Lovelyish

My favorite food is bacon.

&& no offense to those who are vegetarians, but I don’t understand it. Meat is good for you and we have big teeth in the back of our mouths to rip it apart.

I could never, ever be a vegetarian && have no desire to even try it.

Plus, tofu is disgusting.

@lttlegel - Agreed!

I was a vegetarian once & I didn’t like it. I love meat, feel better when I eat it & my body is designed to be able to digest it so why fix what’s not broken?

@Awake_My_Soul420@xanga - thank you!

&& the majority of animals that are slaughtered are either designed to feed humans (there wouldn’t be cows without people) or are cutting down on population control. There are so many deer (more than people) and they cause car accidents.. eat them!

I was a vegan once and it was one of the worst moments of my life. Always weak and tired and I looked yellow.

@lttlegel - I used to be totally against hunting & then 2 things completely changed my mind. The first was reading this article years ago about a town that banned mountain lion hunting & ended up with pets (including a lot of horses) getting attacked left & right because the population of mountain lions became too much for the territory to sustain. The second was living in West Virginia, where hunting was considered a statewide past time & yet you STILL had families of deer walking in front of your car all the time. I shudder to think what will happen if hunting is outlawed.. We’d have slaughtered animals all over the roadside. 

No, I have never tried to become a vegetarian and/or vegan.  I like meat on my plate too much.  However, I don’t mind having meatless meals at least a few times a week.  I don’t judge how others choose to eat–as long as you are strong and healthy, it’s all fine by me.  Just don’t actively try to convert me.  Nothing wrong with inviting me for a vegetarian meal, I’d just like it without the anti-meat speech.

@lttlegel - I`m not trying to change your mind about your diet, but before you try defending your diet with one of the go-to meat eater excuses you should do a little research. The teeth in the back of your mouth are actually for grinding plant food. Maybe you meant your canine teeth? And even if that’s what you meant, compare your canines to those of carnivorous animals, and you’ll realize that they’re incredibly different. 

Take a look at this: http://www.tierversuchsgegner.org/wiki/index.php?title=Taxonomy

I can’t stand it when people make false claims based on propaganda that has been spread.

@optimaloctopus@xanga - Vegetarians, especially the more extreme PETA variety, are always making claims that being vegan is better, even if “better” is often “weak but hey I’m skinnier”.

@Awake_My_Soul420@xanga - @lttlegel - Maybe if humans practiced a little population control we wouldn’t be destroying forests and putting houses and roads in their place. Then maybe the animals wouldn’t be getting in the way, and could live their lives without them ending with a bullet in their heads.

@MoonFaeEyryan@xanga - I think that it really depends on how much a person is willing to commit to staying healthy as a vegan/vegetarian. I’m not vegan for the health benefits but I feel exactly the same as when I was eating meat. I don’t claim that a vegan diet is inherently healthier than a meat eaters, both can be equally healthy or unhealthy depending on the food choices that people make. I know plenty of vegans and some of them are incredibly fit, some are overweight, and some are even skinny as you said. There’s really a lot of variety. 

I’ll never be vegan or vegetarian but I don’t care if other people are. 

Being interested in someone else’s fridge makes as much sense as being interested in someone else’s bed. I feel best on a paleo/primal/ancestral type diet. 

I was a vegetarian for around four years.  I stopped in 2008.  

I’m sick of the meat eater vs. vegetarian/vegan debate.  

@optimaloctopus@xanga - Yea, well, this is completely unrealistic considering the only way hunting would not be needed is if we somehow got rid of all the signs of civilization & put the forests back where they were removed from. & while I agree we shouldn’t exacerbate the problem, as long as humans exist, hunting will still be necessary.

@lttlegel - Meat is awful for you. It’s high in saturated fat and cholesterol. The one exception is fish, assuming it’s not contaminated.

@Awake_My_Soul420@xanga - The human body can digest meat, but it’s not the optimal food.

@ShimmerBodyCream@xanga - Yea but I eat mostly everything in moderation & don’t eat meat every day so it’s all good for me. Haven’t had any issues yet (knock on wood!).

@lttlegel - @Awake_My_Soul420@xanga - @optimaloctopus@xanga - Also, most common hunting practices are not conducive to population control, they do the exact opposite. Example, deer hunters generally go for big bucks, males. This actually increases deer populations. If you want to have population control with hunting you have to shoot does, which hunters aren’t shooting at the same rates.

