More Carnivores?!

[Sparkles]

I've recently noticed that my vegetarian friends are starting to eat meat again - it seems within the last year or so many people who have been strict veggies or have only eaten fish are now starting to eat chicken and, dare I say it, red meat again!

Is the vegetarian revolution coming to an end?
Have you recently become veggie or, indeed, recently stopped being veggie?

I'd be interested to hear peoples observations, views and reasonings on this if you'd care to share

[andystyle]

are now starting to eat chicken and, dare I say it, red meat again!

Why the distinction between white and red meat?

[Beowulf]

I am an ex Veggie, currently going out with a mostly veggie. I don't think vegetarianism is on the way out, people still choose vegetarianism for a number of reasons (mine was purely out of taste/texture) I do eat fish and chicken (different taste/textures) and bacon.. but ONLY if it's burnt within an inch of being charcoal!

I rarely eat meat these days but that's mainly the influence of my health conscious girlfriend

I'm a Teamostlyer almost-vegetarian

[Sparkles]

Why the distinction between white and red meat?

I don't know - I was hoping someone would tell me

It's like when someone says they're vegetarian but they eat fish, or they eat chicken - no, they're not vegetarian!

It seems that most people who are vegetarian and then start eating meat either start with fish or chicken - few seem to go straight for red meat, though they may after a while of eating fish or chicken.

Just things I've observed - I've no idea why there's a distinction.

[Missy D]

My daughter was a vegetarian from aged 2 to 10 she now eats chicken. I wish she would eat red meat as she can look so pasty. She eats plenty of salad and green vegetables but not sure that there is enough iron in them to keep her from being aenemic (sorry cant spell today). Apparently now that she is a teenager she can have some B injection to build her iron up. When she is really pale I tend to give her "spartone" which was recomended by a Harley St doctor.

I myself will eat anything as long as its not a flesh eating animal as I know that dont taste so good.

[Miss Marmite]

I am an ex Veggie, I don't think vegetarianism is on the way out, people still choose vegetarianism for a number of reasons (mine was purely out of taste/texture) I do eat fish and chicken (different taste/textures) and bacon.. but ONLY if it's burnt within an inch of being charcoal!

I thought i was just weird!!!

However, if i have to pre-order a meal or am going to a friends house etc i usually just say i am a veggie as it's more sociably acceptable than just specifying what you like / don't like or how it has to be cooked!

My fiance cooks for me every day and gets soooo fed up with my pickiness!

[Twirly]

My daughter was a vegetarian from aged 2 to 10 she now eats chicken. I wish she would eat red meat as she can look so pasty. She eats plenty of salad and green vegetables but not sure that there is enough iron in them to keep her from being aenemic (sorry cant spell today). Apparently now that she is a teenager she can have some B injection to build her iron up. When she is really pale I tend to give her "spartone" which was recomended by a Harley St doctor.

I myself will eat anything as long as its not a flesh eating animal as I know that dont taste so good.

Take a look at this from the website for good sources of iron. There's no need for her to be anaemic. Has lots of other useful info about eating a balanced diet, good for veggies and non-veggies alike.

I did suffer from anaemia as a meat-eating child - used to faint regularly - but not as a mostly veggie (but occasionally fish-eating) adult.

[ducasi]

Can any veggie explain why they have made this choice? I can understand vegans (though I disagree with them) but what's the point with not eating meat? It's nutritional, and generally good for you in moderation.

[Twirly]

Can any veggie explain why they have made this choice? I can understand vegans (though I disagree with them) but what's the point with not eating meat? It's nutritional, and generally good for you in moderation.

I don't like meat, so I don't eat it. I do like some fish, therefore I eat it. Pretty easy really.

I don't normally call myself a vegetarian (I'm a pescetarian!) though I do use it as shorthand sometimes, as it's easier to communicate the bigger part of what I don't eat. I'm also not keen on very meaty fish (tuna steaks and the like), so it can save me from that.

Why do you disagree with vegans? They don't want to cause any suffering to an animal, therefore chose not to use any part of an animal in their life and diet. If you kill an animal, or keep it captive, their view is that is cruel - or is that what you disagree with?

[fletch]

I love meat,





carn't imagine me becoming a veggie ever

[Almost an Angel]

Can any veggie explain why they have made this choice? I can understand vegans (though I disagree with them) but what's the point with not eating meat? It's nutritional, and generally good for you in moderation.

Hi Ducasi,

I'm a veggie and have been for over 15 years by choice.
Why is simple - I really don't like the taste or texture of meat. In fact there are times when the smell of certain meats cooking make me physically sick.
I don't agree with eating flesh however, this is very much my own personal choice, I can manage to survive and exist without eating animals therefore I do, one thing I am very clear on is that I do not force my own views on others. If other people are happy with eating meat then that's fine. I chose not to and I tend to avoid all the meat substitute products available (as I'm not overkeen on them) - most are trying to be meat but aren't (back to the taste and texture again). I will eat them but given a preference I will chose something else. I do eat dairy products and eggs so I'm an Octo-lacto vegetarian, although I also use soya milk and eat some of the vegan non dairy products.

