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I've been vegetarian.  I've been vegetarian for health reasons and for spiritual reasons and for political reasons.  

I'm no longer vegetarian.  

I eat meat in moderation, and began doing so out of necessity.  I apparently become anemic quite easily.  When my doctor first diagnosed me, she told me to eat a steak!  Iron suplements make me nauseous, so I've added a bit of meat back into my diet.  A few times a week.  It works for me.

(I've also been told Guiness is full of iron. No clue if it is, but I do feel better after drinking one. ;)

I do out of my way (and sometimes out of my budget) to buy meat that is free-range, not fed antibiotics or inorganic food, not industrially raised, not overly processed.  And along the way I've actually developed a deep respect for the animals I eat.  I believe in creating a symbiotic realtionship among all things where we can both respect and provide for each other.  It's bigger than just the food chain.  It's really about realizing our place in the world.

I don't think everyone needs to eat meat. And certainly people eat WAY TOO MUCH meat. Way too much.

Not everyone needs to drink alcohol either, but I don't forsee an alcohol-free future.  So I think the focus should be on striving for a way to make the raising and consumption of meat as healthy and respectful as possible, for both the animals and for us.

I still eat foie gras.  I know.  Evil...  


Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. -Voltaire

by p------- on Thu Jan 26th, 2006 at 12:41:29 PM EST
How about lentils? Or is the abundance of iron in lentils a legend?

A society committed to the notion that government is always bad will have bad government. And it doesn't have to be that way. — Paul Krugman
by Carrie (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Thu Jan 26th, 2006 at 12:43:06 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Actually, as far as I know, lentils (and other produce like spinach which contains more iron than the average veggie) indeed contain sufficient iron, but its iron is harder to extract/assimilate by our digestive system than the iron found in meat.

Which is why vegetarians sometimes (this isn't a norm) turn anemic.

Here, Wikipedia explains this better:
the amount of iron that can be absorbed from spinach is negligible.

by Alex in Toulouse on Thu Jan 26th, 2006 at 12:56:23 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Actually, as far as I know, lentils (and other produce like spinach which contains more iron than the average veggie) indeed contain sufficient iron, but its iron is harder to extract/assimilate by our digestive system than the iron found in meat.
Which is presumably why humans are omnivores.

A society committed to the notion that government is always bad will have bad government. And it doesn't have to be that way. — Paul Krugman
by Carrie (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Thu Jan 26th, 2006 at 12:58:39 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Yes, I was about to chip at your spinach argument, Popeye! We don't get much iron from spinach, in fact.

I'm not going to argue about lentils, though. I love lentils.

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Thu Jan 26th, 2006 at 02:29:44 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Lentils are very rich in protein, apparently.

A society committed to the notion that government is always bad will have bad government. And it doesn't have to be that way. — Paul Krugman
by Carrie (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Thu Jan 26th, 2006 at 03:50:13 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Some people don't have an easy time being vegetarian, some do. I tried it, and didn't have any cravings or desire to eat meat. Now, when I smell it cooking, the odor is very disagreeable. I still eat eggs and cheese, drink milk. I have a couple of hens in the back yard for eggs and I buy organic milk. Our organic laws in the US are the only method to insure milk cows aren't treated with cruelty. I suspect this is also true in most of the EU.

I was diagnosed with hypertension when I was 29 years old, but when I stopped eating meat, it went away (nobody knows why).

by capslock on Thu Jan 26th, 2006 at 02:32:17 PM EST
[ Parent ]
I thought hypertension was directly related to meat consumpion?  Makes sense to me.  But I have frightenningly low blood pressure (nurses have told me I should be dead) so a little red meat now and then is a very good thing for me.

Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. -Voltaire
by p------- on Thu Jan 26th, 2006 at 02:51:43 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Oh dear yes. Foie gras, magret, and confit de canard. Those are the meat items I find most succulent and would find hardest to quit, even though I don't eat all that much of them.
by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Thu Jan 26th, 2006 at 02:36:19 PM EST
[ Parent ]

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