How many Homesteaders here don't eat meat?

I personally won't eat ANY meat unless I have hunted or raised it myself

My family and I have been vegetarians for about 15 years now. No dairy (at home anyway- we don't pick through our food when we go out). I can't eat dairy anyway- I am allergic to it. We do have our own chicks and occassionally will eat thier eggs- like if I put them in something. I did take a tiny piece of a roast that my sister was cooking once awhile back. I quickly spit it out as it tasted like what burnt blood smells like! The kids have all thrived, grown well and almost are never sick- except for our second DD- she works at a daycare and brings home the disease of the week. The kids rarely have to go to the docs. last time was 2 years ago for my son, and he had a fish hook stuck in his leg.

We are veggies because unlike Shrek- we don't want our veggies and grains processed We prefer to do that ourselves. Seriously it was a big step for us because we raised our own meat. But one day I looked at that dead lamb and something just sort of clicked. We are not militant or fanatical about it, everybody makes choices and this is ours.

Our family does not eat beef...not at home (because we dont raise it) or out. We do not buy it at all. We do eat all other meats and raise most of our own chicken, duck, turkey, rabbit and pork. We drink raw goats milk (from our goats) and eat eggs (from our own chickens).

Belinda

Chickflick,

I hope you didnt think i was coming down on you for saying the thing about b-12 and anemia. it just made me thing that b-12 deficiency and iron deficiency can happen to veg's and meat eaters, and does, but is also a huge misconception about vegetarianism.. I have had so many people (including my own primary care physician) say things to me or express concern that i'm going to become anemic.. my (former) primary care physician said once to me.. "that's great that your a vegetarian, your cholesteral will be low, but lets do a test to make sure you are not anemic.. " I had the test and proved i wasn't, and then found a new doctor. Of course then i had the same situation again and then just came to the conclusion that doctors know nothing about nutrition and that i've read so much about nutrition over the past 14 years that i know more than them.

But yes, I have heard of vegetarians that have become anemic, most of the time they tend to be 'junk food' vegetarians. Which basically are vegetarians who continue to eat the same foods but without the meat.. like people who eat lots of BK or McD's french fries while the others have burgers.. and eat lots of potato chips and stuff like that, but dont add in healthy foods like green foods. Greens (mainly dark leafy greens) are one of the best sources of iron and many other vitamins and minerals. So what happens is some people remove the meat (which is a source of iron) but fail to add some good stuff in to replace it.

ok, big drawn out post.. ha!

peace,

Jason

It's funny this thread is here as I was just thinking about this the other day. Like many of yall, I am the same way. The older I get, the less I enjoy meat.
I cant see me ever giving it up totally as I do like it, but I have more of a craving for fresh vegetables, fruits, grains, beans, etc.
Seems like "veggie nights" are often some of my favorites meals. Especially when there are lots of salad type of foods.

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there has to be meat on the table in this house for every meal. be it bacon or saugage, then theres always beef .and lamb is great, i just love pork. and the issue of poultry is its on the menu at least every 2 weeks. and eggs as a protein source , try 2 dozen a week.

We are vegetarians because we do not want to kill animals anymore. And we could eat meat if we have to for some reason. We do not want to kill animals because of our religion, Self Realization Fellowship , which is a Christian, Hindu, Buddhist, combination of beliefs (meditation and Kriya Yoga are the main ideas). However, it is not a requirement to be vegetarian, it is as said above by RANDEL,

However, our diet is well balanced. We eat the correct (recommended) amount of proteins, carbs, minerals and trace minerals as recommended, and we take recommended supplemental vitamins, etc., each day. About 50 grams of protein for Nancy, and about 70 grams for me every day.

We have tofu "bacon", gluten "shrimp", "beef", "chicken", and many other tofu and soya type products, etc. We find there is no difference in these modern products and animal flesh. The cooking, sauces, gravies, etc are more the taste and what I think of when I have "meat" dishes. Those products combined with the more traditional rice, beans, cheese and eggs (we do eat dairy products and eggs), nuts and all vegetables give us a very healthy diet without too much fat and oil and no dead animals need be consumed.

