Why do you become vegetarian/vegan?

In ancient Japan, there was an edict against eating land animals due to Buddhism. Eating fish was allowed, and by extension dolphins and whales, since at the time people believed them to be fish as well. However, there was never enough food, since the samurai always took too large a portion of the rice crop as taxes, and food production of any kind never kept up with demand. So many people took to eating "mountain whale", that is, deer, bear, macaques, whatever game they could manage to catch.

I find that most vegans are arrogant, obnoxious sorts who are vegan so they can tell other people about it and make a scene at dinner parties. Your friend clearly longs for a healthy diet but her pretentiousness is currently stronger.

I too want to get in on this moral superiority bandwagon. From this point forward I am a vegan based on the model of ancient Japan. I will still eat meat, but I will tell myself it is "free-range tofu".

:-P

Hey, so I grew up in a republican/strong right community, and everyone was very opposed to the vegan/vegetarian lifestyle. When I turned 21, I went to my first rodeo and I saw the way that the cows were treated. Most of my friends said it was normal and that they are treated great, but it just didn't look that way to me. The animals looked like they were unhappy...later, several horses were actually tasseled and the guys that did that did get criminal charges.

After I saw all of that, I decided to at least research becoming vegan. I did a lot of reading, and I found that it's not actually that big of a change. I started doing the vegan life back in May, and I have not had one animal product since. I eat a lot of whole grain breads, rices, pastas, and eat a ton of vegetables. There are several brands of vegan meats, and my favorite brand is called gardein. They make products like vegan orange chicken, and it is all actually soy, but it tastes delicious. It tastes just like real chicken. I also drink a lot of juices like carrot and orange juice, and I eat a lot of mushrooms, peppers, etc. There are so many delicious recipes.

After doing the vegan thing for a while, I am still 6'2. Before I was vegan I was like 265 pounds, and now I am down to 217 pounds. I kept most of my muscle and my maximum bench press only dropped from 315 to 285. So I didn't lose too much muscle. My blood pressure went down, I feel like I sleep better, and when I have sex my erections are much stronger. So overall, it has been a really positive change for me.

I really like animals, and I don't like to hurt them, but I also get annoyed at PETA. They give vegans a really bad name because of the tactics they use. I feel like they should try to showcase the health benefits of being vegan more often and be less aggressive with the cruel videos they produce. I hate animal cruelty, but I also believe in being a moderate american and not alienating people.

So overall, it's something to look at and consider. Also, soy is actually the most efficient protein for the body because it consists of all 12 of the base proteins, so it can also be effective for strength training.

I'm an omnivore, but I've looked at this question in depth.

A vegetarian or vegan may choose that way of eating for one or more reasons. But regardless of the reason, a happy memory of meat-eating is a powerful thing. When vegetarians/vegans try to create "meat" and "cheese" out of veggies, they are trying to make the transition away from meat a little easier and/or they are trying to find a "socially acceptable" way to eat with others. They still have emotional ties to old eating habits.

To me, it is just silly because tofu isn't, and never can be, a piece of meat or poultry. Just give me a fabulous salad or smoothie. I don't want "pretend meat."

I think fewer people would feel compelled to be vegetarian if they really looked closely at their objections to eating meat, and saw that many of their objections to meat are not insurmountable.

Some choose veggie-ism strictly for their health, believing it to be a healthier choice, either because they do not feel that animal flesh is healthy, or because they have know that the way factory-farmed animals are raised and/or processed -- steps in that process make the meat/milk/fat, etc., unhealthy.

Some feel a deep kinship with animals, and almost feel like cannibals if they eat one.

Others strongly object to inhumane factory farming and factory slaughtering of animals.

Some are convinced that we could easily feed the whole world if we stopped feeding so much grain to livestock.

Others look at the environmental disasters and health disasters that go hand-in-hand with factory farming, and refuse to support it by buying the products of that industry.

A big chunk of the world looks on some specific animals as deities of a sort, and would never eat them.

