Introductions - Why Vegetarian?

[Chris Tinney]

How fun! Welcome.

Just thought I'd say hi and introduce myself.
Im the founder of VegHaven :)
This is me :)~

I'm traveling for the next year on The Peace Tour..

I'm Vegan for for both health and ethical reasons.
My intention in starting VegHaven was to create a Social Network that makes a difference!

Thanks for coming and please jump in and tell us about yourself :)

What made you become Vegetarian?

How did you find your way here?

We can't wait to learn more about you!

Namaste,
Chris

[Tivrusky]

I love you guys so much right now, for the sheer contrast to everything I've been hearing lately. It really is disturbing how so many people with good intentions can be so close-minded.

My use of non-lacto/ovo vegetarian was meant to convey that I avoid both dairy and egg products. Just makin' up terms, hehe. Using your suggested lexicon, I guess I'd go with strict vegetarian.

The only reason I use labels, though, is to tell others ("omnivores") the diet that I follow; i.e., explaining in restaurants. In these cases, using just vegetarian is no good, because to the common man, vegetarian actually means lacto-ovo vegetarian. This is where my confusion with terms comes in.

Out of curiosity, do you apply the "stearic acid" idea to food? That is, do you only consider products gotten from animals for the purpose of that product to be non-vegetarian and other "by-products" to be vegetarian? I guess that is just applied to things it would be near-impossible to avoid though, like tires and keyboards, eh?

Understanding the faith... Words to keep close at hand, for sure.
-Tivrusky

[pradtf]

well tivrusky, they do say that the path to hell is paved with good intentions ;)

i understand your usage of non-lacto/ovo now. being rather algebraic in nature i read it as non-lacto and ovo (hence why not just ovo?), instead of non-(lacto/ovo). my apologies and thank you for clarifying.

you are right that vegetarian still means lacto-ovo to most so strict vegetarian is definitely a good choice. i usually say vegetarian and then repeat what that means specifically and also put in the strict as an alternate term (rather than as a qualifier). that way i figure i'm helping to 'take back' the word to some extent :D

we do not consume anything with any animal products at all. you ask a good question so here is the explanation.

from an ethical standpoint, it can be argued that if you throw in a bit of casein into soy cheese you are not really being immoral since the animal that the casein came from wasn't really killed for the casein.

however, this argument loses validity because there are soy cheeses that do not contain casein so you do have an alternative (you really don't as far as tires go at least not yet from what i am aware of). so while, it is ethically legitimate to insist on rejecting casein soy cheese since the alternative exists, it is probably not ethically sound to insist that one drive on veg tires since they do not exist (given the overall situation of course). you could give up driving, i suppose, but i'm not so sure that doing so because of the stearic acid would put you on a higher moral plane :D

(actually, i think it's better to give up all soy cheeses because they smell and taste as bad as the non-veg cheeses and remind one of moulds and fungi and penicillin and hospitals and corpses and ...)

also, no self-respecting nutritional vegetarian (as opposed to environmental or ethical) would touch the stuff because it is unwise to intake animal proteins which invariably do gross things inside.

personally, i always carry the HEE with me: health, environment, ethics are complementary and don't leave too many openings. you might enjoy seeing a summary of the HEE presentation here:
http://towardsfreedom.com/veggiechess/goVeg.html

in friendship,
prad

[ken wong]

My diabetes has forced me to make some lifestyle changes. I realized that a diet comsisting of red meat was detrimental to my health.

[Ausar K. Maat]

Hey y'all! I am Ausar and I became a vegetarian as a result of practicing yoga and a desire to cultivate ahimsa. There have been times that I've backslided into the carnivorous realm, but I always find my way back to the right road.
I'm a southerner(Mobile, AL) and don't run into very many vegans/vegetarians around these parts, so it is a wonderful thing that this online community exists.

[BAMBINA]

hi chris long time , i visited your site a while back , i wanted to say hi and that i am a happy vegan , and all my kids and hubby as well , we are enjoying your site and your ads and comments , we lived 12 years on a hare krsna farm were we learned all about milking the sweet cows , having dung wars and plating on the back of this beautiful ox bulls , glad to see lots of vegan out there joining in , i turned vegan when i was 15 years old once my dad brough to my country argentina one vegetarian times magazine that explained the slaughtering of the cows , that did it for me !
Ii am 45 , have three teens vegan and a wonderful vegan hubby , if any of the handsome vegan males ands females like to exchange mail with my teens just write to me , we live in ms coast and can't find vegans here , i wanted to show my teens that there are many out there .thanks!
[e-mail]
i here encloed our pics so we share how healthy vegans can be check my little ones's muscles ! and my beautiful daughter and my grandaughter


LOVE TO ALL THE VEGANS AND KEEP UP THE GREAT JOB !

[Samadhiatman500]

Hi everyone. I am just stopping by I am thinking seriously of becoming vegetarian, perhaps a raw vegan. I would love support in this new endeaver.

Samadhi-Marie

[pradtf]

welcome samadhi-marie.
you may find this link useful:
http://towardsfreedom.com/veggiechess/goVeg.html
there are several good links on that page.
any questions, just ask.

in friendship,
prad

[Marie E. Pollnow (Samadhiatman500)]

Years ago I was complete vegetarian for ethical and animal-loving reasons, this in farm country when it was not very vogue, living in Wisconsin--- in the 80s. It was not easy but I persevered. I persevered several years in the Army even while married to a meat eater. I slipped and fell back onto the other side. I returned once again after my split and was fine. Ironically I met up with my ex from India who ate fish and chicken. Need I say more? I was not strong in mind.

Long story short I really love animals, almost more than I love myself. One day I was looking at my beauties Sam and Kazi (had to give them away) but I was feeling low about eating my friends...animals. Something has been tugging at me for at least a year now and it is time. I recently had quite a health scare and am blessed to be still on this earth. I figure treat me right, treat the planet right and live in Harmony with my wildlife and domesticated friends.

Thanks so much Chris. You have so much to do with this. I am so happy.
Marie

[carla]

I have been a vegetarian now for 7 years and I lov it I find people are always so intriqued with why I wanted to become a vegetarian and my answer is always the same, I like living healthy.

[William Najger]

Hello Veg Friends,
My name is Bill Najger from AshevilleNC and I just joined a few days ago with VegHaven Croud. I started a VegHaven group called"VegHaven World Gathering and wanted to start the coversation about a Vegetarian Celebration for the coming summer of 2009. A lot is changing in the world and it is time for us Vegetarian Animal lovers to gather, celebrate life and spread the compassionate word in mucho numbers. Topics could be location, purpose, lodging, message, press, entertainment, food, ect. I have experience with putting on events and would volunteer my time to any cause we might unite on. Think about it and give us your thoughts
With Peace and Respect
Bill Najger

[Venuza]

never enjoyed meat too much so i just dropped read meat at age 12 and at age 15 i dropped all kinds of meat...
after that i started to read and became with an ethical and animal loving... from that time to now :)

[marianna]

Hey! Im a vegetarian turning vegan.
I always loved animals and I dont think its fair to treat them as resouces. Also after becoming vegetarian I feel so much healthier so health reasons are also there. Its mostly for animal reasons though.

Im not sure how-but I seemed to find my way here!

Nice to meet you all!

Marianna
xxxxx