(for veggies or ex-veggies) feeling too apathetic towards being a vegetarian?!
(for veggies or ex-veggies) feeling too apathetic towards being a vegetarian?
what i mean is, i've been a vegetarian for four years. but lately it feels too pedantic because i can't even eat regular yogurt, starbursts, frosted shredded wheats, or most types of cheese.. but i eat cheese anyway which might have rennet in it. and then i just feel stupid. my other vegetarian friends eat Poptarts with gelatin in them and its like, whats the point of them being veggies then? i don't miss meat, i am just beginning to feel that nothing is safe (meatless). thoughts?
Additional Details2 months ago
Toni- I became a vegetarian because I just didn't like the idea of eating animals. I do own a little leather, which also makes me feel like a hypocrite.. Thus, the problem.
2 months ago
why do i own leather.. it would be like a little in a purse that my bought me or shoes.
Answers:
2 months ago
Toni- I became a vegetarian because I just didn't like the idea of eating animals. I do own a little leather, which also makes me feel like a hypocrite.. Thus, the problem.
2 months ago
why do i own leather.. it would be like a little in a purse that my bought me or shoes.
Personally - me alone - I felt the same way, and then I realized, I was not a vegetarian because I think eating meat is wrong, but for other reasons. I also didnt feel like I had to follow the 'rules', so I began eating foods I still enjoyed Jello, fish here and there, and such) Its up to you and what you feel comfortable with. Others may not agree though. But I hope it helps.
I used to be a vegetarian because I got freaked out seeing pork boiling in a pot. (That's a dead pig, I thought.) But I always ate dairy products. That was not the same thing at all.
May I ask.... why did you become a vegetarian? Was it for health reasons, you know..... fat reduction in your diet?
I have been a vegetarian for 42 years (I'm 42). I have never found it to be an obstacle or anything as difficult as "contemplating my naval". In addition to being a vegetarian, I was raised on a diet that primarily omitted "white" food (which most junk food is made up of).
You can take the diet to an extreme that, in my opinion, is not healthy. It becomes to obsessive, nerve racking.
Do you also not wear anything made of leather? If you DO wear leather, then I'm sure a pop-tart, cup of yogurt with gelatin or cheese with rennet will not kill you. Sounds to me like you need to relax. People have made vegetarianism into some kind of "subculture". The reason for food is to nourish the body, not become a subject for debate. Remember..... opinions are like @ssholes....everyone has one!
I go back to my original question.....why did you become a vegetarian?
mb
If you feel bad for animals being killed, why have leather?
I can understand the cheese part. I try my best to look at labels if they are available. I have given up things with gelatin, which is in a lot of candy. It's all about self-control. I really hated giving up Junior Mints! :(
Go vegan! :) That way you wont have to worry about renet. But ok,,,, even being vegetarian is better than being a carnivore, but the line is very fine when you use many dairy products that could contain small amounts of flesh. I understand your frustration. I was a vegetarian for 11 years and turned vegan because it felt more right to me.
But you have to remember that being vegetarian OR vegan isnt about perfection but compassion. We make mistakes, and that is ok, as long as you learn from it, and move on. It is hard to know which products are ok in the beginning, but I experience that eating vegetables and fruit makes it a lot easier, since that is not processed food with tons of suspicious ingredients. I also stick to organic as much as possible. So I mostly eat food that actually looks like food and is fresh.
But like I said, our lifestyle cant be perfect... We still go outside, and maybe step on a bug without knowing, or there are some bugs hiding in organic salad that drown when you wash it.
And then carnivores point it out to make you feel bad as it somehow proves that all those pigs, cows, chickens, fish etc,,, are not worth saving either...
This is what many people dont understand. We are NOT perfect, nor do we think that we are... but we should live our life reducing suffering as much as *humanly* possible.
I do as much as I can, and when someone points it out how some animals get killed during harvesting, I will of course feel bad about it. But if these people are also eating bacon without a grain of guilt, it is obvious why they want vegans or vegetarians to feel like we are useless. So that THEY dont have to change.
So, my advice is: do as much as you can. Anything you do to reduce suffering of animals counts.. But do not feel bad about the things you cant control. You're already doing more than most people around you. Feel good about yourself, ok? :) Dont judge your friends, but support their decision of vegetarianism/veganism. You can live by an example, and show how to be even more compassionate.
Whats wrong with eating gelatin in poptarts? Is it a byproduct of animals? I'm new to vegetarianism. Ate my last animal flesh last Thanksgiving.
No one every said being veggy or vegan is easy. Just evaluate animal products on a case by case basis. Think to yourself, what greater good comes from eating this rennet cheese? Hopefully, you'll choose to abstain.
If you are feeling disconnected from the cause, watch the Meet your Meat videos or grab some animal rights literature (Animal Liberation by Peter Singer is good stuff)
I doesn't matter if you're completely completely absolved of your part in animal exploitation, it matters that your trying your darndest to make it that way.
labrat: Gelatin is the connective tissue of animals