Honestly, I think the best diet is to eat BOTH meat AND vegetables (and fruits/grains, etc too). But you have to do it in moderation. If you eat all veggies or all meats it’s going to be tough to get all of the nutrients you need from the other.

When I said “no offense” in my first comment, it meant that I did not mean to offend anyone and therefore no one should purposely try to offend me. We can agree to disagree… and excuse me for not knowing exactly which teeth were for chewing meat (I am not a dentist and never claimed to be one). But if you’re going to reply to me in such a way that is interpreted as being an asshole, then I don’t wish to communicate with you.

@ShimmerBodyCream@xanga - I definitely don’t believe they do the exact opposite. The biggest bucks are usually at their mating prime. They drive off young bucks from their own mates & often mate with quite a few females. While there are definitely ways it could be more effective, I do believe it’s better than making hunting illegal.

Either way, better for the deer to be killed quickly than to die bleeding & cold on the side of the road.

@Awake_My_Soul420@xanga - Trophy hunting skews the ratio of males to female. Where the males in their prime would be mating (assuming they’re dead now), the other males will pick up the slack. You only need one male to impregnate a whole lotta womenz.

During a die off there will be more females than males, so when you distort the ratios and make a herd mostly female, guess what happens? More babies!

This is why conventional trophy hunting of deer is ineffective for population control.

I have been vegan, vegetarian, and omnivorous. I have a tendency towards extremes so I find that the best way not to obsess about what I eat is to just not put limitations on myself. I still love and have retained a lot of the alternative foods I had as a vegan — I prefer almond milk over cow’s milk and I remain obsessed with tempeh — but the occasional slice of bacon is crucial to my sanity. I just make sure it’s not the kind with nitrites. And if I eat a lot of meat over a small amount of time, like beef every day for a few days, I will start to feel really sluggish. But complex B vitamins are something I’ve found to be really important in my diet — helps curb anxiety attacks — and it’s often easier to get from a bite of red meat here and there than it is to go buy a supplement.

And as for the weight thing, I feel like being vegan made me crave things that had more flavor and were more satisfying (but I have Sicilian blood… I love the rich cheeses and the salt-cured meats deep down), and ended up caving in more often on huge portions of French fries or other things that were terrible for me but technically “vegan”. I’m thinner and more muscular now than I’ve ever been, and I would say my diet is comprised of 65% fruits and vegetables and 35% everything else. Like I said, I have a tendency towards extremes, so keeping my options open has turned out to be the best measure for me. Plus, I don’t like pissing off chefs.

@ShimmerBodyCream@xanga is correct. In addition, the newly deceased animals (who are often the most dominant, successful, bucks) are out of the equation thus opening up multiple food sources for the surviving deer. Over abundance and unlimited food=procreation!
Deer overpopulation solves itself, thank you evolution. Not through bullets, but naturally…starvation, disease, and low fertility.

Be like the Roman Gladiators, Go VEG!

I’ve been a vegetarian for 3 years now, and I’m really happy I made that choice.

pandas are fatties and mostly eat bamboo. they’re too lazy to hunt beyond the bamboo kingdom, but if a stupid squirrel is nearby, then the panda might grab the squirrel for lunch as an appetizer

@lttlegel - I don’t like tofu either. I haven’t been a vegetarian for very long, so I know where you’re coming from. And I can’t stand the vegetarians that are overly “crunchy.”

@AncoraImparo@xanga - FUCK!!!!! Please alter your DNA and cease being a lesbian so we can…wait…NO….remain as you are and when we go to kings dominion we can become BETTER friends! Ahhhh. that’s the answer. Love your brain, sunshine. You’re so great!

I’m not going to waste my time responding directly to idiot comments, especially when others did very well. 

I cannot believe that the point of this post was to share various sources of vegetarian protein, with pictures and all, and this was so blatantly ignored by multiple ignoramuses who regurgitated tired myths about meat-eating, only to conclude “plus I hate tofu.”  First of all, fuck you; you probably have no idea how to cook it.  But more importantly, THERE IS A LIST RIGHT HERE, ON THIS POST OF ALTERNATIVE PROTEIN SOURCES, TOFU **SPECIFICALLY** EXCLUDED.  Sometimes I think I’ve seen the limit of stupidity, but then I’m proven wrong.

