Well we made it to 3 pages before the inevitable!

We eat meat because we’re designed to.

We have a gut that is similar to other primates, which is mostly evolved for plants and soft fruit. Most animals, even things like deer* and rabbits will choose cooked meat over pretty much anything else. Mostly as it’s a very easily digestible source of protein. Just like most animals like salt and most animals will eat sugar.

The idea that humans are meant or evolved to eat meat is not good science. Humans, like most animals are evolved to live in a world where they take their food opportunities where they can get them.

*This photo claims to show a deer nibbling on bones. It’s often been suggested that they do this (especially in winter months when food is scarce). It was somewhat famous at the time it was published. Anyone want to claim that deer are evolved or meant to eat meat?

Nerdy addendum

while our gut is similar to other primates, we clearly lack the pot belly that the other more ‘strictly’ vegetarian primates. think of Chimpanzees and Gorilla for instance…It’s not clear whether we have a smaller gut because of bipedalism, (a CofG thing) Or because we started to cook meat and had a ready source of protein (unlikely) which shortened our gut, or we evolved from another ape that was smaller and just didn’t have a big pot belly, which made the change to upright walking that much easier to start off. (best guess at the minute)

Thing is; nature mostly has a “ah, that’ll do” attitude. It doesn’t evolve things to be “just right” it evolves things to be “good enough” So, it’s unlikely that or guts developed further than our other primate cousins ie, reduced in size because we started to eat meat.

I’ve always said to myself that if I eat meat I’d have to be willing to kill the animal myself, but also eat any animal, (Cats and dogs for instance) because I couldn’t reconcile how you’d decided to eat one animal but not another.

Whilst maybe I’d convinced myself I was following those rules if actually pushed to do it I don’t think I was.

We then moved house, got a cat and also have cows at the bottom of the garden. They are inquisitive so come right up close to see what’s going on. Having BBQs with burgers started to make be feel uncomfortable, but not enough to stop, just a nagging doubt that what I was doing was wrong.

A few years back I read a succession of articles about how stopping eating beef is the easiest way to reduce carbon emissions, so did that. Within a few weeks of that I stopped eating all meat/fish and haven’t since.

Personally I found the switch pretty easy and don’t miss meat at all really. Interestingly I was recently watching a cooking program where they upturned a bucket of meat and splopped it on the counter. This repulsed me, which came as a surprise as before it just wouldn’t of registered.

dont lie to me or yourself that its an evolution thing.

When I said “we’ve evolved” I was referring to humans, not specifically vegetarians. Your average lion doesn’t consult a menu before deciding on the gazelle tartare followed by the lemur surprise washed down with a nice Cabernet.

We can eat meat, sure. Incisors, depth perception, intestine length blah blah. We can also not do so. Molars, etc etc. We can also think for ourselves and make a choice, that’s what we’ve evolved. Your argument is that “can” and “must” are synonyms and that’s clearly bogus.

Im answering a point another member made

So you were being serious? Well, you’re talking abject nonsense so I suggest you do some reading. You perhaps forget, literally everyone on this thread (who isn’t here to troll) has heard this argument a hundred times over. We know it well.

Maybe you should have stuck a ‘ only Vegetarians can reply’ into the title.

The title is asking why you became vegetarian, I’d have thought it was self explanatory. If you’re not either vegetarian or interested in becoming so, why would you want to even open it? It’d be like me hanging around in football threads telling them how shit I think football is and how they should all watch NFL instead.

(Also, it’s not my title so I have no control over that)

https://www.eatingwell.com/article/2053610/high-protein-vegan-diet-meal-plan/

“High-Protein Vegan Foods:
Many of these vegan protein foods are also high in fiber, include healthy fats and have plenty of other important nutrients to make for a balanced diet.

Beans: Whether you prefer black beans, kidney beans, chickpeas or another variety, this healthy protein provides about 15 grams of protein per cup.

Lentils: This high-fiber legume provides 18 grams of protein per cup.

