vegetarian attitudes?wrong?

Question

why is it alot of vegetarians feel the need to make everyone else one,
i mean i accepted along time ago that everyone has their own way of doing things leave it to them,
even peta have this attittude of be vegetarian or dont be! like its a club (i know its an organisation)

so its very split..why cant they incourage people to

eat LESS meat

..maybe they do but no that im aware of it would be saving animals lives stil!

is there a certain snobery that goes along with alot of vegetarians,alot of them i know look down on people who eat meat like its disgusting and they should be ashamed of themselves

i mean come on alot of meat eaters think there being ridiculous but there not going around shouting theri stupid in their face all the time

so do you think there would be alot less demand for animals to be slaughtered for meat if alot of people cut down rather than a small minority cutting it out altogether

Answer 1

There does seem to be a little snobbery. I posted a question about honey as i have recently turned vegan. I got replies telling me i should call my self a strict vegetarian and not a vegan which i think is counter productive. Imagine asking for the strict vegetarian option in a restaurant or explaining the difference to friends. It just makes the whole thing seem a little more unappealing...

lacto veggie
lacto ovo veggie
veggie
strict veggie
vegan
level 5 vegan (they don't eat anything that casts a shadow :P)

I think it's largely a self fulfilling cycle... I have alot of people getting in my face about it at the moment with the usual myths and in defending my self and trying to dispel those myths i'm sure i seem a little preachy to some. But in reality im just not quitly taking it on the chin.

There are some snobs out there and i think that while they're a minority they are so much more vocal it seems like there's more of them. I don't like the labels so much but they do have their uses i.e. when eating out etc...

Your right however, it shouldn't be about abiding by a whole set of values and ideals, it's a personal choice and every little bit helps. Think of the impact it would have if everyone replaced just one animal based product for an alternative... milk for soy milk or something smaller maybe.

Answer 2

Try taking an empaticalistic apprach to this question and when you meet someone just pretend you are a vegetarian and casually bring it up in a conversation and you will see a glimpse of what we go through everyday from almost everyone we meet. I find it hard to believe you've ever met a vegetarian because I myself have only met two others in my life and I have moved around quite frequently so I have covered many areas. You base your assumptions off maybe one experience or off stereotypes that other non-vegetarians have put out there. I don't bring it up unless it comes up and I don't try to force anyone to become a vegetarian but if they ask I give them an honest answer. Teaching to reduce the amount of meat consumed sends out a mixed message. Even the concept of a vegetarian diet will change some peoples minds into eating little to no meat but there are always the few that you can't change no matter what and they are the same people that doctors see for heart disease, blood pressure problems, clotted arteries, and obesity. PETA emphasizes a healthy and humane way of eating and there isn't anything wrong with that. There are tons of meat supporting diets that recieve less criticism such as the south beach, atkins, and 123 eat diet. Just because people get upset when they hear their favorite foods aren't healthy isn't a reason to stop educating people about how to eat healthy.

Answer 3

I don't tell anyone unless I'm having to order food or figure out what to eat. However, I have had various people tell me to eat meat or say other obnoxious things when they hear I am vegetarian.

I would believe most of the people have this experience. The number of people that go out of their way to tell people they should not eat animals is probably a low percentage.

Out of the 100+ vegetarian people that I have come across I doubt more than a few go around telling people to not eat meat.

Answer 4

Nonvegetarians. I have the utmost respect for vegetarians (for whatever reason they chose that lifestyle. It is difficult to imagine myself not eating meat). Abstaining from food because the inhumane treatment of animals, or beause it's a drain on our national water supply, or any other reason I have heard or will hear, whether substantiated or not, is a noble thing to do.

From a nutritional standpoint, you cannot go wrong with being vegatarian (I think being vegan is too extreme). However, I also think that certain meats are beneficial. Your body needs fats and cholestorol, after all. Don't try to convince me otherwise. I lost 100lbs of fat, lowered my cholesterol level and stopped my chronic indigestion & headaches, depression, fatigue, and other symptoms of obesity on a high fat diet with no significant change in my physical activity. If this doesn't prove to you that fats are essential, I hope this at least illustrates that fats could be beneficial in moderation. I believe in a diet with variety, including (at least)occasional meats, is the best way to go. I think the line has been drawn across the wrong boundary points. If you think red meat is harmful, stick to fish or poultry. I feel less extremes are sensible (yes, I was exteme in my approach ten years ago, and I would do it differently if I could go back).

