Vegetarians and vegans

[locum76]

this thread is totally pointless.

 

[Toddy]

Oh I don't know.....it's gossip, I know who I don't want to cook my food when we're out , and I now know that you grow & sell organic produce and that you're not too far away either. Its always interesting finding a new source.

Cheers,
Toddy

 

[stovie]

I will happily consume all foodstuffs, animal and vegetable, except Marmite...Arrrrrrggggghhhhhh!!!!!! Though I do have problems with bananas, I can eat them at a push.

It's all food, and as individual as clothing...

 

[Toddy]

You don't like Mamite????????????? But, but, how do you eat toast?

sorry, couldn't resist

Toddy , who has just finished breakfast of lime flower tea, home made bread, fresh butter and marmite

 

[stovie]

How could you ruin home baked bread like that

 

[havingagiraffe]

There are no rights in nature (which we are very much a part of by the way), it is pretty much everyone for himself. Eat and/or be eaten.
:AR15firin

Torjus Gaaren

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6020264244416084639

 

[Spikey DaPikey]

Nothing a good right hook would have solved

 

[Ahjno]

Just out of interest......... What's with all the vegetarians and vegans there seems to be nowadays? I work in a hospital helpdesk dealing with portering, domestic and catering enquiries and you wouldn't beleive the amount of people that are vegetarian or vegan or don't like this, that or the other. Is it because it's trendy to be a vegetarian or religious beliefs or because they love animals, and won't eat meat because of it? I just don't understand the huge increase in this in the last 10 years or so. I never knew anybody who was a vegetarian back then, now there seems to be lots about.............. What's the John Dory? God gave us incisors and canines after all for tearing meat, although of course humans are omnivors

Very good question ... One I wondered about myself for a long period of time.
Some of my friends are vegetarian and I asked them about it. Some actually don't know why they are a veggie (don't mean anything by this, it's just way shorter and easier to type than vegetarian). Others say because of animal cruelty, as mentioned herefor. Another option that arose was animals sickness. As in BSE, Mouth-and-Foot (probably wrong translation, but you know what I mean), chicken flue, pigs disease, etc. etc.

When there's a case of such disease, the Media is right on it (something they get paid for), and there is a lot of attention spend about it. Thus lots of people get confrontated with it.
Nowadays our food is checked, tested and controlled on a very high level - but people rather don't take a risk - eventhough in 99.999% of all cases the food in the stores is safe to eat - and stop eating meat, and become a veggie.

When the situation gets back to 'normal' most of them turn back to meat ... but there are some that stick to it.

Other thing that popped into mind Nick:
You say you work in a hospital (helpdesk), couldn't it be that veggies and vegans get sick more often than people who do eat meat?
Just an observation though. Maybe someone can tell me I'm completely wrong (I think I am, though as veggie / vegan, you are completely in control. Just make sure you get your proteïns, etc.) by pointing to a nice scientific research report.

Just my 2 € cents

 

[daved]

Just thought of another possible explanation for why you are noticing a lot of requests for veggie food at the hospital. Perhaps they aren't all vegetarian and just think it is a "safer" option for food in hospital. The general standard of institutional catering in this country is pretty poor at the best of times (in my experience - no offence to any hospital cooks on this forum). I think most veggie food (being of the "slop" in a cauldron variety) is a bit more forgiving of being overcooked, re-heated and generally abused than most meat dishes.

I know my mother often asks for vegetarian food these days when she is in hospital or on a plane and she thinks it is generally better (then again, she is getting on a bit and I have a sneaky suspicion that she just likes to cause a bit of mischevious trouble )

Canteen food at college was what finally stopped me eating meat. Horrible memories of some sort of pie with fish heads sticking out of it - :yikes:

 

[gregorach]

Yeah, I've often heard that you get better airline meals if you go for one of the "special" dietary options.

 

[Seagull]

Horrible memories of some sort of pie with fish heads sticking out of it - :yikes:

Mebbe not to your taste, Daved.
But that,s good old Cornish, "Stargazy Pie".

Much better than raw seagulls, I,m sure

Ceeg

 

[daved]

But that,s good old Cornish, "Stargazy Pie".

Yep, thats the stuff. Are you supposed to eat the heads or are they just there to scare young children (and me!)?

 

[Seagull]

Well, having tried the heads, but once, I thereafter contented myself with "pastry" formed heads...but they are indeed great for scaring kids.

Ceeg

 

[falling rain]

Very good question ... One I wondered about myself for a long period of time.
Some of my friends are vegetarian and I asked them about it. Some actually don't know why they are a veggie (don't mean anything by this, it's just way shorter and easier to type than vegetarian). Others say because of animal cruelty, as mentioned herefor. Another option that arose was animals sickness. As in BSE, Mouth-and-Foot (probably wrong translation, but you know what I mean), chicken flue, pigs disease, etc. etc.

When there's a case of such disease, the Media is right on it (something they get paid for), and there is a lot of attention spend about it. Thus lots of people get confrontated with it.
Nowadays our food is checked, tested and controlled on a very high level - but people rather don't take a risk - eventhough in 99.999% of all cases the food in the stores is safe to eat - and stop eating meat, and become a veggie.