Just because you were too stupid to eat properly on a vegetarian diet, doesn’t mean the vegetarian diet is lacking in any way, shape or form.  Learn to cook.  Learn where to find food.  Yeah, you read that right; make an effort like the OP of this post did.  Think about how many
people have health problems which could be cured by eliminating meat in
their diet.  If as many people stopped eating meat as those who give up on
vegetarian diets due to transient health concerns, I’d bet America’s health insurance rates would
plummet.  Low protein is much easier to solve for a vegetarian than heart disease and diabetes.  And as it is, too much protein is exceedingly common in comparison within this country of excess.  Obviously you care less about sparing slaughtered animals than spending an extra 10 minutes here and there LEARNING how to find alternatives.  It’s easier to throw your hands up and claim the food chain explains it all, or point to your laughable canine molars, or convince us of not caring about starving children (because obviously it has to be one or the other). But then you’ll go into an irrational, defensive rage whenever a vegetarian even hints at superior ethical grounds.  That just screams cognitive dissonance. 

My brain is falling out of my head.

@lttlegel - while I don’t disagree with any of that, keep in mind that some people might choose to be vegetarians based on the current state of the meat industry, not because they think eating animals in general is wrong. Meat, like everything, is fine for you in moderation but not all the stuff that is now in our meat because they are giving the animals hormones when they alive. On that same vein, just because of an animal is going to be eaten, they shouldn’t suffer while they they alive, which is another issue that arises. I’m not a vegetarian, but I cut down significantly on my meat consumption and have sought other sources of protein like the ones mentioned in the article for those reasons. 

@amateurprose@xanga - She’s MINE.  I love her MOREEEEEE

@DrummingMediocrity@xanga - Have you met her? Do you have a picture of the two of you holding hands? WHAT??? NO? NO you DON”T?? Awwwww. It’s a sad sad situation!c

’cause I do!!!!

@DrummingMediocrity@xanga - SHIT, I love you TOO! Ugggggh. Okay, iv’e sorted this out! We can all three be together!!!!

@amateurprose@xanga - LOL, fine

TOFU is awesome. Just try some kimchi stew with big-ass pieces of tofu floating around. It’s amazing. 

I haven’t eaten meat in a couple weeks.  I thought I’d miss it, but I really just missed the convenience factor.  Being picky in my consumption hasn’t been terrible for me.  Also, I’ve read a book once or twice and know how to eat protein without eating meat.

Most of the comments in here sound like, “I drank milk as a baby, and there’s no way I’m ever giving, LET ME ON THAT TIT MOM!”
Also, also (also), I won’t preach to anyone about eating meat, but for whatever reason, people who eat meat always seem to find a reason to come to a vegetarian pointed post and tell vegetarians how they are wrong.  

Many meat eaters eat meat daily, which causes too much animal fat to accumulate in the body.  It’s not good for cholesterol rates.  If it can be done in moderation, then fine.  And the way we shove cow’s milk down our children is enough to make me gag.  So many adults I know with lactose problems, yet were given milk at every meal as a child.  Cow’s milk is for calves.  You can be a vegetarian without the feeling of going without, unless it’s the fat you’re addicted to.  I choose to eat eggs and fish in my vegetarian diet, and it works very well.  So well in fact, that my intestinal problems of a lifetime went away when I switched to eating this way.  Look for the fat content in your meat.

@SasGal@xanga - I noticed the same when I gave up meat, which was nothing.  In my case, that also consisted of dairy and eggs, and it was still nothing.  I was surprised how relatively little affected me.  I mean, every once in awhile I get a pizza craving, AND I MAKE VEGAN PIZZA.  People act like it will be some type of apocalypse.  And meat-eaters seem so defensive about their dead animals, even where no one has provoked them.  It seems very ironic and telling to me.

Being a vegetarian is a good thing, but I just love meat.

@DrummingMediocrity@xanga - I couldn’t have said this better!

