Anyone recently turned (or thinking of turning) vegetariann

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.

steveindenmark

Legendary Member
I am probably wrong. But I always find cooking vegetarian food such a faff. Our supermarkets in Denmark do not have the same wide choice as Tescos or Asda. I dont think there is either a shop or supermarket catering for vegetarians in our town.
 

mudsticks

Obviously an Aubergine
And :whistle: I do my bit otherwise and I quite like meat !

Its quite 'simple' really - eat less meat and animal products - but choose much better quality stuff - find out how it was raised - pasture fed local organic is best - good grazing regimes sequester carbon into soil - and build soil for the future - industrialised meat production is very baaaaaddd for animals , planet, and human health.

Industrialised arable agriculture ( including veg proteins / monocultures such as avocadoes / almonds / palm oil etc etc) is also bad for soil, soil life, and ecology - through over cultivation the use of aggrochemicals, and long supply chains.

This type of food production liberates more carbon, and other ghgs into atmosphere through over working the soil.
Its also questionable how 'healthy' over processed 'vegan junk foods' are for any of us ..

Not all meat is the same - self edumacation is key..

I was a veggie for about 15 yrs of my life - now I'm a 'conscious omnivore' probably eat meat maybe once or twice a week -- i do have a lot of vegan friends though - some even work at the farm - we all respect each others choices - and understand that the issues involved are extremely complex and nuanced, and to an extent come down to personal choice - but that should be an informed choice .

We're all agreed though that the factory farming of animals is a terrible practice for many reasons - and should be phased out asap .

Oh - turns out its not that simple after all :wacko:
 

Drago

Legendary Member
Mudsticks makes an interesting point. Properly managed, meat production can have some upsides, particularly for soil quality. Conversely, intensive crop production with no rotation, no years laying fallow, and chemical fertilisers is turning the soil to biologically dead dust, which isn't exactly giving the environment a warm cuddle itself. Indeed, the UN's food and Agriculture department calculate the worlds topsoil will be gone in about 60 years - some properly managed cows pooing on them would actually be quite welcome.
 

wafter

I like steel bikes and I cannot lie..
Location
Oxford
I find myself pretty much going down the road that Mudsticks suggests.

I don't think I could ever go full-veggie (I'm allergic to most of the buggers and like meat too much) but now eat a lot less processed meat and try to only buy quality, ethically-produced stuff. Still mostly buying from supermarkets though so I've not yet got the shortened supply chain down..
 

mudsticks

Obviously an Aubergine
Mudsticks makes an interesting point. Properly managed, meat production can have some upsides, particularly for soil quality. Conversely, intensive crop production with no rotation, no years laying fallow, and chemical fertilisers is turning the soil to biologically dead dust, which isn't exactly giving the environment a warm cuddle itself. Indeed, the UN's food and Agriculture department calculate the worlds topsoil will be gone in about 60 years - some properly managed cows pooing on them would actually be quite welcome.

Yes evidence shows that creeping desertification can be reversed by holistic grazing programmes.

People are already doing it with good results in more brittle soil environments than ours.

Those who would say 'but what about the methane from cows?' are forgetting that herbivores roamed the earth long before we did, they didn't cause excess ghgs in the atmosphere.

Soil life works in symbiosis with the gut of a grazing herbivore..
They're like composting machines for grass, with milk and meat as outputs.

CO2 is sequestered into good soil, by the deep roots of grazed grass, in conjunction with soil biology.

They feed each other effectively.

Soil life is not in symbiosis with heavy machinery and agrochemicals.. Both those things kill it.

And yes we are, as a result, losing topsoil at an alarming rate.

Topsoil, + water + photosynthesis is what feeds us, both vegetable, and animal products.
 

Drago

Legendary Member
I'm reducing my meat consumption to virtually zero and am making up for it by eating loads of chocolate.
Ah, that new Cadbury's beef chocolate? A cow and a half in every half pound.
 

swee'pea99

Legendary Member
Mudsticks makes an interesting point. Properly managed, meat production can have some upsides, particularly for soil quality. Conversely, intensive crop production with no rotation, no years laying fallow, and chemical fertilisers is turning the soil to biologically dead dust, which isn't exactly giving the environment a warm cuddle itself. Indeed, the UN's food and Agriculture department calculate the worlds topsoil will be gone in about 60 years - some properly managed cows pooing on them would actually be quite welcome.
Less important but still a factor, land can support sheep that couldn't support anything else. You can't grow organic carrots on a bleak dales hillside.
 
The last time I ate meat after an on-off dalliance with vegetarianism for a few years was on tour in 2016 as it was a lot harder to have a balanced diet in countries where they think ham counts as vegetarian.

I don't particularly miss it. Cutting out eggs was harder but I don't miss those either.
Processed vegetarian food is mostly dire, although Quorn is okay but unless it's labelled as vegan it uses eggs.
 

Brads

Senior Member
After years and lifetimes of shooting my own meat as much as possible, I went veggie last year. I've shot for farmers for years and didn't really want any of their produce. Supermarket meat was not for me.
Weight dropped (not much to lose to be fair)
Overall health is good, and for some reason, after a year off the road bike, I'm hammering in better times than ever before and feel great on the bike.

I won't be going back if I can help it. My oldest lad chatted to me about it so we both went veggie at the same time, my reasons were fitness and health mainly. I retire soon and want to live as long as possible.

BBQ has just gained a pizza oven attachement :smile:
 
Top Bottom