When the situation gets back to 'normal' most of them turn back to meat ... but there are some that stick to it.

Other thing that popped into mind Nick:
You say you work in a hospital (helpdesk), couldn't it be that veggies and vegans get sick more often than people who do eat meat?
Just an observation though. Maybe someone can tell me I'm completely wrong (I think I am, though as veggie / vegan, you are completely in control. Just make sure you get your proteïns, etc.) by pointing to a nice scientific research report.

Just my 2 € cents

I've never heard of anyone being a fruitarian! IMO that is taking things too far, and is a little ridiculous. That is my opinion. Although I acknowledge everyone has a right to eat exactly what they want.
I think that hippy type people are quite often vegetarian/vegan/fruitarian because it fits the image they are cultivating. (Their choice I'm not criticising) I actually think people are generally a lot fussier nowadays than they used to be too. Some of the patients expect food that is akin to restaurants standard, and complain consistantly. I have seen the food here in the hospital and it's not bad at all. There is a very good menu that people can choose from but it's still not good enough for some moaners. I sometimes fancy a nice curry, but if I can't have one I just have to have something else. Some people don't get the word on this though, and seem to think it's their 'right ' to have exactly what they want. I completely understand why somone would want to be a vegetarian/vegan because of farming methods (although I never will be)

 

[locum76]

Oh I don't know.....it's gossip, I know who I don't want to cook my food when we're out , and I now know that you grow & sell organic produce and that you're not too far away either. Its always interesting finding a new source.

Cheers,
Toddy

i'll be in lanarkshire on sept 9th....

 

[Toddy]

Farmer's market maybe? Where??

cheers,
mary

 

[Ahjno]

I've never heard of anyone being a fruitarian! IMO that is taking things too far, and is a little ridiculous. That is my opinion. Although I acknowledge everyone has a right to eat exactly what they want.
I think that hippy type people are quite often vegetarian/vegan/fruitarian because it fits the image they are cultivating. (Their choice I'm not criticising) I actually think people are generally a lot fussier nowadays than they used to be too. Some of the patients expect food that is akin to restaurants standard, and complain consistantly. I have seen the food here in the hospital and it's not bad at all. There is a very good menu that people can choose from but it's still not good enough for some moaners. I sometimes fancy a nice curry, but if I can't have one I just have to have something else. Some people don't get the word on this though, and seem to think it's their 'right ' to have exactly what they want. I completely understand why somone would want to be a vegetarian/vegan because of farming methods (although I never will be)

:thinkerg:
You replied on Doc's post FR, whilst quoting mine

Here's Doc's quote / post:

I too was surprised at how many bushcraft folk are vegetarian. On reflection though, Thoreau was pretty much vegetarian (and wrote about it in his classic Walden), and many environmentalists are vegetarian too.

I did have a patient who was fruitarian - he only ate fruit as that was a 'gift' from the plant, and did not kill the plant. As a diet it is nutritionally incomplete.

Note the bit about the fruitarian.

No worries though

 

[Spacemonkey]

My God, what a job do you have?

Torjus Gaaren

I'm an embalmer and occasional mortician doing autopsies when I'm bored. I'm rather good at facial reconstructions, having doen numerous RTAs and gunshot victims.
See here, but not if squeemish etc...: http://www.rotten.com/library/death/embalming/

Although a few points to comment on that obviously American article: I don't drain blood through the veinous system, I use a trocar (long needle like instrument also used in liposuction) and go straight into the right atrium of the heart. In the UK about 60% or more bodies are embalmed, but we can't do this legally until all the doctors papers have been done, so by the time we can, the body is already about a week old. Luckily we all have fridges, but by this stage embalming really does improve the appearance. And smell... Oh, and they don't really embalm in Japan. They started in a few places in the mid 90's and i was offered a position there in Kawasaki when we were going to move to Japan, so I don't know what that Japanese film is about...?

Any more questions about anything dead, please ask. I'm rather used to the standard 20 questions...

Oh, and being neither fish nor fowl, here's something for the meat eaters out there:

 

[gregorach]

That's can't be real - platypus are an endangered species! Or have I just missed the joke?

As for frutarians, such people do exist... It does seem to be exremely difficult, if not impossible, to get a properly balanced diet that way though.

But the real crazies are the breatharians - people who believe you can live on air, water, and sunlight. I kid you not. They all have dodgy excuses for why they can't quite actually manage it right now, but maintain that it's possible. And there are some who swear blind that they haven't eaten in years, but won't agree to the sort of monitoring it would take to prove it...

 

[Seagull]

That's can't be real - platypus are an endangered species! Or have I just missed the joke?

As for frutarians, such people do exist... It does seem to be exremely difficult, if not impossible, to get a properly balanced diet that way though.

But the real crazies are the breatharians - people who believe you can live on air, water, and sunlight. I kid you not. They all have dodgy excuses for why they can't quite actually manage it right now, but maintain that it's possible. And there are some who swear blind that they haven't eaten in years, but won't agree to the sort of monitoring it would take to prove it...

"Breatharians?" What?
Is this a wind-up, Dunc?

Ceeg