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General Discussion => Throw Down the Gauntlet => Topic started by: cheddarpie on November 16, 2016, 11:17:55 PM

Title: Going mostly vegetarian for mindfulness & climate change ... join me?
Post by: cheddarpie on November 16, 2016, 11:17:55 PM
Jolted to my sense's after last week's election results, I'm pledging to finally reject my hypocrisy as a climate-loving carnivore and eat less meat. I'm hoping to recruit a few others to join me and so I created a website . . . www.vegtil2020.com.

This effort is half hunger strike -- a way of reminding myself, every day, to be mindful of those less privileged than I am  -- and half call to action, as the tiniest of tiny actions I can take to counteract just a few of the large-scale, climate-change-denying policy decisions Trump has promised to make.

If this is something that resonates with you, please check out the site, sign the (not strictly vegetarian) Veg Pledge, spread the word, and share #vegtil2020.

If other folks are interested in this forum, I'd also love to share ideas and recipes. I love meat, steak and burgers especially, so this is going to be tough for me, but I'm committed!

Title: Re: Going mostly vegetarian for mindfulness & climate change ... join me?
Post by: englyn on November 17, 2016, 12:05:13 AM
Nice! I wanted to post my support. I'm not up for a pledge but have been meaning to lean my diet more veg - meat once a week seems about right, maybe with fish a few more times a week. It's great you have a 'custom' option for this kind of thing. Two people doing some kind of flexible option like that will have a much larger impact than one person going fully veg and the other giving up because it seems unachievable and eating meat daily.
Title: Re: Going mostly vegetarian for mindfulness & climate change ... join me?
Post by: rpr on November 17, 2016, 12:25:43 AM
Posting in Support and to Follow.

I have been a vegetarian my entire life. It is easy if you are born and raised in that environment. Recently, I have switched to becoming a vegan. In may case, the biggest thing was cheese and eggs. One of the side benefits is that I have lost a shit ton of weight.

Take baby steps. There are tons of available resources on the internet (youtube) and maybe groups in your local area as well. You can do it. Good luck. 
Title: Re: Going mostly vegetarian for mindfulness & climate change ... join me?
Post by: EuroGap on November 17, 2016, 01:37:00 AM
I hear you! Me and my SO switched to vegetarian about a year ago, and we feel great. The main point for us was the climate issue, and in seeing both health and finance improvements, its a no brainer really.

We are doing roughly 90% vegan 10% vegetarian at the moment, slowly working towards fully vegan. It's mainly just cheese left. There's loads of great stuff you can cook if you're just open for it.

We have actually both gotten our respective families on board, getting them to roughly 75% vegetarian and counting.

Oh btw, I signed the pledge!
Title: Re: Going mostly vegetarian for mindfulness & climate change ... join me?
Post by: aetherie on November 17, 2016, 08:39:07 AM
Yes! This is something I've been thinking about a lot. Our regular rotation of dinner recipes is about 40/60 vegetarian/meat at the moment, and I'd like to get it closer to 90/10.

I also want to find more vegetarian recipes we both like that aren't some variation of "pasta with cheese"... I'll be asking for Mollie Katzen's new cookbook for Christmas to help with that.

I'm going to bring it up with SO this weekend and then hopefully we'll both sign your pledge!
Title: Re: Going mostly vegetarian for mindfulness & climate change ... join me?
Post by: kbishopnow on November 17, 2016, 09:02:53 AM
We made the switch recently too. What is making it work for us is a couple vegan meal subscriptions: they are kinda expensive, but we are learning how to cook much better at the same time. And you have to check out the 32 bean 8 veggie dry mix sold on Amazon. This stuff ---> http://amzn.to/2fZtACj (the gas is real, but I cannot stop eating it :-)
Title: Re: Going mostly vegetarian for mindfulness & climate change ... join me?
Post by: KCM5 on November 17, 2016, 09:23:12 AM
I like this. We're doing something similar in our house. Except we still eat meat - it's just hunted meat. As in, I went to some woods south of town, shot a deer, butchered her, and now have her in my freezer. As a former vegetarian who felt the need to really own my current meat-eating, it has been a fulfilling experience. The only way it could be greener is if I brought her home on my bike. I didn't - I drove our Prius.
Title: Re: Going mostly vegetarian for mindfulness & climate change ... join me?
Post by: Candace on November 17, 2016, 09:49:53 AM
My fiance and I are with you. We eat almost no meat at home. When we go out we tend to eat fish or chicken. In this way, we've both cut our meat consumption quite a lot relative to how we each ate a few years ago. We do it for climate, humanitarian and monetary reasons.
Title: Re: Going mostly vegetarian for mindfulness & climate change ... join me?
Post by: misterhorsey on November 18, 2016, 03:12:50 PM
Great idea, posting to support.

