Quote:
Originally Posted by Hsiang-Lin  Making up your mind on an issue before fully understanding it is a symptom of ignorance. |
Only if you don't change your mind later. I think we are all guilty of jumping to conclusions now and again. That is human nature. Ignorance (the truest evil) is when you won't change you mind based on new evidence or even hear said evidence. I sense that that may be going on in a number of omnivorous people's minds. Oh well.
Anywho, bringing this back to the topic, I've tried going vegetarian twice now. I don't really think there's any wrong with eating meat per se, but the way it's currently obtained makes it so. Hence the reason I'd like to at least reduce my meat consumption.
My past experience tells me that vegetarian diets can have distinct health problems of their own, and, as such, I'm sure that they can also stunt development. The last time I tried, I actually gained weight in the end (not a good thing for someone who's already overweight), and had strange problems with jock itch (a type of yeast infection). I think, though, that my main problem was that a lack of variety (mainly from not knowing what to eat) gave way to a "veg-junk-etarian" (to quote someone else) diet, and junkfood is never good.
So to all you established vegans and vegetarians: give us ideas on meals and strategies to increase variety and healthfulness. And leave the soy and fake meat at home. That stuff just makes me want the real thing and costs a buttload. Eventually, with enough veg-based options, a meat-free diet may take hold. Or it might not, but leave that up to us omnivores. That's the real way to change minds on this issue.
Besides, doing a 30-day vegetarian/vegan trial would be very difficult for a person with little to no vegetarian cooking experience. To expect them to try it before they condemn it is difficult when trying it is not really an option. So, veggievores, give us your love and your recipes so that we omnivores will at least have to tools to try.