How would one go about becoming a vegetarian?

[Bertha Venation]

I don't know if I'm going to do it, but I think I want to. I don't know how to begin. I don't think I can get enough protein.

I have been thinking about this a lot lately, and seeing FDRrocks' post about dropping his/her vegetarianism was a little discouraging, but I still want to do it.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

PS I think Mrs. V. would do this with me.

[MadAsHellNewYorker]

1. Psst...Come Check out the Vegetarian Forum

Check out this discussion for a bit more...
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=231x645

[Bertha Venation]

16. I will. Thanks so much, Mad. n/t

[mhr]

2. Take It In Steps Versus Cold Turkey

Suggested Steps

1. Stop all fast food
2. Stop all fried food
3. Start eating more vegetables and legumes
4. Stop eating beef
5. Stop eating pork
6. Stop eating sea food
7. Stop eating chicken
8. Stop eating dairy if going vegan

By going slow, the transition is more tolerable and you will know when you are ready to go cold turkey.

The tough part is finding replacement things to eat while eliminating things you eat now.

The worst thing is to go cold turkey when one has no replacement meals in mind. This always leads to serious lapses.

[mdhunter]

5. I'd endorse something like this too

I essentially did this with some condensed steps in between. Basically got off fish and beef, then pork, and lastly turkey and chicken. My wife was a vegetarian before me, so it was easy to incorporate more veggies in my diet along the way.

Doing the above may depend on why one wants to become a vegetarian though, and its effectiveness may be related to that reason, be it what it may.

[soothsayer]

13. Mmmmm. Cold turkey....

yum!

[Bertha Venation]

18. excellent suggestion, mhr. thanks! n/t

[Pachamama]

3. Stop eating meat?

Just kidding...sorta..

Actually, in my opinion, the best way to start is to do it slowly, allowing your body to adjust. One way is to start out by cutting out beef & pork, and stick at first to chicken & fish. Start adding soy protein to your diet and experimenting with recipes that include soy and egg. Nuts, soy beans and other legumes are great. Make sure you get some books on being a vegetarian and especially on ways to become a vegetarian and making sure you are eating the proper diet to get the proper nutrients. Don''t know what your access to stores like Whole Foods is like but they have great Vegetarian foods prepared that make it easier to not eat meat.

[mdhunter]

4. Good for you

I've been a vegetarian since the first day of the latest Iraq war with no regrets.

Don't worry so much about protein specifically. I've been told, and beleive, that there is enough small amounts in many things that, so long as you're getting enough calories in your day, you're getting enough. I think we're all patterned, via the beef, dairy and egg lobbies (some well funded people) to think we need more protein that we actually do. If you're really concerned about it, 6 months into your trial visit your doctor and get tested as part of a routine physical. I have $10 that says that even without a concerted effort to eat excess protein, your numbers will be within range.

Meat replacement stuff is great source and massively easy. I'll caution against relying on it too much (Morningstar, Boca, etc. I eat their "chicken" paties all the time) as a) excess soy in men is associated with sterility and b) that type of diet tends to be too bland. The more you can work random veggies into whatever else you're eating, the happier you'll be. Get a good vegetarian cookbook, even if you don't make many things from it, it's an excellent resource to just look over - see what things can be thrown together, see what sounds good, fresh and varied. Drop me a line if you'd like a recommendation, I've gone through 6. PETA has a free starter kit with a bare bones cookbook if you don't want to lay out the coin just yet.

Just remember you've absolutely nothing to loose by trying. Your chances for success increase proportionally as the ease and variety of your vegetarian diet increases. One other thing that was hard for me was ridding myself of the traditional meal mentality. I thought you needed a big meat at the center of the plate, constituting most of the calories, and a few accessories at the sides. That's a load of crap. More, smaller, things are much better tasting and better for you.

[Skittles]

6. eat a can of canned beef catfood

EWWWWWWWW I BET THAT WOULD DO IT

[Bertha Venation]

8. Ew.

I'm gonna kick your ass for that... J/K! *cower*

[Kathy in Cambridge]

12. The smell alone would do it!

:puke:

[Skittles]

31. ain't that the truth

LOL, I heard a comic on TV wondering why they have beef flavored cat food - he asked when's the last time your cat dragged home a side of beef. He thought they should have rat flavored and bird flavored cat food. :o

[chookie]

7. What do you like to eat?

Sometimes it's just as easy as learning how to cook things you enjoy, that are meatless. I have "converted" people to meatless diets, because they had assumed that food without meat is icky and are very happy to find out that it can be extremely good.