I describe myself as a Veganesque Garbage-itarian.  I cook and aim to eat Vegan. But if something is likely to go into the garbage, I may well eat it rather than allow it to be thrown away!

If you have a love of burgers and steak (and I can relate to this) my advice is that your palate can adjust so that you don't hanker for them so much - but it does take a little while to adjust.  Meanwhile you can buy some meat substitutes that, depending on brand, aren't quite like the real thing, but they can almost get you there.  Eventually, my experience is that you end up being just as happy with 'almost meat' than the real thing.

Good luck. Enjoy the challenge of forgoing familiar comforts, but experiencing a new approach to food.
Title: Re: Going mostly vegetarian for mindfulness & climate change ... join me?
Post by: ethereality on November 19, 2016, 11:06:02 AM
I started a 95% vegetarian diet last year. This rule has helped me: basically, I never purchase meat from a grocery store. But, if I occasionally go out to eat, or someone else cooks for me, then I am okay with eating meat. I have tried 100% vegetarian before, and ended up giving up with crazy cravings. This way, I eat meat maybe once or twice a month. It's the long-winded way to becoming a vegetarian.
Title: Re: Going mostly vegetarian for mindfulness & climate change ... join me?
Post by: cheddarpie on November 19, 2016, 11:49:01 AM
Awesome, so glad there are so many of you excited about this! Thanks so much to those of you who signed up already -- not even a week and there are 24 folks signed up so far -- so cool! (The rest of you, get your butts to: www.vegtil2020.com)

I was previously vegetarian for several years in my early 20s, but I didn't do a great job of balancing my nutrition. I slowly eased back into eating meat and somehow ended up full blown carnivore the last few years. So I'm looking forward to rebalancing.

I am semi-allergic to wheat and corn (not life threatening, but it makes me itchy and my skin breaks out in hive-like bumps) so most of the processed vegetarian faux-meats are off the table for me. I also don't eat dairy other than yogurt and butter for lactose reasons, so I am looking forward to figuring out some good recipes for homemade veggie burgers and other protein substitutes! It will be challenging but I'm sure I'll get the hang of it. :)



Title: Re: Going mostly vegetarian for mindfulness & climate change ... join me?
Post by: Hotstreak on November 19, 2016, 01:01:05 PM
I like this. We're doing something similar in our house. Except we still eat meat - it's just hunted meat. As in, I went to some woods south of town, shot a deer, butchered her, and now have her in my freezer. As a former vegetarian who felt the need to really own my current meat-eating, it has been a fulfilling experience. The only way it could be greener is if I brought her home on my bike. I didn't - I drove our Prius.


I eat mostly hunted meat or local pasture raised beef & lamb.  None of these contribute significantly to climate change. They sequester carbon and use less potable water than crops.  It's the CAFO's that are bad for the environment (and produce less healthy food FWIW). 


For those wanting to craft a climate friendly diet, it's not as simple as not eating meat!  Large scale farming is made possible through the destruction of existing ecosystems like prairie land and rain forests.
Title: Re: Going mostly vegetarian for mindfulness & climate change ... join me?
Post by: MandalayVA on November 19, 2016, 02:25:30 PM
George Carlin, yet again the voice of reason:

"We’re so self-important. So self-important. Everybody’s going to save something now. “Save the trees, save the bees, save the whales, save those snails.” And the greatest arrogance of all: save the planet. What? Are these fucking people kidding me? Save the planet, we don’t even know how to take care of ourselves yet. We haven’t learned how to care for one another, we’re gonna save the fucking planet?

I’m getting tired of that shit. Tired of that shit. I’m tired of fucking Earth Day, I’m tired of these self-righteous environmentalists, these white, bourgeois liberals who think the only thing wrong with this country is there aren’t enough bicycle paths. People trying to make the world safe for their Volvos. Besides, environmentalists don’t give a shit about the planet. They don’t care about the planet. Not in the abstract they don’t.  You know what they’re interested in? A clean place to live. Their own habitat. They’re worried that some day in the future, they might be personally inconvenienced. Narrow, unenlightened self-interest doesn’t impress me.

