Your dietary habits! (Are you a vegetarian?)

[Mike Ventrella]

Just for discussion's sake, take the poll!

I'm what is now called a "pescatarian" which is someone who eats no meat except fish. Been that way since before most of you were probably born.

Why? Well, obviously it's not because I believe I will go to hell or something for eating meat. And, if I were stranded on a desert island, I'd have no problem eating animals when it's them or me.

But I'm basically this way for two reasons:

1. Health. Every day more studies come out showing how unhealthy meat is (and especially red meat). And it's even moreso when you consider how much meat these days is full of chemicals and other additives given to the animals. I'm also not at a heavy risk for mad cow, e-coli and other diseases that pop up every few years.

2. Boycott. By not eating meat, I am boycotting factory farms where animals are kept in hugely confining and unhealthy cages. Yes, I know, that's not all of them and yes I know that there are farms where chickens are kept in similar ways and I do still eat eggs and dairy products but (a) I buy free range eggs and (b) I know I'll never be able to be 100% perfect in this, so even if I only reach 75% it's still something.

How about you?

 

[Ket]

Have been a lacto-ovo vegetarian for about 20 years now. Orignally cut out red meat and having fish and fowl for more protien and less fat, then eventually cut those out as well. Guees if was stranded on a desert island with Joe Pesce would be a Pescatarian if need be.

Kevin

 

[jpariury]

I think I'd be a vegetarian if I thought Mother Earth wanted all the plants to die, but otherwise I generally eat things that are tasty and won't kill me or inconvenience me in the immediate.

 

[Gee-Perwin]

Been a Pescatarian since I was 16, so its been 13 years. My sister started about 6 months before I did. I used to eat a lot of the vegetarian food she'd make and I started to really enjoy it. Eventually I decided to cut the meat out including fish. That only lasted a few months, though. I stayed away from the meat/chicken/pork, but I couldn't live without fish. I have eaten all kinds of ocean life and haven't found a single thing I don't love. This includes eating raw sea urchin straight from the pier (cut it in half, squirt lemon on it, and down the hatch!). Octopus is my absolute favorite. Seriously, I FRIGGIN' LOVE cooking & eating seafood so much that I'd probably eat a scuba diver.

I honestly don't have any issues with killing animals for food. I do have a problem with factory farms, mainly because of the conditions these animals are in. I'm by no means an animal rights activitist but I really think if you raise animals in crappy conditions you're going to end up with crappy meat. I still cook with meat for friends and family, including my own children. I have friends who were raised from Day 1 without meat, but I believe in giving my children the freedom to decide what to put in their bodies when they are old enough to make that decision.

I have told my friends and family numerous times that there is one situation where I would definitely eat meat again. If a mythological creature were to be discovered I would so eat it. I use the example of a unicorn, but I'd be all about making some griffon steaks, too. How the hell could you pass up eating a mythological beast?!

 

[phedre]

funny, there's no guidelines on how to season the dead unicorn in my backyard in either "The Joy of Cooking" or "Food Lover's Companion." Damn.

Keep that in mind next time you eat dinner in Caldaria... I help cook it

I don't descriminate in what I eat, although I do try and find organic, or vegetarian fed at the least, meat, pork, chicken, and dairy products. Mike and I eat mostly fish, chicken and pork, with very little red meat because of health restrictions.

Perhaps it's working in restaurants, or the home I was raised in, but I enjoy exploring the culinary world. Be it sweetbreads or frog's legs, I'll try it if you prepare it in a way that doesn't make me go "ugh."

Oh, and the more garlic, the better.

 

[Stoneskull_Rockfist]

Mike, I'm the opposite of you. I eat red meat. I love red meat. To paraphrase Ron White, since it's been said that cow flatulence is causing global warming, I would like everyone to know that I'm doing MY part to fight global warming... I'm eating as many cows as I can, as fast as I can. I'm just trying to help!

But I'm only one man.

I just don't understand how people can NOT eat meat! We fought our way to the top of the food chain... we should enjoy it!

 

[Gee-Perwin]

I just don't understand how people can NOT eat meat! We fought our way to the top of the food chain... we should enjoy it!

I am enjoying it! I don't see cows and chickens sitting in a sushi restaurant having a meal.

 

[Mike Ventrella]

I just don't understand how people can NOT eat meat! We fought our way to the top of the food chain... we should enjoy it!

Well, since you asked, our digestive systems are much closer to animals who eat no or very little meat (like chimpanzees, with whom we share something like 96% DNA).

Meat-eating animals have mouths that open very wide in order to take huge chunks of an animal with it and powerful jaws. We don't. Meat eating animals have sharp teeth by which to rip meat apart. We don't. Meat eating animals have intestines that are about 3 - 6 times their body length. Ours are about 12 times.

