Vegans?

Agree with your posts paddyann and dharmacat respect for others works two ways.

Yes me too roses et al.

I'm not vegetarian or a vegan but will cater for them if they are a guest in my house, however, I would rather upset them than endanger the orangutans even more by cutting down more of their forest to make £5 notes.
I also don't believe that either a veggie or vegan diet is healthier than mine but have no objections to others believing it.

In this country at least, adults are free to make their own choices within the law (I added that last bit because some forum members can take things literally! ?) Choosing to be vegetarian or vegan isn't always undertaken mindful lyrics though. Just rejecting meat isn't necessarily a healthy choice unless complete protein sources are substituted, especially where there are growing children to be considered. Vegans seem to be better informed. In the words of Yosemite Sam, "Suffering succotash!" (a complete protein dish ?)

Mindful lyrics????

I would never expect a vegetarian or vegan to cook me a meal with meat or fish in it

Finding in it harder to eat meat after watching countrywide especially last Sunday cooking that whole lamb. I do like meat but when I see lambs,and calves I do get sad, stupid I know.
My d is a veggie and has been since she was 16 her class had to do an oral exam and one girl did a speech about animal welfare and slaughterhouses and my d has never eaten meat since.

We have children in all "food camps". I don't find cooking (Sunday meal) difficult. To me it's all in being considerate to their preferences and making lots of sides.

Lots of cheap sides and breads.

I think there is a vast difference between a meat eater preparing a vegetarian meal, (surely we all eat meat/fish free meals some days) and asking a vegetarian/vegan to handle and cook fish/ meat for carnivores. I'm a carnivore by the way.

Each to their own. No one person is right. My sister and neice are vegetarian. My sis cooks meat and fish for her husband and son.
I enjoy meat.
The palm oil issue in banknotes isn't about vegetarianism imo it's about deforestation. I wholeheartedly disagree with deforestation. Doesn't mean I want to eat an orangutan!

I'm a meat eater & have no intention of giving it up or fish. I was brought up in the country & have been around farming all my life. Farmers treat their animals well (on the whole) as they want the best price at market.

I have no objection to people choosing to be vegetarian/vegan/piscatorian (eat fish but not meat), that is their choice but please don't lecture me on my choice.

My DD turned vegetarian for a while as friend she was house sharing with was "veggie", but when she came home she would always eat chicken (family joke "vegetarian chicken") . DD is now back to being a meat eater, just a short blip in life, she missed meat too much.

I have a friend who has been vegetarian for over 40 years but he still craves a "bacon butty"

paddyann cats are obligate carnivores so it would be remiss of your friend if she didn't feed her cat chicken meat. As humans who can easily choose whether to eat meat or not (and should be respected for their choices) we have no right to inflict our lifestyle on our pets who should be fed a biologically appropriate diet for their species.

I must admit I used to take the micky out my "vegetarian" sister who, before coming so, had resisted every vegetable my mother had ever tried to feed her. I think she lasted about 2 years before giving in to bacon which led to a very slippery slope to the steaks.

I have been vegetarian for over 40 years and have never craved a bacon butty.
Vegan lifestyle is more than just what we eat.
When I had the vegetarian guest house, I remember a woman from Visit Britain coming to grade it. She showed me the report and had remarked on the wool carpets. I told her they were not, as it was a vegetarian/vegan guest house, and we did not use wool. She said she would never have known. That wasn't the point. To get the top grading you had to have wool carpets, which is why she put it on the comments. I told her she ought to discuss it with her management, as it was important to vegans.

My daughter in law makes delicious cakes and meringues, using the liquid from cans of chick peas.

Icanhandthemback my niece could feed her cat on dry food ,its perfectly good.Theres no need to give them fresh meat

For those who think that farmers treat their animals well.

www.viva.org.uk/faceoff/pigs/viva-takes-face-around-uk

My youngest daughter is vegan - a recent choice but at age 24 she is old enough to make her own choices and I respect her choice. She says she feels a lot happier not participating in cruel practices to animals. Of course she recognises that many farmers are not cruel but even one cruel farmer or abattoir worker is too much for her. It is difficult to think how I will cater for her when she comes to visit but many middle eastern inspired dishes are suitable.
The thing I have a slight concern about is how we would feed our pet dogs and cats in the western world if humans stopped eating meat. Breeds of domesticated animals and fowl - sheep, cows etc would die out unless kept as pets. There would still need to be farmers or hunters who produced meat on a suitable scale for pet food. What would happen to the landscapes purely kept as they are by grazing farm animals snd possibly not suitable for cereals such as the Lake District? No easy answers but the number of vegans is growing.

