Hot dog craving... I'm so embarrassed, any other vegetarians here?

I used to think I could never become a vegetarian. I love meat, too, and agree it is part of the food chain.

However, I felt at some stage that I couldn't talk about the welfare of animals and expect things to change if I wasn't living my convictions. I became vegetarian after doing a lot of research, and a lot of study. It wasn't a hard decision, in the end, because the more I learned about how animals are exploited to feed us, the less I felt like eating meat. So in the end I didn't have to make the choice, I just couldn't physically eat it anymore after what I had learned.

Also, I believe in myself and my own strength and I believe that I can be unselfish in this regard. Sure, I like meat, but it doesn't really impact on my life that much, and if it means doing the right thing, I can do without it. To me, it's simple. It's not that simple for everyone and that's fine.

I am also vegetarian for environmental reasons but that's a whole other thread!!

My number one motivation for being vegetarian, though, is ethical. I believe that it is human nature to eat meat, and I believe it helps round out your diet and provides you with nutrients that are harder to obtain elsewhere. But it doesn't have to be intensively farmed meat, or battery-hen chicken. After two years of hard core vegetarianism, I am somewhat more relaxed now.

I eat meat, but I only eat meat that has been ethically raised and butchered. Free range, organic chicken and beef. I never, ever eat lamb, because I cannot bring myself to eat baby animals, and I never, ever eat pork. Because there is still very little headway being made in the way pigs are raised and out of all farm animals, they are treated the absolute worst. They live lives of abject misery for the most part and I cannot and will not be a part of funding that industry. I can do without pork and lamb, easily. And if I miss it, too bad. That's life and I can deal with it. I rarely, if ever, eat red meat anyway. I just don't miss it.

The same goes for fish and seafood. I won't eat any farmed seafood and I know where the fish I buy comes from. I try to operate on the principal as much as I can that if I think I would be able to kill it myself, I will eat it. I couldn't kill a lamb, pig or cow, so I don't eat that meat.

Sure, it makes life a little less convenient, but I'm not lazy about these things and I feel that if ethical considerations are to be meaningful, a little inconvenience is something I can happily live with. Plus, the satisfaction I get from knowing that I have not helped contribute the misery of an animal is much stronger than the satisfaction I get from eating meat. You just have to think of others instead of yourself and see the bigger picture. It's not hard to make ethical choices.

I don't use any products at all, where I possibly can, that are tested on animals either. Again, it's a bit more inconvenient but I don't want my mascara to be on my face because of the suffering of a poor creature in a lab.

So yes, we have every right to be human, and eat meat, but we have no right at all to be inhumane, and eat meat raised in cruelty and suffering. I hope that answers in part some of the questions here regarding vegetarianism.

as far as food options mornigstar is great(bacon sausage chicken nuggets and alot of other stuff(saw 3 new things at store) also boca is good for burgers. as far as turkey Quorn ROCKS! I base meals around them and use cheaper things to stretch it(rice/pasta and veggies)

I bought some hot dogs last night because i fancy some at the weekend with some fried onions in a bun.

It's ages since i had them so i hope i enjoy them

KitEcats4Ea said it nicely... I try not to eat meat too often for ethical reasons and secondarily for environmental reasons. I just can't stomach the way most farm animals in the food industry are treated.

The "humane" way to kill for kosher food is slitting the throat with no anesthetic. I'm sure some kosher farms are better than others, but I've seen some footage from one farm and I couldn't handle it.

I'm not here to change the world, I do it mostly for myself. When I have more money, maybe I'll be able to extend my convictions into other areas of my life (like cosmetics and other stuff).

I'm okay with the food chain and that humans are biologically designed to process meat. I don't have an ethical problem with that, just with the way humanity has exploited and disrespected the resources we take from the earth.

All of this talk about hot dogs is going to send me down to the barrio tomorrow, for Pat's chili dogs. They're the world's greatest.

I can't eat beef or pork. It's more of a choice then anything. I really don't like the way they taste and gag whenever honey is cooking them for himself.
I will eat seafood, chicken and turkey though. So what does that make me? Strange??

i LOVE hot dogs, especially the spicy ones!!!

