theory, decisions, your opinions...

[lazyscience]

i just joined this forum a few minutes ago, and recently declared my vegetarianism a few days ago, though i had probably been practicing it unintentionally for a while, considering that i've always had issues with eating meat and could never quite finish eating any meat dish because the thought of it ruined my appetite.

i told my parents about it and to my surprise they were very supportive of my decision and even offered to not eat meat in my presence if i felt so strongly about it. they didn't even question what sparked my decision and understood almost immediately. so no major issues there.

i think i have a rough idea of what changes i can make in my diet, but i wanted to know people's opinions of pescatarianism vs. vegetarianism and other issues. i'll get into that a little later.

my decision had to do with a lot of things. one was obviously animal rights and unethical treatment of animals. but another had to do with a theory i hear about and feel for. that the way we treat animals is synomous with the way we treat some humans. discrimnation is evident on both sides. as a female, i feel like i can relate in a sense to unethical treatment of animals. obviously i'm not butchered and slaughtered and i'm treated as though i have feelings, but sometimes i feel like the incentive is similar. i don't want to offend anyone either, but many men also treat women as merely "a piece of meat." i hate this concept on so many levels but i'll refrain from going off on this. instead i think anyone who is curious should read the sexual politics of meat: a feminist vegetarian critcal theory by carol j. adams. maybe this is something that a lot of you have already read.

anyway, back to the main topic of discussion. since declaring my decision i have not yet eaten any seafood or fish, because of the latter reason i stated. i love seafood but subconsiouly i probably don't feel it's "as bad" as the way that other livestock are killed. my mom told me to take it a step at a time, and that there's no hurry for me to make up my mind right away. my goal is to elimitate fish and eventually dairy and egg products from my diet, however thinking more and more about why we eat meat, and carol j. adams' theory and my personal beliefs, i'm compelled to refrain from eating fish ever again.

i guess i don't have any particular questions or advice requests...i just want to hear what you guys think. what were the reasons for you to make your decision? for those vegans who stared off vegetarians, what compelled you to stop eating animal products all together, and did you feel guilty while still consuming them?

thanks for listening to my ramble and i hope to hear about your opinions!

[gillibean]

:hi: I don't know about comparing the treatment of fish vs other food animals. I'm not sure it's a good idea to even compare the two. Fish feel pain and stress just like other animals. Your mom is right in that it's often best to just take it a step at a time. Avoid fish when you can but don't beat yourself up if you do give in. Thinking a lot about why you want to be vegetarian will help a lot in your decision. I went veg originally because I hated the treatment of the animals. PETA's picture of the beak-less baby chick really got to me. I stay vegetarian (and mostly vegan) because I no longer think it's right to eat other beings, however well we treat them before they are slaughtered. I don't really feel guilty for not being 100% vegan. Right now I'm doing the best I can and making sure I adjust to each small change before moving on.

[RoboMonkey]

my decision had to do with a lot of things. one was obviously animal rights...

If you believe animals have rights, it shouldn't matter to you how they are treated before they are killed.

Fish are friends, not food.

[swimchicsarehot]

wow i went vegetarian for almost exactly the same reasons as gillibean and i don't think eating fish is really different, i don't know whee people get that idea. maybe the killing process its self is"kinder" but its still killing and actually if you've ever seen (or partocipated in) wild salmon fishing, something thats really popular here in alaska you would not think it more humane at all. First a large (well relative to the size of the fish) hook is caught in the fishes mouth and the hook rips through their mouth as they are pulled out of the water by it, they they flop around on the ground suffocating and filling their gills with sand until someone hits the on the head with a stick a few times. doesn't sound as appetizing put that way does it?
that said, don't worry if you mess up now and then. its not the end of the world.
about the veggie to vegan part: i am a very new vegetarian but i would eventually like to go vegan, or eat only local dairy products so i know how the animals were treated. unfortunatley the big local diary industry just shut down up here. there are still people who live out of town who have cows and the like i could buy from but i would have to drive a couple hours to do that and i can't drive. sorry for the ramble. point being i am going to try to go vegan eventually because the more i think about it the more appalling and disgusting i am finding. that is just me though. you didn't really have any questions so these are my incoherent thoughts...

[lazyscience]

wow i went vegetarian for almost exactly the same reasons as gillibean and i don't think eating fish is really different, i don't know whee people get that idea. maybe the killing process its self is"kinder" but its still killing and actually if you've ever seen (or partocipated in) wild salmon fishing, something thats really popular here in alaska you would not think it more humane at all. First a large (well relative to the size of the fish) hook is caught in the fishes mouth and the hook rips through their mouth as they are pulled out of the water by it, they they flop around on the ground suffocating and filling their gills with sand until someone hits the on the head with a stick a few times. doesn't sound as appetizing put that way does it?
that said, don't worry if you mess up now and then. its not the end of the world.
about the veggie to vegan part: i am a very new vegetarian but i would eventually like to go vegan, or eat only local dairy products so i know how the animals were treated. unfortunatley the big local diary industry just shut down up here. there are still people who live out of town who have cows and the like i could buy from but i would have to drive a couple hours to do that and i can't drive. sorry for the ramble. point being i am going to try to go vegan eventually because the more i think about it the more appalling and disgusting i am finding. that is just me though. you didn't really have any questions so these are my incoherent thoughts...



thanks for the input and the information about wild salmon fishing. i'm trying to educate myself as much as possible since seafood/ fish treatment is not something i'm very exposed to.