I became a vegetarian 30 years ago after the Mad Cow debacle. I'm now 70 & in good health.
There had been several food scares related to meat in the 80s & 90s & I'd had enough. On top of that I was developing an aversion to the taste of meat. I don't know where this came from. I was brought up in a farming community & had seen my mother wring hens necks in readiness for the oven. It didn't put me off. I saw it as all part of the cycle of life.
I think my growing aversion to meat was either something spiritual or my body telling me that this stuff was doing me no good. I have learnt over the years that our bodies have their own intelligence & it is wise to tune in to it.
I have tried going vegan but I like some dairy products & eggs too much - principally cheese & the occasional ice cream. I don't consume dairy milk & rarely dairy butter or cream. My cheese is produced by artisans - not the plastic supermarket cheese churned out in factories. I have found good plant based substitutes for milk & cream, but sadly not for cheese.
I remain a vegetarian because I also have strong moral objections to factory farming, this includes dairy farming. I believe the modern treatment of animals is eating away at the human soul & accumulating huge karmic debt. This to my mind is one of the reasons why humanity is treated like herd animals by the modern state.
How many meat eaters would there be if schools were required to take their pupils on tours of abattoirs as part of their education?
I do not buy into the current theory that meat eating is threatening 'the planet'. All irresponsible agriculture & food production damages the environment whether it's meat or plant.
Yes I was vegetarian for about 20 years. When I had children then I began to get back into meat because excluding meat may have held them back. I like dairy, and rashers. It sounds ridiculous. I just don't eat red meat myself but steaks is what young men like and eggs. So I have to have a few steaks in the fridge all the time. I occasionally have pangs for eating pigs/pork; but it is what it is.
Hi JP I am a bad example of healthy living , I smoke , drink and eat meat etc. The only positive side I guess is I buy my meat from a butcher who kill's and butchers his own and it is an award winning butchers . I also grow my own veg which helps a bit. I don't go to the deli in petrol station or the fast food junk . I used to be very fit but I can feel age slowing me down over the last two years and my lungs are not in the best condition I guess, but been a welder fabricator doesn't help either. We live the best we can and try keep the mind healthy .
Thanks Richard. I have known people who lived into their late-eighties (and even way beyond that) without thinking too much about their diets.
But when you are retired and have the time, it seems a good pursuit to see what works and what doesn't. I think your last sentence says it all, "We live the best we can and try to keep the mind healthy".
I became a vegetarian 30 years ago after the Mad Cow debacle. I'm now 70 & in good health.
There had been several food scares related to meat in the 80s & 90s & I'd had enough. On top of that I was developing an aversion to the taste of meat. I don't know where this came from. I was brought up in a farming community & had seen my mother wring hens necks in readiness for the oven. It didn't put me off. I saw it as all part of the cycle of life.
I think my growing aversion to meat was either something spiritual or my body telling me that this stuff was doing me no good. I have learnt over the years that our bodies have their own intelligence & it is wise to tune in to it.
I have tried going vegan but I like some dairy products & eggs too much - principally cheese & the occasional ice cream. I don't consume dairy milk & rarely dairy butter or cream. My cheese is produced by artisans - not the plastic supermarket cheese churned out in factories. I have found good plant based substitutes for milk & cream, but sadly not for cheese.
I remain a vegetarian because I also have strong moral objections to factory farming, this includes dairy farming. I believe the modern treatment of animals is eating away at the human soul & accumulating huge karmic debt. This to my mind is one of the reasons why humanity is treated like herd animals by the modern state.
How many meat eaters would there be if schools were required to take their pupils on tours of abattoirs as part of their education?
I do not buy into the current theory that meat eating is threatening 'the planet'. All irresponsible agriculture & food production damages the environment whether it's meat or plant.
Yes I was vegetarian for about 20 years. When I had children then I began to get back into meat because excluding meat may have held them back. I like dairy, and rashers. It sounds ridiculous. I just don't eat red meat myself but steaks is what young men like and eggs. So I have to have a few steaks in the fridge all the time. I occasionally have pangs for eating pigs/pork; but it is what it is.
Thanks Finola. Does it matter what we eat? Matter to whom? These are the questions I am wrestling with.
I hope you will keep reading and sharing your own thoughts from time to time. Much appreciated.
Thanks Willie for this and your other comment which I understand to mean, "Each to his own".
The longer I live the less I realise I know about anything, including diet. That said, I agree with pretty much everything you write.
Hi JP I am a bad example of healthy living , I smoke , drink and eat meat etc. The only positive side I guess is I buy my meat from a butcher who kill's and butchers his own and it is an award winning butchers . I also grow my own veg which helps a bit. I don't go to the deli in petrol station or the fast food junk . I used to be very fit but I can feel age slowing me down over the last two years and my lungs are not in the best condition I guess, but been a welder fabricator doesn't help either. We live the best we can and try keep the mind healthy .
Thanks Richard. I have known people who lived into their late-eighties (and even way beyond that) without thinking too much about their diets.
But when you are retired and have the time, it seems a good pursuit to see what works and what doesn't. I think your last sentence says it all, "We live the best we can and try to keep the mind healthy".
I agree with what you are doing to keep healthy JP , I will have to take note and start thinking the same way when I can give it the time it needs.
chacun à son goût 🙂