Who else is a vegetarian here?

[Winston]

Check this out. Bill Clinton talks about how he lost 24 pounds after becoming a vegan! How do you explain that?

[davidscamron]

I am pure vegetarian. I don't like non-ways. I never touch the non-ways things. I surprise when people eat non vegetarian food. How they eat. Bur there is also a truth that 70% people of world is non vegetarian.

[Winston]

Everyone's body is different. Some do well on vegetarian diets. And some don't. I would think that vegetarianism is conducive to a spiritual lifestyle though. Some say that it contributes to a higher quality spiritual life, whereas meat eating is bad for spirituality.

Question to other vegetarians: How do you compensate for the lack of protein in your diet? Are eggs, beans and vitamins enough to compensate for the loss of protein?

[Jackal]

Everyone's body is different. Some do well on vegetarian diets. And some don't. I would think that vegetarianism is conducive to a spiritual lifestyle though. Some say that it contributes to a higher quality spiritual life, whereas meat eating is bad for spirituality.

Question to other vegetarians: How do you compensate for the lack of protein in your diet? Are eggs, beans and vitamins enough to compensate for the loss of protein?

Your protein needs depend on your activity level and what type of exercise you do. If you just do endurance exercise, you'll need more protein than a sedentary person. If you lift weights seriously, you'll need a lot more. There have been quite a few successful vegetarian endurance athletes, but very few successful vegetarian strength athletes.

Winston, since you don't exercise, I don't think you need to worry too much about getting "enough protein"! lol
If I were you, I would be more concerned with eating less total calories in general.

However, what vegetarians CAN'T get from their diets is vitamin B12, so be sure to take a multivitamin which has 100% of the RDA of B12 in it.

As far as spirituality goes, the value of your actions is highly determined by your motivations for doing them. For example, I don't think that some attention-whore yuppie who is being vegan just to be exotic and high-maintenance is very spiritual at all. Whereas a Christian monk who has dedicated his life to the service of others and who happens to eat meat is a lot more spiritual than the yuppie mention above!

If a person is a vegetarian because he really cares about animals, then great, he should do it. It could be a positive thing for him. But a person shouldn't be a vegetarian just to get attention (but going to vegetarian restaurants to meet women is just fine! lol).

Hindus see different animals as being more important than others, but Buddhists see all animals (whether cows or cockroaches) as being equal. So the reality is that harvesting vegetables kills thousands of insects, so EVERY human being is indirectly responsible for the killing of at least some animals. Suffering and killing are often unavoidable consequences of living. All we can do is to try to minimize them the best we can and be kind to others.

[Winston]

This disturbing documentary film is guaranteed to turn anyone into a vegetarian! Please watch and pass on.

Earthlings (2005) - Using hidden cameras and never-before-seen footage, EARTHLINGS chronicles the day-to-day practices of the largest industries in the world, all of which rely entirely on animals for profit.



Raving reviews on IMDB:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0358456/reviews

[Jackal]

Earthlings (2005) - This disturbing documentary film is guaranteed to turn anyone into a vegetarian!

I have seen the trailer for this, and yes, these practices are unethical and disgusting.

However, turning into the a vegetarian is not the only solution. Another response is to have countries implement stricter laws which would make it illegal to torture animals in this manner. If there are slaughterhouses, then they should be more ethical and give animals adequate living conditions and kill them very quickly.

[Winston]

Earthlings (2005) - This disturbing documentary film is guaranteed to turn anyone into a vegetarian!

I have seen the trailer for this, and yes, these practices are unethical and disgusting.

However, turning into the a vegetarian is not the only solution. Another response is to have countries implement stricter laws which would make it illegal to torture animals in this manner. If there are slaughterhouses, then they should be more ethical and give animals adequate living conditions and kill them very quickly.

Well just watch the whole documentary and comment afterward. It will give you an electric truth shock about what is going on. Everyone needs to see it to know the truth about where their meat comes from.

