Vegans get a bad rap. Those people are truly insane.

Currently, the only animal products I eat are fish (organic), eggs (from free-range chickens that aren't fed hormones and shit like that), and well, honey.

I don't think eating animal products is a bad thing at all, but they can make you really, really sick. They usually don't, but there's always the risk. Eating meat and milk products while you're on a course of antibiotics is actually dangerous because it can cause a candida overgrowth in the intestines that may not show up until months or years later, sometimes in the form of chronic fatigue syndrome, and in a dozen different other ways. I'm not copying this from a textbook. I learned this from experience.

So it rather pisses me off that people like that exist and make the rest of us look crazy.

And, incidentally, being a vegan isn't about being skinny. It's just something that happens.

------------------
Boot the grime of this world in the crotch, dear.

oh wow, good for you, you abstain from eating all meat except fish. *claps* http://www.netphoria.org/wwwboard/rolleyes.gif

and delta: i've read vegan literature where they say that it's simply not natural for people to drink milk when they are not infants anymore.

i personally don't really want to give up milk chocolate. and cheese is convenient too. but i'd say at least half my meals are completely vegan.
i don't see how you can eat fish.. ugh.

actually all the vegan people i know are at least "average" in weight. i know more extremely skinny people that eat meat than extremely skinny people that are vegan.

HOW DO YOU GET YOUR CALCIUM IF YOU DON'T DRINK MILK?!?!?! THINK ABOUT YOUR BONES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

Lie means that it just "happens". It either happens, or it doesn't...
It has nothingn to do with being vegan or vegetarian.

But what *I'm* saying is, I'm sure if I turned vegan or vegetarian, it would sure as fuck help ME loose a couple of pounds. : (
I know how bad my eating habits are. And I admit, I need help to stop it. It is time for an intervention. : (

Shit, so that's what all the fuss is about? Thanks for clearing it up!

The fact that vegans don't eat fish is a common misperception, Suze. There are lots of different kinds and levels of vegans. Generally, vegetarians are concerned with animal rights and vegans are more concerned with the purity of their food and the absence of antibiotics. I don't eat fish that often either...it's just another option to keep open.

See, my animal rights concerns only go so far. The idea of animals being raised in captivity on antibiotics and hormones bothers me, because it's not good in the long run for the animals or the humans eating them.

And as I said before, my concerns are mainly with my health. The idea of eating meat doesn't bother me, but the hazards of digesting it do. I'm technically a low-level vegan because of the way that I eat, but it's not like I woke up one day and said, "Gee, I'm going to be a vegan." I don't wear it like a badge on my sleeve...it's just my diet, it's not me. I'm not trying to rack up points for depriving myself of as many foods as possible and frowning on the eating habits of others. I just try to eat in the way that works best for me.

As for whoever was talking about calcium, there are just as many ways to get both calcium and protein from vegetable sources as animal sources, and most of them are better and more efficient sources of energy, namely soy milk. I even like the taste better than that of regular milk. It has a richness and slightly sweet and grainy taste that cow's milk doesn't have.

In general, I think vegetarianism and veganism are good things, but people often exploit them and use them to feel superior to other people. The minute that the primary concern isn't what you're putting into your body and it becomes something else, like the need to look down on people who eat differently, the trendiness of it all, etc., it's my opinion that you should just stop doing it because it's not doing you or anyone else any good. The point of it to begin with should be to do you and/or other humans and animals good.

Most vegetarians are actually some of the most unhealthy people I know, because without meat they start to fill up on a lot of enriched flour and dairy products, and miss out on protein because they don't even make an effort to replace it. They don't take care of themselves at all and bitch at other people for doing the world a disservice. When people do this it seems like they haven't even begun to explore the full range of what it means to be vegetarian. If you're saving the lives of animals, but sacrificing your own health and being proud of it, that seems like a pretty shitty deal to me. I've decided to eat vegetarian because I've found that it's a better way to take care of myself, and while a lot of people wouldn't consider that very noble, it's my primary concern.

That was all I was trying to say.

------------------
Boot the grime of this world in the crotch, dear.

[This message has been edited by Lie (edited 05-01-2002).]

uhh..
a) ii think you might have that a little bit mixed up there. i think the vegans would be more concerned with animal rights since they totally avoid any item (including clothing) coming from animals or animal products.

b) fish = meat, what's the confusion there?
there's not really different "levels". you either are or you aren't. and don't take that the wrong way, if you want to eat fish, go ahead and eat fish, but don't say you're vegan or vegetarian if you do.

i don't equate vegan and vegetarian at all.

i was worried that i might have to state my own opinion on this, but you already did. http://www.netphoria.org/wwwboard/smile.gif quoting is so much easier.

http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/C...OAF/Meat12.jpg
Meat.

------------------
http://www.rbibaseball.com/images/player-bo.gif

That might be because meat-eaters outnumber vegans...

Score! My booty is here to stay, steak or no steak. *shakes that healthy butt* *cries as it jiggles*

We need to have a big ass party sometime, Rhonda

I thought you left?

*Brings the banana rum smoothies and the booty music!*

Get your facts straight. And, in keeping with your habit of pointing out the painfully obvious: question marks are for the ends of questions, not statements.

Vegans are gay. Enjoy the food chain bitch.

Banana rum is the coolest invention ever!