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veggie pepperoni
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<p>never heard of that.. what is it?</p>
<p>I've been a vegetarian all my life ( due to religion ) and my diet mainly consists of fruits, lentil soup ( aka Indian curry and dal ) , rice, vegetables, etc....</p>
<p>wow, there is such a variety of reasons people become vegetarians. I'm impressed. Vegetarians are so diverse. Some can't stand the smell of meat, some do it for religious reasons, some for health, some for animal rights, others don't like the idea of eating their parent's leg, or want to rebel, or just want a change.
Meat eaters just do it cause they like meat.</p>
<p>jai--</p>
<p>The veggie pepperoni is an imitation pepperoni made with soy protein. I've also found veggie ham, turkey, bologna, etc. Yves makes a big line of "substitutes". </p>
<p>*--R</p>
<p>oh .... nevermind then :p.. dont like soy...</p>
<p>I didn't like soy a year ago but a trip to Thailand changed my mind - they do awesome things with soy - yummm!</p>
<p>I became vegetarian when I was about 7 - in India it's easy to be a vegetarian, vegetarian food here is awesome (atleast I like it) :)</p>
<p>Asian dishes with soy don't even taste like soy</p>
<p>I was a vegetarian for 15 years, pretty easy when you grow up in it. People ask me what I ate when I was vegetarian, it's the same thing you eat but without the meat.</p>
<p>Why...on earth...</p>
<p>You know what, nevermind.</p>
<p>There's a number of reasons to be vegetarian. Some people (mostly third world) simply can't afford meat. Others think of it as a moral issue. And others just don't like the taste (although I don't know anyone that can say they agree with this one).</p>
<p>And besides: if everyone in the world ate meat, the price would skyrocket for meat-eaters like me. =)</p>
<p>I'd really be interested in what makes a diet homosexual.</p>
<p>When u say something is gay its just an expression, like such and such is stupid or pointless not that its homosexual.</p>
<p>I don't understand the moral issues of vegetarianism. Humans' eating meat is probably more natural than eating vegetables. And the meat industry is not excessively cruel given the need for fast and efficient meat production. Unless you feel like paying 10x as much for your meat, there's really no way the meat industry will ever get more humane.</p>
<p>And besides, if you think eating meat is somehow morally wrong, then is it also wrong for a tiger to eat an antelope in the wild? That's just as natural as a human eating a cow, and killing the cow is probably even more humane than the manner in which the antelope dies. Humans are biologically designed to eat meat, just like tigers. It's nature.</p>
<p>Silly vegetarians.</p>
<p>The only legitimate reason, in my opinion, for being a vegetarian is because you don't like meat. But if that's the case, I don't see why you need to label yourself a vegetarian, because it's just like disliking any other food.</p>
<p>i see where you're coming from, but at the same time, it's natural for other animals to kill each other and homicide isn't acceptable in human society.</p>
<p>i guess calling yourself a vegetarian is like calling yourself catholic; it's just a belief that you hold that others can identify with a name. i think it's kind of different from just disliking a food, as i've yet to meet someone who doesn't eat broccoli for moral reasons. but i agree with you... there are tons of people out there that just dislike meat and don't "officially" claim the vegetarian thing. whatever floats your boat, i suppose.</p>
<p>I'm a vegetarian and have been for ten years, and totally satisfied with my choice. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.goveg.com%5B/url%5D">www.goveg.com</a> is devoted to helping people shift their lives to vegetarianism/veganism. They have tons of useful information, recipes, reasons to be veggie, and they'll send you a special kit of information to help you out. Just be aware that this website is operated by PETA, and some of it can be pretty hardcore... beware that some of their videos show live animals being slaughtered, etc. </p>
<p>There are tons of good reasons to be a vegetarian. While some people say it is natural to eat animals, it is not natural to shove them into tiny cages, feed them hormones, cut off their beaks and slit their throats while still alive. I am not opposed to meat eaters, and encourage those who support free-range meat-eating, but I made the educated decision not to support a cruel and economically and environmentally destructive business. At ten years old.</p>
<p>I am also concerned about hormones and antibiotics in meat. It's not only about animal welfare, but my own health. Cholesterol and bad fats are so much easier to avoid if you don't eat meat.</p>
<p>Fact for the day- a vegetarian saves the lives of about 95 animals a year.</p>
<p>Please let me know if you need any support...</p>
<p>my vegetarianism has nothing to do with ethics - meat just doesn't agree with my system.</p>
<p>It's a just another lifestyle choice. No need to put it down so vociferously (or raise it sky high with praise either :p)</p>
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Humans' eating meat is probably more natural than eating vegetables.