We try to eat what we think is a very healthy diet, except for sometimes (darn - not perfect - oh well who is?). We are all going to die anyway.

If you like meat, or used to eat it, and want to carry on with your traditional cooking, and at the same time have proper nutrition, without eating meat, then the tofu, gluten, and other non-meat products are great alternatives.

Alex

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A fat slob as well

I was a vegetarian for twenty years and vegan for part of that time. When I moved out here and was able to humanely raise my own animals I stepped off the wagon- at least for now. I was only a vegetarian for reasons to do with compassion for animals and not for my health. I know I will be vegetarian again some day but right now I think I balance compassion for animals with my family's sense of eating meat as well as I can. I'm with Randel on the Buddhist part- for what its worth, I can't eat store bought meat that I can raise here. I just can't do it.

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I was vegetarian for 8 years or so, but not anymore, now that we can raise
our own animals - sheep and chickens, and I'd like to raise a pig someday. I
am strongly opposed to factory meat (and egg and dairy) production, it's
inhumane and unhealthy. But I'm also not that into meat, and DH likes it but
doesn't miss it much when we don't have it. We keep it in the freezer and
every so often pull some out, mostly when we have guests - maybe two or
three times a month. I love milk and cheese and eggs, though.

I havent eaten meat in years. I keep a flock of chickens for eggs and I do eat fish.

I've got food allergies here to a number of vegetables & grains & nuts -- I can eat a "small" amount of nuts and grains, but too much and it's an instant asthma attack. I've got so many allergies that I don't think I could eat a balanced diet without meat in it.

I have my own chickens for eggs, but I just can't send an animal I've known to "camp" -- well, I could do the chickens, but they're worth more live and sold. But a goat or cow I couldn't do, and I know I'm gonna have a hard time with the turkeys in the fall. (They're commercial meat birds, though, so I'll hve to do it. I know their legs won't hold out otherwise.)

Leva

Will be 7 yr this Memorial Day since I stopped eating meat. At 6'2" and 260 lb I figured there were enough older fat boys around and the world didn't need another one. Cholesterol was also high. I now weigh in at 215. 38" waist and feel great. Fortunately there are very few foods I don't like and also grow a large garden & freeze/can a lot of good veggies. I agree that M.D.'s generally have little understanding of nutrition. I also believe that even good doctors can't practice medicine the way they may want to. Most have to belong to a large clinic or medical group of some type and require a lot of prescription writing. I have taken no pills for 7 yr. and never took many before other than aspirin or tylenol for the few times a yr. when I'd have a headache. I've found that a good strong cup of chamomile tea gets rid of a headache within an hour or less. And, no, I don't feel as if my views of diet & healthcare are "off the wall" or "wacko". I do feel that the cost of health care is not expensive ....as long as one takes the approach of practising healthy eating habits in order to prevent problems. Medical care & hospitalization are very expensive, but eating right and making an effort to maintain health is not. I do believe that our genetic makeup also determines some aspects of our health and longevity.
Many of us have known or known of vegetarians that have health problems and heart attacks & early deaths....and heavy meat eaters, smokers, drinkers that have few health problems and live a long life, but I really don't think overindulgence is a good idea. I also don't believe one should attempt to push others into different eating habits or lifestyle. Look at the facts and make up your own mind. It's your life to be lived as you see fit.

