morris@Shasta.ARPA (02/04/86)
I stopped eating meat about 2 years ago. I still eat eggs occasionally, and dairy products. Twice in the past year I have eaten fish, and both times I felt ill -- as if the food was just sitting there, not being digested. Very unpleasant. I don't remember if this happened at all before I stopped eating meat, but I doubt it. So, now when people ask me why I don't eat meat, I have a good ``excuse'' (mostly, I don't try to evangelise on the subject of vegetarianism. I was living in Sydney when I became a vegetarian, and meat-eating is far more prevalent there than here in California. If someone asks me why I don't eat meat, I say I don't like it. It's only if I know them fairly well that I try to explain myself. Personally, I think they should be able to just accept it and leave me to my eccentricities....) One thing that interests me is the question of eating foods that are supposed to seem like meat. My mother, who is semi-vegetarian now, like to use the various forms of TVP (textured vegetable protein, or whatever) that the seventh day adventists sell. I prefer to stick to grains, legumes, etc. I don't feel the need to eat foods that are supposed to seem just like meat. What do others out there think? Kathy Morris (morris@diablo)
smithson@calma.UUCP (Brian Smithson) (02/04/86)
In article <73@Shasta.ARPA> morris@Shasta.UUCP (Kathy Morris) writes: >[...] >One thing that interests me is the question of eating foods that are >supposed to seem like meat. My mother, who is semi-vegetarian now, >like to use the various forms of TVP (textured vegetable protein, or >whatever) that the seventh day adventists sell. I prefer to stick to >grains, legumes, etc. I don't feel the need to eat foods that are >supposed to seem just like meat. What do others out there think? >[...] I've found that in some cases, what I had enjoyed about meat dishes was not the meat so much as some part of the preparation. For instance, bacon "flavor" is not inherent to the meat, but to the hickory smoke (I think) that is used to prepare the meat. Hickory smoke can be used just as well on soy products, is vegetarian, and has a few health advantages as well. In cases like that, I like foods that are "supposed to seem just like meat". Other examples are the multitudes of vegetarian Chinese dishes that "mock" their meat counterparts -- again, mockiing the preparation and not the meat. But no, I wouldn't really get excited about tofu fashioned into little breaded drumsticks, microwaved and served out of a cardboard box... :-)
tim@unisoft.UUCP (Tim Bessie) (02/04/86)
In article <73@Shasta.ARPA> morris@Shasta.UUCP (Kathy Morris) writes: >I stopped eating meat about 2 years ago. I still eat eggs occasionally, >and dairy products. Twice in the past year I have eaten fish, and both >times I felt ill -- as if the food was just sitting there, not being >digested. Very unpleasant. I don't remember if this happened at all >before I stopped eating meat, but I doubt it. This is interesting... after not eating meat for about 8 months, last year I had some sushi. It was listed in the menu as being vegetarian, with no meat. While eating, I notced some TINY pieces of fish nestled in among the rice. Annoyed, I complained, though I had already eaten a few. Apparently, they didn't consider fish to be meat. "No meat, no meat! Is FISH!" they said. Anyway, about an hour later, I came down with a horrible headache, my stomach was rolling around, etc... I felt very naseous. I don't know if it was just the fact that the fish was raw, or if it was the meat itself. Recently, I went there again, and asked for a rice dish... I said, "No meat! No fish!" They said ok, and what did I find but little bits of fish in the bowl... some people just don't listen. Anyway, I've stopped going to Japanese restaurants. - Tim
leimkuhl@uiucdcsp.CS.UIUC.EDU (02/06/86)
You know, that has always seemed very strange to me. Whenever I tell people I'm vegetarian they say, "Oh, I guess that's not so bad anymore, now that you can get those meat replacements." The idea of meat being a fundamental part of the human diet is so ingrained in most people that they cannot conceive of someone not wanting to eat it. Myself, I have no desire whatsoever to eat meat in effigy. I wonder, when children are raised in a meatless environment are they completely disgusted when they first see flesh-eaters? -Ben Leimkuhler
anderson@aero.ARPA (Tom Anderson) (02/07/86)
[for the line eater]
i too am a vegetarian that found out its tough to return to eating
meat products. twelve years ago when i started eating veggie (as
an experiment for reasons of health) i would try to accommodate meat
eating friends and family by taking small portions (this occurred
at holiday times). needless to say i experienced the same digestive
discomfort mentioned in the referenced article. the longer i had
been away from meat, the harder it was on me, so that now even a
little bit would be very distressful. (the last time i tried to
handle meat as part of a meal was over 5 years ago)
i have to work hard not to sound like an evangelist when talking
about the vegetarian diet. it really is something which works for
me, and might work for others, but they have to find that out
for themselves. i have probably done more converting to the idea
of a meatless (or greatly reduced) diet by sharing the output of
my kitchen than i have by discussion.
