Nomadic vegetarian?

[torjusg]

Would it be possible to sustain a vegetarian lifestyle year-round asuming you dont farm part of your food?

My answer is: Dream on.

I have answered to this exact question so many times earlier that I don't care to do it any more. There should be some interesting discussions on this in the archive. The discussions usually comes down to uthopic ideas of "I don't want to kill" and similar.

This one is interesting I feel:
http://www.second-opinions.co.uk/vegetarian.html

 

[Tengu]

Well, I think for a true primitive it would be a non issue to begin with.

Food fads are nasty, but they certainly were not free of them.

 

[Porcupine]

torjus,

the question was not if it was smart or easy, the question was is it possible.

you being located more to north it probably is even less viable to sustain without meat then here.

the question arose in a group of people talking about bushcraft/hunter gatherers while all of them are non vegetarians, since we didnt know we chose to ask on a forum with a high amount of knowledge among its userbase.

im s orr y if my question irritated you but still for me personal its very worth asking ,i already learned some good plantbased foods from this thread and following some links that were suggested in it (or related threads).


for me personaly bushcraft is thinking in possibilities, not in negatives.


atb


Porcupine

 

[BOD]

Actually Torusg,

This has been an interesting thread quite focused on the question with little vegetarian/vegan moralising about us meat eaters and animal slayers.

Learning more about gathering and efficient foraging is as important to an understanding of traditional ways as the killing arts.

Thanks for the link

 

[gregorach]

I've heard this before about vegetarians not being able to digest meat. The only two I know off who ate meat, after many years of not eating any, were incredibly uncomfortable afterwards. Bloated, constipated, loose and cramps they said. Somehow it seemed a bit severe afterall our guts ought surely to cope with most things we feed them. I don't fancy trying the experiment myself.

I do know that after a dose of antibiotics I need to eat a lot of wild food to settle my stomach again 'cos otherwise it's me who is bloated, etc., etc.. I think it's the gut bacteria that needs re-charged.

Lactose intolerance is an odd thing in our country, but it's surprising the number or older folks who find they're struggling to cope with milk and cheese.
I think it'd be a nightmare being veggie and allergic to nuts though; that'd be hard, it'd really restrict the protein base for me.

cheers,
Toddy...who has been munching FatHen today, and it was lovely

Now that's a interesting one... I was veggie for years, and I don't recall any major problems when I went back to eating meat - although I did it fairly gradually. I believe that one of the key enzymes required to digest meat is only produced if you eat meat - so the first few meals could be problematic until your diegestion re-adjusts.

Antibiotics definitely mess up your digestion. After all, they're intended to kill bacteria and they're not very selective about it - and we're only able to digest food at all with the aid of the bacteria in our guts. Yet another reason to avoid antibiotics unless they really are needed...

 

[Mikey P]

Actually Torusg,

This has been an interesting thread quite focused on the question with little vegetarian/vegan moralising about us meat eaters and animal slayers.

If the truth be told, it's more likely to be meat eaters hassling vegetarians on this site. Check out previous posts on the subject.

 

[madrussian]

If the truth be told, it's more likely to be meat eaters hassling vegetarians on this site.

You talking about me Mikey. No I wouldn't harrass a vegetarian. But vegan, well thats a whole other animal. There was a news story just a couple of weeks ago in the US about a vegan couple who are now in jail for starving their newborn baby to death while trying to follow the vegan lifestyle. I'm sorry, but I'd rather see a cow die then a newborn anyday. If a person can live like that and wants to live like that, fine. But be reasonable about it. Human life is much more precious than that of a mindless animal.

 

[madrussian]

Here's the story:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18574603/?GT1=9951

Very, very sad.

 

[Toddy]

And so un-necessary there are masses of good Vegan baby foods. In fact the best non allergenic formula baby milk is Wysoy.
http://www.vegetarian.org.uk/factsheets/soyainfant.html
Back when my sons were little and I cooked everything from scratch I got yelled at by a 'friend' because I wasn't feeding my children really healthy food. Hers never had sugar, never had fats or unskimmed milk, no egg yolks, anything white was evil, all flour was wholegrain........and by the age of five her son was diagnosed as "failure to thrive", malnourished and too small.
Mine got wholemeal bread and scones, but they got butter and jam and honey too. They got oatcakes and cheeses, and dried fruits and full fat milk.....and ice cream really was cream and in season they got what grew. I baked daily, most days we ate something gathered but apparantly that wasn't strict enough Some folks are just stupid.
Remember my earlier comment about choice nuts and seeds? The operative word there was the choice bit; kids need good food and good exercise, they need variety and they need enough of the fats and proteins that allow healthy growth.
By all means be Vegetarian or Vegan but for heavens sake it's not beyond mortal wit to get it right. There are enough books and recipes around that it'd never even get boring let alone starve a baby

Toddy

 

[xylaria]

Here's the story:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18574603/?GT1=9951

Very, very sad.

