Anyone here vegan?

[?SYNTAX ERROR]

If you're vegan, please say so here so we can be friends!!!

Please, no ridicule or debate here. Thank you.

 

[About_to_Go]

I cut out meat and dairy a few weeks ago and I've never worn genuine fur. The only thing I don't do that vegans do is check if deodorant, shampoo, toothpaste etc. is made without testing on animals. Maybe I should though

 

[?SYNTAX ERROR]

I cut out meat and dairy a few weeks ago and I've never worn genuine fur. The only thing I don't do that vegans do is check if deodorant, shampoo, toothpaste etc. is made without testing on animals. Maybe I should though

Nice! Have you seen Earthlings or been apart of any groups? It can be a hard change for some. It kind of was a hard change for me.

 

[brbr]

Used to be, for 2 years. I still don't eat meat, tho. I wish I could be vegan again someday, but I guess I'll die before that lol. I truly appreciate vegans and I'm happy to know they exist here :)

 

[About_to_Go]

Nice! Have you seen Earthlings or been apart of any groups? It can be a hard change for some. It kind of was a hard change for me.

No, I haven't seen that one. I watched What the Health, Forks Over Knives, and Food, Inc on Netflix. No, I don't belong to any groups. How about you?

 

[Manaaja]

For health reasons I try to be a vegetarian. I'm really poor and too depressed to cook anything so I can't go full vegan. (In Finland all vegetables and fruits cost 2-10 times as much as in America or other countries). Imagine paying ten dollars for one small bell pepper! Spanish bell peppers are unhealthier and more unhygienic but cost "only" four dollars jfl. I also often suffer from emotional eating which makes me not look what I eat.

I wish there were more vegetarian or vegan options in Finland. One cafe in the middle of a city advertised salads. I was hungry so I went there and asked what kind of salads they have. The options were "Fish1, fish2, chicken, mammal meat1, meat2, meat3, meat4 or shrimps". Finns are unable to make salads without filling them with some kind of meat.

Every single time when I go to a food store to buy myself a salad or a bread/baguette, it has meat. Chicken, teriyaki chicken, fish made in Finnish way and that means smoked and rotted to death and left to flies, bacon, kebab, that Greek poop that has olives and I hate olives more than that Finnish poop called Mämmi, shrimps, mozzarella.

I have never been in a Finnish cafe or food store which sells salads made for salad eaters and vegans. (And no comments from other Finns about how there are some vegan cafes in the capital because I live in a tiny town far from the capital.)

 

[EddieAllenPoe]

I've actually enjoyed long periods of time (maybe a year and a half or so) doing a "plant based diet". I actually enjoyed it and I think I saved a lot of money. I've also done long periods of Paleo and "low carb"/carnivore diets. I used to feel really conflicted about which diet to choose because people formed competing "cults" surrounding food. I don't say "cult" in a negative sense. It just seems to describe people's behavior well. I was actually convinced for long periods of time that doing low carb made me feel better and helped me lose weight. I was convinced we were somehow better designed to digest meat.

Anymore, I don't actually worry as much about what I eat. I do this because I feel like my obsession about food became unhealthy. If I tried again though I think I would favor a plant based diet. It's economical and it actually isn't a sacrifice to give up meat. I think historically most people HAD to eat mostly plants because meat was a luxury. If it was eaten at all it was used more like a condiment. I don't think I will be going plant based again any time soon though. Humans are omnivores and I'm not too concerned about squeezing a few extra years into my life. The funny thing for me is that I would try so hard to be "pure" that I think it was almost kind of a dysfunctional eating pattern. I'm not saying anyone here is like that but I was that way. I've learned to just accept I'm going to die one day. I'm not going to be perfect. I ate a hamburger? So what... I really don't need to obsess over it.

 

[Meretlein]

I'm trying to go vegan (or at least I was before I decided I would commit suicide) and the transition is really hard. I've found Thai food to be a vegan's best friend.

 

[brbr]

I'm trying to go vegan (or at least I was before I decided I would commit suicide) and the transition is really hard. I've found Thai food to be a vegan's best friend.

Try to stop eating meat first. Going vegan "cold turkey" is really difficult

 

[Santiago]

Nah I like my meat. Food is one of the few things in life I can enjoy. Not going to limit that.

 

[ArtVandelay]

I was plant-based for around 3 years. I don't miss it...I feel so much better with animal products in my diet. I have the utmost respect for anyone who does it for ethical or practical reasons, but I don't think it's ideal health-wise to only eat plants. Vegan food is very tasty though.

 

[brbr]

Anyone here is vegan only for ethical reasons? I don't see any problem in killing animals for eating but industrial meat production is nasty

 

[JadedGray]

I was for 6 years back when I was 16. I just started a vegan diet 2 months ago for health reasons and I already feel significantly better. I'll probably stick to it this time. I only stopped last time because doctors were concerned about me being anemic and not consuming enough iron.