Alex and all... being vegetarian doesn't necessarily kill less animals, in fact it may kill more. :no: how many small animals are being ground up in those huge factory farm combines and machines that harvest all the grains? and the birds who's nests are in the fields that are plowed over. the sleeping fawn and the vole and the mouse... plus the pesticides that are often used. soybeans are one of the most heavily sprayed crops! the only thing i can think of would be a vegetarian who grows their own crops and harvests them by hand. organic is nice, but mass produced organic is just as bad as far as monocropping and wildlife is concerned.

at least if you're going to kill a cow, you just kill the cow. the land he lived on is more fertile because he ate the grass for you (NOT grains and 'feed') and pooped it out, there are bugs and small animals living with him and none will die. this from a properly raised and taken care of cow. same thing for dairy cows. i'm NOT talking about factory mass produced animals. i'm against that practice as much as i'm against monocropping of mass fields of soybeans and wheat etc.

just don't play the 'i'm saving the animals' card in reference to vegetarianism, please. i've kept my mouth shut so far, and i'll continue to do so in reference to the healthy reasons why NOT to be strictly vegan or veggie. but if you intend to have children, i encourage you highly to read this:
www.westonaprice.org
about how to have the healthiest baby you can possibly have.

Urban Dreamer,

The reason the fields are plowed, and grain, and hay are harvested (which I do), is because the cow, and other animals need so much more feed than if we ate it directly. Again, the pesticides, if used, are for the cow (or other animals) - due to greed of us. So the farm animals are causing the "quickening" (early death) of all those other smaller animals that are in the fields that you mentioned.

I do not use any fertilizer or pesticides on our hay and never have (... hmm ... oops, when I had a dairy farm about thirty years ago, I used some fertilizer on about twenty acres one year - other than that - nothing).

I think it is OK to eat animals, if you want to. For me it's not so much about "saving the animals", as it is, "not kill them anymore because I don't want to". For me, it’s about making me happy, not about the animals. I feel that spiritually it is better for me not to eat them. And fortunately, we have freedom of religion (and spirituality), right?

I do not think everyone has to be vegetarian, and I would eat meat, if not to offend a host, if not avoidable. And I think by me not eating meat usually, less animals will be raised for me.

Alex

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Well, I don't eat meat, and use very little eggs, milk and cheese. I grew up in a family that went corporate with their farming practices and strongly disagree with supporting what I believe is both an extremely poor choice in ethics and a very irresponsible way to treat our home, the Earth. If I eat meat again I will start hunting or raising it myself.

Having said that, I have been into body-building in the past, am 6'2" and 200 pounds, have great health and at 41 people usually think I am around 28 when they meet me. (Well, until we talk about life anyway ~LOL~) I say this for one reason. Many athletes and body-builders are vegetarian, at least in part of their training. It's a healthy lifestyle as long as you don't just stop eating meat and continue your diet or only eat cheese with cheese on the side. A Vegetarian or Vegan diet is NOT something that you can get in a restaurant all the time in most areas. It is not the standard, and it does take some research to gain the touted health benefits. You won't survive on it at McDonalds, for instance.

In my opinion, the Homestead mentality is already removed from corporate ideas and makes a healthy Vegetarian and\or Vegan diet much more easily attainable- especially financially. My organic produce bills would be huge, even if I stayed away from the organic frozen food section. For instance, this afternoon I made 2 Tempeh sandwiches with home made sprout bread, fresh garden greens and some Veganaise. I had a fresh carrot based juice with it. Buying something comparable at a restaurant would be about (I know it's crazy!) $18.00 here.

Buying a small bag of organic mixed greens is $2.50 at the grocery, a loaf of sprout bread about $3.50, Tempeh is about $1.50 and the Veganaise about $3.75. For 2 Sandwiches it may be around $2.50-$3.00 and a frozen carrot juice would be another couple of bucks so let's say about $5.00.

Getting this from my garden though, I get a wider variety of fresher greens, homegrown sprouts are in home baked bread that I figured once was about 80 cents a loaf and I still have carrots from last year. So lunch was less than $1.75. And it was awesome. Better than I could buy even at $18.00.

The US Government subsidises beef prices, so it's a little different, but of course you organic\hunted meat homesteaders are getting something better too IMO, both ethically and health-wise.

But my point is: if you want great organic Vegan\Vegetarian food in this country then homesteading makes excellent financial sense. In fact, I don't know why anyone would do it any other way. I would think a lot of serious Vegetarians and Vegans are at least practicing Homesteading principles in some fashion, and many of the long term serious ones I have met are this way.

~Michael in Boise