Why do people choose to be vegans?

[Rosa moschata]

The point is the same -- you're asking other people to justify why they make the choices they do. Some have given answers (objections to industrial agriculture, i.e. "factory farms"), yet you persist. And frankly, why does it matter to you what other people eat or don't eat?

The reason I made the comparison to religion is that that is also a personal thing for how some people live their lives, and posting a thread "I don't understand people who are (fill in the blank)" with the topic being something different from how you choose to live your life is equally condescending. So you don't agree with (or understand) what they do -- so what? How often do you justify your own life choices to people who look at something about yourself and say "I don't understand people who are (fill in the blank) like YOU"? It's one thing to say "what are your reasons for this?" and just listening, but you seem intent on discounting each reason as its presented, in effect arguing against the way some people live because it differs from how you live. It's just as rude as saying you don't understand people who are of a certain religion, and then arguing each reason given for why they like their religion. Because when it comes down to it, there's a lot of stuff there which isn't logical, but as long as it keeps people happy, who cares? Let people live as they choose, and may they grant you the same respect and freedom.

 

[Rosa moschata]

I dunno, some people in here do see to be making fun of the lifestyle. One person quoted above basically said that people do it just to show off and try to look special. The post above about vegans "getting out of line" was a slam. And you even made a remark about people not being able to stick with it, which poked me the wrong way because I was a vegetarian for three years but stopped once I started eating meat from animals treated humanely, so I didn't "stick with being vegetarian." You may not have meant that as a snide remark but it came off that way.

Anyway, this attitude was one of the reasons that I did not make my vegetarianism well known. People seem to get offended by it for some reason, like I was hurting them by not eating meat. In fact, people go out of their way to bother vegetarians and vegans by wearing shirts that mock them and having rude slogans and things like that. I don't even know if most of the time people mean to be rude or snide about it, but it happens an awful lot.

Anyway, all that said, once again, I have no problem with meat eaters, vegetarians, vegans, whatever. It's your body, it's your food, do what you want. I just don't know why so many others seem unable to grasp this concept. And I don't mean you, by the way - you've been fairly neutral throughout the discussion.

People who get offended by how other people live their own lives are, in my experience, insecure about their own life choices. Seeing other people live differently, think differently, eat differently, etc. and yet still manage to have happy lives makes them wonder about why they live/think/eat/etc. the way they do themselves. It's as though they live their own lives the way they do because they were told it was "the only way", and seeing contradictory evidence is threatening. If you're confident in yourself, that someone else is different and causes you no interference will have no effect on your own life -- so you "live and let live."

 

[Bullitt]

I dunno, some people in here do see to be making fun of the lifestyle. One person quoted above basically said that people do it just to show off and try to look special. The post above about vegans "getting out of line" was a slam. And you even made a remark about people not being able to stick with it, which poked me the wrong way because I was a vegetarian for three years but stopped once I started eating meat from animals treated humanely, so I didn't "stick with being vegetarian." You may not have meant that as a snide remark but it came off that way.

Anyway, this attitude was one of the reasons that I did not make my vegetarianism well known. People seem to get offended by it for some reason, like I was hurting them by not eating meat. In fact, people go out of their way to bother vegetarians and vegans by wearing shirts that mock them and having rude slogans and things like that. I don't even know if most of the time people mean to be rude or snide about it, but it happens an awful lot.

Anyway, all that said, once again, I have no problem with meat eaters, vegetarians, vegans, whatever. It's your body, it's your food, do what you want. I just don't know why so many others seem unable to grasp this concept. And I don't mean you, by the way - you've been fairly neutral throughout the discussion.

"One person quoted above basically said that people do it just to show off and try to look special."
I think you may have misunderstood what the person wrote. Maybe the person will clarify.

"stick with being vegetarian"
I said it is unusual for people to go their whole lives without using animal products. That is my opinion based on everything I have seen and read. Do you agree or disagree about this? If I am wrong, do you know people who went their entire lives without using any animal products?

I do not know why people would get offended because a person does not eat meat. I am just trying to understand the logic of not eating eggs and dairy products. (If they make a person physically sick, that is a different issue.)

We have gotten some good answers about the ethical issues related to animal treatment.