I also eat meat, mostly chicken, but hamburg and pork chops on the girll, OMG SOOOO GOOD!!!

as said before, humans are designed to eat meat, but there is the ability to get those nutrients in other ways, jsut depends on how your able to go about it.

some love meat, some dont, its personal choice. BUT....


DONT ever be embarrassed because you craved something you were designed to eat hun, its PERFECTLY OK!!



just my $.02.

I use to like to love hot dogs...until I saw a tv special one day on how they made and I haven't had one since.

I've been a pescatarian for years (I was a veggie but I couldn't live without prawns) and I cannot remember whether it was for health or moral reasons though I know the thought of meat repulses me
I will be enjoying some veggie hot dogs tomorrow now that I've read booktigger's thread and remembered that I have some in the freezer

Originally Posted by PinkRhinos4

I think you had cravings because we (humans) are actually meant to eat meat its part of the food chain

Its natural to want something to eat that is meat.. I wouldn't says its wrong ... I

MEAT!!

Click to expand...

False. Humans are meant to be omnivores, meaning that whatever food was in plenty at the time we are equipped to eat. Sometimes we ate all meat, sometimes all grain, sometimes both. You can be completely healthy if you choose to eat meat, and completely healthy if you don't. It's strange how vegetarians are always accused of attacking people for eating meat but every time someone starts a thread like this someone tells them they're supposed to be eating meat.

Godiva, after not eating beef for so long your body quits producing the enzymes necessary for your GI to break down the meat (ie, you got the toots because you aren't capable of efficiently digesting it anymore). It's easy to build them back up, but many a vegetarian has had a bout of eating meat and ended up puking or on the pot all night.

I love Morningstar Farms, although I just got some lunch'meat' by SmartDeli and it's pretty good too. Vegetarians are at an advantage though-- if you still eat meat you can way tell the difference. I forget what it tastes like though and if something tastes too much like meat it ends up grossing me out.


NatalieCA, it's only hard at the beginning. If you're willing to use substitute products (like Quorn of Morningstar, etc) there is absolutely nothing you can't make, burritos, chili, etc etc. It's easier than you think it would be, and actually dishes like that are way easier because you don't have to cook anything, you just have to get it warm. I went cold-turkey at 16 the day after Thanksgiving (I was forbidden from ruining my grandmother's dinner) but there's no reason not to do it slowly. When you're eating meat, it seems like everything has meat in it. When you're not, it seems to belong to a different world.

Here's one tip: there are many cultures with much larger percentages of vegetarians, and really good food. Be prepared to try things you've never heard of before (or maybe you have, my culinary habits until I was 16 were very traditionally Midwestern... bagels were a new hip thing... in 1990) like falafel (my personal favorite, prepared exactly like on the box of Near East's brand) etc. If you have an organic/natural/whole foods or a co-op around, go browsing. Places like that usually have a tiny selection of organic meats in a corner, and 75% of the rest of the store is vegetarian.

[font= "Comic Sans MS"]I completely agree that animals should be treated right, I am fully against abuse and we should respect them and that is all I will say about that because otherwise I will go on and on and on and on and on...

BUT... I have lived on large cattle ranches (3 to be exact) all my life. Whether it rains or not, whether the grass grows, whether the cattle get fat, this all depends on how much food I get to eat, the clothes I get to wear, the gas we are able to buy to go to town. Cows are my college fund! I eat meat and lots of it because of this, and also because the only meat we eat, is butchered locally, and is a steer or heifer that we raised ourselves, from day 1. Of course we treat our animals properly! Yes, we brand, but this is for their own good and for the good of the ranch and it's not like unbearable pain, and please nobody please tell me to try burning myself and see how it feels. Yes, we "drag" calves to the fire to brand, but that, IMO, is not cruel.