Besides, there is nothing wrong with the planet. Nothing wrong with the planet. The planet is fine. The PEOPLE are fucked. Difference. Difference. The planet is fine. Compared to the people, the planet is doing great. Been here four and a half billion years. Did you ever think about the arithmetic? The planet has been here four and a half billion years. We’ve been here, what, a hundred thousand? Maybe two hundred thousand? And we’ve only been engaged in heavy industry for a little over two hundred years. Two hundred years versus four and a half billion. And we have the CONCEIT to think that somehow we’re a threat? That somehow we’re gonna put in jeopardy this beautiful little blue-green ball that’s just a-floatin’ around the sun?

The planet has been through a lot worse than us. Been through all kinds of things worse than us. Been through earthquakes, volcanoes, plate tectonics, continental drift, solar flares, sun spots, magnetic storms, the magnetic reversal of the poles…hundreds of thousands of years of bombardment by comets and asteroids and meteors, worlwide floods, tidal waves, worldwide fires, erosion, cosmic rays, recurring ice ages…And we think some plastic bags, and some aluminum cans are going to make a difference? The planet…the planet…the planet isn’t going anywhere. WE ARE!

We’re going away. Pack your shit, folks. We’re going away. And we won’t leave much of a trace, either. Thank God for that. Maybe a little styrofoam. Maybe. A little styrofoam. The planet’ll be here and we’ll be long gone. Just another failed mutation. Just another closed-end biological mistake. An evolutionary cul-de-sac. The planet’ll shake us off like a bad case of fleas. A surface nuisance.

You wanna know how the planet’s doing? Ask those people at Pompeii, who are frozen into position from volcanic ash, how the planet’s doing. You wanna know if the planet’s all right, ask those people in Mexico City or Armenia or a hundred other places buried under thousands of tons of earthquake rubble, if they feel like a threat to the planet this week. Or how about those people in Kilauea, Hawaii, who built their homes right next to an active volcano, and then wonder why they have lava in the living room.

The planet will be here for a long, long, LONG time after we’re gone, and it will heal itself, it will cleanse itself, ’cause that’s what it does. It’s a self-correcting system. The air and the water will recover, the earth will be renewed, and if it’s true that plastic is not degradable, well, the planet will simply incorporate plastic into a new pardigm: the earth plus plastic. The earth doesn’t share our prejudice towards plastic. Plastic came out of the earth. The earth probably sees plastic as just another one of its children. Could be the only reason the earth allowed us to be spawned from it in the first place. It wanted plastic for itself. Didn’t know how to make it. Needed us. Could be the answer to our age-old egocentric philosophical question, “Why are we here?” Plastic…asshole.

So, the plastic is here, our job is done, we can be phased out now. And I think that’s begun. Don’t you think that’s already started? I think, to be fair, the planet sees us as a mild threat. Something to be dealt with. And the planet can defend itself in an organized, collective way, the way a beehive or an ant colony can. A collective defense mechanism. The planet will think of something. What would you do if you were the planet? How would you defend yourself against this troublesome, pesky species? Let’s see… Viruses. Viruses might be good. They seem vulnerable to viruses. And, uh…viruses are tricky, always mutating and forming new strains whenever a vaccine is developed. Perhaps, this first virus could be one that compromises the immune system of these creatures. Perhaps a human immunodeficiency virus, making them vulnerable to all sorts of other diseases and infections that might come along. And maybe it could be spread sexually, making them a little reluctant to engage in the act of reproduction.

Well, that’s a poetic note. And it’s a start. And I can dream, can’t I? See I don’t worry about the little things: bees, trees, whales, snails. I think we’re part of a greater wisdom than we will ever understand. A higher order. Call it what you want. Know what I call it? The Big Electron. The Big Electron…whoooa. Whoooa. Whoooa. It doesn’t punish, it doesn’t reward, it doesn’t judge at all. It just is. And so are we. For a little while."

MOD NOTE: You don't need to go in to someone else's thread and put them down.
Title: Re: Going mostly vegetarian for mindfulness & climate change ... join me?
Post by: Metric Mouse on November 20, 2016, 06:55:39 AM
George Carlin, yet again the voice of reason:

I think of this skit all the time.  It's amazing how much better it is to see him perform it than it is to just read it.  Reading it in his voice in my head turns it from a strange rant into art.  I rarely think about how the medium of expression can change how impactful ideas are; this was a great reminder.
Title: Re: Going mostly vegetarian for mindfulness & climate change ... join me?
Post by: GreenSheep on November 21, 2016, 07:06:28 PM
Vegan here, chiming in to say it's totally doable! Some people do better with making an overnight change, and some (like me) go for the more gradual route. I was vegetarian for years, then stopped eating cheese 1/1/16. I don't miss it at all. As for "fake meats," I think they give vegetarian/vegan food a bad name. They're gross! No wonder people think all vegetarian/vegan food is gross! They do seem to be a good transitional food for some, but I've had more success just eating real foods and enjoying them for what they are... fresh fruit in season, all sorts of beans, awesome rice from the Asian supermarket, grains I never thought to try before, exotic types of sweet potatoes, etc. Your palate really does change!