 

[ShadowOfTheDay]

When I lost my childhood religious beliefs, and became convinced that biological evolution is probably true, I was about 16 years old. Then it occurred to me that if all animals are related, why is okay to eat nonhuman animals, but not humans? To this day, I don't have a good answer to that question. My family made fun of me for going vegan at 16, and I eventually gave it up. In recent years, I've been trying to go vegan again. Meat is not appealling to me at all anymore, but I'll admit to the occasional cheese pizza.

 

[?SYNTAX ERROR]

I'm really happy at the responses in this thread. For those considering it, there are vitamins that should be taken that is usually obtained from animal based foods, such as B12 and b1. Some others too. Plant based protein powders are a must too. Buying in bulk makes it quite cheap. Pea protein powder for example.

 

[Youthanasia]

I was a vegetarian for a long time, but I had to include meat back because a congenital muscular/ligament condition. Had something to do with specific aminoacids.

Never had anything to do with the usual "love animals" thing though. Never cared about that and I actually regard that as a bad reason to not eat meat. I didnt back then because I didnt like meat at all.

 

[About_to_Go]

Never had anything to do with the usual "love animals" thing though. Never cared about that and I actually regard that as a bad reason to not eat meat.

Why is it a bad reason to not eat meat?

 

[Youthanasia]

Why is it a bad reason to not eat meat?

It's my trademark philosophical belief that denying your fundamental natures as a being makes you an inferior creature compared to those who don't. To put it briefly, I believe it's part of one's development to understand and embrace the basic traits that define your existence (nature). I can go deeper about this in other post if you want.

I universally relate this to a wide range of things but notably biological qualities such as ethnicity, gender and genetic inheritances. I'm naturally not one to enjoy a politically correct point of view, particularly those with no scientific background.

The logic for answering your question follows the same line of thought. Humans are this planet's top tier predator, killing things and even ourselves brought us here. While Homo Sapiens is supposed to be, let's say, reasonable, it's proven to be unable to unlearn anything that fulfills one of its two purposes as living creatures (Surviving and reproducing).

Therefore I consider not eating meat of any kind for the sake of not eating meat at all a societal trend with no purpose as societal values subjective. It's worth mentioning that I was yet to develop these ideas while I was vegetarian since I was a teenager.

Before you ask me if I'm a racist scumbag who despises indians or a fascist transphobe, ill save your fingers and say beforehand that I do not promote or practice any discrimination, I don't fight people but rather ideas, especially those I consider to be a waste of oxygen

Now, I'm reasonably liberal and I hardly care about people do with their bodies, nor I'd be an asshole to randomly attack harmless cultural practices such as veganism. I think it's cute to care about cows for example, and to be an activist for them. They're amazing, docile creatures, pretty much huge dogs. But we are who we are because countless humans of our own bloodline have been brutally slaughtering them through millenia.

I'm glad that we live in an age where their suffering is reduced to next to zero. I believe we should treat them well, after all, they earned it.

 

[Divine Trinity]

I am for the most part. It's been about 3-4 years, I don't count when I was homeless since there's a rather limited selection. I still refused to eat meat/fish though. I stick to the origin of the term vegan, while I agree about ethics of animal rights, I'd be lying if I said that was a significant reason when I started.

The social aspect of veganism sure doesn't help with suicide, isolation is bad enough without others thinking you're some bizzare martian that came to Earth to steal their protein...

Don't get me started on the "debates". It's as if you're Al Gore going on Fox News to "debate" climate change in 2000.

Try to stop eating meat first. Going vegan "cold turkey" is really difficult

I went cold turkey, it's not difficult if you're relatively healthy and know what to cook. In fact, I'd recommend it over the transition method if well-planned. it only takes a week or 2 for taste buds to adapt.

 

[HaleyWayMCR]

I've been vegan for almost 3 years now

 

[ZixivaldYrxes]

Vegetarian, but I'm financially dependent on others. If I weren't, I'd be vegan.

 

[dienow]

vegan

 

[LastFlowers]

i WAS once upon a time

 

[dienow]

and why arent´t you vegan now?

 

[nirvana]

I am vegan as well!

 

[Vilthuril]

Yeah I'm vegan. If you're living a life of suffering it makes sense that you'd want to spare other creatures from a life of suffering.

 

[quiet35]

I am vegan for about 10 years now, with some short breaks. My doctor strongly advised me to include some dairy products in my diet so I gave it a try twice, didn't feel well, so now I'm certain in my choice.
The only non-vegan food I eat is bread, which may be cooked either from dairy-based starter or baked using butter-greased tin.

I've made the choice either because of ethical reasons and health benefits. Yes, I still didn't burn the bridges and think my life might be improved.

 

[Event horizon]

Yep vegan for 4 years :)

 

[Nutshell]

I'm trying but quite honestly I have been fluctuating between strict veganism and outright vegetarian..

 

[Spinoza]

I don't appreciate labels. I have not consumed animals for any purpose since 1998. For ethical reasons only.