Since I have been taking my Nutrition class and also due to my old English Professor, I have become fascinated with these non-meat related diets. They're healthy when done right and are so good for the human body when it comes to nutrients. It would be nice to try had I had the money and the time for it. Especially raw food. I have heard stories and seen documentary based on it and it has shown not only to help lose weight and give you the right energy but also has done experiments that have proven to cure some diseases such as heart disease, cancers, and diabetes. Of course, I can never know unless I experience it myself. It sounds lovely none the less and I have tried some of the foods when I went to a raw food seminar at my college. I would just need a source of sweetness since I love sweet things. Fruits may do. If you want more info on raw food, look here So what are your thoughts on such diets? Do you think they really work? Do any of you follow them? If so, what are your reasons? Health? Animal right? Discuss.
AHAA!! Something I can answer due to my job as a Super Market Produce Associate. Well, ultimately, the most healthiest and best forms of food for people generally are far more expensive than say junk food and such. That's one of the biggest controversies in most people's decisions to "eat right"; They just don't have the money. Fruits and vegetables are a great source for eating right, and actually (depending on where you get them) aren't too expensive. The only main problem with fruits and vegetables are they are highly perishable. Meaning, they spoil really easily. You cannot merely buy a ton of strawberries and expect them to last for months. I suppose in that regard, you always have to get more, and sometimes that can also mean not having enough money to always get such things. In our store, we also carry non-meat substitutes for people who desire them. I must admit I do chuckle to myself, seeing broccoli "chicken" nuggets and stuff, as I honestly don't see the point of trying to substitute something you don't want to eat. It would be like a meat lover wanting to make a meat sala- oh wait, that's already happened. Thank you Epic Meal Time. But yeah I have no problem with people wanting to eat right. I actually commend them for it, and some fruit can be amazing and very exotic. I personally wouldn't go as far as to have substitutes for my meat, as I do enjoy such things.
Well there are not many healthier options that are so called cheap for most people who are on a budget. And especially those who have large families and some who's children refuse to eat vegetables (course I don't know what is wrong with them since ever kid in my family adores them). And to have to continually buy them and cook them while trying to balance other things in life, it's just not in the cards. Otherwise I would definitely try it. I would say that such products are to help people go along when they try to change. It's not easy to change what you've been eating for most your life. So the transition could be a possibily or maybe people just enjoy a little meat flavor every now and then. I love meat too and substitutes seem a bit unhealthy since it is a processed product unless you make it yourself. But sounds good if you make raw hamburgers (which I saw but was too scared to try). It's very interesting and people get so creative when making food items.
If someone becomes vegetarian/vegan/etc for health propourses, or even to lose weight, I can respect... What I find a pain in the ass is that people that are brainwashed to be Vegan/Vegetarian/etc... and that brainwash others to be, and start that speach of "My way is better then yours" like it was some kind of cult. It is hipochrasy and mostly a pain... It gives me more desire for meat every time I hear such speach just to think "at least I am not a duchbag like this guy". For me ir would be a problem to to such diet... for this to work out you need first: 1)Money 2) Know how to cook, have some one to cook for you your vegetarian things. Vegetarian dishes CAN be good, but that is way harder to do than meat, especialy if you want to make a healthy dish (no french fries). If I had access to those I could give it a try even though I love meat.
From their perspective, you are being a ******bag. By not caring about the factory farming of animals and openly contributing to it, and then condemning them for being angry, you are the ******bag. Dairy is a great example. Cows in the dairy industry are kept impregnated all year long in a very small space so that they will produce the most milk possible. It is not even that they are killed, because treating an animal in a humane way and then killing it is actually not so bad. It is that they subject them to being in pain and torture them in order to produce a better crop that is bothersome. You have a similar problem with veal. Veal is made by taking calves, confining them to a small space and malnourishing them so that their muscles grows soft and tender. Only after they have grown extremely miserable and unhealthy are they killed and used for meat. You do not have these problems on local farms, so many vegans are more okay with dairy from a local market, but factory farming brings up major questions of whether you are causing huge amounts of cruelty for pleasure or because you actually need to eat the meat and have those dairy products. Exploiting animals for profit will always lead to cruelty. You could compare a factory farm to an animal brothel without much trouble, and the animal brothel would probably have the animals better treated. On the topic, I am interested in the healthiness of these diets, but only after the ethical reasoning. I will be sure to look into raw foods when I am out on my own.
I'm not really a Raw Foodist. Or a vegan. Or a vegetarian. But I do go vegetarian with a few of my friends from mid-May to Early June. We do it so we won't feel so bloated during the early summer. I agree with Menos Grande. You should work out money and cooking issues before giving up meat. But still...
