[Aldentron]

I attended my friend's vegan potluck birthday party last night and the food was great. This movie came up in conversation, and it covers the health issues that come with eating meat. I haven't seen it yet but I would like to, and the trailer makes it seem like it would answer a lot of questions posed about the vegan diet vs. omnivore diet.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7ijukNzlUg

Note to everyone who doesn't want to be preached to: My friends told me that this movie does not say the word "vegan," but only "plant-based diets." Please look past any preconceptions you have about food industry documentaries before you judge.

And now for my replies to everything in this thread so far:

Originally Posted by DossarLX ODI

You can eat what you want, but if you're at a restaurant and offered some meat, it would be rather disrespectful to just deny it entirely just so you can be consistent and worry about sticking with a no-meat policy.

I don't really care about respect for other's cooking when it comes to my diet. If some one put a gun on my plate would it be disrespectful to deny it? I know that's rather an exaggeration of your point and I shouldn't really have used THAT example, but really, why should it be disrespectful of me to not want to eat ANYTHING? I'd rather not be cooked for than be cooked something I do not wish to eat. I don't think I've EVER been put in a position where I had to eat something just for the sake of respect, anyways.

Originally Posted by Syhto

2) They have a desire to live in a sustainable way. That means reasonable portions of locally grown food, and less emphasis on meat.

This is the biggest thing for me. The meat industry is NOT sustainable. You can grow tomatoes in your own backyard, but you can't raise and slaughter a cow there (unless you live out in a rural area, I suppose you would have to have some equipment too.) At the same time, the meat industry provides jobs for something that isn't even close to entirely necessary, making an economy based on things we don't really need.

Meat only has a couple of notable vitamins in it, and those can all be found in plants and legumes. As long as you have some protein, iron, calcium, and Vitamin B12 you're pretty much set.

For protein peanut butter works wonders, spinach has iron in it, as well as kale (form of cabbage) that also has a significant amount of calcium. On the websites I looked at, there were no vegan sources of B12, but there are, of course, dietary supplements for that.

Originally Posted by vro

but its just the fact that the extreme majority of vegans act like they are higher in society or some crap like that.

This is where I have to pull the bullshit card. You're making a sweeping generalization that is most likely biased. Don't let the world's most outspoken animal right's group ruin the reputation of millions of people. More than half of my friends are vegan and I've never been preached to about my diet for eating meat. The only thing that even comes close is that they call me a blood-mouth, and I could care less about being called such.

Originally Posted by Syhto

If you cared, you'd research it and be involved, since you don't, you make haphazard judgments.

I'm pretty sure they thought harder and longer about switching to veganism than you ever did about eating what your mother puts on your plate.

A very good point. I once went on a vegetarian stint for 4 years, and that was just because I was a picky eater. Without doing any actual research, there was no real reason not to eat meat. Just do your own research and avoid speculation.

Originally Posted by ~kitty~

Meat is inexpensive. If I had the choice, I would eat more fruits and I suppose more greens. However, I don't buy my food, and whenever I ask for such things, they're like $3.00 for one snack's worth when $3.00 can buy two meals of meat for a family of 4. My numbers may not be completely accurate, but they do reflect how much choice we really have in what we eat.

I think your argument is based on local economy. The more meat is transported, the more it is going to cost on the shelf at the store. If meat is cheaper than fruits and vegetables, then you must not live closer to slaughterhouses than farms. Or you could just not do your own shopping, who knows. I live in Texas which produces a whole HELL of a lot of meat, and I have never seen ground chuck beef cost less than strawberries. Just saying.

Originally Posted by supermousie

Hell, earlier today I found some vegan shampoo and I do quote: "No CFCs, SLS, petrochemicals... Bottle derived from corn... Not tested on animals... Vegan friendly... $23.95". I could see from the amount the store stocked, they maybe sold one bottle a MONTH.

Vegans know where to shop, because they've been doing it for a while. You probably don't shop there, because you're not vegan. Whatever store you were at probably doesn't focus much on vegan goods.

Originally Posted by poleaxe

Humans are supposed to eat meat by nature.

What exactly leads you to believe that humans are SUPPOSED to eat meat? Just because we've been doing it for a long time doesn't mean that's how it always has been. This is the most over-used and inaccurate point that gets used in this sort of conversation, people telling each other what is "natural" like they really have any idea. There are regions of Asia where the majority is vegan and it has been like that for as long as anyone can remember. If you ask me, building slaughterhouses and giant cow pens to mass-produce meat isn't natural.

Originally Posted by vro

But, in the end, they die anyway, right?...Since their lives exist for this sole reason, does it really matter if they are killed nicely or not-so-nice? I would prefer if animals could be killed in a more "humane" way,

You're ignoring the bull in the china shop, as they say. The issue is not HOW animals should be slaughtered, it is that animals ARE slaughtered. Also, if there's a "humane" way of killing things, then I don't want to be "humane."

Originally Posted by Cavernio

The pure amount of protein to stay healthy is hugely over-rated.

And shockingly so. I have a few friends that are into body building, and I looked at their stock of whey protein powder. The package said (and not on a Nutrition Facts table,) that they were supposed to be taking in 160g of protein a day. These guys will now go on living their lives believing that they're supposed to take 110 more grams of protein a day than they're supposed to, whether they work out or not, just because of the packaging on this product. Also because they don't care to do their own research. Which is the status-quo of society, I've come to believe.

I back everything that Syhto and Cavernio have said, people really should do their own research on nutrition and take back their bodies. Also Syhto's pretty calm, if anyone's expressed any anger in this thread it's the people who "don't like veganism being shoved down their throats by that god-damned PETA"