I'm New -- But I'm Curious ---?!
Are the strict vegetarians here different than the ones you encounter in your daily life? Are they more like "fanatics" than ones you meet or work with? Do you think they are "obsessive"?
I tell you, they sure are "different" to me.
Answers: Just what do the flexitarian vegetarians, including pollo-pesco-lacto/ovo vegetarians think of the strict vegetarians on YA?
Are the strict vegetarians here different than the ones you encounter in your daily life? Are they more like "fanatics" than ones you meet or work with? Do you think they are "obsessive"?
I tell you, they sure are "different" to me.
Their are some cool vegetarians here.
All you have to do is mention felxitarianism and the fanatic nutjobs all crawl out of the woodwork and spew their so called "knowledge".
In the real world I've have yet to encounter a vegetarian that I didn't like. I think all the fanatics hang out here.
LACTO-OVO
Includes both eggs and dairy products in their diet
LACTO
Dairy products but no eggs
VEGAN
Consumes no animal products whatsoever (usually including honey)
PESCATARIAN
Consumes fish but no meat - sometimes referred to as “demi-veg” but not actually a vegetarian.
I’m a lacto veggie and have a vegan cousin. There seems to be a common perception among meat-eaters that we’re all animal rights zealots who belong to organisations like PETA, but I don’t impose my eating habits on anyone.
If anything I find that people can be quite rude to me, making stupid comments like “So you’re a vegetarian…I guess a nice piece of animal flesh is out of the question”, and waving a their fork of steak in front of my face or something. What are they trying to prove? I don’t criticize their choices and would expect the same respect for mine.
Veganism especially seems to be viewed with deep suspicion but there are plenty of perfectly normal people out there. Whenever my cousin mentions the V word in public she gets a similar reaction to wearing a veil or something - somehow it’s as if a personal choice can be interpreted as a threat to life as we know it.
Yes, there are some "obsessive" veggie evangelists out there but that there's also plenty of weird omnivores about too. Some people are "normal" and some people have issues - it's got nothing to do with whether they eat meat or not.
I like it. A good argument helps you to figure out what you believe in and why. And i think that is true for all sides.
Well, I don't fall into any of the categories of people to whom you address your question, but as many omnis and 'flexis' often point out, you can't choose who answers your questions.
I think there may be a couple of reasons that the veg*ns on YA seem different to and more obsessive than those you meet in real life.
Many, maybe most, are very young, several are still in school So they have the zeal and the utter conviction that they are right that the newly converted, and particularly the inexperienced, often have. Elsewhere you have said that you're in your seventies, so perhaps this is not an age or interest group you spend much time with?
Secondly, this is an internet board intended exclusively for questions about issues involving veg*nism. So that's all people talk about on this forum . I suppose that could lead an observer to assume that was all they ever talked or cared about. But of course, away from this board, most discuss ideas, politics and interests that have nothing to do with food.
I went vegetarian in 1969, and away from this board I've never encountered rudeness or bigotry about my choices. But I'm intelligent enough to realise that most omnivores on here aren't obsessive or fanatical, and almost all will have varied interests, just like the omnivores I meet and work with every day.
On here, I talk about veg*n issues and little else. On another board, I talk about the issues defined by the title of that board. In real life, I have very little reason to mention my diet at all and most people I encounter regularly don't know I'm a vegan.
I'm an omnivore, like yourself, and I think the vegers are just fine. They just don't have a high tolerance for nonsense here in the V & V. Believe me, I know it firsthand. Once you get to know some of them though, you'll find they are a fine bunch :-)
I would have to admit that there are a couple of vegers who are a bit militant and could use to loosen up a little bit. Shorten up the answers some too will ya? There's no need to author a book when a paragraph would suffice.
I was lacto-ovo vegetarian for 19 years until October this year, when I went vegan.
The only thing that has changed is the food I eat.
I have to be honest . . . I've NEVER encountered such a group of fanatics and small-minded people in all my life. What is strange is they all seem to be on this board!! I do think they have some MAJOR problems. That weird free range chicken farmer is just nuts. He's NOT a happy person.