The Vegetarian Myth

[anart]

That's pretty interesting about your niece, by the way. It's another reason to not eat meat that I hadn't thought of, and whether it really is that she just doesn't like the taste or there's deeper psychological issues of WHY she doesn't like it. It's a new twist for me....

That's why I became a vegetarian when I was 20 - I'd never liked the taste or texture of meat and one day I picked up a hamburger that was rare and that was it - I was done. It had nothing to do with health for me or animals, not really - I just didn't 'like' it. 24 years later I switched back and am still healing the damage done by the vegetarian diet. I'm still not a fan of the taste or texture of meat, by the way - I eat it because it's what my body needs. Once I disconnected food from pleasure, that became a lot easier.

 

[SeekinTruth]

Hmm, I didn't know that, anart. It's seems so foreign to me because I've always loved meat and rare (at least medium rare) even more and I love it even more now that it's all I eat (but not rare anymore). Must be a pretty different experience to be on this diet and not really like the taste and texture of meat. Thanks for sharing your experiences. :)

 

[mcb]

Hmm, I didn't know that, anart. It's seems so foreign to me because I've always loved meat and rare (at least medium rare) even more and I love it even more now that it's all I eat (but not rare anymore). Must be a pretty different experience to be on this diet and not really like the taste and texture of meat. Thanks for sharing your experiences. :)

The more meat you eat and the rarer it is, the easier it is to see that WE are meat. Obvious as that might seem, a lot of people aren't comfortable with it, and it is something I have had to deal with as I have switched to paleo (and was one thing in favor of being vegan, as I was for a couple of years).

What has bothered me the most, however, is not rare meat but what I have to see and do to prepare meat. I no longer eat convenience food, and I have to get my hands into it, remove bones, and so on. I had trouble with the "yuck" factor even as a child, and it has taken decades to get over it.

 

[Laura]

The more meat you eat and the rarer it is, the easier it is to see that WE are meat. Obvious as that might seem, a lot of people aren't comfortable with it, and it is something I have had to deal with as I have switched to paleo (and was one thing in favor of being vegan, as I was for a couple of years).

What has bothered me the most, however, is not rare meat but what I have to see and do to prepare meat. I no longer eat convenience food, and I have to get my hands into it, remove bones, and so on. I had trouble with the "yuck" factor even as a child, and it has taken decades to get over it.

Well said. I remember I couldn't eat meat for a week after I had to cut up my first chicken. We now get our acorn fed pork from a farm and it comes like in half a pig thing in boxes and we have to cut it up (we buy it this way to save money), and package it and freeze it. We've learned a LOT, including to buy a kevlar glove for the other hand...

 

[manitoban]

And a third might be the (faulty) association of animal fat with human fat. This appears to be picked up early (especially in young girls), and coupled with the "quest" for "thinness", may end up a powerful motivation for many.

Yep, so true. I've heard girls as young as 9 and 10 talking about how "gross" eating (animal) fat is and how it makes you fat. The programming seems to be mainly that fat is bad and is the cause of weight gain, and implied is that if you must eat meat, it should only be the so called healthy "lean" meats.

 

[SeekinTruth]

And a third might be the (faulty) association of animal fat with human fat. This appears to be picked up early (especially in young girls), and coupled with the "quest" for "thinness", may end up a powerful motivation for many.

Yep, so true. I've heard girls as young as 9 and 10 talking about how "gross" eating (animal) fat is and how it makes you fat. The programming seems to be mainly that fat is bad and is the cause of weight gain, and implied is that if you must eat meat, it should only be the so called healthy "lean" meats.

Yeah, this is another really powerful program that's got all the bases covered. If there's any truth to what the C's have said (and I have no reason to doubt it), non-smoking vegetarians are the preferred / perfect food for the 4D STS. So at least I'm not their favorite food. I've been smoking for a long time as well and now I eat almost exclusively fatty meat and added animal fat. :)

 

[mcb]

...Yeah, this is another really powerful program that's got all the bases covered. If there's any truth to what the C's have said (and I have no reason to doubt it), non-smoking vegetarians are the preferred / perfect food for the 4D STS. So at least I'm not their favorite food. I've been smoking for a long time as well and now I eat almost exclusively fatty meat and added animal fat. :)

And the specially-bred lean meat favored by low-fat meat eaters is potentially dangerous, in part because of lack of any kind of safety testing. While I have seen very little written about it (I wonder why?), selective breeding is another form of genetic manipulation and the common notion that it is somehow "safe" is false. The known problems arising from the practice have generally gone unreported (bad for business) and the rest are, well, unknown.

 

[herondancer]

And the specially-bred lean meat favored by low-fat meat eaters is potentially dangerous, in part because of lack of any kind of safety testing. While I have seen very little written about it (I wonder why?), selective breeding is another form of genetic manipulation and the common notion that it is somehow "safe" is false. The known problems arising from the practice have generally gone unreported (bad for business) and the rest are, well, unknown.

Good point. One would have to wonder about the health of such animals as they are raised. Given that a mammal's immune system function is partly based on the available fat for conversion to different hormones and other substances, they could be pretty unhealthy. Great for agro-pharma business though. :(

 

[LQB]

And a third might be the (faulty) association of animal fat with human fat. This appears to be picked up early (especially in young girls), and coupled with the "quest" for "thinness", may end up a powerful motivation for many.