I've come to understand that different people do better on some diets than others. There are various theories as to why this is (blood type, metabolic type, genetics, body type, sensitivities, etc.). Some feel great on grains, others have to ditch them completely to become healthy. Some get sick and lethargic without meat, and others feel heavy and bloated if they eat it. Some think soyburgers are awesome, and others avoid them because soy depresses their thyroid function and disrupts digestion. And a raw vegan diet has a valuable place in the healing community - I've seen cancer and diabetes and a shingles attack quickly reverse itself in clients at a raw vegan retreat.

I also know that there is a growing number of farmers - professional ones as well as urban and suburban gardeners - who are creating organic and sustainable farms, allowing their stock to roam exclusively on grass, rotating pastures with different animals to keep the fields healthy, and being very particular about how their animals are slaughtered for market, and how the meat is packaged. Animals are not kept in tight quarters, nor are they fed commercial feed/antibiotics/hormones. There are no massive amounts of excrement to channel into ditches where they can leak into irrigation systems for crops (creating those lovely salmonella outbreaks on lettuces and strawberries...). Nor do they suffer as they do in giant assembly-line slaughter houses.

I hope that answers your question, AND gives you some info that might help some of your veggie friends - maybe those who are not feeling their best on a veggie diet will be relieved to find a humane and sustainable option to improve their health.

You've given one reason in your answer. Not all of us were raised as vegan, and went vegan for reasons like ethical or health etc, so in a way it might be giving up something. Personally I LIKE BBQ sauce. And onions. And garlic. And other herbs and spices. I liked meat that tasted like that - I know to you it's probably a cliche that argument about one of the reason meat being unnecessary because of the flavorings and sauces which are made of plant foods, but I have to admit that IS how I ate meat. I don't pretend I'm eating meat if I cook something and use the same seasonings as I used to. When I made a burger into a patty, it's not that I'm pretending it's meat - it's because I'm trying to make it go into a sandwich or burger and not fall apart, although felafals are a traditional food that have been around for a long time as far as I know.

I've tried those veggie sausages once, and it did taste like sausages. But the meat sausages I've eaten have been made up of breadcrumbs and herbs and spices and ate with sauce. But sausages weren't a food I could buy or eat even when I ate meat, and hadn't eaten them for years because they revolted me. Same as a lot of food with meat. And dairy. And I like that I can make a cake and eat the mixture raw and not be grossed out by knowing there's egg in it. But I only actually ate 1 meat. Market something as "tastes like pork" or "tastes like chicken" and I for one WON'T eat it. And if they said it "tastes like fish" I'm out of there (and no, I don't eat seaweed/nori etc).

For "fake meat" no animal had to die for it. And people can still have the food they like. So win-win.

"I grew up in a time and place where dinner was running around the yard at breakfast" so did I. But life moves and things and people change. I was OK with it, but sad that the animal I liked died. I had tried vegetarian "meat" over a decade becoming vegan and couldn't stand it. So I stuck to eating meat. I've accidentally drank soy milk and for that reason I couldn't stop using milk in coffee (it was pretty revolting, and I am becoming more reassured by different brands/flavors etc, but I still haven't gotten up to actually trying some yet). When I went vegan for a long time pretty much all I ate was vegetables and beans and grains (rice/pasta/barley etc) and fruit. Until I got bored and started actually looking into vegan food. And it isn't at all bad. So there it is - I've found food I'm comfortable with eating and I like so meat is unnecessary. And as it's unnecessary I don't want to do it.

i attempted to change right into a vegetarian as an adolescent and had an somewhat difficult time with it because i did not recognize squat about foodstuff or foodstuff. I ate usually area dishes and enable myself get very hungry, so in a kin of avid meat-eaters, it did not very last lengthy. i attempted lower back as an self sufficient man or woman who knew the thanks to cook dinner and devour suitable, and this time it replaced right into somewhat of cake. I did like meat previously I gave it up (seafood replaced into my well known), yet I loved vegetarian dishes too, so as long as I ate properly i did not sense deprived. i replaced into truly shocked through ways ordinary i discovered it. It helped plenty that i recognize cooking, so I spent a good number of time attempting vegetarian recipes and placed a bunch of latest favorites.

i dont like eating feces and blood and i would rather have a pig or cow as a pet than dinner. no suffering needed

Culture is difficult to break from.

i am not but alot of people think its wrong to kill animals and eat them

some biblical reasons maybe too