Tofu: High in protein and calcium, 1 cup of tofu packs in 20 grams of protein.

Edamame: Easy and convenient, 1 cup of edamame provides 17 grams of protein.

Spinach: This low-calorie vegetable provides 5 grams of protein per cup.

Quinoa: Containing all the essential amino acids, ½ cup cooked quinoa has 4 grams of protein.

Tempeh: Made from fermented soybeans, tempeh provides 33 grams of protein per cup.

Seitan: Made from wheat gluten, a ½-cup serving of seitan packs in 45 grams of protein.

Nuts: A ¼-cup portion of nuts, like almonds, has about 7 grams of protein.

Nut butter: High in healthy fats, 2 tablespoons provides 7 grams of protein”

thanks cougar, appreciated. currently having a look through matt pritchards dirty vegan recipe book too.

cheers

Caveat to that post, it was like the second hit on a Google. I’ve no idea how accurate it is but it sounds in the right ballpark.

What do evangelical Japanese vegetarians say?

GET BEHIND ME SEITAN!!!!!!

I came from a very laddish, macho/mysoginist background on a council estate in Newcastle where vegetarianism was something the girls did and we took the piss out of them mercilessly for it. Then I went to uni and met some very middle class environmental and anti-fox hunting activists who persuaded me to tag along. I remember knocking on the door of the now Mrs Daz to go on my first hunt sab not knowing what to expect. It dawned on me pretty quickly that everyone there was a (very) committed vegan, about as militant as you can imagine. So I kept very quiet and without ever considering it before I turned vegan the next day (after a last ceremonial doner kebab in secret). It was a struggle at first, as all I ate before that was a council estate diet of kebabs and burgers, but I can honestly say it was the single best decision I have ever made in my life*. This may be a little political for some, but I found that once I understood the issues of veganism properly (thanks largely to this book – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_Liberation_(book) ) they applied to pretty much every aspect of life beyond the treatment of animals, and pretty much everything I think, say or do is influenced by it.

*Got to be honest and say I had a relapse into vegetarianism for a while when I got a job, being vegan is easy when you’re surrounded by other vegans, less so when not. Fully reborn now though, and quite frankly I’m amazed at the number of people now who are either vegan or veggie. It’s beyond the wildest dreams we militants had back in the day.

I’ve always said to myself that if I eat meat I’d have to be willing to kill the animal myself, but also eat any animal

We know what vegans taste like 😉

Hi my name is Sean and I’m a vegetarian.

My grandad came home one day after doing some work in the local Wall’s factory and declared he would never eat a pie or sausages again after seeing the production process (offal). Once he explained why I took the same path. I continued to eat fresh meat but gradually decided that it seemed pointless eating parts but not all of the animal. So I then started to only eat fish but soon made the same conclusion and dropped that as well.
I’ve been ‘veggie’ for 34 years eating no flesh but still having dairy products. My kids and wife are all carnivores and we all live happily together 😄

gradually decided that it seemed pointless eating parts but not all of the animal. So I then started to only eat fish but soon made the same conclusion and dropped that as well.

Orange peel 😉

Vegans taste like orange peel?

Chicken bones.

I think it’s safe to assume he meant all the edible bits.

Oh, yes,

😉

😆 😆

Confused. Is Dale Winton vegetarian?

I’ve been veggie now since 1973. When I stopped eating meat, the meat industry was at it’s peak of unsavouriness. I worked as a teenager in a butchers shop where cattle were delivered for slaughter, then I had a vacation job at Pork Farms factory, so already had plenty of reasons to stop. What pushed me over the edge though was my vegetarian girlfriend. Since then we have brought up 3 vegetarian children despite her father claiming it was child abuse. I long for the days before veganism became popular when I not only had the moral high ground but also could eat cheese!

but also could eat cheese!