It's also a huge incentive to waste less money eating out. People probably think all vegans eat is salad because that's all that's available at so many restaurants. $12 for a plate of lettuce? No thanks, I'll make delicious vegan enchiladas at home!
Title: Re: Going mostly vegetarian for mindfulness & climate change ... join me?
Post by: palebluedot on November 21, 2016, 07:51:39 PM
I took the 30 day pledge to eat less meat back in the Spring from the Reducetarian movement: http://reducetarian.org/

I have continued to only eat meat on weekends. There have been even some weeks where I have gone completely meat-less. I hope to eventually get to fully vegan but I've made significant changes! I use this meal planner occasionally: https://www.lighter.world/welcome
Title: Re: Going mostly vegetarian for mindfulness & climate change ... join me?
Post by: cheddarpie on November 23, 2016, 06:32:51 PM
It's also a huge incentive to waste less money eating out. People probably think all vegans eat is salad because that's all that's available at so many restaurants. $12 for a plate of lettuce? No thanks, I'll make delicious vegan enchiladas at home!

Yes! I'm excited for the Mustachian aspect of this as well ... after doing a very meat-heavy Whole 30 a few months ago I felt totally spent. Literally. ;)


I took the 30 day pledge to eat less meat back in the Spring from the Reducetarian movement: http://reducetarian.org/

I have continued to only eat meat on weekends. There have been even some weeks where I have gone completely meat-less. I hope to eventually get to fully vegan but I've made significant changes! I use this meal planner occasionally: https://www.lighter.world/welcome

Ooh, cool! I didn't know about this. Thanks for sharing the links!
Title: Re: Going mostly vegetarian for mindfulness & climate change ... join me?
Post by: MandalayVA on November 25, 2016, 07:37:13 AM
Wow, still not getting the clue that you going vegan won't save the planet.  PETA may just be the strongest propaganda machine ever.

MOD NOTE: You don't need to go in to someone else's thread and put them down.
Title: Re: Going mostly vegetarian for mindfulness & climate change ... join me?
Post by: GreenSheep on November 25, 2016, 09:35:23 AM
Wow, still not getting the clue that you going vegan won't save the planet.  PETA may just be the strongest propaganda machine ever.

I don't really keep up with PETA, so their "propaganda" isn't affecting me. Maybe vegan eating won't save the planet, but it can help a little. I'm not sure that anything can save the planet at this point. And yes, there is some room for judgement because most of us vegans still drive cars, fly in planes, etc. But with all the health benefits, and the 200 or so animals not killed each year as a result of one person not eating them or their byproducts, I don't really see a downside. As Colleen Patrick-Goudreau says, "Don't do nothing because you can't do everything."
Title: Re: Going mostly vegetarian for mindfulness & climate change ... join me?
Post by: CheapScholar on November 25, 2016, 10:37:17 AM
Count me out, but I admire and respect your decision.  As a meat eater, I think it's very important to not waste meat.  I'm amazed how much food, even meat, is just discarded and sent to rot in landfills.  So I'll pledge not to waste meat, and choose chicken over beef more often.  It's hard for me to go a day without meat or poultry.  Even as a serious Catholic I tried giving up meat for lent one year and I only lasted 2.5 days.
Title: Re: Going mostly vegetarian for mindfulness & climate change ... join me?
Post by: GuitarStv on November 25, 2016, 11:47:07 AM
Wow, still not getting the clue that you going vegan won't save the planet.  PETA may just be the strongest propaganda machine ever.

It's possible to have a low environmental impact diet that contains meat, and it's possible to have a vegan diet that's damaging to the environment.  That said, both of those are far from the norm.  Generally speaking, eating less meat and lower on the food chain is cheaper, more sustainable, and better for your health.  At the very least it's a personal decision that doesn't really impact you in any measurable way.  What exactly are you so upset about?
Title: Re: Going mostly vegetarian for mindfulness & climate change ... join me?
Post by: rpr on November 25, 2016, 12:48:15 PM
Wow, still not getting the clue that you going vegan won't save the planet.  PETA may just be the strongest propaganda machine ever.

