Veganism

Ahem! As a John Seymour devotee and now a fan of Charles Dowding (No Dig) I can say we've been doing our bit for donkey's years in terms of growing our own and being as self-sufficient as we can.

Your farmer is correct but without knowing anything about his land or what he farms/grows, it's not possible to say whether or not I agree with him.

Not all land is suitable for crop production just as not all land is suitable for livestock.

Replying to the posts about the dictionary definition of murder. The Oxford English Dictionary also defines murder as to kill or slaughter animals.

Whether you call it murder or not is immaterial. It involves the death of a sentient creature who does not wish to have its throat cut and hung upside down.

what I've never understood is that if I have a vegan/vegetarian to dinner I am expected to cater for them (which I am happy to do) but they are not expected to reciprocate.

Are you not an omnivore? Is it not acceptable to most meat eaters to have some vegetarian or vegan food? I don't think I know anyone who absolutely never eats vegetables, cereals or fruit - that would be a pretty unhealthy diet.

Assuming your food is not 100% animal products, you don't need to cook anything special - just offer veggies which are cooked and served separately from the meat.

Unfortunately there was an extra large chicken plonked on top. blush and I'm sure I detected a 'tut' grin

Merlot
You should have been with me and MrA in Walmart in Columbus, Mississippi this morning.
They only sold beer and we needed some, er, Merlot.
MrA turned to the gentleman behind us in the queue and asked if he knew where the liquor store was.
He gave MrA a hard look and said in a disgusted tone, “I never touch the stuff!”

janea

I would often pop into a small supermarket close to my mother's care home if she needed something. Unfortunately it was also just around the corner from the school where I taught.

During the holidays the checkouts were often manned by yr 11s so I soon learned not to buy any wine because they would take great delight in calling for assistance by waving the bottle in the air and yelling, 'ALCOHOL'.

granarchistsome people do not wish to eat dead animals and are not happy to cook it either, not hard to understand. My OH always cooks the meat option and I cook the veggie option for guests. If people do not have an omnivore chef available I don’t think it is unreasonabale for them to cook a purely veggie meal. Are you saying you only eat dead animal and no veggies? If this is the case maybe you should inform your host and bring your own bit of flesh with you.

Merlot

So sorry suzied. I stand very much corrected.?
Just off to stand in the corner.

We eat lots of vegetables but from tomorrow until Friday I'll be joining/supporting DH with his pre-colonoscopy diet of absolutely no fruit or veg, white meat/fish, eggs and mashed potatoes.

By Friday night I'll be climbing the walls with scurvy

merlotgran what are you going to eat?
Good luck with the treatment

merlotgran I should have said the point of the farmland story was one farmer looking at a neighbouring farm and commenting that it could be run far more productively and not a monoculture of grazing sheep because HE managed a productive mixed farm almost next door.

Sorry. My post about DH's diet is total rubbish. There's a bit missing.

He can have white fish, chicken, eggs and mashed potato but not fruit, veg, red meat or anything fibrous.

This kind of diet must be hell for vegans. I wonder how they manage?

Thanks for the explanation, Gramaretto.

Who was it who called a halt to wearing fur ?

EllanVannin, I don't know but there's also a call not to wear faux fur too which I can't help thinking is a bit OTT.

Merlot I drank white wine to keep me going the day before mine.?

I won't tell him that, PamelaJ1. I've stocked up on apple juice.

I have heard that about a low fibre diet. It does sound difficult.
I guess a vegan could have the potato pasta and rice.

I eat a plant-based diet and have to have frequent colonoscopies. A low residue diet is quite easy especially this time of year as you can have squash and pumpkin. It tends to be skins and seeds which leave residue so as long as fruits and vegetables are peeled and deseeded most can be eaten.

www.webmd.com/ibd-crohns-disease/low-residue-diet-foods#1

Varian says "I don't think I know anyone who absolutely never eats vegetables, cereals or fruit - that would be a pretty unhealthy diet." (Can't get the ^to work and make italics)

Actually, I did have a colleague who was diagnosed as fructose intolerant. Fortunately, he had had a small office to himself, but even then, through the walls, we could hear his (to put it delicately) digestive problems. After the diagnosis, he had to eat some weird stuff, but it did the trick.

He had to avoid all fruit and veg, most grains - no sugar, of course, in any form. The only vegetable he could eat seemed to be rice. He was very open about it and there were many interesting conversations in the kitchen, especially as he lived alone, but had never done much cooking or baking before.

There were a couple of vegans and vegetarians in the office too, but I can't say that anyone was ever offensive to any of them about it.

Among my colleagues and acquaintances, once it has been established that someone is vegan or vegetarian, the subject hardly comes up again, except on birthdays, when the birthday person usually tried to provide a vegetarian alternative, or some fruit or something. (It is traditional here in Germany for the birthday girl/boy to bring cakes on their birthday, but a cheeseboard is also not unusual).

Poor chap! Sounds awful. I used rice as my staple when I was doing an exclusion diet to find what caused my digestive discomfort. I do know someone who cannot tolerate rice but it seems to be one of the foods that has few side effects!

He's being very co-operative, although he did seem to think sneaking some peas on his plain chicken and boiled potatoes last night wouldn't matter! Ha Ha! He forgets how eagle eyed I am.

We just don't want a repeat of the cock-up during his hospital stay last May when they didn't put him on the correct diet and the endoscopist reckoned bits of celery and sweetcorn were waving at him! It was DH's third colonoscopy which was supposed to be the final, all revealing one but instead, here we are hoping it will all be done and dusted on Friday.

We've had two last minute cancellations so far so fingers crossed!

merlot hope the procedure goes ahead..you do not want that restricted diet again!

I have relatives who are vegan but I do worry that the child, who is a very fussy eater, has a very poor diet. She has to take prescribed medication because she is regularly constipated. This seems to negate the benefit , for this child, of a vegan diet!