I've been a vegan for 15 years and a vegetarian for about 30 years.

I still think it is an incredible choice, as there are few things in life that are easy to do that return great benefits and that do good things in multiple areas of life.

Vegan diets have great health benefits and lighten the load on the environment in addition to reduce a lot of ugly cruelty nobody wants.

I get all of that just by choosing to eat something else. How powerful and cool is that?

My diet is filled with tasty food and I don't have to monitor what I eat.

I've avoided all of the diseases that run in my family and I get told, often, that I look a lot younger than I am. My only health problems are old sports injuries. I take zero prescriptions, something many people 20 years younger than I am can't say. I don't even know where my prescription card is. I never needed to use it.

I understand why people bash vegans.

First, it is something different and as we all witnessed in Junior High School anything different is open for mocking by mentality of the lowest common denominator.

Second, there are a number of animal rights activists who are needlessly offensive. Guilty as charged. I've met those people. They are not all or even the majority of vegans.

If you met rich people who were obnoxious, you wouldn't let it prevent you from being rich. You should be the same way you meet someone from any group who is obnoxious.

Look at the facts, not some individual with a problem.

Most of the people on this site are intelligent people who care about the truth, who probably have a sense of foreboding about the future in regards to many trends.

I encourage everyone to learn about vegan diets for themselves, bypassing the dumb jokes.

Just by learning some recipes you can help improve the future for yourself and other people.

End of sermon :)

Or, I can ignore all the evegangelism (I just coined a new word) and eat steak, chicken and, pork...mmmm...bacon.

Yum...

I say everyone should eat what they want and not harangue others about their choices. Nevertheless, that "Vegan Pussy" T-shirt had me laughing out loud, as would doubtless be the case with the vegans I know who have a sense of humor about themselves (believe it or not, they do exist! :-) I even modeled a couple of my characters in my current novel-in-progress on them) once I bring it to their attention. But is it me, or does the character on the "Vegan Pussy" shirt look kind of like a cute, cuddly version of H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu? :-) And what movie is the shirt advertising? I just might want to see it!

Cthulhu is what came to mind when I saw it, too. I wonder if this means the elder gods are vegans?

My aunt is a vegitarian who occasionaly eats fish.

You should have seen how offened the familly looked when I suggested she wanst really a vegitarian.

I like bashing proselytisers who are incapable of thinking beyond the slogans and canned arguments.

Given most 'vegans' dont seem to know, or care about insectisiod life forms just makes it that much more fun for me.

Steve you arent as preechy or pain in the ass about it so I wont be either.

But you said you "reduce a lot of ugly cruelty nobody wants"

So where do you get your produce and how do they minimize the death and cruelty shown to insect life forms that most farmers do?

Incedentally my aunt wasnt offened, she started out as a vegit but started eating fish about ten years into it.

Nothing like a perfectly seared, rare, rib eye steak. Not tooo much fat and lots of blood

LOL at steakatarian! That pretty much describes me too. Meat, dairy, eggs, fish, veggies, occasional fruit.

I raised two pigs when I got my place. A co-worker asked about it yesterday. She's like "You killed them." It was no - my neighbor is a butcher -- he took care of that.

I explained that I named one Ham and the other one Hock.

She got the joke and was less squeamish about it.

I wonder if this means the elder gods are vegans?

The elder gods are humanitarians...and they're getting hungry.

I'm reminded of the "fruitarian" from Notting Hill. She'd only eat fruits and vegetables that fell off the tree, bush, or vine naturally-- that were "dead already." And apparently cooking is cruel, too.

Will: So these carrots...
Fruitarian: Have been murdered, yes.
Will: Murdered? Poor carrots. How beastly!

Wonder where Steve went?

The most zealous followers of Jainism actually are fruitarians. I wonder if they ever consider that a fruit is a pregnant womb. Every nut, pea, tomato seed, or grain of wheat is an embryo.

Ugh! Beastly horrid!

I believe the logo on the shirt is a takeoff on those idiots, the Sea Shepherds. Whatever you think of whales, those people are going to get someone killed soon.

Lujlp;

I'm right here.

First, it is spelled "vegetarian".

Second, I said what I had to say in my first comment and have not responded otherwise. It has been 30 years since I went vegetarian. The jokes everyone thinks they are being witty with are actually far from original :).

I've been a nutrition buff all of these decades in addition to reading about the relation of diet to the other world problems I mentioned.

Given my wonderful experiences with the diet in my own life and what I have learned from reading about it some of the comments just don't make it onto my radar.

I said my piece in my first post.

If anyone is interested in learning, feel free to ask me for a list of books.

