Is it a good idea to become a vegatarian?

Question

I'm thinking about becoming a vegatarian, because when I really look at an animal I think that it deserves a chance to live just like us, and I just wanted to know how would I get protein that meat gives us, and If I became a vegatrian would I like be unhealthy? Give me your honest opinion!

Answer 1

Knowledge of healthy vegetarian diets is easy to obtain and follow. A balanced and varied diet is key.

EVERYTHING has protein in it. =) Eating stuff like twinkies is the only way to miss out on protein. Beans, peas, lentils, nuts, seed and even some pastas are VERY high in protein. If you eat a balanced diet and only eat junk food less that a couple times a week, you will never be deficient in protein.

There have been vegan Olympic gold medalists and a vegan woman can create an ENTIRELY NEW,HEALTHY HUMAN BEING INSIDE OF HER. Many of these children stay vegan and grow up to be perfectly healthy adults. So just keep yourself educated about what you eat and don't let anyone tell you that a veg diet is lacking anything essential.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Lewis
http://www.eatright.org/cps/rde/xchg/ada/hs.xsl/advocacy_933_ENU_HTML_(Draft).htm

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If you want to become a lacto-ovo vegetarian, the transition should be quite simple. Almost all meats have widely available commercial replacements. All that you have to do is replace any flesh in your diet (beef, pork, poultry, seafood) with meat analogs or just leave it out altogether.

You should keep in mind that a journey such as this can be quite short but should just be the beginning of a longer one to a plant-based diet with no animal products. This is because of the reality of factory farming in which animals that are kept alive to produce milk, eggs, etc suffer much more and longer than animals that are raised to a certain weight and then slaughtered.http://www.veganoutreach.org/whyvegan/
http://meat.org
Some people use the word "vegan" in reference to this idea, but be aware that applying that label to yourself should always come with the inclusion of wise activism and advocacy.http://www.veganoutreach.org/advocacy/index.html
Two extremely important examples of this are that you should never speak to someone about vegetarianism/veganism without their consent and genuine interest or as a comment on what they are eating AND your dietary beliefs should never be used as an introduction or explanation of who you are as a person. Veg*ism should be something that comes up AFTER people get to know you and they offer you a situation that makes it confusing to withhold the information/discussion. Also, if you are presented something that you choose not to eat or you are
ordering food/eating together somewhere/picking the best place to eat.

When you you hold off on the subject until it's necessary and then act like it isn't a big deal at all, people are usually surprised and WAY more interested and curious than if you were to bring it up when someone's eating or just using it as a conversation starter.

A responsible vegan ALWAYS studies the subject of their own health and how to keep their body completely provided for in every sense. http://www.veganhealth.org/sh
To neglect their body is to define a plant-based diet as unhealthy and is the opposite of helping the animals.

Just to clear things up, the vegetarian/vegan diet is not composed of salads, vegetables, fruit and fake meat. Fruits and vegetables are always important but they DO NOT make up the largest portion of any healthy diet.
A balanced plant-based diet includes grains(breads, pasta, rice,cereal), legumes(soy, beans, peas, lentils), fruit and vegetables.
http://www.pcrm.org/health/veginfo/vsk/food_groups.html
http://www.peta.org/accidentallyVegan/
http://www.veganoutreach.org/whyvegan/eating.html
Being vegan can be an art, one whose challenge is to take things that involve the suffering of the innocent and change them into something free of cruelty.

A vegan woman can create an ENTIRELY NEW,HEALTHY HUMAN BEING INSIDE OF HER. Many of these children stay vegan and grow up to be perfectly healthy adults. So just keep yourself educated about what you eat and don't let anyone tell you that a veg diet is lacking anything essential.

