new vegan here :)

JC · Joined: 02 Apr 2006 Posts: 111 Location: California

Hi everybody. I've got a question for you vegans here. I'm basically a 'new' vegetarian....going on 3weeks now. I witnessed something that pretty much CHANGED the way i feel about how meat and/or meat products are produced. I really don't want to go into details....it was pretty graphic and inhumane.

Anywayz, how has becoming a vegan changed your life? This question is basically for those who have become vegans...or even for people who have been vegetarians all your life. I used to snicker at people who were vegans, but now its different. I still eat fish, i've always loved fish...especially Mahi Mahi; a tropical fish from the pacific. Some1 also told me that i could eat chicken, too. Is that true?.. Sorry for being a bit naive, but i'm new to this Wink

To be honest, i really feel 'different'. I have a bit more energy, and the dishes that i've tried are things that i normally never would have eaten.....and they were suprisingly good!

I'm going to australia next year...does anyone know any good vegan places there?....things to avoid, etc? How is the food there?

well thx for those who respond.

Guest · Posted: Sat Apr 22, 2006 9:33 pm Post subject:

Hi JC - good luck with your new diet & lifestyle! Strictly speaking, someone who eats seafood but not meat is a pescatarian (I'm one of these) - but don't forget that the capture and slaughter of fish can be cruel, too. The process of farming mass-produced chicken is probably one of the worst parts of the meat industry (much comes from South America where standards and welfare are not that high). Chicken is meat - so if you eat this you are a carnivore for sure!

There are no 'rules' with food - 'vegan', 'vegetarian', 'pescatarian' are just names applied to people with certain diets, in the way animals are described as 'carnivore' or 'omnivore'. Except with humans - the 'label' has become an implication as to what sort of person you are! I know many meat-eaters who are highly interested in ethics and only eat free-range, low yield meat and dairy products - for either health or ethical reasons.

From a travelling perspective, though, if you're back-packing on a budget, going veggie is a sensible option to avoid weird animal products (in China they eat anything with four legs) and the 'Delhi Belly'. When I've travelled with meat eaters, I'm always the one who doesn't get digestion - that's a winning diet, for sure!