[Quincy]

well, my current gf respects my choice to be a vegan, but after talking to her about it a few times, her arguement almost seems kind of contradictive. anyway, here it is:

she's big into organic and natural foods. the problem here is that she tells me free range and local animal products are just fine. instead of argue too much with her (because things get kinda heated in a hurry), I just tell her that those types of "food" are better than what most omni's eat.

and to top it all off, even though she claims to only like organic/natural food, she admits to not always buying/eating those items AND she eats at fast food places. her excuse is that it's impossible or inconvienient to do otherwise...

but if I go and have like something vegan with some added nutrients, she gets all annoyed and tells me that in her diet she doesn't need to do that and she reminds me how much she is against fortified foods.

it's not like she yells at me for it, but she acts like eating fried chicken is better than me having a bottle of vitamin water (which I don't even drink all that often) or fortified soymilk.

I can understand where she's coming from, but I still believe that the lifestyle I choose is so much better for myself and for the environment. I can understand eating like vegan foods that have been processed a million times and have preservatives, but I don't eat many foods like this at all. I don't even eat tofu all that much and other foods like that...

anyone else have a partner/gf/bf who has a similar "beef" with veg*nism? it's not "natural" enough for them?

*sigh*

 

[penny79]

sounds like she needs to learn more about nutrition. get her becoming vegan stat.

 

[honeyfugle]

^ that's if she'd even listen to what the vegan way of life has to offer.

from what i can gather, she's purposefully keeping herself in the dark about what she eats... and i don't think it would be very easy at all to get her to change her diet (although it would obviously be great if she did!).

 

[DoveInGrey]

I've heard that argument used on the vit b12 issue. And if food weren't washed, treated etc as it is in the western world this wouldn't be an issue- the benefits of washing food outweigh the inconvenience of having to supplement miniscule amounts of b12.

Apart from b12, you can get all the nutrients you need from an un-fortified wholefood diet, completely vegan.

I do, however, eat fortified food, and vegan "junk" food since for me this lifestyle is more about animal rights than health.

I think she's purposely trying to stay in the dark about this...if you look into the ethical side too much you might feel compelled to change your lifestyle, and atm she enjoys her meat too much to want to think of doing that.

 

[GhostUser]

it sounds like she really isn't all that supportive after all.

 

[froggythefrog]

I would have problems having a serious discussion with her simply because her issues seem so blurry. What are her reasons for doing as she does? If she is eating at KFC, she is definitely not eating free range or organic in that instance. Actually, fried chicken is one of the worst foods you can possibly eat. That does not mean you should go tell her not to eat it. I am just pointing out why the discussion would be so hard for me to have. Does she have a firm grasp on what she is doing and why? If not, discussing eating habits will be frustrating.

I think for anything you decide to eat, if she makes negative comments about it, you might just want to mention that your eating habits and motivations are different from hers.

This is definitely not something to tell her, unless she is really open to it: Convenience is what has brought the food industry and environment to its current state.

 

[GhostUser]

you need to find yourself a nice veg*n girl!

 

[Laura_I]

I haven't had any fast food in years..

Anyway, sorry to say this, I'm sure she's a nice person and all, but she seems kind of ignorant. You know how people who are insecure about their sexuality will gay bash others? I think it's the same kind of deal when people go on and on about their meat consumption around veg*ns. Plus, every doctor I've ever talked to says that everyone should be taking a multi vitamin anyways.

 

[Lady Clare]

Sounds almost like a 'guilt' thing to me... and the excuses? That too, sounds like she is just trying to make the fact that she eats any meat at all okay. Then again, I am just basing this on a friend who was eerily similar.

Personally, I would rather have fortified foods than to kill any more animals for my taste buds.

 

[froggythefrog]

Why do omnis feel guilty over a value they don't have? (Read carefully.)

 

[troub]

I would propose a written argument to her against you guys going out.

 

[ketivnilloc]

she's into organic and natural things...free range animal stuff...so far so good. I can understand it that far...a little. But the fast food...just makes no sense.

 

[Quincy]

thanks for all of the replies, guys.

She is supportive of the choices I make, but no matter how nice I try to be about it, she tells me she's against my diet and refuses to even consider changing hers.