Everybody has opinions on this and it's such a debatable subject. But the meat I do eat, comes from what we raised ourself. Out in the pasture, with the sun and fresh water and grass. Then we bring it up and fatten it up, yes, but in a good dry environment where we are sure the steer/heifer stays healthy. When we take it in to be butchered, the company who does this runs the beef through a chute and then they use a "stun gun", which knocks them out without any pain, and then they slit their throat, and the bovine never knows what happened.

When we go to eat at restaurants, I usually have chicken, because these are, for the most part, treated humanely.

I am a big fan of meat, believe it is important to my body, and know that our beef is taken care of properly. I am fortunate to not have to worry about the meat that I myself eat, and if it has been mistreated or not.

GO MEAT! [/font]

Originally Posted by Wildflower79

I use to like to love hot dogs...until I saw a tv special one day on how they made and I haven't had one since.

Click to expand...

That's why I don't watch those!!!

I refuse to eat baby animals, too. I don't eat veal, lamb, or eggs. (Okay, I know eggs aren't baby animals! I just don't like eggs!) I used to eat lamb, and then I realized it was a baby sheep (don't ask, I'm just dense). I wish I could, though, because, god, lamb is good.

I once had a Shepherd's Pie made with fake meat. It was so disgusting; it was like rubber! It made me feel nauseous because I'm very big on texture.

Tricia

I'm not a vegetarian- i eat a well balanced diet of meat, veggies, fruits, grains/etc. (if i have no meat in my diet i will get VERY ill- i have a lot of GI issues.)

BUT- i have not had a soft drink in over 9 years now. I quit drinking them back when i was in school because i was doing competitive running and they just aren't good for ya.

To this day i can still remember EXACTLY how Dr. Pepper tastes (and miss it!) and will occassionally be tempted to start drinking soft drinks again. BUT since i don't drink anything carbonated (aside from an occassional beer) it would make me very sick so i don't. Stay strong! If i can go 9 years without a soft drink- you can stick to your healthy eating habits If you do have to binge on a hot dog though- try Morning Star- their stuff is YUMMY!!!! (not the bad junk)

If fish protein much simpler than mammalian protein? I'm just wondering why I had such a reaction when I do get (fish) meat at least three times a week.

Family farms are one thing... Tyson chicken industrial farms are another. I live in the midwest, so fresh cattle meat from a family farm would be easy to get, but I just don't have the money to get it or the proper storage (they usually make you buy a whole carcass and you have to freeze most of it).

Originally Posted by Godiva

If fish protein much simpler than mammalian protein? I'm just wondering why I had such a reaction when I do get (fish) meat at least three times a week.

Family farms are one thing... Tyson chicken industrial farms are another. I live in the midwest, so fresh cattle meat from a family farm would be easy to get, but I just don't have the money to get it or the proper storage (they usually make you buy a whole carcass and you have to freeze most of it).

Click to expand...

That's one thing i miss about not living on a farm anymore- fresh foods. You can definitely taste a big difference between home grown crops/ farm animals than the over processed stuff like Tyson. Fresh farm eggs are the best!!! I wish we had a local grower near us!!! I miss the "real" stuff!

if fish doesn't bother you- you might could try some easier meats like lamb/etc - i know it doesn't make me sick when i eat it (i have to stay away from some pork). I usually just eat chicken or turkey..

neat thread! I just wanted to voice a couple of 'interjections'

Originally Posted by Godiva

I figure at least reducing my consumption of meat and saving lots of animals from horrible suffering on factory farms is a good thing, right?

Click to expand...

nope, I think that reducing your consumption of meat does not save lots of animals because there are babies born every minute who will most likely be brought up to eat meat, there's just too many people to have it make a hill of beans if you reduce your consumption. The companies will still mass produce and mass market........ it's sad.

I think the only way we will actually make any headway is if something bad happens to the meat industry. it's horrible, but i think it's true. something bad is going to have to happen contamination-wise and everyone in the country will have to find another way to eat meat for them to realize that they don't need much of it, if any. AND that there have to be better, more safe ways to get meat to the population

Originally Posted by Godiva

I'm not here to change the world, I do it mostly for myself. When I have more money, maybe I'll be able to extend my convictions into other areas of my life (like cosmetics and other stuff).