As a background I stopped eating red meat at 14 yrs old (much to my mothers disgust) and cut out white meat by 18 and fish by 20. I'm perfectly healthy as a veggie - no anaemia or otherwise. My mother was horrrified at first but has slowly but surely come round, not that she agrees with my choice but she respects my decision. Now if you ask her she will freely admit that getting me to eat any kind of meat as a child was extremely difficult. I used to have a portion half that of my brother who is 3 years yonger than me. And what she now knows is that my brother and I used to swap veggies for meat at the dinner table when the parents weren't looking. So I guess it's not really a surprise that I don't eat meat.

I know how animals are slaughtered and that it is done humanely but I still can't reconcile eating meat. Before anyone jumps on me I have experienced an abattoir for real. As part of my degree I spent over 150 hrs in one - they are not pleasant places, the smell alone takes at least one good shower to remove. Funnily enough though when all my coursemates and I trooped into the abattoir on the first day it was the guys who were most affected, a lot of them turned veggie for a few weeks after that.

Hope that helps

Angel x

[Beowulf]

Can any veggie explain why they have made this choice?

I don't like meat, so I don't eat it.

I'm a veggie and have been for over 15 years by choice.
Why is simple - I really don't like the taste or texture of meat.

And I'm an Ex Veggie. With my limited sense of taste (due to my even more limited ..ie non-existent.. sense of smell) I don't like the texture of meat nor the flavour. I was veggie for many years and was lured to the dark side by a craving for chicken one day.

I eat fish and chicken.. So I'm definitely not a veggie.. unless chickens are fruits and fish are some form of root tuber? However it's easier to say "I'll take the veggie option" RATHER than say "I'll take whatever you have with chicken and/or fish as long as it's got no meat in OTHER than bacon AS LONG as it's crispy, but if it's not Crispy I don't want it, No I don't like Ham either, nor Turkey ham.. Yes i know it's from a fowl but it tastes like ordinary ham" By which time the waiter/waitress is scratching their heads or walked off in disgust !!

Just as it's easier to say "No thank you I don't drink" than "No thank you, I do drink but only once in a blue moon and I'm not in the mood to partake of an alcoholic beverage at the moment or any time soon"

So the real reason I'm "veggie" is for ease of conversation

And what she now knows is that my brother and I used to swap veggies for meat at the dinner table when the parents weren't looking.

me and my sister used to do that too.. I thought my mum didn't know.. but she knew fine well !! hehe

[ducasi]

The "taste and texture" thing – different meat has different taste and texture.

Chicken has a different texture than tripe which has a different texture than fish, which has a different texture than haggis.

Each also have their own taste, each of which is rather different to the others.

I don't like the taste and texture of some meats (e.g., kidney ) but that isn't going to make me go veggie.

There's also some veggie-type things I don't like, like mushrooms.

[Beowulf]

I don't like the taste and texture of some meats (e.g., kidney ) but that isn't going to make me go veggie.

Each to their own!

Now here's a funny one for you.. I don't like Meat Haggis BUT I do like Veggie Haggis.. which has a similar texture and taste !!

Everyone east things they like and doesn't eat things they don't like. You just have to watch that freaky eaters program on TV and you'll see people who are an order og magnitude worse than me.

I love veggies.. have never met a Vegetable I didn't like (and mushrooms too.. but they're not really a vegetable though are they? they're a fungus which is a different group again.. Love my mushrooms .. in all their guises!)

I like Chicken and fish (as you say different from red meat) But can't eat a steak or chops or mince !! There's no hard and fast line where on one side are food groups I will eat and on t'other food groups I won't.. it's a fuzzy grey line I mean I love bacon rolls.. BUT ONLY (as stated previously and on other threads) if it's practically cremated.. if it's at all chewy.. I can't eat it. It actually induces a gag reflex !!

I'm odd.. I know! sorry

[ShinyWeeStar]

Now here's a funny one for you.. I don't like Meat Haggis BUT I do like Veggie Haggis.. which has a similar texture and taste !!

I've never understood the point of vegetarian haggis... I mean... it's just not haggis without the gory bits!

For what it's worth, I'm a carnivore through and through - always have been, always will be.

[FirstMove]

Like Beo, I have virtually no sense of taste or smell. I love meat precisely because it has so many different textures. I add vegetables to my cookery mainly to make the finished dish look more colourful.

I worked part-time in an abattoir for a while as a student, possibly the only time I was properly nourished during my degree course!

[Magic Hans]

Can any veggie explain why they have made this choice? I can understand vegans (though I disagree with them) but what's the point with not eating meat? It's nutritional, and generally good for you in moderation.

I know someone who ended up giving up meat because it severely helped her arthritis ... no moral reason at all.

Personally, I'm almost of the opinion that if someone is unhappy with seeing the dead animal or butchered meat, maybe they might want to reconsider how they view meat and their eating of it.

[ducasi]

Personally, I'm almost of the opinion that if someone is unhappy with seeing the dead animal or butchered meat, maybe they might want to reconsider how they view meat and their eating of it.

That's a good argument for becoming vegan – the dead animal is used for more than meat – if folks feel that they don't want to be involved in the exploitation of animals, then they should avoid all animal products. Besides meat, milk, eggs, the next most obvious thing is leather. But bits of animals can pop up in the most unusual places.

[Barry Shnikov]

I love meat,



carn't imagine me becoming a veggie ever

Don't forget, Fletch, here we are talking about 'eating' not 'gobbling'.

[Barry Shnikov]

But bits of animals can pop up in the most unusual places.

Yeah, I've had women complain about that.