Back in those days most/all of the cheese had rennet in it so wasn’t even veggie 🙂

@dazh, almost everything had some animal byproduct in, not just food. Polos and other sweets had gelatin, lots of everyday stuff had some bit of a dead animal in, it was really hard to maintain a veggie lifestyle. One big plus is that we were forced to prepare food from raw ingredients which given the grim truth about processed food has reaped huge benefits over the years

almost everything had some animal byproduct in

True. I’m still amazed at the amount of stuff that has lactose or milk powder in it. Especially things like crisps and other savoury products. Beer was also a major minefield but is much better these days. I remember the days of having to memorise what was in the animal free shopper book or carrying it with you everywhere 🙂

Early in my veggie journey I got derailed by a yoghurt, I was mortified to find out it had gelatine in it. I felt like such a failure and I let it bother me way more than I should have.

Polos and other sweets had gelatin

If you have a hankering for Polos the sugar-free ones don’t.

Strictly sexual reasons.

A woman who I was dating was vegetarian and had been all her life (she’s Indian). I once told her that I’d try it for a week and never went back.

I grew up in an area where hunting was big and I helped process many dead dear, so I wasn’t very squeamish about where meat came from. But ultimately I did come to the conclusion that if I liked animals and wanted to minimize suffering, giving up meat was the best course of action. So I just never went back (and married the woman).

Environmental impact is a secondary concern, but it came into play more as a reason to stay vegetarian as I learned more rather than being part of my initial decision. For environmental concerns, I think there are a lot more possible ways to mitigate impacts by choosing to eat/not eat certain things.

I’m definitely not perfect in the environmental impact area as I still eat a lot of meat and cheese. I also eat mussels and oysters, having once been convinced that their central nervous systems are insufficiently developed to really feel at all much less suffer and farmed mussels tend to actually be environmentally positive as they are filter feeders.

For you meat eaters (and like me, non-vegans) who are wavering or firmly entrenched, have a read of this

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/apr/13/the-knacker-the-toughest-job-in-british-farming?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

It’s eye opening and heartbreaking. I’ve smelt the knackers truck and I see how many sheep die on a farm, this article isn’t exaggerating

a reason to stay vegetarian

I still eat a lot of meat and cheese

?

3 1/2 years ago I was eating a sirloin steak pretty much every weekend, and loving it.

One weekend there was a sale thing on so I basically got a massive steak dead cheap. I looked forward to it all day and when I finally cooked it, I yammed the lot (when half of it wouldve been enough).

The whole house smelled of dead cow for days and my body seemed to ‘fart’ dead cow into the atmosphere through the pores in my skin for weeks after. It broke me and I never went back. Just thinking back about it to type this makes me feel like I’m gonna barf.

Became veggie about 25 years ago for reasons stated above. Injured myself at Hopton woods DH track in 2018 and was out of action for about 4 months, started listening to some interesting podcasts whilst reclining, namely the Rich Roll podcast (He’s a vegan ex alcoholic ultra marathon runner) he mentioned some Vegan documentaries, Forks over knives, What the health etc.
He also had Wim Hoff on one of his shows… Long story short went vegan started doing the Wim Hoff breathing and cold water immersion technique combined with Yoga whilst I was recuperating and felt brilliant!
Still vegan still do yoga and do the breathing/cold stuff occasionally but intend to get back on it full time as it makes a huge difference to mood and energy levels etc.

My telling the OH how I wanted to cut down on meat maybe eventually cut it out all together has given her the excuse she needs to cook me all the stuff she had previously thought would be too much weird:

Yesterday included Banana Blossom Bhajis – very nice, got my approval.

Today included home made stinging nettle pasta – not at all bad, would eat again.

I don’t think I couldn’t raise animals to eat them, I’d definitely get too attached and sympathetic to them

Geese, bunch of nob heads. Didn’t get attached to them at all.

Found an injured Ewe today, barely alive, eyes pecked out and its lamb trying to get to its teats for milk. Ewe euthanised and Lamb will probably have to be done too. Heartbreaking

?

Oops. I meant “milk and cheese” not “meat and cheese.” The dairy industry has plenty of unsavory parts and environmental impacts, but I haven’t yet gotten myself to minimize my consumption there. My wife does better than me there.