Yep, so true. I've heard girls as young as 9 and 10 talking about how "gross" eating (animal) fat is and how it makes you fat. The programming seems to be mainly that fat is bad and is the cause of weight gain, and implied is that if you must eat meat, it should only be the so called healthy "lean" meats.

Absolutely - I've talked with many folk lately that are willing to shift their thinking regarding pastured meats, but then hit a wall on the fat, and organ meats are out in left field (as if they are unclean meat or something). I think it helps if someone can visualize a hunting party with dogs - the humans prize the fat, bones, and organs while throwing the lean steaks to the dogs (which is probably better suited to the dog's systems).

 

[Gonzo]

I too have to deal with the gross factor. I had a chunk of ham the other day that had a rather gooey-yet-firm section of fat and as soon as it hit my mouth I started to gag. A lot of mind over matter effort finally got it down.

The other day we were eating out with the in-laws so i decided to order ribs without the sugar-laden sauce. At one point i noticed the ribs were getting thinner and seemed flexible. I took a closer look and noticed the bone was actually more like cartilage. I imagine the pig was so young that the ribs hadn't finished developing. That was it for me. I couldn't finish my meal and took the rest home, thinking I could perhaps separate the meat from the cartilage and fry up the meat for breakfast. But come morning, as soon as i got my hands into the meat, i just felt nauseous and gave the dogs the meat.

I realize some of what I was feeling was psychological but some of it seemed a legitimate response to a disgusting scenario. I doubt I'd starve to death if I had to kill, dress and prepare my own meat, but I certainly know it would be difficult. I'm still trying to get organ meat into me, but I'm not there yet. After working in a pub kitchen with the revolting smell of boiling kidneys for steak and kidney pie constantly in the air, it will take a while before I can deal with that smell again.

All this to say, I can empathize with those who have a visceral reaction to meat but I can't always understand it, as I can't even explain my own reactions.

Gonzo

 

[Voyageur]

[quote author=SeekinTruth]
Yeah, this is another really powerful program that's got all the bases covered. If there's any truth to what the C's have said (and I have no reason to doubt it), non-smoking vegetarians are the preferred / perfect food for the 4D STS. So at least I'm not their favorite food. I've been smoking for a long time as well and now I eat almost exclusively fatty meat and added animal fat. :)
[/quote]

Just thinking about what you said here, not being a favorite “food” and “food’ could also take on other connotations ("food" for the moon comes to mind too), like for instance a fanatical anti meat/smoking mindset. In this context, indeed they do not favour people who are of another mind and perhaps in a way you are not as available as “food” for them just as in other matters, like not believing lies, there is distaste for you by those who believe? This is so too perhaps for people who don’t blindly follow authoritarian types, thus we don’t become “food” for them either; however, one needs to be a little more careful around them.

 

[Kaigen]

And a third might be the (faulty) association of animal fat with human fat. This appears to be picked up early (especially in young girls), and coupled with the "quest" for "thinness", may end up a powerful motivation for many.

Yep, so true. I've heard girls as young as 9 and 10 talking about how "gross" eating (animal) fat is and how it makes you fat. The programming seems to be mainly that fat is bad and is the cause of weight gain, and implied is that if you must eat meat, it should only be the so called healthy "lean" meats.

As I saw that I thought about does young girls looking for help in Internet. On sites like _http://answers.yahoo.com/ Question like :

How can a 14 year old lose 15 pounds soon?
_http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Aq.3fB0IGw65MbUMnm6imcMd53NG;_ylv=3?qid=20120323232954AAZLFQn
or
How much should i weigh?
_http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=As0SnP1KIOl1z5U1Ch1H2QAd53NG;_ylv=3?qid=20120323224251AAHAF7S

from the last two minutes...

there are thousands such questions. They are asking for help. They are not going to doctor or parents, they are asking people from network.
Can we help them? I think yes we can. Write the truth based on our experiences. If they choose eat that way, than we have helped a lot.
this questions are in all languages for all country's.

What do you think?

 

[Laura]

I think that some of you with experience and the knowledge we've gained could certainly be answering questions on yahoo. Don't know if they would leave your answers up, but you could at least say something like "Atkins" and "Paleo" and point them to links and mention that this is pretty much the same diet the Kate Middleton went on to lose weight for her wedding, that Chelsea Clinton eat's gluten and dairy free, etc.

 

[LQB]

I realize some of what I was feeling was psychological but some of it seemed a legitimate response to a disgusting scenario. I doubt I'd starve to death if I had to kill, dress and prepare my own meat, but I certainly know it would be difficult. I'm still trying to get organ meat into me, but I'm not there yet. After working in a pub kitchen with the revolting smell of boiling kidneys for steak and kidney pie constantly in the air, it will take a while before I can deal with that smell again.

Yeah, me too Gonzo, especially when I run into that occasional chunk of fat that has the consistency of cartilage (usually buried in the middle of some roast). Doing much better with the organ meats though. One method on the organ meats that works well here is to start with onions sauteed in bacon grease/beef tallow, then add about 1/3 ground beef. Then add 2/3 mix of ground organ meats (heart/liver/kidney). Saute lightly, then add some good bone broth/stock, fresh garlic, and slowly reduce (piling the meat up along the sides of the pot). If you add more tallow/bacon fat, it mixes nicely into the ground meat mixture. The result smells great and tastes very good! FWIW

 

[Laura]

On this topic, check out the last few posts on the "Life Without Bread" thread.