[MrPeabody]

The Dalits in India are actively campaigning against vegetarianism in India. “Dalit� is the word for “untouchables� in the Indian Caste system. Dalits were discriminated against for centuries and subject to routine violence from vegetarian upper caste Hindus who saw them as unclean because they eat meat. Dalits who have been the victims of extreme violence have an interesting perspective – they see vegetarians as violent and cruel, and not peaceful like in the West.

“This month a group of Dalit (or Untouchables, as they were formerly labelled) students organised a Beef Festival in Osmania University of Hyderabad. It was the festival to assert their culinary rights in public and make a political statement of dietary habits of Dalits and Muslims – by cooking and eating beef Biryani on campus.

About 2000 students participated and although it started out well, the festival was disrupted and students were attacked by right-wing Hindu fascists. The Network of Women in Media, India (NWMI) released a statement describing how Meena Kandasamy, a writer and poet who participated in the festival, was singled out and threatened with gang rape and acid attacks.

This festival is very significant as some Dalit students have organised themselves to fight against food-fascism, campaigning against the very centre of Brahmanical Hinduism that connects caste with food. Culinary politics and contact with animals play a huge role in establishing purity-pollution rules to discriminate people in the caste system.�

The rest of the article….
http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/04/ ... -in-india/

[Jackal]

Well just watch the whole documentary and comment afterward. It will give you an electric truth shock about what is going on. Everyone needs to see it to know the truth about where their meat comes from.

But the point is that slaughterhouses don't have to be this way! It is possible to design them in a better way and it is possible to operate them more ethically (i.e. killing animals with a single gunshot after they have lived in comfortable conditions). And many more people would support reforming slaughterhouse operations, rather than eliminating them altogether.

But the fact is that creating suffering is unavoidable: Even if you are the purest vegan who ever walked the Earth, you are indirectly responsible for the deaths of millions of insects which were killed while the vegetables and grains you later ate were harvested. These insects are poisoned, crushed, and cut up in machines during farming.

If a person is a vegetarian because of good intentions, that is very good, but it certainly doesn't make that person totally pure and innocent of causing harm to other beings. In the Buddhist view, the lives of all animals have equal value (but are somewhat less important than humans). It's not like in Hinduism in which cows are thought to be so much better than grasshoppers.

It should also be mentioned that vegetarians who aren't extremely careful at reading the ingredients of products may very well be eating foods like vegetable soups, etc. which were made with animal fat which came from slaughtered animals.

And dairy cows are generally slaughtered after they stop producing milk and dairy cows are often kept in uncomfortable conditions, so drinking milk also amounts to economically supporting the suffering of animals. The egg industry also treats egg-producing hens terribly, so that is also unethical by this standard.

http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used ... ustry.aspx
http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used ... ckens.aspx

So unless you are the most hard-core vegan, you are really contributing to just about as much suffering in the world as anyone else is.

However, if more people were aware of these things, we could make these industries operate in more ethical ways.

And a hunter who kills a deer with one shot is far more ethical than all this factory farm bullshit!

[Winston]

Regarding vegetarians not getting enough protein, I brought this up in a Couchsurfing vegetarian group. Someone said that that was a myth perpetuated by meat eaters. Here's what he said below. What do you think?

https://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read ... t=13525404

"Yes, I agree much with Alex.
That "getting enough protein" is mostly heard from meat-eaters and there are no scientific data backing up this idea.

Legumes, beans and peas are probably the best source of protein for veg*ns. If you haven't eaten them much before it may take some time (even several months) for your body to get used to them. Soak them well before cooking and throw away the water. Also Indian spices, like turmeric, cumin, asafoetida, garam masala mix, may help digesting them. Oh, rice & dahl is one of my favourite foods. I often add soy wadi, ie. soya chunks into my dahls and pea sups. They are concentrated soy protein.

Dairy is one of the traps of being a vegetarians. Since the belief of getting not enough protein makes those that cook and eat vegetarian food adding extra dairy in the diet, just in case to ensure that enough protein is got. That is often not necessary, and whenever you consume dairy, you need to check how much fat the products contain. Especially hard, mature, cheeses contain a lot of fat, it means energy that may make you fat. And also remember, many people are lactose-intolerant, so consuming dairy may disturb your digestion. Dairy is not necessary for getting enough protein.