I love to cook; I cook many styles, including exotic ones. Also did pretty good coming up with ways of adapting "meat" recipes to meatlessness, and always get complimented. Tell me what you like to eat and I will try to advise. There are meatless world cuisines out there; there are also EXCELLENT "faux meats" easily available these days -- anything by Morningstar Farms (frozen food section) is excellent -- that you can use in your cherished family recipes in lieu of meat.

It can be done. You just can't "give up meat" ; you have to make some overall adjustments to how you eat. It can be a very healthy diet, and don't worry about starving yourself of protein, which is something the beef industry wants you to think will happen, but won't.

[Bertha Venation]

9. name it, I'll eat it

except for veal

I had three horrifying dreams one night several years ago, and for a year thereafter I ate no meat, no chicken, no fish. The dreams were all about birds -- chicken and doves -- and they made me sick that I ever ate the flesh of an animal.

Thanks for your suggestions. I've had Morningstar Farms stuff. Don't much like it. But I like Boca Burgers.

I know I can get plenty of protein from sources other than animal flesh. It's just a matter of working at finding and preparing them.

[Floogeldy]

10. Go to a good health food store

Get some whole grain basmati rice, whole rolled oats and whole millet. Cook em' in water. Add fruit to the rolled oats. Add veggies and a little Tamari sauce (for flavor) to the rice and millet.

Get good fresh fruits and vegetables.

Get beans and legumes.

Get nuts and seeds.

Get Smucker's peanut butter (no added fat, sugar, etc. . . . .)

Get a really high quality, simple whole grain bread.

I'm no expert. This is just my opinion. The theory is to eat mostly natural, whole foods with little or no additives.

Personally, I don't beat myself up for some occasional cheese, chicken, or eggs. Oh yea, and Haagen Dazs ice cream. :)

[TX-RAT]

11. Why do you want to be a Vegetarian?

[Kathy in Cambridge]

14. It's generally healthier

I know I just couldn't give up meat again. I was a vegetarian in my 20s.

[Bertha Venation]

15. Several reasons, but the primary one is that

I can't stand the suffering of animals and I'm ashamed that I contribute to it.

I mentioned dreams upthread. These were the dreams:

1. Happy-looking, -sounding chickens roosting on a huge thing -- like a super-long telephone pole with rods sticking out of either side. The chickens roosted on those rods. Scores of chickens, roosting, they're happy, sitting there having a hen party, but they don't know that they're descending. There's a crane above and it's dipping them live into a huge vat of boiling oil.

2. Giant chickens with their beaks brutally hacked off, chasing me with these bloody beakless mouths.

3. The scene is a restaurant. Diners on the patio enjoy the company of tame, friendly doves perched on small stands at the tables' edges. Also on the tables are small hibachis, which is where the doves go, live, when a diner is ready for another bite or two.

These dreams are extreme extensions of the emotions I feel when awake, emotions that I can't control. They drive me to wanting to do all in my power, in whatever tiny ways, to stop animal suffering.

[flvegan]

20. Wow. Good reasons. 2 of them

are linked to reality, sort of.

1. The chickens in this scenario are at least happy before being scalded alive. The containment and slaughter of "eatin chickens" is terribly brutal.

2. Debeaking (using a device to cut the end of a beak off while fully conscious so they don't peck and injure each other due to extreme stress and confinement) is common practice in the poultry/egg industry. Though they wouldn't be chasing you.

Good of you to open your mind and see that compassion should extend to more of our sentient being friends.

[Bertha Venation]

21. my god... had no idea about the debeaking

Shit fuck & damn.

My mind has always been open to this... but I enjoy eating meat and I am weak.

What can you tell me about eggs? Isn't it possible to find eggs from unconfined chickens?

