[Cassiel]

My roommate (thank God it is the end of the school year and we'll no longer live together) insists on proving to me why a vegan diet is a bad idea. Her first words on my stating that I was going vegan: "you can't do that, you need milk to survive!" Subsequent protests include the religious ones I spoke of in another post, the essence of which is: "God put them here for us to eat."

Now she's sent me this sweetheart of a website:

http://www.westonaprice.org/myths_tr...tarianism.html

which also includes links to some more wonderful sites about why vegetarianism and veganism, in particular, are a load of...ahem...animal wasts product.

I am getting so annoyed. My family has mostly been good about it; aside from some good-natured teasing they've been quite supportive.

I've done my research - I can refute nearly anything thrown at me, especially when the majority of it contains logical holes big enough to drive a truck through. I try not to force my opinions on anyone else; in fact, I studiously avoid it unless asked. But when they DO ask and I DO explain, half the time they act like I'm ATTACKING them.

I am the only vegan I know besides you guys. I guess I just need to hear that this is not futile and I am not crazy.

 

[SunnyK]

This is not futile and you are not crazy! And hurrah for getting a new roomie! BTW, I think a lot of people here don't know any other vegans IRL. I don't myself.

Sometimes I think omnis feel attacked (even when THEY brought it up) because of subconscious discomfort with eating meat. I used to rationalize and try to justify my own meat-eating too. How else could anyone do it? Somebody on here (sorry, don't recall who) has a Linda McCartney quote along the lines of, "If slaughterhouses had glass walls, everyone would be vegetarian." That sums up the mental and spiritual disconnect that omnis have. No surprise that they get defensive.

 

[stellar26]

I've been through the same sort of situation countless times.

In my experience, often the person that is doing this to the veg*n is just trying to prove to THEMSELVES that thier way of life is acceptable. Maybe he/she feels guilty? It's a possibility.

Just tell the roommate to get over it. Say that this is what you are doing because you know it to be far healthier than a diet composed of animal flesh and that there is little that the person can do to change it.

 

[Loki]

Yopu should confront your friend and say that you are happy to just leave her dietary habits alone, (i.e. You don't preach) and ask why she's not able to do the same with yours.

But if I were friends with this person, I would take the time to tell them that I thought they were being an ass. However, don't send PETA info in retaliation, as some people may be inclined to do, as this will reinforce the idea that "veg*ns are loony" Simply send a message back saying "I have read the article you sent. It is severely flawed, outdated and anecdotal. I would appreciate it if you simply left me to eat what i want, rather than evangelising your diet onto me. I have the good will not to preach vegetarianism to you, so it would be appreciated if you returned the favour"

 

[*sprout*]

that webpage was a bunch of ****

its good that your getting a new room mate !

btw wut does IRL mean ?

 

[GhostUser]

In Real Life

 

[*sprout*]

ooooo ok

thanks !

 

[epski]

Adult humans don't need cow's milk to survive any more than they need human milk, goat's milk, or even giraffe's milk.

Even infants should be drinking breast milk, and goat milk is preferred over cow's milk if your family is not vegan.

 

[SystmDwnGrl]

yeah im allergic to milk,, have been all my life,,, makes me nasty sick... i sure as hell dont need cow's milk to live...

 

[Oatmeal]

Can you get her to sign up here? Then she could try all she wants to prove to all of us that a vegan diet is a bad idea.

 

[4EverGrounded]

Quote:

Originally posted by Oatmeal

Can you get her to sign up here? Then she could try all she wants to prove to all of us that a vegan diet is a bad idea.

Great idea. It'll be fun to watch everyone have a tag-team style go at her that'd make the WWF look like a bunch of librarians let loose on holiday..... *dreams of that smack-down with a smile*

But I totally recognize this piece of @#$*ing @#$%**! This is that same Stephen Byrnes that tells that veg*n is bad for you, grass fed cow is health food and he sells.....yep! Grass fed beef. Suhhhhh-priiizzzeee *twirling finger*

If it were me, I would prolly ask along the lines of "If the American Dietetic Association were to say that something is good or bad, would you believe them?" If she's any kind of person, she'll say something like "Well, yea. They know what's good for you and they wouldn't endorse something as looney as a vegan diet". Then, take her to this site and let her read it for herself. After all, it from the ADA so it's got to be true, right?

 

[GhostUser]

I'm sorry that you have to deal with this, Cassiel. At least she won't be your roommate much longer! You're definitely not crazy for feeling this way. Hang in there!

 

[Epinephrine]

Quote:

MYTH #6: Saturated fats and dietary cholesterol cause heart disease, atherosclerosis, and/or cancer, and low-fat, low-cholesterol diets are healthier for people.

LOL! If anyone takes this article seriously, I feel sorry for them.

 

[Finlay]

Cassiel: encountering such people every now and then isn't fun, not to mention living with them *shudders*.

IIRC there's a lengthy analysis of said article floating around here somewhere. I'm not quite sure, though.

Quote:

Originally posted by epski

Even infants should be drinking breast milk, and goat milk is preferred over cow's milk if your family is not vegan.

Care to elaborate on this? (It's a bit of a personal mystery that I'm less allergic to goat's cheese then 'normal' cheese).

 

[epski]

In what way do you want me to elaborate? I've simply read that information elsewhere. Also, I didn't mention that goat milk is not recommended in place of breast milk, but rather commercially available formula. It's just that, if you do feed an infant milk in addition to formula, goat milk is supposed to be better. I haven't read why, though I imagine it's allergen-related.

 

[Finlay]

I was just curious

. Anyway, I'll just do some google-ing later

.

 

[Tiggzie]

Oh stars, I've seen that web site before. Veganism is not unhealthy, stupid people are unhealthy. There are a lot of ways to get good sources of vitamins if you're vegan. And not only that, a vegan should get good amounts of fats. In the little "example" of this woman miscarrying her baby, it says she had no fats in her diet. Well then I guess she had no idea what she was doing.

"and that meat-eating tribes always dominated tribes whose diets were largely vegetarian"

That's funny.

 

[Thalia]

Weston A. Price is this goofy dentist guy from long ago. We had another long thread about him long ago here.

 

[epski]

My wife got in to her second ever confrontation with an omni challenging her on her diet. She is terribly averse to conflict, so it really sucked for her. I wish I could have been there to knock that uppity omni down to size. From what my wife said, she was more of a know-it-all than someone who was actually informed, and her criticism was completely uninvited. F'ing people.

 

[Coney]

About goat's milk. this is my theory--Goats are more people sized than cows. Cows milk is meant to create an animal of 1000lbs., goats milk is meant to create an animal of 150lbs. (or however much each of those animals weighs)

SO, we can't , as human animals, process cows milk into any usable form. Heck, even the calcium that's in cows milk can't be utilized by humans. (the dairy industry is LYING) We weren't meant to be eating that stuff.

Milk makes me sluggish, sick to my stomach, and makes my mouth all pastey. Blaaaaaaah.