What is your opinion on a vegetarian or vegan diet?

Question

Do you feel that it is healthy or unhealthy? Wrong or Right? Any thoughts welcomed as long as you back them up with some reasonable information.


FYI
Vegan(as a diet)- a person who consumes no animal products. no meat, eggs, dairy.

Answer 1

My opinion is ... I Love being Vegan .. I feel at peace with myself , feel and am very healthy , take no vitamins (except C on occasion) not that I have a problem with anyone who needs to supplement with vitamins .. I eat well 95 percent , but do occasionally eat junk food now and then (vegan of course) ... I like the way good healthy food tastes , looks and smells .. I also feel lucky that I became informed and aware when I was 15 .. I feel vegetarians and vegans are part of the solution for humans as well as animals and our planet .. and I sleep well .. thanks

Answer 2

It's fairly well established that a vegetarian or vegan diet is healthier for the human, better for the environment and a lot cheaper to eat. Having said that - I'm neither. I do eat vegan very frequently, so I've been told I am a 'demi-veg' (though I don't think I quite fit that description either since I eat beef on occasion). I don't drink cow's milk, but I do use cream in my cooking. I have flatmates that fish, and I cook that for them but I'll only eat salmon.

Personally, it's everyone's own choice. Much like religion, some people are going to blow a hissy or be very upset with you for not agreeing with their point of view. However, it's still your choice. I get it from both sides - militant vegs and slightly offended carnivores - because I do what we should all do. I eat what I like!

Note: I do think more people should buy from CSF co-ops or other small producers simply because it is more humane for the animals and you, the consumer, gets a better quality product. I don't want to force it on anyone, however.

~Morg~

Answer 3

I have no facts and am not vegetarian, but many friends are vegetarian and some are vegan. I enjoy vegetarian/vegan foods and have found myself opting for no flesh meals simply because I like the food.
Most carnivores consume way too much protien, while vegetarians and especially vegans need to make consious food choices to have enough protien. I have seen many of my vegetarian friends and a few vegan friends that think it's acceptable to eat way too much starch/carbs and think it's healthy.
IMHO, everything in moderation. I personally love fruits and vegetables of all kinds, raw, steamed, sauteed, roasted, baked. I also love legumes. Personally, I could probably give up flesh, but I would seriously DIE if I had to give up cheese. lol

I can't pass judgement as to right or wrong. Not much help, am I? I know I feel better when I don't overload on anything.

Answer 4

Wrongness or rightness is down the opinion of the individual following the diet, but healthiness or unhealthiness is the same as any other diet - if you don't balance what you eat then it won't do you any good.

Vegetarians and vegans can find it difficult to get the right balance of certain vitamins and minerals but as long as they consume enough of the alternative sources then they won't have any problems.

Meat contains iron and only certain vegetables and fruits contain this, so veggies need to make sure they include things like dark green leafy veg in their diet. Passion fruit contains iron too.

Vegans can lack calcium and other minerals contained in dairy products, so it's important that they make up for this. Supplements can help.

Answer 5

I think that vegetarianism is a very healthy diet. For 1 reason, you don't consume as much fat and oils that belong to other living things.It is scientifically proven that most vegetarians live healthier lifestyles than non-vegetarians I also believe that it is wrong to eat meat for 1 basic fact that you are murdering. As bad as that sounds, everyone that eats meat is a murderer, and i don't mean that disrespectfully at all. As funny as it sound, when a butcher kills a cow or pig...you have to realize that he/she is killing another animal's sister, brother, mother, father, cousin, aunt, etc...Plus I know you must have heard this many times...but how would you feel if someone was killing you that brutally so they can keep their tummies full? Makes you think doesn't it?

Answer 6

I am a vegetarian and I am currently making the transition to veganism.
I am totally in love with being a vegetarian because I feel like this is exactly what my body needs. I ate meat for a long time and since my lifestyle change, I have more energy, I'm more regular, I rarely get sick and I no longer have allergies. (I used to be deathly allergic to dogs and cats). As you can tell, I think it's healthy.
Is it right or wrong? I don't know who can say that one way or the other. Evolution and nature point to the fact that our bodies are really not designed to eat meat. Let's use the lion as an example. Their teeth are designed to rip and tear the flesh of other animals. Ours pale in comparison and are more consistent with animals that eat plants. They can eat their prey raw, as their stomach acid is about 5 times more potent than ours. We have to cook ours because despite eating meat for thousands of years, the human stomach still cannot fight the bacteria that's found in raw meat nor are our stomachs powerful enough to digest it in its natural form. Their digestive tract is about 1/4 of the size of ours - meaning that their food is digested quickly and waste is excreted quickly as well (within hours). When we eat meat, our bodies take days to digest it. Our stomach acid is not strong enough to break it down quickly...as it sits in our stomachs, it literally rots until it passes through. All of those things tell me that we are not really designed to do that.
Again, I don't know if it's right or wrong to eat meat...I do know that being a veggie is right for me!
:-}

Answer 7

I've been a vegetarian (no meat, fish or eggs) my whole life & i love it. i've read magazines on being vegan and there's deffinately pain for the cow's who make milk. I'm not quite ready to give up milk products, but I try not to have to many.

A lot of people think that being vegetarian is just eating lettuce, but there's so much you can make with veggies, grains and fruits - its unbeleivable.

check out these websites:
www.peta.org (or com)
www.cok.net

Answer 8

I'm sure it is leads to a healthier diet all around for most who truly embrace it. I mean the ones who don't do it for attention but are trying to stay away chemicals, etc... as they would avoid most junk food also.

I do not however embrace the whole animal issue as a whole. I eat meat and will continue to do so. I don't think I am a cruel, evil person for doing so. However, health wise, the older I get, the harder I find it is to digest red meat so I have cut way back but not to save a cow :)

I do not like when veggies preach or put down anyone who does not conform to their lifestyle. To each his own. You eat what you want, I'll eat what I want and that doesn't make one of us better than the other.

Answer 9

I feel that we live in America and are free to eat how we please. I'm not vegetarian, but to each his own as long as it's not forced down my throat.