It will be the one of the best choices in your life.

You said your piece Steve, but like everyone else in your movment you seem unable to answer the simplest of questions.

And what joke? I just asked how the peole you buy your produce from minimise the horror and pian and death experianced by insect life forms.

So far the only joke I see is you and your unwillingness to defend your position.

But I gota be honest Im not relly that usprised. Every vegitarian I'v ever run across who finds away to extole the "pian reducing virtues of vegitarianism" doesnt give a shit about anything other than kingdom mamillia.

ANd thaks for showing everyone that you are no exception

Hi all;

For those who value educated opinions I would like to direct you to the book called "The China Study"

The China Study was the largest, most comprehensive human nutrition study in history. The China Study was the culmination of a 20 year partnership between Cornell University, Oxford University and the Chinese Academy Of Preventative Medicine. It is the legacy of Dr. T. Colin Campbell.

Dr. T Colin Campbell ( 1934 – ) grew up on a dairy farm in Northern Virginia. For about 50 years Dr. Campbell has been at the forefront of nutrition research. Dr. Campbell is a Jacob Gould Schurman Professor Emeritus of Nutritional Biochemistry at Cornell University. Dr. Campbell has received more than 70 grant years of peer reviewed research funding. He has authored more than 300 research papers and received the Research Achievement Award in 1998 from the American Institute of Cancer Research.

The message of Dr. Campbell's book is simple though it expands on over 730 references from certificate journals.

Eat more animals products, enjoy less health and vice-versa.

The jokes everyone thinks they are being witty with are actually far from original :)

Just like the never-ending promotion of a vegetarian/vegan lifestyle.

Steak!

Why was it named the 'China' Study

And how many animals are n the endagered species list because of chinas habt of eating everything?

Also note the pre packaged turd of knowledge steve droppd by once again refusing to use orinal ideas or answer any questions

"Oh, PS was it a cohort study or randomized double-blind? And do you even have the slightest inkling of the difference?"

Really-who cares? You don't need a PhD to figure out what works best for your own body. Some people respond best to not eating meat, some people respond best to not eating carbs, some people do well with everything in moderation. If you find an eating style that works for you and keeps you fit, healthy, and energized while allowing you to eat the foods that you like, then you're not going to radically overhaul your diet (ie eliminating or adding back a whole food group) just because a new and better study comes out.

Oh, and for the record, I'm a vegetarian. I BECAME vegetarian because I felt bad for the animals and yada yada yada, I STAYED vegetarian because it was so easy-I never once missed eating meat and overall I just felt more healthy. If it was a constant struggle for me--if I craved meat or felt lethargic or it was just super-inconvenient--then I just wouldn't do it. Everyone is different, and you just have to figure out what works for your own body regardless of what anyone else says.

Hee. The "vegetarian/vegan diet is so healthy and moral" argument makes me think of this.

P.S. I'm a vegetarian and wouldn't dream of telling anyone that it's the best diet for you or the planet.

P.P.S. "Futurama" is back, baby!

I wonder if they ever consider that a fruit is a pregnant womb.

I think it would be okay to eat mother and child if they were dead already.

That was a weird sentence.

And now back to 'Everybody Loves Hypno-Toad"

Steve, Shannon, and Numbersix, what do you guys eat for protein? Do you do the fake meats?

I was a vegetarian for 10 years and just started eating meat in February because I'd read so many of the links and things that Amy has posted and I hopped over to Dr. Eades blog as well.. I sort of expected to lose weight, but aside from the few (like 2-3) lbs I haven't lost anything, and I'm not really that into meat.

I sort of regret eating meat again, but figure that if I want to stop, I can at any time, so I'm not going to get on myself about it.

I just worry about too many carbs and doing bad things to my body, so I'm wondering what a typical day/week of food is for you guys?

I know what I used to eat, but I have reservations about too much soy.. so as far as protein goes, what do you guys do?

I really appreciate any thoughts/advice!

I'm not sure if I'll go veg again, but I have been thinking about it lately, because I feel really bad about the animals.. I even had a dream that my dog was being skinned last night at a slaughterhouse... it was disturbing!

Being completly serious here, but most of the vegitarian I know eat shrimp, fish, and clams.

Switching back to snide mode

Hey Steve & any other holier than thous if/when you eat sea kelp(and yes I saw it in a store) how will you ensure it is "plankton free"

luj, I also know people who are vegetarians for moral reasons that have no problem with seafood. I'm not quite sure why that is, but I've heard it explained that it's something to do with warm-blooded vs. cold-blooded animals. I don't get it, either.