There are lots of other biological differences: we have smaller livers, bigger stomachs, different pH in saliva, all sorts of things that make us closer to horses than cats.

The fact that we can eat meat doesn't mean that we are built to do so. Just do a quick search and you'll find lots of studies from reliable doctors (not PETA freaks or other vegetarian groups) showing that we are not designed for being a primarily meat-eating creature. These are pretty uncontroverted, really.

 

[Duke Frost]

Chimps also pee in their hands and fling it at each other. You can go chimp if you want Mike, I'll pass. If you throw poo at me, we're gonna have issues.

A 4% difference in DNA is a huge difference, just like 4% interest is a huge difference from 0% interest. A scientist with an agenda is still a scientist with an agenda.

Humans are omnivores by nature, plain and simple. We are built to survive almost anywhere on the globe and eat most anything available. Most other animals, including your cousin the chimp, are built to survive in very specific habitats on very specific diets.

I also don't think I know any human that is primarily a meat eater. You are comparing our mouths to carnivores. We have omnivore mouths. I have canines and incisors for tearing meat. I have molars for grinding vegetables. Plus I have opposible thumbs for using a steak knife and a gun.

I also live in the U.S. Give me a big fat steak, with some asparagus, some potatoes and some bread or rolls. Most people on this list live in the U.S. They can eat what they want to, and I rarely if ever think about what others are eating. That's the difference between vegans, vegetarians and your regular old omnivore. The omnivores don't stare at your plate. My mom taught me that was rude when I was like four.

And if you think you're not getting poison with your fish, you're fooling yourself. Freddy wasn't the only mercury.

Scott

 

[AllianceCHI]

Chimps eat meat in the form of insects/termites etc. They eat those all the time. We also have all sorts of things that make us closer to cats than horses...forward facing eyes, and little itty bitty pointy teeth in the front to presumably tear into certain things like meat.

For every nutritionist study that says the human body was engineered to be a vegitarian I can find you 2 that say were supposed to be omnivores and maybe 1/2 who say were still supposed to be carnivores.

On the other hand, I think the argument that we are at the top of the food chain is flawed dramatically. You didnt do any fighting and thus didnt earn your meant. Go back to your corner and eat a carrot stick! . While I agree meat conveys enjoyment it only does so as much as a good number of nuts, fruits, veggies, cheese (im an cheese freak). I also think that the attitude towards meat consumption in the country and many parts of the world are skewed towards overinflation of meat intake. 1 portion of meat is only a few ounces yet people persist in eating a slab of meat thats often 2-3 times their daily recommended intake.

While I commend folks who undertake an alternative diet because often times these are well balanced nutritional diets I'm not quite ready to condemn the cow to the annals of history. Meat and its byproducts are great nutritious sources of many minerals, vitamins, etc that are more difficult to find in other foods. Theres nothing wrong with meat, but overeating meat is indeed unhealthy and can lead to serious health conditions but then again so can drinking too much, eating too much sugar, eating too many fatty foods, etc all of which lead me back to my main point about moderation.

Besides... meat being dangerous is dated... the real trouble these days is High Fructose Corn Syrup.

 

[Duke Frost]

Down with high fructose!!!! Boooo!!!! I hate that stuff.

 

[AllianceCHI]

Give up Soda yet?

 

[jpariury]

The fact that we can eat meat doesn't mean that we are built to do so. Just do a quick search and you'll find lots of studies from reliable doctors (not PETA freaks or other vegetarian groups) showing that we are not designed for being a primarily meat-eating creature. These are pretty uncontroverted, really.

I think it would be inaccurate to say that humans aren't "built" to eat meat. To be honest, humans fare poorly on a strictly plant-matter diet. A great study on the subject can be found here. Meat consumption has, anthropologically, consisted of about 35% of the diet, much as any other hunter-gatherer species (See The Paleolithic Prescription). When comparing total "gut volume", humans have greater intestinal volume, where orangutans and chimps have larger colon volume. At the same time, Inuit diets are predominantly meat-eating, so clearly the human body can be easily adapted to such.

On HFCS - I suspect it is a function of volume over anything inherent to HFCS vs sugar. The studies I've seen compare HFCS to non-sweetened alternatives. As one of the initial "whistleblowers" on HFCS as a link to obesity, Prof. Popkin had this to say: ""It was a theory meant to spur science, but it's quite possible that it may be found out not to be true. I don't think there should be a perception that high-fructose corn syrup has caused obesity until we know more." I don't know of anything indicating that foods would be healthier if you replaced the HFCS with sugar. link to quotation

 

[Mike Ventrella]

Chimps also pee in their hands and fling it at each other. You can go chimp if you want Mike, I'll pass. If you throw poo at me, we're gonna have issues.