If you are vegetarian for ethical reasons, do what you feel is right. However, it has been my experience that the Ethical vegetarians are the ones who can seem at time a little pushy with their ideas as opposed to those who do it for health reasons.

Answer 5

I don't look down on anyone.... Some people are idiots and some aren't, vegetarian or not.
Vegetarians are what they are for a multitude of different reasons.
I have more trouble with the disregard of say... consequences of actions of animal producers than most people... just as others see it as destruction of a living moving being... some will defend their choice because they believe that no one should kill animals, so naturally they are going to voice that. some think that each person's choices are soley their own... some.... on and on and on... I personally don't care what you do... save things like this... example of chicken industry recklessness... yesterday I was reading my new discover magazine... because I'm into health and science to the point I'm a science nut. In college I had to have about four sciences for my degree plan, and I ended up taking 10 or 11. love it... anyway... I was reading about the antibiotics that are used to fatten up chickens and how even though there are better, less expensive ways to do it, this continues because it "is the way it is" and change is a no-no in the normal human mind. However, as superbugs continue to thrive and mutate... it is only a matter of time. It's very frightening to me because I have studied in my life so much about pathogens and having persued a career in the medical field that I have a real awareness of what a single untreatable pathogen can do to us... it's scarry... you're talking massive casualty here... I wish people would undersand more what I mean when I say...."UNTREATABLE"... literaly.
so not all of us are concerned with what you are talking about or can be generalized by your stereotype. some, yes... others, no. take the time to explore the inside of other people's heads before you reason them pointless, who knows, they could be quite smarter than you and be able to teach you something.

Answer 6

Actually i completely disagree, i have never once said to anyone that they should stop eating meat, and what do i get in return? Them criticizing me for eating meat. Also, i'm not a member of peta but i do know that they encourage people to cut out as much meat as they can, they tell you to start slow and eat as little as possible. I think people like yourself think that all vegetarians think they are better then you because maybe self consciously all people who eat meat think that vegetarians are right in the ways they eat and that they feel like they are being looked down upon for not taking care of themselves as efficiently. I have never met a vegetarian that looked down on people who were eating meat, almost every vegetarian once ate meat. People who do eat meat are the ones so opposed to people that don't eat me so i have learned. An incident like this just occurred last weekend. Where a man was telling me how stupid i am for not eating meat. I never said one thing at his cholesterols ridden burger.

Answer 7

I know a few vegetarians are like that. I'm not, but as a vegetarian, we/I get a looot of crap from meat eaters all the time. I have nothing against meat-eaters (my whole family eats meat except me) and those vegetarians shouldn't either.

However, I do feel meat is disgusting and you shouldn't eat it. I'm just not going to get mad at you for it. It's your choice. If you want to eat meat it's your right.

Answer 8

I do think PETA does actually force people to not eat/use meat, but they have a good cause. I would never tell someone not to eat meat, because I hate when people tell me that I should eat meat. Although if someone tries to argue with me about it, I'll defend myself, telling them all the bad things about eating meat.

Answer 9

They don't. You are just watching too much TV again.
Also, your long rant about the evil vegetarians pushing their views on others is not only blatantly ironic, but has nothing to do with your actual question of meat reduction.

Yes. Meat reduction is good.
Yes. If everyone reduced their animal flesh intake, that would be good for health, animals and the environment.
However, vegetarians still have chosen not to let animals suffer and die for their pallets, so please don't shove your views down our throats because I don't know what planet you are living on, but meat eaters do this to us all the time.

Thank you.
:)

Answer 10

To be honest, your generalisations are so strong that its not worth bothering to answer your question directly.

I'm an individual and expect to be treated as such, not lumped in with others and critcised by what your perceptions are.

Just one question for you:
How many vegetarians have you seen posting questions about meat-eaters in "General food and Drink" criticising meat eaters this week.

Let me save you the trouble of looking it up - the answer is none

It never stops amazing me how many millions of vegetarians some meat eaters seem to meet.

If you have any interest in choosing an unbiased but accurate answer then KitKat should get your 10 points, if you are open minded enough that is.