cooking to help out the vegetarian. Sometimes it is hard, but normally it is pretty easy.

  • 

    virhlpool on 13/03/2016 - 23:40

    Appreciate your response and good to know that you have two vegetarian members within your own family. I thought it's quite uncommon in Australia though.

• 

  Emilia on 14/03/2016 - 09:43

  +3

  Hello :)

  I'm a vegetarian too.
  When I was a kid, I never liked eating meat. I couldn't stand the thought of animals dying just so I could eat.
  When I was a teenager, I knew I wanted to be vegetarian but with my family being all meat eaters it was very difficult.

  Once I left school and started working/going to university, I started to slowly cut out meat over a period of 12 months. The last thing to cut out was chicken and that was very difficult. I still to this day have cravings for chicken which make me feel guilty as hell. During this transition period, I was reading a lot about factory farming and animal cruelty. People online suggested everyone watch the documentary Earthlings. Watching that movie made me so upset, I decided that was it and I committed to never eat meat again.

  My family are very supportive of me. I found two friends at uni that were vego which helped. My fiance gets excited to cook vego food with me eat though he is a meat eater himself. You can't change your family, but if your friends aren't supportive of your decision to go vego, then they aren't really your friends. As long as you don't shove your beliefs down people's throats, then being a vego is great.

  Being vego has helped me discover new foods and new ways of cooking. I find new recipes on Pinterest :)

  Your definition of vegan isn't correct. Vegans don't eat any type of product from an animal: meat, dairy, eggs, honey, won't wear leather, use products tested on animals. The dairy and egg industry is very cruel. I would like to stop eating those foods one day. I refuse to use products that are tested on animals and don't wear leather.

  • 

    virhlpool on 14/03/2016 - 10:41

    Great thoughts. I have corrected the definition of vegan in the original post. Thanks for noticing it. I am of Indian descent and have a few people in my social circle who have been vegetarian since birth, so it has been comparatively easier for me to have veggie diet more often. Being a vegan is a whole different level though. Not sure if I can give up on milk yet.

• 

  darkchoc on 14/03/2016 - 15:28

  +1

  I'm Vego trying to be vegan at some point in the future. I love food and eating out. Have so many non-veg friends and we still eat out socially and enjoy.

  Australia has lots of amazing veggie friendly places and options which makes it easier. Use Google and check out vegetarian network Victoria, and other states have their own. Otherwise use zomato and select vegetarian restaurants. Brunswick st in Fitzroy, Melbourne is veggie heaven! Smith and daughters for South American, Vegie Bar for world, loving hut for Thai, finas for Vietnamese, many many Indian and sri lankan friends and restaurants, shakahari for those delicious avocado magic rolls! And so many more!

  There is so much variety in the capital cities. Obviously, there are some places that will be more difficult e.g. Korean barbeque and most China Town places and i will tend to stay away from events that are less veggie friendly by catching up before or after. Most friends are very understanding and rarely is eating out an issue.

  For the friends that are hardcore carnivore and less culturally aware of vego/less open to a veggie meal, Catching up for brunch is easy and delicious… Avo on toast, coffee, croissant.

  You do have to make a few small changes to accommodate being veggie e.g. research good restaurants but once you find your groove and the excellent veggie friendly places, it really becomes a non issue.

  Some of our meaty friends now look forward to catching up at the next hip veggie place because it is a refreshing change for them.

  Btw, where are you based?

  • 

    virhlpool on 15/03/2016 - 09:23

    Thanks. I live in Sydney. I am sure there are enough vegetarian friendly restaurants though I never explored them specifically.

    • 

      darkchoc on 17/03/2016 - 10:52

      Newtown, and around crown st in Surry hills will be awesome for exploring! Just great cafes and veggie friendly.

      Here are a few of our favorite places (not all are pure veg but are veggie friendly)…

      Haven, nourishing quarter, lentil as anything, suzy spoons, cafe mint.

      I'm sure you'll find your own favorites. And your friends will love trying different places.

      Good luck! And when you come to Melbourne, you're definitely in for a treat.

      Happy exploring

• 

  SySalem on 15/03/2016 - 03:21

  +1

  Vegan, going on 5 month now. Before that I was always a meat eater. I love meat. Still do. Will go back one day, when I can be bothered.

  I became a vegan because I fasted for 15 days (I fasted because…why not? This is a pattern with me hah). When you break a fast longer than a couple days, you have to do it right, and carefully. Basically, I just never went back to eating any animal products. Pretty easy to be honest. Hardest part out of all of it, was actually breaking the fast. Fiddlesticks was it addictive to keep going and not eat. Was weird.

  The only advice I have to help maintain the vegan route, is Vital Greens. It's got all your nice needed stuff so you don't end up bottoming out. After going vegan from a meat eater, after several weeks, your body can out of the blue just get hammered because of the lack of this and thats. Vital Greens helps with that. And is vegan acceptable! Also, it has that kale and spirulina for all those peeps that are keen on those.
  For the social side of it, with all my friends being meat eaters, bar 2, one a vegan and another a vegetarian. Since I still love meat, I just don't eat it, and I love cooking. I have no issues with being around the food itself.
  The hardest part probably comes from the insults, even though it's just friendly banter, it can get to people and bring you down. That's probably the biggest thing I would say. And that depends on each person, as to how it will affect them. Since I do the cooking for the gathering of friends, I end up forcing them to eat vegan dishes without them even realising it until after all the food has been eaten, then I'm all "HA! Chumps! You just had an entire vegan friendly meal, and you already said you loved it!" It is quite amusing.

  How has it changed my life? Life has become less flavoursome for me sadly. I'm honestly a terrible vegan. Life is so bleak and grey. It was like that before I became a vegan though so… heh ^.^"
  For real though, cost of living has gone up. Which is actually a really sad thing with society wise and all. I've been a big gardener person most of my life, so I grow some of my own herb and vegetables, but even then, it's still pricey to eat. Thankfully, I can go numerous days without eating, so it almost levels out! haha :P

  I don't leave my home, so I don't eat out. But I have one vegan friend who frequently does and who also travels to Brisbane, and she usually has no issues. You fairly early on learn the places you can go to that serve our kind with a much more friendly menu.
  For Christmas dinner though it was awkward. I went to a friend's family dinner. Whole thing was meat. I just sat there and ate a whole tomato. I felt like a tomato myself.

  • 

    darkchoc on 17/03/2016 - 10:59

    +1

    For the situation with the Christmas dinner (and being caught hungry in general)…

    Always carry some Home made nut/date/cacao/sesame/coconut balls (many many recipes online for delicious treats) or store bought nut bars. ALWAYS NEED EMERGENCY FOOD SUPPLY!!

    Nutritionally dense, delicious, discreet and if you are caught hungry, it helps to avoid the bad food decisions made when hungry! The number of times these little treats have stopped me going nuts on hot chips or other food i regret after is uncountable.