 

[Bullitt]

And frankly, why does it matter to you what other people eat or don't eat?

You have never questioned anything before?

Well, you are questioning me. Why do you care that some people are curious about the world?

I do not think I was being offensive. I was certainly not trying to be offensive.

 

[Rosa moschata]

I have questioned things, but I would never post my question as "I don't understand people who are (fill in the blank)" because the tone is condescending. Again, I ask you, how would my asking "I don't understand people who are Christian" come across, tone-wise? You said it's not appropriate to question religion here, I assume because people take it very personally. Well, that's how many people take their vegetarianism/veganism.

Perhaps if you started off by saying "What are your reasons for going vegetarian/vegan?" and didn't keep interjecting how most people will eat animal products at some point, or that bigger, healthier people eat meat, etc. Because in doing so, it seems you're less concerned about learning why other people don't eat animal products than you are about convincing them that they are wrong for deciding not to eat animal products.

 

[Bullitt]

I have questioned things, but I would never post my question as "I don't understand people who are (fill in the blank)" because the tone is condescending. Again, I ask you, how would my asking "I don't understand people who are Christian" come across, tone-wise? You said it's not appropriate to question religion here, I assume because people take it very personally. Well, that's how many people take their vegetarianism/veganism.

Perhaps if you started off by saying "What are your reasons for going vegetarian/vegan?" and didn't keep interjecting how most people will eat animal products at some point, or that bigger, healthier people eat meat, etc. Because in doing so, it seems you're less concerned about learning why other people don't eat animal products than you are about convincing them that they are wrong for deciding not to eat animal products.

Okay, you have a good point about the title.

About the content, I thought we were discussing the pros and cons of eating animal products.

 

[Rosa moschata]

OK, then I will reiterate my points. There are many people (true, a minority overall, but still a large and growing number of people) who have concerns with animal agriculture. Some have strong enough objections to eschew participation in the industry completely, and don't eat any animal products. Others (like myself) choose to reward those farmers who raise their animals in ways with which we find acceptable, and form diets with only small (by volume) inputs of animal protein, which may or may not include meat. For me, it's not about a personal objection against animal agriculture per se, but more about the environmentally unsound approaches of modern industrial agriculture (i.e. "factory farms"). For some of my friends, it's about a strong emotional belief that we should not be "exploiting" animals for our own personal gain, and they are thus vegan. That extreme goes beyond logic, in my opinion, but no matter to me. If that's how they want to live, and it makes them happy, then so be it.

 

[gonzochick]

For me, I became vegan strictly for health reasons. I had temporary blindness for 8 weeks due to an auto immune/inflammatory process. I started vegetarian and transitioned to vegan. I felt a huge difference each time. The more I learn the more animal cruelty issues have also become an influence for me. Eggs make me sick so I haven't eaten them in YEARS.

 

[catsandchickens]

My main reason is, like many here, against the horrid treatment that our meat animals go through their whole lives before they are cruelly slaughtered. The secondary reason is I've been vegetarian for most of my teen and adult life. My mother decided to become vegetarian, so, being as she was the cook in the house, we all became vegetarian.

I became vegan recently (two years ago). I work in the animal sheltering area and years ago when I first started in the field I felt the keeping of cattle, milk cows, and hens for eggs or meat was on the cruel side. Now, two years ago, I got an opportunity to see these farms again and to me it was even worse. Turned me off meat completely.

Yes, I'm positive I've had animal products in some of my foods and in my clothing (no fur though) but for the most part I'm trying to slowly weed out all animal products.

Another big reason is the use of antibiotics in the animals' feed that we are afterwards ingesting. Hence, a lot of antibiotics are no longer working in our systems due to the overload. And virus' are mutating at a great rate.

About honey - I don't consume much honey due to the honey bees dying out (probably due to pesticides). I'm not as vigilant with honey as I am with meat, poultry and meat/poultry animal products, but I won't buy a jar of it and when making things at home I try to avoid using honey by using other substitutes.

 

[cassie]

I don't know where you live, but the raising of farm animals is not necessarily inhumane. There are good and bad farms everywhere, but the beef cattle here in Missouri seem to have a good life out on pasture, and where I lived in California most of the dairy cows were very well taken care of. The broiler chickens I saw didn't have anything to complain about either.