Technically the term "vegetarian" does imply that you don't consume anything that comes from the body of an animal that requires killing it. Many ingredients such as gelatin and glycerin are found in many candies, Fig-Newtons, and many of other foods as well as rennet found in many cheeses.
http://www.happycow.net/health-animal-ingredients.html
The best thing to remember is to take your time so that for example: when you are comfortable not eating beef and pork you can then give up chicken when you are sure you can make the commitment permanently.
Depending on your age or reliance on parents or regional options, it may not be best to give yourself a label. The important thing is to do your best to make progress and be committed to your compassion towards animals. Never put your focus onto what you or other people use to describe yourself.

If you meet someone that talks down to people for eating meat, dairy, etc or to you because they think they are "more veg" than you, laugh in their face and tell them they are a disgrace to the entire philosophy. People like this only hurt the idea of veg*ism AND the animals. The point of all of this is to live compassionately and and as free from cruelty as you can, all the while maintaining your health and a positive attitude. People who don't maintain either, need not open their mouths and represent our beliefs.

If you actually choose to read all of this, I hope it helps. If not, feel free to e-mail me if you have questions.

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There is a Japanese analogy/proverb that goes like this, "The nail that sticks up is the one that gets hammered down". People are like this everywhere. When you tell your family that it is your personal belief that animals should not be eaten, they take a look at themselves and it can be subconsciously translated into, "What you do is wrong and I choose to be right."

Your parents have probably been taught a huge amount of misinformation by their parents and their teachers while growing up. You really need to research vegetarian diets and health before you even think about saying the "V-word" in front of your parents.

When you have gathered enough information and feel confident in a vegetarian diet's ability to maintain or even improve health, you may mention to them that you have made the decision. They may be shocked, angry, worried, curious or many other things, but you must NEVER react to their behavior and always stay calm. If they are able to speak to you and respect your choice, please tell them everything and answer all questions. If they are rude, inconsiderate, judgmental, violent, or verbally abusive, refuse to continue any conversation until they can speak to you with respect.

The best advice is to study everything that you can about a healthy vegetarian diet and keep yourself in good shape (better than most people your age or than your friends/family if possible). If nobody that you know shows a genuine, positive interest in your choice, don't give them the privilege of the knowledge that you have gathered. Work your way around any attempts they make to trivialize your beliefs and if possible, go shopping with your parents and buy things that aren't obvious veggie fare. Instead of trying to sneak fake meat into the cart, toss in lentil soup, peanut butter, pasta, fruits & veggies or anything else that you have learned is needed to fill any gaps in your diet.

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I'm vegan and these are some of my favorite things to eat:

Breakfast: bananas, cream of wheat with brown sugar and soy butter, cereal, pancakes or french toast with real maple syrup, vegan "sausage" patties, smoothies.

Snack: BRUSSEL SPROUTS =) no joke

Lunch: VEGAN "SAUSAGE" SANDWICHES, sandwiches with vegan deli slices(Tofurkey is the only one that's kinda funky), fruit, dinner leftovers, couscous salad, vegan sushi, potato or pasta salad.

Dinner: sloppy joes, "sausage" and gravy with homemade biscuits, Spaghetti and Trader Joe's "meatballs" or TVP, lasagna, Thai pad see ew, pad khi mao(drunkard's noodles), pad prig king, tofu+eggplant with basil sauce, yellow thai curry with tofu or vegan chikn and veggies and jasmine rice, Indian dal with homemade roti or dosai, channa masala, aloo gobi, vegetable or minestrone soup, pizza, STEAMED "PORK" BUNS with potstickers or spring rolls, sweet&sour/orange/lemon chikn, vegan pho or wonton soup, baked tofu, BBQ homemade seitan (tastes like BBQ'd ribs)

I use these sites to find recipes:
http://www.foodnetwork.com
http://vegweb.com
http://www.recipezaar.com

Answer 2

Honestly, vegetarianism rocks! Your thinking right, it does deserve a chance.

Although I have only been a vegetarian for about 2 years, I have really not seen any issue with my protein. I seem to be getting enough of it just eating what I normally eat. But if you need more protein, many foods other than meat supply plenty of protein. Nuts, beans, broccoli, greens, eggs and dairy ( if you don't decide to be a vegan) are just a few.