It's possible to have a low environmental impact diet that contains meat, and it's possible to have a vegan diet that's damaging to the environment.  That said, both of those are far from the norm.  Generally speaking, eating less meat and lower on the food chain is cheaper, more sustainable, and better for your health.  At the very least it's a personal decision that doesn't really impact you in any measurable way.  What exactly are you so upset about?

Balanced and nuanced. Well put. Just do your best to have as low an impact as possible.

Much as I love George Carlin, I disagree with him on this particular issue. It matters what each one of us does. 
Title: Re: Going mostly vegetarian for mindfulness & climate change ... join me?
Post by: katscratch on November 27, 2016, 08:19:03 PM
I've been reading the forums for a few years and finally just registered.

I'm following for recipe/cookbook ideas!  I was vegetarian for mostly budgetary reasons for years, but my body doesn't do well with grains/legumes more than occasionally - endocrine disorder that requires a different macro ratio.

I did formerly eat primarily grains, beans, veggies, and friends' chickens' eggs.  For myself personally I couldn't do the meat or dairy analogs and don't eat soy - partly from a desire to avoid processed foods and partly from knowledge of the vast number of animals killed harvesting soy.  Felt a little hypocritical to me :)

I have friends of all dietary persuasions and I LOVE it, I learn so much from people that don't think like me and glean loads of inspiration from those who do.


My favorite cookbook of all time (in every food genre) is Crescent Dragonwagon's Passionate Vegetarian.  I read it like a novel at least once a year. 

Happy eating, all!
Title: Re: Going mostly vegetarian for mindfulness & climate change ... join me?
Post by: rpr on November 28, 2016, 10:56:11 PM
I For myself personally I couldn't do the meat or dairy analogs and don't eat soy - partly from a desire to avoid processed foods and partly from knowledge of the vast number of animals killed harvesting soy.  Felt a little hypocritical to me :)

I assume that you mean the animals like mice etc. killed when soy is harvested. If so, this is for your reading pleasure.

http://www.theflamingvegan.com/view-post/Vegan-Mythbusting-1-Are-wild-animals-killed-when-grain-is-harvested-for-vegans

Title: Re: Going mostly vegetarian for mindfulness & climate change ... join me?
Post by: KCM5 on November 29, 2016, 06:15:50 AM
I For myself personally I couldn't do the meat or dairy analogs and don't eat soy - partly from a desire to avoid processed foods and partly from knowledge of the vast number of animals killed harvesting soy.  Felt a little hypocritical to me :)

I assume that you mean the animals like mice etc. killed when soy is harvested. If so, this is for your reading pleasure.

http://www.theflamingvegan.com/view-post/Vegan-Mythbusting-1-Are-wild-animals-killed-when-grain-is-harvested-for-vegans

That article raises a good point on the validity of that particular study. And it really depends on the method of farming for both animals and plants. If you're Australian, you should consider those methods when planning your diet:

http://theconversation.com/ordering-the-vegetarian-meal-theres-more-animal-blood-on-your-hands-4659

However, the reality of farming is that we rely on predation to reduce the number of animals that will eat our crops. In the US, for example, woodchucks and deer are considered agricultural pests. As we've killed off deer's predators in most of the US, hunting is really the only humane way to keep the deer population down. This helps the deer as much as it helps us as it prevents population crashes during times of environmental stress. Now, of course, I support the reintroduction of predators such as wolves, but that's happening slowly and is still politically challenging.

I really enjoyed reading this book on the subject:

https://www.amazon.com/Mindful-Carnivore-Vegetarians-Hunt-Sustenance/dp/B00AZ9DZSA
Title: Re: Going mostly vegetarian for mindfulness & climate change ... join me?
Post by: katscratch on November 29, 2016, 08:22:32 PM
Oh wow, so far these are great reads!!  Written very well.  (The articles) -- Thanks!!  That book looks fantastic as well.

I have to say I don't recall ever looking into the validity of the field-animals claims (and was young/ignorant enough I might not have even tried).  This was about the same time I started to question the sustainability and health of agricultural practices in the U.S. and started steering away from products made with "big ag" monocropped food and began exploring different options.

I agree that purposeful animal population management strategies are humane and mutually beneficial to our species and theirs. Wild game is also quite tasty :)