For the VEGETARIANS?

Question

Are your pets vegetarian/vegan as well?
Also, as I'm a new vegetarian, I've been doing a lot of reading online...and I'm shocked at what actually contains animal ingredients. Cheese? I can't have cheese? I NEED to find a GOOD cheese that doesn't contain animal enzymes.
Even my fave cereal is out- Mini Wheats. Gosh. I'm beginning to wonder if this is doable for me and my daughter.

Answer 1

Horizon and Tillamook are animal rennet-free.

As far as pets, there are some great vegetarian pre-made diets out there for dogs. Dogs are omnivores by nature and can easily survive without meat - with a proper diet. http://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/dogformulas/Vegetarian.html It's completely balanced and you put your dog at NO risk by putting them on this diet. In fact, it may actually help their coat and any weight issues.

Cats, however, are obligate carnivores. This means they cannot survive without meat. The amino acid Taurine, found in meat, is necessary for survival. Cats with taurene deficiencies will get heart problems, go blind, and then die. http://www.petcaretips.net/cat_taurine.html To feed a cat a vegetarian diet, one would have to ensure that sufficient taurine is being supplemented. It certainly is possible, but because of the problems that occur if it is not done correctly, many people frown upon vegetarian diets for cats. Other concerns are that a vegetarian diet may aggrevate urinary issues. So, for a cat, it's generally best to feed a natural omniverous diet. Again, Natural Balance or Evo would be my first choices. Human grade ingredients. No fillers. Properly balanced. http://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/catformulas/home.html

With your new diet, remember to take it slow. It's completely doable, but if you dive in head first and get overwhelmed, the chances are higher that you will fail. Don't stress out too much about it and know that the little bit of extra effort you put towards being a vegetarian is saving a life somewhere. It's estimated that if you go vegetarian, you have the potential to save the lives of a thousand animals in your lifetime.

Any time you are feeling down, visit this site: http://wonder.sitehacks.com/animalssaved.php It will tell you have many lives you have saved by going veg. In a year, it's close to 90 animals.

Good luck to you!

Edit to Molly and others: Frosted Mini Wheats and all its varities (like strawberry, maple, vanilla, etc) contain Gelatin, which is not vegetarian. The only Frosted Mini Wheat product that does not appears to be the Organic one. http://www2.kelloggs.com/brand/brand.aspx?brand=188&cat=cereal

Answer 2

Oh man, Frosted Mini-Wheats was a big blow for me; that was my favorite food since I was a child.

I did find a vegetarian organic version. If you have an organic section in your grocery store, look for it. It is not perfect, but pretty darned good.
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At first, becoming a vegetarian can seem difficult. Your best bet is to take it in steps. When you are comfortable where you are, you can try to remove something else. If something like cheese makes it seem too huge for you right now, hold off for a while... you will be able to contribute a lot more to your cause if you stay veg for the long haul instead of giving up and eating meat now because you gave up cheese. If what you need most is to begin by only staying away from dead animal flesh, then that is what you should do.

Honestly, many vegetarians did not begin as educated as you and went for a year or so before realizing that such things were not actually vegetarian.
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You can have a very bountiful life as a vegetarian once you have the information you need.

*Start by using fake meats. You may or may not want to use them in the long-haul, but they make the transition easier. You can find a ton in the freezer section of most large stores, or in a special section near the vegetables. If you can't find them, ask a salesperson. Morning Star farms make great *chicken* and *beef* strips. YVES makes the best fake *ground* and many great lunch meats. Also look for Bocca products.

*Use regular cookbooks or recipes you are used to. Take out the animal flesh and add tofu or fake meat.

*Buy some vegetarian cookbooks. Some great ones are
"Vegan with a Vengeance" and "Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World" -80 vegan cupcake recipes.

*PETA's Accidentally Vegan List
http://www.peta.org/accidentallyVegan/ Add milk and eggs and you can eat almost anything!

*Dining out? Eat foreign. Indian, Mexican, Chinese (most have tofu dishes), Italian. Almost all of these resturaunts have a vegetarian section.

*Ask. We'll answer.

~Good Luck and Keep Going!

p.s. My 2 dogs, 6 cats, 4 chinchillas and 2 ferrets are not vegan; my 3 bunnies are.
:)

Answer 3

It is impossible to avoid all the things with marginal animal ingredients such as gelatin, rennet, casein, etc. In my opinion, vegetarianism/veganism shouldn't be about being "pure" or "perfect", but about preventing animal suffering as much as possible. I would just focus on avoiding meat products if you are vegetarian (and cheese & eggs if vegan).. the tiny ingredients are so inconsequential that they're not worth worrying about.

Here's some info on veg diets for cats and dogs: http://www.helpinganimals.com/animalsHome_gi_vegAnimals.asp It takes some planning and monitoring to make sure cats are doing ok on the diet since they need taurine.. dogs are omnivores so it's very easy for them to be healthy on a vegetarian diet.

Answer 4

Tilamook cheese is also animal rennet free.

Most cheeses that are animal rennet free say on the packaging.

And neither of my fish were vegetarian. I might look into feeding a dog veg. food, but as I don't have one, I can't really say.

Answer 5

i'm non-veg because of the fact my mothers and dads have been non-veg. yet now when I study a assertion of LORD BUDHHA , I somewhat have just about stopped ingesting non-veg. LORD BUDHA pronounced--- U have taken hundreds of thousands of rebirths on earth. such quite some circumstances those lambs or pigs or rooster have been ur father, mom uncles or infants. Why to consume flesh of ur mothers and dads etc.? Swami Ramdev explains -- while u get offended , u initiate sweating, initiate trembling etc, while u are afraid , u initiate sweating , trembling etc. Why ? because of the fact there r secretions of harmones etc. interior physique. So u can understand what share undesirable secretions take place while an animal is killed . ingesting this manner of flesh is very undesirable for psychological wellness. Now u see such quite some swine/cow/rooster -flu etc are spreading using animals. besides Nature has no longer made us to consume non-veg. because of the fact a non-veg ingesting animal has very long gut to digest it yet v have small one. V don't have teeths like tiger. All non-veg eater animals drink water by making use of tongue yet v drink like cow.

Answer 6

Are you vegetarian or vegan? Cheese comes out of a cow, so it obviously has animal ingredients. Try cereals without marshmallows or frosting.

No, my dogs aren't vegetarians because dogs are natural carnivores.

Answer 7

Most of Sargento's shredded and sliced cheeses and all of their refrigerated Sargento Snacks natural cheese sticks and cubes are made with non-animal rennets.

Answer 8

Some health food stores stock soy based cheeses you could start there. Vegetarism is possible if you really try hard enough.

Answer 9

I think the pet question a very good one, as I'm not sure.

And I'm a vegetarian as well, but I don't worry about enzymes, or anything like that. I just don't eat meat.

Answer 10

if your a vegetarian you can still eat dairy products but if your a veagn you cant. im a vegetarian and i eat mini wheats all the time.