[flvegan]

23. Eggs? Okay...

Take an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper. Fold it in half. Figure out how to put a chicken in a cage that size (that's about how much space they get, though the cage is bigger and holds multiple chickens). They never touch the ground (unless the bottom of a cage is "ground"), spread their wings, roost, dust bathe, etc. They live like that until they no longer produce (Google "forced molting" to see how they're often forced to produce). They're made into dog food, then. To replenish the stock of chickens, farms will have fertilized eggs mature and hatch. Since males have little value to the egg-laying industry, the baby male chicks are thrown in the trash (oftentimes in a trash bag, en masse, to suffocate).

The egg industry is, hands down, the most inhumane, cruel animal industry there is. Veal calves have it good in comparison.

Is it possible to find eggs from unconfined chickens? Yes. Find a small/local farmer. "Cage-free" or "free range" has no regulation, and guarantees nothing as to the welfare of the birds.

More on debeaking, here:
http://www.upc-online.org/merchandise/debeak_factsheet.html

[Bertha Venation]

24. I really only needed the info in your third paragraph.

I appreciate your dedication to eliminating animal suffering but don't need the lessons. But maybe someone else will read your post and get an education.

Thanks very much for the suggestion of finding a local farmer. Don't know why I didn't think of that. There are lots of them around my home -- lots of Amish folk.

[flvegan]

26. Sorry. Took it as 2 diff. questions.

[Bertha Venation]

28. Oops -- my post can be read that way. Oops.

:shrug: So sorry. :hi:

[TX-RAT]

22. Good enough

Thats one spooky dream.

[amazona]

27. if you eat soy

...then you contribute to massive animal suffering and loss of habitat. The Amazon rain forests and natural areas are being replaced by huge tracts of soy in Brazil than can be seen from outer space. We are losing thousands of insect species, including butterflies, in the U.S. and have huge tracts of what can only be called "agricultural desert" over much of the midwest. In some states, the various prairie ecosystems are extinct or effectively extinct.

Eating a vegetarian diet is not instrinsically kind, and eating a meat diet is not intrinsically cruel. Free range chickens can transform insects and household trash into protein with a minimal effect on the environment. It depends on what chicken, and what vegetable, you are eating.

I am very concerned with protecting bird populations and the insects they depend on. If I seem a bit angry at times about the promotion of soy, it's because I am. I've stood and looked at fields of soy, and they are just dead, dead, dead.

[Bertha Venation]

29. What is the answer?

One of the reasons I struggle with this is that my efforts don't amount to squat. The rainforests and species populations, the billions of animals raised for food, so many other things will still suffer. One person can't make a difference.

So what is the answer? :shakinghead:

[flvegan]

30. Um, one thing here...

Those soybean fields...replacing the rain forest...I think you'll find that much of the soy is being exported to feed to cattle, to then feed to people. The most inefficient transformation of protein out there.

Yes, you could get your chicken from a farm that still allows the birds to act as birds, foraging for their food, and have much less of an impact on the environment. However, if you mean the mass-produced "free range" chickens, those farms are an environmental disaster and those chickens don't subsist on insects and trash.

[flvegan]

17. Slowly eliminate while replacing

When I first started, I had just given up red meat. Didn't really eat pork, anyway. Then I dropped fowl and seafood to adopt vegetarianism. All the while, I was replacing those things with either faux meat or some other form of food. I found myself much less limited in what I ate. I went vegan a short time after. I'm a gym rat and I carry a good amount of muscle. Protein isn't going to be a problem. Soy is better than meat, protein-wise anyway.

www.vegsource.com has a lot of info, message boards, etc to help you out.

Healthier for you, the planet and the animals.

[Ready4Change]

19. Marry/start dating a vegetarian is how it usually goes.

(And no, I don't mean anything sexual.)

Most people I know who became vegetarians did so after starting to date, or maybe marrying, a vegetarian.

I'm an diehard omnivore, but I admit I had a low opinion of vegetarian foods until I dated one for a while. She opened my eyes to many options that are available other than "just vegetables." As a result I don't fear the occasional vegetarian meal anymore.

[amazona]

25. it can be easy to get enough protein

Beans plus rice or beans plus corn is a complete protein.

I dropped my vegetarian diet mainly because it became too expensive for me. When chicken is the same price (and not just in inflation-adjusted dollars, but the same price) that it was in the 1960s, while the cost of fresh produce has soared, I had no option on my very limited income but to go back to eating flesh. It was the cheapest way for me to get enough calories and still have some variety in the diet. The household would riot if we had red beans and rice every day.