What comes to processed food, even vegan processed food, always be mindful and read the ingredients carefully, see how much the product contains fat and starches (it means easy carbohydrates). And if the product contains gluten (seitan, wheat protein), see how well it suits you. Gluten is protein but many people can't digest it well and again it may disturb your digestion.

Then there are various processed protein products, like TVP, soy chunks, soy wadi, ie. processed soy bean protein. Even tofu falls into that category as well. Opinions vary whether they are good or necessary for us.

And then there are all those protein powders (extract and cocentrates) that sports nutrition shops and some health food stores are selling especially for those that want to buidl their body mass: whey proten is made of milk and not suitable for vegans. The there are many plant based protein concentrates and isolate: carob protein, pea protein, hemp protein. I eat them sometimes but am not sure whether I really need them. Probably not.

I tend to believe that clean wholesome food: rice, mushrooms, beans and peas, lots of fresh vegetables is enough for a healthy body. It is important to listen to our body, what our stomach likes and what not, and from time to time visit a doctor for blood tests. I do it once a year, especially check my iron & B12 level but they also test protein levels."

Someone else there posted these recommendations:

"Heh, it's a pretty old fashioned approach to view a vegan/vegetarian diet in the light of "how can you get as much X as with a meat/dairy diet" There's an abundance of information online as to why it should be viewed the opposite ('how do meat-eaters keep as healthy as vegans').

Whatever your diet, if you wish to be healthy you should find out what is in your food and try to balance it. If you feel your diet is lacking protein you should try to increase the following ingredients in your meals:

Nuts - There's loads of different nuts which are great snacks and can add different flavors/textures to your meals. Peanut butter is also a great source of protein. 100g of peanuts contains about 24g of protein.

Soy Milk - Normally has at least the same amount of protein as Cows milk, and it can often have more protein. A 250ml serving should contain around 8.5g of protein.

Rice - A decent amount of protein can be found in rice, especially brown rice - around 5 grams per 75g serving.

Seeds - Very good for protein, especially pumpkin seeds. Something like 25-30g per 100g.

Lentils/Pulses - A cup of boiled lentils is about 18g of protein.

Beans and Peas - Lots of different types of beans are high in protein. Edamame (don't know how its called in mandarin) are fantastic, about 40% protein.

Tofu/Tempeh - very good source of protein.

Spinach/Broccoli - also good.

Cheese - If you arent vegan then cheese is also very good.

Yeast Extracts - In England and Australia we love to eat 'Marmite/Vegemite'. It's a spread which goes great on sandwiches, toast, or added to meals to give an extra kick to the flavor. It's about 30% protein, but you only need a small amount. It's also great for Vit B 6.

Aside from all these natural high-protein foods, processed stuff such as 'veggie burgers/hotdogs' or soy/quarn mince etc are very high protein meat substitutes.


So long as you eat a good variety of these ingredients you can get more than enough protein from a vegan/vegetarian diet. And if you're looking for gaining muscle you can also buy soy-based protein powder to boost your daily intake... though im not sure if you can get that in taiwan (but if you find any let me know!)."

[MrPeabody]

One problem is that you generally have to input more calories to get your protein. 75 grams of rice is about 250 calories and you get only 5 grams of protein. I eat frozen fish slices that give 18 grams of protein for only 90 calories. Bread and rice are very fattening if you aren’t careful. I am currently at my ideal weight and I eat meat. I think vegetarians who consume dairy products can get enough protein. I think the vegans are going to have long-term problems. There have been cases of vegans killing their kids with a vegan diet and going to jail. I have no problems with a vegetarian lifestyle, but I do have problems with ideologues who try to push it on others. The Dalai Lama eats meat and says he needs it for his health; so many people need to eat meat. It also blows the veggie myth that you can’t eat meat and be spiritual.