That kid died because they were wierdos that shouldn't of bred. Every vegan I know with kids breastfeeds. There is also proper infant soy formula. My daughter was fed that because she was alergic to cows milk, and she got fat on it. I have seen kids fed soy forumla from birth and they were very fat.

 

[madrussian]

I agree with you Toddy, I think that they were using thier vegan lifestyle as an excuse. No one in their right mind would do something like that. If it was due to being Vegan, there would be politicians clamoring to outlaw it. But stories like this leave a bad impression with people.

 

[Emma]

Well I'm sort-of veggie and have been for about 8-ish years now I think. I'm "sort-of" because I will eat meat from animals that I know have had a good life and been humanely killed so the occasional bit of venison or rabbit from culls is fine by me. I only eat it a few times a year, maybe two or three times, but I've never been ill from doing so. Perhaps I haven't been sort-of veggie for long enough though, or maybe eating meat those two or three times a year keeps my digestive system gently reminded of how to deal with it.

Thoroughly agree that it's entirely possible to be a healthy veggie though, it's not exactly difficult. All it takes is enough common sense to eat a (mostly!) balanced diet.

In fact the best non allergenic formula baby milk is Wysoy.

Almost entirely unrelated - just because something is "non-allergenic" doesn't mean that you won't allergic to it! The only thing my sister is allergic to is non-allergenic washing powder... but she has to be difficult.

 

[twisted firestarter]

Well I'm 'sort of vegan' and have been for about 12 years and vegetarian for over 20 years. I am also 6 foot 4 tall and weigh in at 17 stone so it just goes to show that vegans are not all anemic waifs uppy_dog

To get back on topic about sustaining a vegetarian lifestyle all year round, probably not but then again we're so dependent on processed foods that we have undoubtedly lost ancient knowledge of how to prepare and store foods along the way

 

[madrussian]

To get back on topic about sustaining a vegetarian lifestyle all year round, probably not but then again we're so dependent on processed foods that we have undoubtedly lost ancient knowledge of how to prepare and store foods along the way

I think that kinda sums up this whole thread. I don't think its possible now days to be purely vegetarian in the wild. Not without some cultivation and storage at least. Again depending on were you are trying to do this.

 

[Mikey P]

Well I'm 'sort of vegan' and have been for about 12 years and vegetarian for over 20 years. I am also 6 foot 4 tall and weigh in at 17 stone so it just goes to show that vegans are not all anemic waifs uppy_dog

I score at the high end in my annual fitness tests and I did Ironman Frankfurt last year (3.8km swim, 112 mile bike and a full marathon) in sub-12 hours - and I'm veggie. All I took extra was some additional calcium/magnesium and a one-a-day vitamin tablet (and my meat-eating mate was advised to do the same because of the sheer volume of training).

If you eat sensibly and healthily, there's no reason to be at any disadvantage through vegetarianism. But, I stand by my ealier comment in this thread that I think it would be incredibly difficult to forage/gather for a living.

 

[lofthouse31]

This threads a blast from the past, but ive been working on the ins and outs of it and i reckon from what ive found out that being a stationary vegitarian and living of the wild food is assured (mainly due to the fact you can learn your territory,) i have plotted a territory in a five mile circle from my house plus an extra six mile long stretch of canal.
I have been covering this area in great detail, locating plants, trees etc.
ive no detailed knowledge of food values of most wild plants but the volume of vegitation and fruit available is amazing, a lot of which is easy to gather, some not so easy, theres a river that runs through this territory and a small natural spring.

that part is doable and im certain i could keep a family afloat on the food it provides,

the being nomadic part brings the prospect of being in new unfamiliar places, not knowing where anything is, but theres also the energy loss of setting up home everytime you stop for a bit.

on the plus side the yeild from my territory is not an exception, but rather a rule, plus there is no coast and a nomad in britain would have access to those resources i lack.

everything i have found out has led me to be certain that a nomadic vegitarian would be fine aswell,but would have to work that bit harder

the only problem with being stationary ive not accounted for is salt, which the body needs, if you have a cure for that problem both scenarios are workable.

will post a more detailed summary of things in a couple of days if the origional participants of this thread wish to see it, expect its long forgotten now,

cheers steve

 

[Porcupine]

it wasnt forgotten, and yes, id like to see more info.

if only because being am omnivore doesnt guarantee you catch meat when you want




Porc