the most prevalent question is something on the order of "...don't
you get bored just eating vegatables...?" from the discussions
i have been in, its obvious that i eat a more varied diet than
almost all of my meat-inclusive eaters. (yes i still use eggs,
cheese and other diary products, but in a very limited manner.
i've dealt with lactose intolerance since birth) of course,
living in southern california has made it significantly easier,
as a wider variety of fresh veggie's are available year-round
than i have found in other parts of the country. (i'm an old
mid-west boy, grounded in the heart of meat-and-potatoes country)
my biggest problem with being a veggie comes from travelling,
which i do on an all too frequent basis. i have found that most
good restaurants can accommodate you with off menu dinners, but
i am often far from where good restaurants hang-out. so i have
to plan ahead and be satified with picnic-ing out of my private
food basket.
an earlier net question on "...how do you find all the time..."
is a second prevalent question. i don't notice the difference
but then i started from the point of preparing from scratch
before eliminating meat. i find the popularity of fast food
a bit depressing, as i really love the smells coming from preparing
ones own food. the local restaurants that i'm willing frequent
have this trait too.
i second the cookbook by Madhur Jaffrey for wonderful eastern
sauces. the other recipes are also good. i have successfully
translated most of the sauce recipes in Joy of Cooking from
their meat (or other unacceptable ingredients for my diet).
mostly i allow for experimentation, and don't fret when an
attempt comes out "interesting". other cookbooks that i
recommend include the Moosewood Cookbook and the sequel The
Broccoli Forest; Vegetarian Epicure and Vegetarian Epicure II.
i have used Diet for a Small Planet, Recipes for a Small
Planet and other such cookbooks for improving the protein
balance (and general nutritional balance) but find many of
their recipes need work to make them palatable for even a
long time veggie like me. both are good references.
a bit long winded, but intended to encourage fledging veggie's.
in truth, we are everywhere, and perhaps growing in percentage
of the population, hopefully in acceptance.
--
Thomas Anderson (213) 615-4360
anderson@aerospace.ARPA
anderson@aero.UUCP
{seismo!hao | tektronix}!hplabs \
!sdcsvax - !sdcrdcf!trwrb!trwrba!aero!anderson
Aerospace Corporation, PO Box 92957, LA, 90009, MS: M1-117dyer@dec-vaxuum.UUCP (02/10/86)
Re: Meat is a Poison?_____________________________________________
Meat does, of course, contain concentrated amounts of poisons
(as well as having intrinsic abilities to poison). But that's not
what we're talking about, is it?
I, too, have had the same thing happen. After three months as
a semi-vegetarian (still eating fish), I went home to visit Mom.
She served hamburgers. To make a long story short (and tasteful),
let's just say my digestive tract did not appreciate it.
I have, of course, become a full-fledged vegetarian (mostly
vegan, in fact) since then.
The official line on this is that different people have diff-
erent reactions to eating meat after a long time away from it, but
I've never encountered anybody who didn't suffer from it.
<_Jym_>
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