Vegetarianism?! Unhealthy?! Of course it isn't unhealthy! It reverses the effects of heart disease, is way low in fat ( if you don't eat unhealthy vegetarian things), and you have almost no risk of bird flu or mad cow disease. Plus there is a lot more I don't know, but you can research more if you are interested.

I say go for it! =-)

Answer 3

I say no, ı mean where do you cut off the point where you eat living things, plants are also alive, so are bacteria

if you think a certain company is being cruel to animals than you can just start a big boycott against them but there are also companies that are kind to animals, you may want to shift your research this way

but besides that vegetarians can have trouble getting certain things like protein and riboflavin[vitamin B2], Cyanocobalamin [vitamin B12] (which isnt found in plants)

and to those who say vegans are healthier show a medical study with results that are statistically significant showing that meat is unhealthy,( not a study showing that fruits&veggies are healty, a study showing meat is bad)

I can easily say too much meat can lead to high cholesterol along with other things but consuming recommended amount of meat, eggs, dairy products doesn't harm you

nuts and beans are good source of protein

Answer 4

Opinion
no you will be healthy but your making stress for your self
you become obsessed to avoid the meats and the other nonsense.. I'm 67,, V&V is silly in my view.
PETA is now killing the strays and so dignified ,,dumping them in other peoples dumpsters
All of the humane groups complain about the number of euthanised pets they must do.
Knock it off
multi millions of animals die every day
most are eaten by nature, (take a whale and krill) ,,a lot by man
what will you do with all the dead carcases
Animals do not live long lives the stench and disease would wipe out humanity
DID you watch the animal planet last night Did you see the elephant die of thirst ??
Try this point of view
Not eating meat is a disrespect to the many animals who just rot.. they loose the respect to be honored to become part of you,, their molecules incorporated within your cells
Good Luck

Answer 5

You can definetly be a lot healthier being a vegetarian. There is protein in a lot of different foods besides meat. There is protein in anything that's made out of soy. Also beans, peanut butter, string beans, etc. Make sure you get a lot of legumes. The only problem is that without animal fat in your diet you run the risk of being vitamin B defficient. So, take your supplements.

Answer 6

If you eat a variety of foods every day, and you don't eat too much junk food, you should be fine.

I once read that even veg*ans get more protein than they really need (you need roughly 1/3 to 1/2 a gram of protein per pound of body weight), and too much protein taxes your kidneys and depletes calcium from your bones.

And if you are worried about the animals, you maybe should go vegan, as dairy and eggs are the WORST.

Answer 7

If you want to become a vegetarian than that's all up to you. If you're concerned about the treatment of animals then I would suggest that you go vegan. Animals die and are treated just as cruelly for things like milk, eggs, cheese and other dairy products. You can get all of your protein from soy. You should also take a good multi-vitamin.

Answer 8

A balanced diet is important to be healthy.

Most people eat way more meat than is healthy so most vegitarians are more healthy than most non-vegitarians not b/c veggie is ideal -- its not -- but becuase most people's diet is horrible.

If you balance out a veggy diet with some fish, cheese, eggs, nuts and other protein you will be very healthy.

If you go vegan + twinkies, potato chips, candy and a varity of non-animinal junk food -- very unhealthy.

Answer 9

liviepoo - I am a vegan, and I assure you I don't have the runs. Your science teacher is mistaken, because my digestive system works like a charm (and I've never heard that being a problem for other vegans).

Samantha - you *were* a vegan, but you're not anymore? If you know that animals are harmed, I'm surprised you went back. Ah well, your prerogative. 80)

You can definitely be a healthy vegetarian if you try.

Answer 10

Vegetarians are just as (if not more) healthy than non-vegetarians. You can get protein from nuts, legumes, soy products, even from peanut butter. There are tons of good books in the library about vegetarianism, plus plenty of magazines you can find. Good luck...

Answer 11

There are millions of very healthy vegetarians in the world. You can get everything you need from a vegetarian diet. Google the Vegetarian food pyramid.