No longer a Vegan after 11 years

kjmpde

natural compost from decomposing vegetables - you don't really need chemicals .

Er , no sorry. That doesn’t really work in terms of tonnage needed. I’m afraid you’d have to add what we excrete and our dead bodies to achieve a balance.

Hear! Hear!

natural compost from decomposing vegetables - you don't really need chemicals .

I've been a vegetarian for several years, but eat eggs, cheese and all dairy products. I have no intention of going vegan, my other half is a meat eater who happily will eat vegetarian food, so he has lately bought me vegan food, I've shown him the fat content and other things that have gone into it quite shocked by it, a true vegan tends to eat non manufactured food. This current vegan theme of must become one is yet another fashion fad!!!
My reason for initially becoming a vegetarian was due to animal welfare and too much medication given to them... They deserve a better life as do we all!

Peasblossom

Perhaps I just attract them?

You’re right, most is very unfair. After all, I wouldn’t even know about the quiet ones?

Peaseblossom??

Gillycats

A vegan diet is no less healthy than an onmi diet. It’s ridiculous to say otherwise. It may not be for everyone but it is better for the planet. Also, it’s really cruel to consume meat and dairy. The animals , organic/local/whatever suffer so much. Long gone are the days of smaller local farms and local slaughter. For the vast majority of these poor creatures it’s unimaginable cruelty and suffering. If people want to carry on consuming them in that knowledge and don’t care about sustainability then that’s up to them! But the negativity around veganism is a joke. I can only think people do it to try to justify their personal choices. Why else would you criticise those that chose compassion and kindness over the misery and suffering of sentient creatures.

Well said Gilly

Since when was avocado a “vegan” food? Plenty of non vegans eat them.

Perhaps I just attract them?

You’re right, most is very unfair. After all, I wouldn’t even know about the quiet ones?

I suppose the problem is Razzy, that most vegans/vegetarians aren’t happy just to make it their choice, but feel the need to convert others
Some vegans/veggies might do this, or maybe a few vegans/veggies might do this. But most? Lol

I suppose the problem is Razzy, that most vegans/vegetarians aren’t happy just to make it their choice, but feel the need to convert others. It irritates people to be preached to, especially when you’re just having a friendly get together and you’re criticised publicly for your choice of food and given a lecture,

I’m sure you get that too from confirmed meat eaters. I wish both camps would be a bit more polite. And accept each other’s choice.

I'm vegetarian, though I do switch to veganism when the dairy becomes problematic digestion wise. My daughter is vegan, has been for several years, and finds it very easy as there are so many options now available that it doesn't leave her feeling like she's missing out. She does take supplements as prescribed by her GP, as she did become quite low in certain vitamins just recently.

I wish all the wonderful options were available when I went first went veggie, 40 + years ago. It was eat what's in front of you or go without in those days. Sunday dinner consisted of mash, veg and tomato sauce for me. The only veggie option in most shops was cheese and onion pie, which I hated. It's so much better nowadays.

I suppose the odd thing for me is how strongly people want to put vegans down. So many call themselves animal lovers but happily eat them. There are some great videos out there to watch before calling judgement.

I would recommend that any diet is balanced. Hospitals are full of meat eaters who have ailments. Processed meat is a proven carcinogen. Recent news adds to the growing research showing that meat was a very rare treat and both men and women were hunters and gatherers.
As for the “I knew a vegan who…” stories, I could regale people for hours talking about meat eaters I know who became sick and died. Any diet needs balance to be healthy or you will get sick. I could like on Greggs veggie sausage rolls and get sick, that doesn’t mean a vegan diet caused it.

I’ve been semi vegetarian for 74 years and I’m from a farming family. I do eat fish a couple of times a month, ditto poultry but other than that my diet consists of fruit, vegetables, grains, dairy and eggs. I have the usual aches and pains for somebody in their late seventies but my main ailment is copd from too many years of smoking. Gave up six years ago but should have done it long long ago.
I think moderation, variety and nothing processed is the best way.

There’s research that suggests a lower risk of breast cancer if you have dairy foods.

Take your pick?

Some people suffer lactose intolerance which gets commoner as you get older. I discovered that it was one of the problems with my IBS.
There is also research which suggests a link between consuming dairy foods and breast cancer.

Alison333 it's the same with mushrooms, I hate them and they make me feel horribly sick if I eat them but non vegetarians seem to think they are a staple item for veggies!

My daughter-in-law was vegan for about 3 years (having always been vegetarian previously). She began to feel something was missing and she wasn't as well as she used to be. She's now gone back to eating cheese and feels fine again. Veganism leaves out so much of the various food groups and substitutes for things like milk and cheese are just massive chemical mixes.

A few years ago I started to eat more vegetarian meals (I wasn't Vegetarian though), as I also eat white meat and fish. I started to feel unwell and so tired. Blood test revealed I was anemic. My G.P told me to drop some of the veggie meals and eat more red meat (I thought I was doing the more healthy option eating white meat and fish), and I was put on a course of iron. Since then I eat two red meat meals a week, along with the white meats, fish and vegeterian meals. Thankfully I've not had any issues since.

Alison333

Not sure if this is relevant, but why do so many restaurants assume that if you are vegetarian or vegan, you must love nuts and seeds. I am allergic (EpiPen) to nuts and many seeds and as a vegetarian it can be very tricky for me to eat out!

Almost impossible. I’ve been put in hospital by undisclosed nut milk on one occasion and nut “flour” used for thickening in soup on another.

I don’t quite know why it’s such a blind spot in vegan/vegetarian cafes. It’s like we don’t have to think about what’s in our food because we’re healthy??

There is no carbon footprint for pasture fed animals. It’s mass indoor intensive farming that is a culprit and is also IMO very cruel. Not only that but unnatural. Feeding cows a diet of pellets made from dead animals resulted in BSE. Cows are herbivores and shouldn’t be fed in this way. Anyone who eats meat should make sure it’s pasture fed.

Sorry to disagree with the poster who said vegetarians don't suffer with the menopause - I have two close friends, one of whom has been a vegetarian since her teens and the other was a vegetarian most of her life and latterly vegan, and both suffered horrendous menopausal symptoms. It may well be the case that many don't - but it's completely untrue to say that all vegetarians will sail through menopause unaffected.

Tictacnana I totally agree. I had no menopausal symptoms. It wasn't until many years later that I discovered why...I had been veggie since I was 28.

Not sure if this is relevant, but why do so many restaurants assume that if you are vegetarian or vegan, you must love nuts and seeds. I am allergic (EpiPen) to nuts and many seeds and as a vegetarian it can be very tricky for me to eat out!

Another ex-vegetarian here. I became chronically ill after 5 years as one. After giving up on the NHS, I saw a functional medicine doctor who told me that some people are just genetically not suited to being vegetarians and need a little meat. He said two small portions of high welfare meat per meat should be enough and it was. For me it's about cutting down on meat - some people have it EVERY day and with every meal. Some people can't choose a sandwich without having meat on it. if we all had a minimum of 2 meat free days a week, that would enormously reduce the amount of meat eaten (and reduce the carbon footprint of those animals) without having to give up completely. These days I do 2 days meat, 2 days fish, and 3 days veggie, which keeps me feeling well. And, yes, as a veggie I used to get very depressed - which fish oil supplements got rid of within a couple of weeks.