[Misc] Are there any vegans on here ?

[WATFORD zero]

Back in the day, being jolly old, vegan to me seems a comparatively recent concept. 50 years ago I knew someone at Uni who was vegetaria, but I don’t think I would have been aware of veganism….. if it existed. So by conviction vegetarians I mean people who choose not to eat meat for moral reasons rather than health/diet reasons. And I don’t get how people can think it’s wrong to kill animals for food, but that doesn’t extend to fish.

And don’t get me wrong, I have no problems with whatever dietary regime people want to adopt. When our granddaughter is with us, we will happily eat vegetarian with her. If vegetarians think it’s ok to eat fish, then I am not going to get upset about it. I would just like to know the reasoning behind it. Each to his own!

Many years ago (mid 70s-mid 80s) I was veggie because I didn't like the idea of eating meat (or fish ) and I used to get furious when people said 'do you eat cheese/milk/honey etc', and then tell me what I should and shouldn't eat. What people choose to eat is completely down to them.

I started eating fish again when I was in Greece for a while and couldn't stomach any more Greek Salad and then gradually went back to meat.

Back then, I was also in the Hunt Saboteurs and IIRC the majority of them were vegan, so that's nearly 50 years ago, although obviously not as prevalent as today. I have a daughter who is vegan and a son who is Veggie except for weekends and me and Mrs Wz try and minimise the amount of meat/fish these days, all purely for ecological reasons

 

[Chicken Run]

A well-done steak or over-cooked tuna are enough to turn anyone vegan.

Years ago, I worked in a pub kitchen and the only thing that saddened me more than having to cremate steaks for philistines was the time a woman sent back her tuna as it wasn't cooked enough

You’re a cook, the customer is paying, do as your told, btw I don’t like ‘cremated steak’ but if somone does and they are paying then I certainly wouldn’t judge!

 

[One Love]

All the ones I know do. Why do you think the word piscatarian exists and is in common use?

Never heard of it. Pescatarian however...

 

[GJN1]

Is that why you’re angry?

I think it's the absence of the vegetable tagine with wild rice from the Amex menu...

 

[GT49er]

Never heard of it. Pescatarian however...

Whoops! Always assumed it was spelt with an 'i' - as in pisces (fish).

 

[One Love]

Steak and tuna are both drained of blood so any red you see is myoglobin. Cooking till the red is dead just means the myoglobin has been denatured.

Sounds lovely

 

[Westdene Seagull]

I appreciate that. Mrs DiS had her gall bladder taken out a year or so ago so that is partly why our diet has changed. We do both like fish very much, though.
What I don’t understand is “conviction” vegetarians for whom fish are fair game. Do fish not count as living breathing beings?

They should be claiming to be pescatarians then rather than vegetarians.

 

[Live by the sea]

A decent balanced diet I think is the most sensible . Avoid fried food and anything processed like bacon etc. Red meat max of once a week , plenty of fruit and veg and oily fish .

Being vegan doesn’t make you healthy in my view as you are missing out in vital vitamins and minerals and I certainly won’t encourage a child to be vegan.

 

[Seagull58]

I appreciate that. Mrs DiS had her gall bladder taken out a year or so ago so that is partly why our diet has changed. We do both like fish very much, though.
What I don’t understand is “conviction” vegetarians for whom fish are fair game. Do fish not count as living breathing beings?

My daughter has been a vegan for 17 years. She will eat clams and mussels on occasion because they don't have a central nervous system and, therefore, cannot form thoughts or feel pain. They are not sentient beings.

 

[essbee1]

My daughter has been a vegan for 17 years. She will eat clams and mussels on occasion because they don't have a central nervous system and, therefore, cannot form thoughts or feel pain. They are not sentient beings.

But the are a life form, are they not? I don't follow.

 

[Seagull58]

I'm not one a pescatarian but I imagine the reasoning may be as follows:

From an animal welfare perspective, they might feel fish don't experience fear and pain in the same way as mammalian creatures. I'm not sure the evdence bears this out though. However, you could make a good case for the eating of bivalves. I imagine some pescatarians just find lambs cuter than monkfish.

Then there's the environmental factors. No doubt a pescatarian diet has a lower impact than an omnivorous one. Vegetarian/vegan would be better still but it's a step in the right direction, I guess.

Finally, there's the perceived health benefits. Oh, and fish and seafood is tasty. Gochujang mussels on the menu at Casa Bakero this evening. Might throw a few clams and prawns in too.

Mussels and clams do not have a central nervous system (a brain), so they do not form thoughts or experience pain. Technically, they are not sentient beings.

 

[Seagull58]

But the are a life form, are they not? I

Back in the day, being jolly old, vegan to me seems a comparatively recent concept. 50 years ago I knew someone at Uni who was vegetaria, but I don’t think I would have been aware of veganism….. if it existed. So by conviction vegetarians I mean people who choose not to eat meat for moral reasons rather than health/diet reasons. And I don’t get how people can think it’s wrong to kill animals for food, but that doesn’t extend to fish.

And don’t get me wrong, I have no problems with whatever dietary regime people want to adopt. When our granddaughter is with us, we will happily eat vegetarian with her. If vegetarians think it’s ok to eat fish, then I am not going to get upset about it. I would just like to know the reasoning behind it. Each to his own!

I amnot aware of any "vegetarian" who eats fish. If you eat fish but not meat or poultry then you are a pescatarian.

 

[keaton]

But the are a life form, are they not? I don't follow.

So are fruits and vegetable

 

[Bakero]

But the are a life form, are they not? I don't follow.

So is a carrot though.

 

[Seagull58]

But the are a life form, are they not? I don't follow.

Plants and fungi are also life forms.

 

[Bakero]

You’re a cook, the customer is paying, do as your told, btw I don’t like ‘cremated steak’ but if somone does and they are paying then I certainly wouldn’t judge!

I always gave the customer what they wanted but certainly judged them.

 

[essbee1]

Plants and fungi are also life forms.

Fair enough. I should have listened more in Biology class at school!

 

[Seagull58]

A decent balanced diet I think is the most sensible . Avoid fried food and anything processed like bacon etc. Red meat max of once a week , plenty of fruit and veg and oily fish .

Being vegan doesn’t make you healthy in my view as you are missing out in vital vitamins and minerals and I certainly won’t encourage a child to be vegan.

You can get all the vitamins and minerals you need from a vegan diet but there are also vitamin supplements available. For example, vitamin B12 is not produced by plants but is added to some alternatives to milk products, vegan spreads, nutritional yeast flakes, yeast extracts and breakfast cereals.

 

[Bakero]

You can get all the vitamins and minerals you need from a vegan diet but there are also vitamin supplements available.

You need to get your B12 from somewhere, either supplements or foods that it's been added to, right?

 

[Seagull58]

You need to get your B12 from somewhere, either supplements or foods that it's been added to, right?

Yes. Vitamin B12 is added to some alternatives to milk products, vegan spreads, nutritional yeast flakes, yeast extracts and breakfast cereals.