Click to expand...

This is good. This is the reason to do anything, not for anyone else. If it makes anyone feel better about themselves and their ethical code, then by all means JUST DO IT (like nike!)

Originally Posted by StarryEyedTiGeR

To this day i can still remember EXACTLY how Dr. Pepper tastes (and miss it!) and will occassionally be tempted to start drinking soft drinks again. BUT since i don't drink anything carbonated (aside from an occassional beer) it would make me very sick so i don't.

Click to expand...

I almost NEVER (literally) have soda. I hate the stuff. But I'll indulge once or twice a year to Dr. Pepper. That's the only soda I'll have, and it has to be diet. I just don't need the carbs/calories from the real thing (coke, get it?). I know that diet sodas have a lot of useless stuff in them, but once or twice a year is ok. Other than that, i satisfy my carbonated cravings with seltzer.

Originally Posted by Renovia

I almost NEVER (literally) have soda. I hate the stuff. But I'll indulge once or twice a year to Dr. Pepper. That's the only soda I'll have, and it has to be diet. I just don't need the carbs/calories from the real thing (coke, get it?). I know that diet sodas have a lot of useless stuff in them, but once or twice a year is ok. Other than that, i satisfy my carbonated cravings with seltzer.

Click to expand...

I have no doubt if i started drinking them again i'd gain a good 20lbs (kinda helps keep me in check ) My body just could not handle it anymore. I used to be addicted to Dr. Pepper! I went through withdrawl for about a month and was the most nasty heifer you've ever seen when i stopped drinking soft drinks cold turkey Thankfully though it's all good now! I just drink water, healthy juices, and the occassional tea or coffee or alcoholic drink. Once you go for a while without soft drinks- you can really see how much they just zap you when you have them all the time- you have soooo much more energy without them! I don't miss being "addicted" to them. But i do occassionally miss the deliscious taste of Dr. Pepper....but just not enough to start up a bad habit again.

i don't eat a lot of meat. i'm not vegetarian, but i don't eat much meat. i wouldn't be able to go all veggie anyway, i love shrimp too much. most of the time my breakfast and lunch are vegetarian. but dinner might have meat. at least 2x a week DH eats a vegetarian dinner with me. i really don't like how beef makes me feel (bloated, gassy and gross) so i rarely eat it. i also don't eat baby animals--veal or lamb, etc. it weirds me out, so it's not on my menu. i'm kind of weird. oh well. i really like boca burger, it's nice if we're making something that would be strange for people if we didn't have ground beef in it. and it's much easier to cook.

i do like hot dogs once in a while. but i like the real thing. we tried some veggie dogs once and they were so gross.

Originally Posted by KitEKats4Eva!

So yes, we have every right to be human, and eat meat, but we have no right at all to be inhumane, and eat meat raised in cruelty and suffering. I hope that answers in part some of the questions here regarding vegetarianism.

Click to expand...

I like this. We have every right to be human, but no right to be inhumane Well done!

Originally Posted by Godiva

If fish protein much simpler than mammalian protein? I'm just wondering why I had such a reaction when I do get (fish) meat at least three times a week.

Family farms are one thing... Tyson chicken industrial farms are another. I live in the midwest, so fresh cattle meat from a family farm would be easy to get, but I just don't have the money to get it or the proper storage (they usually make you buy a whole carcass and you have to freeze most of it).

Click to expand...

[font= "Comic Sans MS"]Actually, it's not ours and it's not a farm. It's a 128,000 acre ranch with about 45 head of horses and 1400 head of cattle. My Daddy manages the ranch, and our boss, D.K, provides meat as needed. If we have somebody else here, we split it, but right now Daddy is managing the ranch on his own and we get a whole beef. We have a big chest freezer out on the porch completely dedicated to the beef when we get it back.
And if you do like meat, it is soooo much cheaper than buying! It averaged out to about $0.49 per pound, and we get lots and lots of steaks and hamburgers out of it...[/font]