No doubt we are farther advanced than chimps. But, to carry the analogy, cats lick their own behinds. It's not like the vegetarian animals are the only ones with bad habits!

And still, I agree that we can handle meat, but nothing you posted contradicts the fact that our bodies are much much more like non-meat eating animals. I mean, I don't know how agenda plays into that; those are just facts.

 

[Mike Ventrella]

The fact that we can eat meat doesn't mean that we are built to do so. Just do a quick search and you'll find lots of studies from reliable doctors (not PETA freaks or other vegetarian groups) showing that we are not designed for being a primarily meat-eating creature. These are pretty uncontroverted, really.

I think it would be inaccurate to say that humans aren't "built" to eat meat. To be honest, humans fare poorly on a strictly plant-matter diet. A great study on the subject can be found here. Meat consumption has, anthropologically, consisted of about 35% of the diet, much as any other hunter-gatherer species (See The Paleolithic Prescription). When comparing total "gut volume", humans have greater intestinal volume, where orangutans and chimps have larger colon volume. At the same time, Inuit diets are predominantly meat-eating, so clearly the human body can be easily adapted to such.

Never said we can't eat ANY meat -- I said we were not primarily meat-eaters.

And that's why I eat fish, too -- I need the protein. Plus I like it.

 

[jpariury]

Never said we can't eat ANY meat -- I said we were not primarily meat-eaters.

No, but you did suggest that humans aren't built to eat meat, which is where I disagree. By the same token, we aren't "primarily vegetable" eaters either... we're omnivores.

And that's why I eat fish, too -- I need the protein. Plus I like it.

Sushi is damn delicious. I think I'd eat it nine times a week if I could.

 

[Duke Frost]

Chimps also pee in their hands and fling it at each other. You can go chimp if you want Mike, I'll pass. If you throw poo at me, we're gonna have issues.

No doubt we are farther advanced than chimps. But, to carry the analogy, cats lick their own behinds. It's not like the vegetarian animals are the only ones with bad habits!

And still, I agree that we can handle meat, but nothing you posted contradicts the fact that our bodies are much much more like non-meat eating animals. I mean, I don't know how agenda plays into that; those are just facts.

You started the animal comparisons, not me. I dont' want to be a chimp or a cat.

It's hard to discuss things with you Mike. Paul and I both posted about our teeth. We do NOT have herbivore teeth. We have omnivore teeth. We have eyes in the front of our heads, not the sides. This signifies we are predators, not prey.

You also just completely ignored the fact that fish are just as highly contaminated as beef or any other four legged meat or fowl. Any of them can be healthy or contaminated, all depends on the situation.

Doctors and scientists also change what is a "healthy diet" more often than the weather changes. They also never agree on what a healthy diet is. MANY of them want to sell their nutrition book, or their companies product or whatever. Most every scientist is being paid/funded by someone. Every one has an agenda.

Most doctors and government studies promote a "balanced diet". Or as my wise old grandpappy used to tell me "Eat a little bit of everything."

The real problem in the U.S. is that people just eat too much. Portions are much too big. A calorie is a calorie is a calorie, whether it's beef, fish, asparagus, corn syrup or anything else. You have to burn more than you put in to lose weight. The problem with corn syrup or sugar is that people drink down tons of calories that they don't need. And yes, I know some calories are healthier than others, but arteries getting clogged is a different issue than pure weight gain/loss.

Humans eat meat and we eat veggies, grains and fruits. Therefore "scientifically" we are omnivores.

Scott
PS: Yes Paul, I gave up soda years ago. I have a couple a month and they are always diet (so I'll get cancer or something else)

 

[Duke Frost]

Never said we can't eat ANY meat -- I said we were not primarily meat-eaters.

No, but you did suggest that humans aren't built to eat meat, which is where I disagree. By the same token, we aren't "primarily vegetable" eaters either... we're omnivores.

And that's why I eat fish, too -- I need the protein. Plus I like it.

Sushi is damn delicious. I think I'd eat it nine times a week if I could.

Holy carp! JP and I agree on TWO things in one post...that we're omnivores and that sushi is damn delicious. What's next? Israel and Palestine will cohost the next Olympics?

 

[AllianceCHI]

Naw.. thats once you guys agree to 4-5 things in one post.

 

[Hammerfist]

Chimps are known to hunt in packs for small mammles and kill and eat other rival troops (group of chimps).

I support PETA (People for Eating Tasty Animals) and have been know purchase my meat from the store and go out in the woods and get it myself..... Mmmmmmmmm Bambi cutlets and Yogi sausage.