Angie, I do eat some of the fake meats (Morningstar Farms sausage patties are good, as is anything by Gardein, and the Tofurkey brand has these tempeh strips I like that fry up nice and crispy on the outside), but I, too, worry about too much soy. But, the good news is, you don't need as much protein as you probably think, especially if you don't eat a lot of carbs. With one protein-rich soy product (like 10g a serving), some beans and/or leafy green veggies, and protein-rich dairy (cheese, Greek-style yogurt, etc) a day you should have plenty. Just don't compensate with carbs.

All hail the Hypno-Toad.

As far as I know there are NO Vegans here on Planet Earth. While it is relatively near by (onl 25 light years), I do not think that any inhabitants of hypothetical planets around it would find the SolTerra system (us) appealing, even if interstellar travel were possible. Here is the Wikipedia entry.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vega

Vega (α Lyr / α Lyrae / Alpha Lyrae) is the brightest star in the constellation Lyra, the fifth brightest star in the night sky and the second brightest star in the northern celestial hemisphere, after Arcturus. It is a relatively nearby star at only 25 light-years from Earth, and, together with Arcturus and Sirius, one of the most luminous stars in the Sun's neighborhood.

Vega has been extensively studied by astronomers, leading it to be termed "arguably the next most important star in the sky after the Sun."[8] Historically, Vega served as the northern pole star around 12,000 BCE and will do so again at 13,727 CE when the declination will be +86°14'.[9] Vega was the first star other than the Sun, to have its photograph taken and the first to have its spectrum photographed. It was also one of the first stars to have its distance estimated through parallax measurements. Vega has served as the baseline for calibrating the photometric brightness scale, and was one of the stars used to define the mean values for the UBV photometric system.

In terms of years, Vega is only about a tenth the age of the Sun, but it is evolving so quickly that it has already approached the midpoint of its life expectancy, as has the Sun. It has an unusually low abundance of the elements with a higher atomic number than that of helium.[5] Vega is also a suspected variable star that may vary slightly in magnitude in a periodic manner.[10] It is rotating rapidly with a velocity of 274 km/s at the equator. This is causing the equator to bulge outward because of centrifugal effects, and, as a result, there is a variation of temperature across the star's photosphere that reaches a maximum at the poles. From Earth, Vega is being observed from the direction of one of these poles.[11]

Based on an observed excess emission of infrared radiation, Vega appears to have a circumstellar disk of dust. This dust is likely the result of collisions between objects in an orbiting debris disk, which is analogous to the Kuiper belt in the Solar System.[12] Stars that display an infrared excess because of dust emission are termed Vega-like stars.[13] Irregularities in Vega's disk also suggest the presence of at least one planet, likely to be about the size of Jupiter,[14] in orbit around Vega.[15]

Thanks Numbersix!

I actually did decide yesterday that I'm done eating meat (not that anyone probably cares!) but it is just what I feel like I have to do and want to do.

If it makes me a vegetarian pussy, I don't mind! Haha!

I have no problem with people not eating meat, my problem comes down to people who are preachy about it.

My aunt justifise it as a combo of the treatment farmed mamals recive vs wild seafood, and the less developed tactile nervous system of the non mamailian marine life.

Kind of specious reasoning if you ask me but she isnt pushy or preachy about the subject and has no problem cooking meat for her guests so /i dont really care

Seriously though - where is Steve he hasnt answered my questions yet

Thanks, lujlp, it's nice to hear from someone who hasn't got a problem with veg people.

I think there are so damn many preachy types that a lot of meat eating folks automatically suspect all veg eaters to be annoying assholes.

I don't like the preachy ones either, they give the rest that aren't a very bad name!

I have no room to judge anyone about what they eat.. and honestly, why the hell would I? It's such a personal choice, I'd feel skeevy telling someone else what to eat or not eat.

a lot of meat eating folks automatically suspect all veg eaters to be annoying assholes.

Been there, Angie. I have had so many people surprised that I'm a vegetarian when they find out. People I've shared meals with that didn't notice. People who offer me bites of their food that I refuse with a polite "No, thanks-- would you like a bite of mine?" When they find out, they're surprised because I never said anything. A lot of those vegans and vegetarians must have a need to talk every damn thing to death.

Even if it was a moral choice for me (which it absolutely isn't), I would have no reason to go on about it like some people do (I answer honestly when asked, or if it comes up in conversations like this). This happens with other things, too-- I think part of it may be the incessant need to have personal choices validated by others. "You need to have children! It's the best thing ever! I have children and I'm happy! If you don't want children there's something wrong with you!"

Same vein, in my opinion.