I guess what bothers me is that this summer, she would always eat at fast food...KFC, Wendy's, McDonalds during our lunch break. (we both worked at Sears)

In September, she was trying to tell me that she avoids fast food, but then I brought up those situations and everything got heated.

"oh, I didn't wanna starve", "I had no other choice", "I only do it once in a while", etc.

I will admit that overall, her diet isn't so bad. She eats a lot of chicken though and in addition to plenty of desserts and dairy products, I am somewhat worried that she doesn't understand what she's doing to her body...(she thinks that since she eats a lot of "natural" and organic foods, that she's really healthy.

Well, over the past few weeks she's started telling me that she's gaining weight and then I'm sitting here, biting my tongue, trying to not be too mean about it.

I also agree with the comment about doctors recommending supplements...I am personally against taking them, just because I get most of what I need from normal foods anyway, PLUS I used to get sick from them - even if I ate a full meal beforehand.

She's just stubborn about the whole thing overall and I don't know what to do. As much as I would like to try to get her to see more of the bright sides to veg*nism, it almost always turns into a heated arguement.

I dunno...I can't seem to focus my thoughts right now, so I'll leave it at this.

On the bright side, she did come with me to VP2 in NYC this past Sunday and she liked the mock chicken meal they had and we both loved the vegan banana split we had. Maybe over time she'll begin to become more open-minded...

 

[Quincy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ketivnilloc

she's into organic and natural things...free range animal stuff...so far so good. I can understand it that far...a little. But the fast food...just makes no sense.

okay, I'll give her points for not eating much fast food...however, anytime we ever went out somewhere this past summer, she was like begging to stop at one of those places. I can understand ease and convenience, but it also makes her a hypocrite...

She justifies it (as well as other bad eating habits) by telling me she was STARVING really bad.

Um, even before I went vegan, I would have to be on my death bed to even *CONSIDER* eating fast food. Even then, I most likely wouldn't even have a bite of it.

as for free-range and natural, she's a hypocrite about that too! she told me that a farm she knows about gets the sheep's wool in an humane fashion. I started asking her if she always buys wool clothing from that farmer and she basically started arguing with me.

Don't worry, things between us are a lot more stable, but maybe it's because I try to avoid discussions on this topic, since i feel so strongly about it.

 

[Skylark]

I sure hope she's one heck of a good SO in other respects, because that sort of treatment would drive me bonkers.

 

[Lady Clare]

Just b/c someone is an omni doesn't mean they don't know the truth, they could very well be blocking that from their minds. Ask me how I know...

 

[dee-vee]

Has she seen some of the videos like meet your meat or Earthlings? If not go buy Earthlings and let her watch it. Maybe she will see the light.

 

[DoveInGrey]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lady Clare

Just b/c someone is an omni doesn't mean they don't know the truth, they could very well be blocking that from their minds. Ask me how I know...

How do you know? Would I be right in guessing it's because you used to do the same yourself?

 

[Lady Clare]

Exactly. I felt guilty every single time I ate any meat. I had been a veg for several years, then for some ridiculous reason, I screwed up. I kept eating meat about 2-3 times a week for the next couple years. All the rest of the time I was eating like a LO veg like I had been before. I would make tons of veg foods and never care there wasn't any meat.. so why did i eat it at all?

Last week it just hit me- why in the world am I still doing this? I don't even like meat! I suddenly just felt the weight of all the pain I had been causing to these animals and I knew I was done. I dropped all meat (I was 'only' eating chicken and fish- that was how I made myself feel a little less guilty "at least I'm not eating everything" except I knew how chickens get the worst of it) I went vegan overnight. Today is only the 4th day, so while some may think it is silly for me call myself a vegan already, I know I won't be going back ever again.

I had also excused myself before over the difficulty of remaining on a veg diet in my small town-- but I have been living in a major city for the past two years now. There was never a need for what I was doing anyway, though.

I knew all the pain I was causing, but I really and truly blocked it from my mind. However, I never claimed that it was healthier for me to eat meat- in any form. I just did it. Stupid.

 

[Quincy]

the thing is, the movies wouldn't do anything for her. I started talking about them once and she went on about how one of her friends did a class project on animal treatment and such.

also, she told me that "no one would ever go back to a fast food place [after watching a documentary - wasn't sure which one it was]", YET, she goes back herself! *HYPOCRITE ALERT*