fish!

i didn't really think you were suggesting that you were doing scientific research, though you do seem pretty passionate about advocating against the (for lack of a better term) "sanctity" of the vegetarian diet.

i'd be interested in knowing how balanced your diet was and how you planned for your nutritional requirements when you were attempting vegetarianism. a lot of people say "it's not for me" when the truth is, a lot of people go into it unprepared, simply thinking they can cut out meat and not have to worry about replacing those nutrients with a balanced vegetable-based equivalent. i don't know what your situation was, maybe you went as far as to work with a nutritionist and it didn't work for you - i can only speak from my experience as well, which is based on almost 20 years of absolutely no problem with a vegetarian diet, and during the past three years i've been working out regularly, being in the best physical shape of my entire life.

because of my experience, i'm really interested in other people's stories - i hope to do something with my years of vegetarian life - a book? a blog? i don't know, some kind of project - and i'm always interested in hearing how/why it didn't work out for other people who really did give it an honest go.

Fish is not vegetarian... unless you're Catholic, perhaps.

Well, I'm not into cut and dry definitions. I consider myself a vegetarian, but I do eat fish or seafood about once a week. I also eat a big fat juicy hamburger two or three times a year or I get anemic. So call it what you will. It works for me.

Well, I'm not into cut and dry definitions. I consider myself a vegetarian, but I do eat fish or seafood about once a week. I also eat a big fat juicy hamburger two or three times a year or I get anemic. So call it what you will. It works for me.

(Semi-random aside:

Vegans (and others who appreciate non-dairy milks)! Stores in my area recently started carrying HEMP MILK. It sounds scary, I know. It's delicious. Seriously. Try it. Even though you'll feel like a total hippie. It's worth it. )

Stores in my area recently started carrying HEMP MILK. It sounds scary, I know.

I still struggle with low energy sometimes, hypoglycemia, low iron. It would be easier if I were a meat eater, but I seldom take the easy path, so that's the way it is. It's a form of discipline. The transition was difficult at first, but now I have it down pretty well and have an eye toward longevity.

I still struggle with low energy sometimes, hypoglycemia, low iron. It would be easier if I were a meat eater, but I seldom take the easy path, so that's the way it is. It's a form of discipline. The transition was difficult at first, but now I have it down pretty well and have an eye toward longevity.

I grew up on a farm and we had meat all the damn time: pork chops, steak, roast beef, bacon, fish, ham, chicken. I never liked most of it. I don't like the texture--it's too chewy or something. I am guilty of eating it about once a year--at my parents' house (grilled Iowa chops ONLY).

I don't trust meat ordered at restaurants and I don't like it enough to buy it at the grocery for myself. I'm not actively against killing animals for food, but I just don't like the taste of it. I think if you're gonna kill something at least use all of it--like cows--you can have meat, leather for shoes, belts, etc...

And before anyone jumps down my throat, the farm I grew up on is VERY small--only 200 head of cattle + corn, beans, etc and my dad does all the work himself...it's not a big ranch/cow factory.

you know, i totally respect this approach, and even though i wouldn't eat meat from a farm like this - at this point, there's just nothing even remotely appealing about the idea of eating it, just on a level of simple personal taste - i respect anyone who at least raises and prepares the meat themselves and does so ethically and respectfully, and in a way that, like you said, makes use of ALL of the parts of the animals slaughtered. it's the lesser of many evils in my opinion, and if someone's going to eat meat, i can at least respect someone going the DIY route.

I realize that my post was unintentionally misleading... I should clarify: we only raised cows and hogs on the farm...now it's just beef cattle. My dad does all the work in terms of grinding the feed, feeding them, planting the alfalfa, corn, etc. but he does sell the steers to the stockyards for money. When I was younger we would have the stockyards mark "our cows/hogs" and send them to the butcher(?) who would process the meat for us; but at least we knew it was our meat. He doesn't go "out back" and kill the animals himself...I meant it's not a huge industrial farm/factory where the animals are cramped together with bad living conditions, and hired help. They have hundreds of acres to graze on in the summer, he checks on them every day, and in the winter he brings them into the barn, feeds them twice a day, makes sure they have clean bedding, takes care of them if they get sick, etc. Now whether the stockyards makes leather from the hides, I don't know...

I realize that my post was unintentionally misleading... I should clarify: we only raised cows and hogs on the farm...now it's just beef cattle. My dad does all the work in terms of grinding the feed, feeding them, planting the alfalfa, corn, etc. but he does sell the steers to the stockyards for money. When I was younger we would have the stockyards mark "our cows/hogs" and send them to the butcher(?) who would process the meat for us; but at least we knew it was our meat. He doesn't go "out back" and kill the animals himself...I meant it's not a huge industrial farm/factory where the animals are cramped together with bad living conditions, and hired help. They have hundreds of acres to graze on in the summer, he checks on them every day, and in the winter he brings them into the barn, feeds them twice a day, makes sure they have clean bedding, takes care of them if they get sick, etc. Now whether the stockyards makes leather from the hides, I don't know...

sounds