I am basically vegan (not really, but it is the closest description), but labels are stupid and I do not let them rule my life, I simply am. Anyway, in addition to Jeff's tidbits, there have been some Ironman competitors. Dave Scott won the thing 5 times (I think) and he is vegan. He is also older than most of the athletes. For those who don't know the Ironman is a race of a 2.5 mile swim, a 150 mile bike, and 26 mile run performed straight in that order. Oh, and Jeff is right about B12 - it would come from vegetables through dirt (it is bacteria in animals) but because of pesticides veggies have to be treated, etc, so they no longer are there in standard produce. However I must disagree with Jeff in that there have been studies linking B12 and mental health. Apparently, if you do not get any, you can run the risk of mental instability. Mrs JB, Actually, I have found tht I like pizza more now that I do not get it with cheese. Before, I could not eat much and it would make me feel nasty. Now I actually crave it at times.
Reading about all these fake meats is disgusting! My sister is a vegetarian and i am so sick of all her crap. She says it if for ethical and health reasons, but it seems like she only doesn't want to eat the cute, furry animals. She won't eat cows, oh no, but she will eat the slimy salmon, or the bug eyed shrimp! or even the squishy snails at the fancy restaurants. She sure does drink milk, even though the cows are inhumanely pumped full of bovine growth hormone, making their udders too full and sagging. She also eats eggs, even though the chickens are still in bad conditions at the egg factories. It seems like what she will or won't eat depends on the day of the week. I guess thats just her, and i'm sure all you other kind folks don't act in such a hypocritical way.
I've eaten some soyburgers before designed to replace hamburgers for vegetarians, and to be honest, they tasted ok. Nothing great, but I could eat 'em and be content... for a while anyway.
I think if you're a vegetarian that means you don't eat animals. Pretty simple. I don't see why milk should be a problem. But, if you choose not to eat milk products, fine. I see it as people who don't feel comfortable "taking advantage" of animals. But, I guess some vegetarians think if they get to the animal early enough (i.e. egg-stage) then it's okay. What a load. Are fetuses of live-born animals okay for those vegetarians too? I'm not dogging vegetarians. I eat vegetarian from time to time. We have some fake spicy chicken patties, some fake hotdogs, and some fake hamburgers in the freezer right now. I do it more for health reasons. But, I don't feel right if I don't get some meat every once in a while. Now, I just spend the extra money to get the leaner meat, when I didn't used to.
Sounds like you and your sister have some issues. Just to clarify, your sister is not a vegetarian. Vegetarians do not eat ANY flesh which includes fish, insects and the like. I know what you mean about hypocritical behavior. There are plenty of nutty vegetarians just as there are nutty religious fanatics or nutty sports fans...oh, wait, that one isn't really a problem. I just think you do what you do for your reasons. Whatever works is fine. It isn't really about fixing everyone else. It is about finding internal justification for your own decisions. We are all hypocrites in one way or another. It is unavoidable.
From dictionary.com: Lacto and ovo vegetarians count as vegetarians. If not you wouldn't need a seperate word for vegan. Face it, you're just a vegetarian elitest.
That's me! I know it has become confusing. Originally, a vegetarian was a person who ate NO animal products of any kind. Eventually, it was changed to vegan if dairy was not eaten and vegetarian if it was just flesh. However, it is recognized by pretty much everyone that a vegetarian, in the least, is someone who does not eat flesh even if they do eat dairly.
