Vegan Diet

[V-Rated]

A co-worker showed up with a bag of french fries from McDonalds and was making tea with a flavored stevia sweetener... I prepared an easter dinner and she was saying that she is vegan and doesn't eat flesh or anything animal related. Ok, fair enough... I admit I did have a laugh as I thought you are obviously concerned about what you put in your body, or are you with the fries and alternate sweetener?! Her whole reaction to me cooking the dinner with all the fixings seemed to not really disgust her, but obviously something she didn't agree with.

Now I am douk and was raised true vegetarian, but we did use the butters, milk, eggs, etc. from animals... so this whole vegan thing arouse my curiousity. I thought before I pass judgement I should be open minded to the whole concept. I did some googling , and just don't understand why not use the by products from animals? Does this mean breast feeding is out as well? I did a search here and did see some posts about it and know some are true Vegan... I am not being cheeky, but actually am curious and would be interested in the whole lifestyle. As I sit now, I don't drink milk, but I do use butter, and egg whites...I am positive foods I eat do have milk, eggs, butter in them so I wonder what foods are left.

Enlighten me either via discussion here or PMing me.
TIA
~V~

[whatwhat]

I personally am not vegan, but do try and eat vegan/vegetarian meals when I can, and will choice free range, local meat/dairy when available.

There are some people who use veganism as "diet" and who are concerned about what they put in their body, but I think most vegans choice that lifestyle for ethically reasons. Veganism is more about ending suffering of animals which includes meat, animal by-products such as milk, eggs and leather, and even animal labor.

Animal milk (cow, goat etc) is produced for the baby of that animal. It sole purpose is to feed the baby, and provide it with the proper hormones and nutrients needed for that baby to grow. The issue vegans have is that fact that as humans, we are using the milk that should be going for the babies (the ethically part of veganism). It is hard to compare cows milk to a women's breast milk as breast milk is produced for the purpose of feeding human babies, which is what we do with it. But if all of a sudden society started to herd women into farms to extract their breast milk for mass production instead of the actual purpose then that wouldn't be very ethically.

I am sure others on here will be more knowledgable in providing facts on the egg, dairy and meat industry. There are many, many docs on Netflix that cover these topics. I believe that the animal industry does have negative impacts on our health, environment, and how animals are treated in mass-produced settings is horrible and sickening.

As for what foods are left if you can't use eggs or butter, the options are really endless. A simple youtube, google or bookstore search will lead you to thousands and thousands of dairy and meat alternatives, different vegan recipes. One of my personal favs is "Hot For Food" on youtube.

[Dizzy1]

[V-Rated]

Thanks Whatwhat! I appreciate you taking the time and I will do some you tube and more googling. I didn't realize netflix would have things as well, I will search and check out that site you suggested.
I won't adopt the lifestyle but my curiosity was peaked.
~V~

[whatwhat]

Lots of really good docs on Netflix for sure, such as Food Inc and Cowspiracy. One of the best documentaries I have ever watched was Earthlings. It isn't on Netflix but if you can stream it I would highly recommend it. It is pretty gruesome in parts, but truly shows what happens in the meat, dairy and fur industry. It was truly an eye opener for me, and it was the movie that really pushed me forward in making more vegan/veg options and sourcing out more "ethical" meat options.

Good on you for being open minded and curious! Like I have said I am not vegan at all, but over the years while I become more educated in veganism, I can see myself becoming so eventually.

[kgcayenne]

How can you tell when someone is a vegan?

Don't worry; they'll tell you.

Seriously, though. What I don't get is the obsession with meat imitation at the cost of ingesting chemicals due to the processing required. How is that healthy? Let go of the meat, vegans, just let it go. A novella of an ingredient list is not your friend.

[Glacier]

[whatwhat]

Ho can you tell when someone is a vegan?

Don't worry; they'll tell you.

Seriously, though. What I don't get is the obsession with meat imitation at the cost of ingesting chemicals due to the processing required. How is that healthy? Let go of the meat, vegans, just let it go. A novella of an ingredient list is not your friend.

Being vegan is not about health (but as I have said before, some people do do it for health reasons), but the ethical treatment of animals.

[GordonH]

^^^ exactly

If one wants a healthy diet best to eat a diabetic food plan (just exchange meat proteins with similar non meat proteins items).

[driveangry]

What about the ethical treatment of plants ?

http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/b ... l-pain.htm

[OREZ]

Being vegan is not about health (but as I have said before, some people do do it for health reasons), but the ethical treatment of animals.

What does "the ethical treatment of animals" mean to you?

I'm curious because I'm pretty sure that it means different things to different people.

[GordonH]

^^^ To a vegan it means not eating them or using anything made from animals.
i.e leather shoes

[whatwhat]

What does "the ethical treatment of animals" mean to you?

I'm curious because I'm pretty sure that it means different things to different people.

Well as I have stated, I am not vegan so what I think is ethical treatment of animals doesn't really add much to this specific topic.

But if you are having a hard time understanding what a vegan stands for, Google is a wonderful tool.

[V-Rated]

I understand not killing animals to eat meat, but why not the eggs or milk?
V!

[whatwhat]

I understand not killing animals to eat meat, but why not the eggs or milk?
V!

Well I think it has a lot to do with animal farming. The treatment of the cows and chickens are pretty horrendous. Neither will ever see day light, and will live in cages.

With dairy, just like with humans the cow only produces milk after it has given birth. So to collect milk, farms will manually fertilize females and then take the baby away after it is born so they are able collect the milk produced by the mother cow. The milk is not being used for its natural intended use, which is to feed the baby and help it grow. The baby cows are then usually slaughtered for veal, or continue on to be future dairy cows themselves.