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<p>Actually, humans in an ancestral environment almost certainly ate more greens, roots, and berries than they ate meat. At any rate, the human body clearly extracts energy more efficiently from carbohydrates than from protein (hence the Atkins diet -- you're taking in lots of calories, but the body can't efficiently convert them into energy), so eating plants and sugars is thereby more "natural" than eating meat.</p>
<p>Now, I don't happen to think that anything "natural" is good and anything good is "natural", and I think the "naturalness" of a given diet is a pretty poor criterion for adhering to it -- I just think that if you're going to start labeling things indiscriminately, you should have your facts in order.</p>
<p>I've been a vegetarian my whole life (parents were hippies) and I have to disagree with some of the stuff being said here. Especially "(the human body was not designed for vegetarianism)." Humans are definitely not carnivores--look at your teeth! Only a few (canines) are designed for eating meat, the majority are flat for grinding. Besides, unless you are a creationist, you can't say that humans were "meant" for anything; nature and evolution aren't means to an end.</p>
<p>The thing about vegetarians not getting enough protein is total BS. The average American gets 10X as much protein as they need, you will be fine as long as you eat a balanced died (fruits, veggies, grains, legumes, a little dairy if you aren't vegan). I have eaten meat only a few times in my 16 years and I've always been very healthy, never low on protein or iron or anything, and I certainly don't get sick any more than anyone else--probably less.</p>
<p>Studies have shown that vegetarians live, on average, 10 years longer than the general population. (I can't remember the source right now, but I wrote a paper about this last year and I could look it up.) Your risk of obesity and heart disease=down.
It's also better for the environment--much more energy/money/environmental damage in eating a cow than eating bread. For the cow, a field of grain or whatever must be grown for the cow to eat, then the cow has to be bred, probably in poor conditions, then killed, then processed. Soil erosion, nitrogen runoff, use of nonrenewable fuels, etc, you are doing a tiny little part to decrease these problems by not supporting the meat industry.
And then there's the issue of the horrible treatment animals receive. Lambs for veal, for example, are shoved in cages so small they cannot move, so as to kept their muscles soft, for their entire lives. Some people choose to support free-range/organic/humane companies rather than be vegetarian, and that is a good choice too.</p>
<p>All of these are equally good reasons to go vegetarian: health, environment, the inhumanity of the meat industry, personal taste. Whatever your reason(s), it's definitely a great way to live.</p>
<p>"Actually, humans in an ancestral environment almost certainly ate more greens, roots, and berries than they ate meat."</p>
<p>Not true. Well, it actually depends what geographic region you are talking about and during what time period. One theory of why humans were able to intellectually evole so quickly is because they learned to cook and store meat, which gave far more nutrients than the vegetables they were eating. Since they had more nutrients from a smaller amount of food intake, they could spend time doing other things than hunting all the time, which allowed them to get smarter. I'm not an anthropologist, but it is an interesting subject to read up on. But again, virtually everything you hear about human ancestry is all theory, so we can't be sure.</p>
<p>"look at your teeth! Only a few (canines) are designed for eating meat, the majority are flat for grinding."</p>
<p>Have you ever looked inside a dog's mouth? Dogs are obviously primarily carnivores, and they have similar teeth to us. Granted their canines are much larger, but the rest of the teeth really aren't that much different.</p>
<p>"There are tons of good reasons to be a vegetarian. While some people say it is natural to eat animals, it is not natural to shove them into tiny cages, feed them hormones, cut off their beaks and slit their throats while still alive."</p>
<p>Well humans are unique from other animals in that we can do that. Tigers have claws while humans have intellect. What do you consider a "natural" way for humans to obtain meat? Wrestling wild bison with our bare hands?</p>
<p>What about the fact that a large amount of animals are killed to provide the added amount of crops eaten by vegitarians? eh? Being run over by a combine is a pretty nasty way to die, as is having your homeland leveled to make a field (since the old field was turned into townhomes)</p>
<p>Otto, vegetarians eat extra crops themselves, but I think meat requires more crops to be put into it than the extra crops eaten by vegetarians.</p>
<p>Humans could let the animals live more comfortably and die less painfully without "wrestling wild bison with our bare hands" if they feel the need for meat. Just because humans can treat animals cruelly doesn't mean that we should. The only reason for the tiny cages, hormones, and beak-cutting is to make a bigger profit. It would be possible to improve conditions and still be able to get meat. </p>
<p>Seventy percent of all of the grain pruduced in the country is eaten by livestock. One acre of land can produce 30,000 pounds of apples, 40,000 pounds of potatoes, 50,000 pounds of tomatoes, or 250 pounds of beef. 2,500 gallons of water are used by cows to produce 1 edible pound of beef, in comparison to 49 gallons for the same amount of apples. It would be much better for the environment if everyone became vegetarians, or at least cut down on the amount of meat that they ate.</p>