I guess strict vegans wouldn't approve of "pet" animals.

I eat lamb from our butcher, we see them wandering the moors before they arrive in the shop. I eat free range organic chicken. I eat free range fish,never farmed. We probably eat meat or chicken twice a week, fish once or twice, the rest is veggie. Our children all had a veggie phase and one of them had a vegan phase. All of them now eat small amounts of meat/fish/chicken.
I'm interested in a vegan diet and way of life. I struggle though with vegans who become aggressive towards those of us who don't share their views and diet. I've seen attacks on people who support animal charities on the basis they still eat free range meat etc.

I've just signed the Campaign for Wool's Dumfries Declaration. Wool is the 'greenest' fibre and is totally sustainable and carbon-neutral. If we don't eat sheep, then there'll be little wool. (And btw, very few ewes are artificially inseminated - ask the tups round here in Cumbria!). Vegans will be using fossil fuels to make all the fibres for their textiles - except for cotton which has ruined the ecosystems of Central Asia with its water requirements. Whither climate change then?

I agree with you wholeheartedly phoenix, a happy life and a humane death are the very least that many of us would like for our food. I'm not a veggie but eat very little meat.
I feel that veganism would be going too far for me as I couldn't imagine not eating eggs or fish. I love dairy and I can't imagine life without it.

Jayanna I so agree with you (09.50). It's the reason I'm not a veggie. I could easily give up meat, but I don't think I could give up dairy, and with regard to animal welfare it's worse than meat production, so I figure if I'm going to consume dairy produce I may as well eat meat. We always try to buy free range meat.

Some families become vegan for medical reasons. If you had a child who, when given cows milk, went into anaphyllactic shock, stopped breathing and nearly died, you would understand why a vegan diet was right for them.

Wool makes me itch.
We can grow flax here for linen, with no additional pesticides, on any sort of land.
Why is that meat eaters feel free to criticise vegans for their ethical choices and then complain when we do the same?
It's meat eating that causes more environmental degradation than anything else.
Organic cotton is very sustainable. Expensive, but I bet most people who eat meat have far more clothes and shoes than I have.
You'll be saying leather furniture is better than anything else next.
The only reason there is leather furniture is because you all eat too much meat.
Somebody on GN must be eating an awful lot of meat as you all say you eat very little.

For the last few weeks I have been driving past lambs frolicking in the fields on my way to work and it breaks my heart as I know what is in store for them very shortly. I am not completely vegetarian yet but eat so very little meat I feel I should cut it out altogether. Please, Durhamjen, can you post the recipe for the cakes made with liquid from tins of chick peas and perhaps all you veggies out there can also post some suggestions for other ways of getting round not using animal products in everyday cookery.

Meringues using aquafaba.

The liquid from 1, 19oz can of Unsalted Chickpeas (about 1 cup of liquid)
½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
¼ teaspoon Cream of Tartar
¾ Cup White Sugar

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 200F (100C).
Pour out the liquid from the can of chickpeas, and add it to a mixer bowl along with the vanilla extract and the cream of tartar.
Start beating on high, and slowly pour in the sugar as the beater is running. You may need to stop and scrape off any sugar that stuck to the sides of the bowl.
Continue to beat, stopping every now and then to check the meringue. When stiff peaks hold in the meringue without it collapsing, they are ready. It took me about 6 to 6½ minutes to reach the stiff peaks.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and use small dots of meringue to hold the parchment paper down if needed.
Use a pastry bag, or a spoon to dollop on the meringue into even mounds.
Bake for 1½ to 2¼ hours, rotating the pans half way through. Now it's a little difficult to tell exactly when they are done, and I really racked my brain on how to share this information, but there is not much of a visual cue, so you are going to have to go with your gut a little on this one. If the meringues are small or you want a chewy center, opt for less time. If they are large or you prefer a meringue that is crunchy all the way through, opt for more time. It's not very easy to tell when they are ready just by look, so the best way is if you are able to take one out of the oven, (carefully tear a piece of parchment off with a meringue on it) let it cool, and see if it's are the correct texture. If it is, take the rest out of the oven. If not, bake longer. When they are ready let them cook and enjoy!
Store in a cool dry place. They are best eaten that day, but if your environment is very dry (not humid), they can last a few days.