Veg burgers and lentils aren’t really “hippy”; I associate them with
being Indian because many people in India have daily vegetarian diets,
lentils being a HUGE part of the cuisine. Even fast food and sit-down
restaurants are very heavy on vegetarian dishes. They indulge in meats
(except beef because that’s taboo) on occasion, usually once a week if
that, since meats are generally more expensive. Also, this is a legacy
of the Hinduism because meat-eating isn’t really stressed in the
religion.

That said, I’ve cut down on meat significantly over the
past year (once a week or so, unless eggs count; then a few times a
week) not due to religious reason, but because of the way animals are
produced for human consumption in this country. Most of them are
enhanced through various chemicals/drugs, either directly injected or
added to their food. (I really don’t agree with these practices because
of the harm done to the animals themselves and the potential damage
we’re doing to ourselves, especially since many independent farms have
found ways to produce enough animals for human consumption without
resorting to artificial methods.) Whenever I do eat meat, I try to look
for organic/natural. No one really knows how those extra chemicals will
affect humans a few years/decades down the road, so I’d rather start
getting into the habit of healthy eating now. I had a bit of an iron
deficiency, but I made it up quickly enough with more greens in my diet.

Lastly, deer don’t cause accidents; PEOPLE cause accidents. How
do you completely miss an animal that’s bigger than you are and weighs a
few hundred pounds? I don’t care how fast it is, brakes were made for a
reason. No one should be going so fast (especially at night) that their
brakes don’t work properly.

@DrummingMediocrity@xanga - 

This made me think of you.

My biggest problem is finding other vegetarians to help me. Im sure if I found a nest of them somewhere and spent a month learning from them I could be a succesful vegetarian. Because all these vegetarian cookbooks out there are usually geared towards the vegetarian. If you want to convert yourself you have to have a better knowledge of how to cook veggies so you are succesful in eating something that TASTES awesome. Its not as simple as steaming or grilling… having a knowledge of spices, sauces, marinades, and succesful food combos is important.

Also, as soon as you turn vegetarian or vegan, everyone suddenly gives a shit about your protein intake…

I’ve been vegetarian for life, and vegan for three years. I’m not a militant vegan in any way, and am fine with those who choose to eat meat- but I hate disrespectful people- in general situations, as well as disrespectful people who try to shove bacon in your mouth (yes it’s actually happened!) or talk about how delicious it is. Being vegetarian or vegan is not a taste based decision. Everyone respect each other’s opinions, although I love meat eater’s who are willing to learn and educate themselves about the meat and dairy industry… and then realise if they actually want to support them.

not to nit-pick, but don’t gorillas nit pick? 

@ShimmerBodyCream@xanga - Have I mentioned I’m in love with you?  

@youarethepretender@xanga - But disrespecting meat eaters, and making them feel like savages is so much fun!!! I love to tear apart their flawed logic!!!

@theladyofabundance@xanga - Google. It’s that easy. Recipes are easy to find. AND, youtube videos walk you through the process. Stop eating meat, eat the obvious supplements, and educate yourself in the meantime. It’s great that you are going in the vegetarian direction, but don’t use lack of knowledge as an excuse to prolong the transition.

@youarethepretender@xanga - Great comment. I’m trying to transition to vegan from being vegetarian. Getting there with occasional setbacks. Glad to hear you are doing it, and yeah I’ve had people do that with bacon too. 

@ShimmerBodyCream@xanga - The best thing I’ve ever seen online!

@mycontinuity@xanga - Yum!

@amateurprose@xanga - Are you saying that i’m disrespecting meat eaters? I think meat eaters should be prepared to see what the meat and dairy industry is really like… it’s not making them feel like savages (although if we do want to go there…), I don’t throw vegan documentaries in front of their faces, but if someone asks me about why i’m vegan etc. I tell them why, and they ask me questions about why these industries are not great, and I say if they’re interested they can watch certain documentaries on youtube that can help them learn a bit more. Just sharing my knowledge and helping educate people who are actually interested.

@EmilyandAtticus@xanga - good luck! You’ll get there and thank yourself for it, i’m not going to lie, when I went vegan for the first month or so ‘d secretly eat chocolate bars in my room like a freaking mental person and would get super paranoid that someone would find out and hate me for not sticking to being vegan, haha.

@youarethepretender@xanga - hahaha, No! I’m vegan as well! I was just playing around!

@amateurprose@xanga - *high fives*  (: